Alternative Versions of Colossus - Ultimate Colossus

Ultimate Colossus

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Peter Rasputin reluctantly works as an arms smuggler for the Russian mob. Peter was saved from a firing squad as a young child by a boss in the Russian Mafia called Big Boris, who smuggles Peter from Siberia to the United States. Ultimate Colossus' powers are similar to those of his Earth-616 counterpart. With the use of a deadly drug called Banshee he has gained super strength to rival other powerhouses such as Thor. He is not immune to Rogue's touch as shown in the "Return to Weapon X" storyline. He is also highly resistant to physical injury. He has withstood being slashed by Ultimate Wolverine's adamantium claws. He has also survived a localized nuclear explosion. A few deviations from the Earth-616 version include the fact that Ultimate Colossus's height remains the same when he changes. Unlike the mainstream version, his eyes remain vulnerable to pressure even in steel form, as shown when fighting Sam Wilson during Ultimate Nightmare.

Colossus is revealed as a mutant during an illegal arms transaction gone wrong. Everyone is killed by gunfire except for Peter, whose mutant ability saves him. Jean Grey finds him soon after and offers him a place among the X-Men.

When the X-Men embark on a world tour to promote Xavier's book, Colossus inexplicably disappears to Russia. Cyclops and Jean Grey track him and find Peter working in a factory. Colossus tells them he left due to unhappiness with his place on the team and with life as a mutant, but Jean suggests that his true reason is unrequited feelings he has for a fellow team member. Peter later comes to term with his "gift," and becomes a Russian national hero when he rescues the crew of an incapacitated submarine. He leaves Russia to rejoin the X-Men.

Later, Colossus and the X-Men are forced out of the mansion with the U.S. Government on their tails. In a climactic battle between the X-Men and The Ultimates, Colossus is able to defeat Iron Man and Thor, but is finally temporarily incapacitated by Hawkeye who fires a compact nuclear warhead arrow (with a blast radius of about 20 feet) near him. With the surprise assistance from Iceman, the X-Men (sans Professor Xavier) manage to regroup and escape.

The X-Men locate Magneto's flying citadel using a signal sent by a captured Cyclops. Upon their arrival, Magneto subdues them. Despite being composed of metal, Colossus' great strength and willpower allow him to overcome Magneto's control and beat Magneto mercilessly for the harm inflicted on Wolverine.

In a significant change from his mainstream counterpart, Ultimate Colossus is gay. This is implied during the Mark Millar's run on the title, through his interactions with fellow X-Man Wolverine (this is implied during the "Return of the King" story arc, in which Colossus almost beats Magneto to a pulp when he threatens Wolverine). It is implied (through stereotype) when Jean Grey reveals to the readers that Peter's favorite TV show is Will & Grace, but stated more directly in that the main reason Colossus left the X-Men might have been that he was unable to make the X-Man he'd fallen in love with love him, even in the slightest. Storm also suggests Peter is gay when Angel arrives at the school and Storm explains to him that the reason that all the girls "and maybe Colossus" stare at him is because he is good looking. It is more openly addressed later during a series of mutant murders by Sinister, Colossus tends to the wounds of Northstar, the only survivor. He is shocked when the openly gay Northstar asks if Colossus is single, which triggers a transformation into his metal state.

Colossus and Northstar amicably part ways and keep in touch even after Northstar's team, the Academy of Tomorrow, come to blows with the X-Men. Colossus later agrees to accompany Northstar to his homecoming dance. This disturbs Nightcrawler, Peter's friend, who begins to avoid and resent him. Their relationship becomes very strained after this and never really recovers, Nightcrawler believing that Colossus deliberately misled and "betrayed" him. This also marks a significant change in Nightcrawler's character: much of his relationship with Colossus in the mainstream versions of them also involves Kitty Pryde (Colossus' recurring love interest throughout most of the various X-Men chronicles)'s close relationship with Nightcrawler. In this version, however, there is no romantic relations between Pryde and Rasputin and all three characters are affected. In other versions, Nightcrawler is routinely seen as an outsider trying desperately to fit in, more so than the other X-Men, but in this one his blatant homophobia and disgust towards Colossus is a strong theme. Comments have been made with a double meaning toward Peter's sexuality, such as Bobby Drake saying "Too bad he's playing for the other team" during a baseball game against the Academy of Tomorrow.

Following Xavier's death, Northstar asks Colossus to come stay with him at the Academy of Tomorrow. Colossus finds a job as a construction worker and refuses to join Bishop's X-Men team.

Recently it has been revealed that Colossus is dependent on the mutant enhancement drug Banshee for his super-human strength; without it, he cannot so much as lift his arms in his organic steel mode. It was also revealed that Peter came to work for the Russian mob after being banished from his home by his father, who had accidentally discovered him in bed with another man. Colossus briefly formed a Banshee-enhanced splinter group of X-Men, but they have now rejoined the main group drug-free.

After rejoining the main X-Men team, a tsunami hits New York and kills numerous people and superheroes including some of his team mates (Beast, Dazzler, and Nightcrawler). He fights against Magneto and his Brotherhood in their attack on the world. He, alongside Jean Grey, Storm, Iceman, and Rogue, is one of the few X-Men to survive the Ultimatum.

At the end of Ultimate X #5, Colossus is shown being held in a government facility: "Camp Angel" along with Storm and Spiral. It can be inferred from the narration of Karen Grant that the government is using them for testing on how to remove the mutant gene. At the start of Ultimate Comics: X-Men as a series, Colossus is seen in this camp. Here, despite the government's claims that mutants are being well-treated, Colossus is being maliciously tortured with electrical sticks. When the prison is overruled, and arguments started between Storm and Stacy X over the treatment of Warden Lake and Major Walker, until Colossus killed Lake, sunmmoning a fleet of Nimrod Model Sentinels.