Within the context of the stories, Ugly John is an Australian mutant possessed of three faces. Ugly John is rescued from the giant mutant-hunting robots known as the Sentinels by Cyclops and Wolverine of the X-Men. En route back to Westchester, the X-Men's X-Jet is shot down by more Sentinels over Central America. Captured by Cassandra Nova, the genetic twin of Professor Charles Xavier, Ugly John is to be executed but the attempt fails. To ease his suffering, Cyclops shoots John with an optic blast.