Powers
Linguistics: Incredible
Talents
Computers
Contacts
New Mutants, Shadowcat
History
Douglas Ramsey was a teenage friend of Katherine Pryde, who, as the mutant Ariel, was a member of the hero team X-men. Ramsey had shared Pryde's interest in computers and video games, and they had become close friends.
Both Professor Xavier and Emma Frost, the White Queen of the criminal organization Hellfire Club, learned that Ramsey was also a mutant. Frost offered Ramsey a scholarship to her Massachusetts Academy, hoping to induct him into the Hellions, the team of adolescent mutants which she trained there to serve the Hellfire Club's secret criminal purposes.
Ramsey went to the Massachusetts Academy with Pryde for his final admissions interview. Pryde, suspicious of the Academy, was captured by the White Queen and had to be rescued by the New Mutants. Ramsey left with Pryde and ended up going to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, instead.
Ramsey developed friendships with the other students of the School, not realizing they maintained secret identities and superhero careers as the New Mutants. However, when the techno-organic alien known as Warlock arrived and found himself battling the New Mutants, the heroes summoned Ramsey and revealed their identities. Ramsey succeeded in using his powers to communicate with Warlock, and shortly afterwards both Ramsey and Warlock became members of the New Mutants, with Ramsey adopting the code-name Cypher.
Ramsey occasionally adventured with the New Mutants for some time, although he often felt out due to the purely intellectual nature of his mutant power. Eventually, he developed a hybrid relationship with the alien Warlock to allow him to join in more action. Unfortunately, however, on an unsanctioned adventure to save the Ani-mates (the society of New Mutant's associate Bird-Brain), Ramsey was shot dead by the evil scientist and creator of the Ani-mates, the Ani-mator.
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