Ink (comics) - Powers and Abilities

Powers and Abilities

Ink has no powers of his own. Instead, he had access to a mutant tattoo artist, Leon Nunez, with the power of granting superpowers to other beings by tattooing iconic "power symbols" on them, evocative of the power he wants to bestow. The downside to this is that it takes away a little bit of Nunez's will every time he does it. Nunez made Ink believe that his powers were his own, purposely misleading him into believing he was a mutant. Since granting Ink his last tattoo—the omnipotent Phoenix Force symbol around his eye—Leon Nunez has been in a catatonic state. If he were to wake up, Ink's power would disappear, leaving him a normal boy. So far Ink has the following tattoos and powers:

• The tattoo on his right palm in the shape of a biohazard symbol which gives him the power to make someone extremely ill.
• The Caduceus symbol on his hand allows him to heal others.
• The tattoo on his left hand gives him super strength. The lines look similar to the banding on Colossus' flesh when he transforms, indicating a toughening of Ink's flesh also.
• The "explosive" symbol tattooed on his right biceps allows him to blow up objects, and once even helped him punch through a wall.
• The two lightning bolt tattoos on his head give him the ability to read minds, but can be blocked by psi-shields, taken from a comic book depiction of psychic abilities (actually an early Marvel Comics publication image of Professor Xavier).
• The tattoos of wings on his back grant him flight.
• The Phoenix Force symbol over his eye allows him to use a facsimile of the Phoenix's powers.