Crosta's parents had gotten a divorce when he was very young. His father wanted to raise their child to be a soldier, while his mother wanted a different life for her son. Eventually (presumably at puberty), he developed a mutation that not only altered his physical appearance, but also gifted him with the ability to induce shock waves. When Atlanteans were ordered to take up life on land, the young mutant's mother remained undersea with her son, against Namor's wishes, feeling that her son would never know freedom on land.