Leon Genetic Sequence – aging in the Marvel Universe

• Spider-Man (Peter Parker) debuted as a teenager in 1963. As of 2023, he thus should be about 76 years old.
• Reed Richards fought during the UN operations in Korea (1950-1953).
• Anthony Stark built the first Iron Man armor during the early US operations in Việt Nam (circa 1962).
• Etc.

• Many characters fought in the Việt Nam war, which ended in 1975. Say, the Punisher (Frank Castle)).
• Many events are deeply tied to the Cold War, which ended in 1989. Such as much of Iron Man (Anthony Stark)’s career.
• Power Man (Luke Cage) and Iron Fist (Daniel Rand)’s looks where derived from disco fashion. Ditto for Dazzler (Alison Blair). The heydays of disco were about 1974-1981.
• The Fantastic Four were involved with the US moon landing program of the 1960s.
• Captain America (Steve Rogers) clashed with a thinly-veiled President Richard Nixon  .
• Etc.

• Nick Fury’s aging has been receiving Infinity Formula injections ever since the 1940s. And therefore aged little since his World War Two salad days.
• Jimmy Woo’s body and mind were, in 2006, recreated in the state they were in in 1959.
• The Black Widow (Natalia Romanova) received the Kudrin treatment, making her age even slower than Nick Fury.
• Magneto (Max Eisenhardt) had a large chunk of his physical aging erased by Alpha the Ultimate Mutant.
• The mutants modified by the Weapon X program, such as Wolverine (James Howlett), received a potent age suppression factor.

• The creation of an Eternal and of a Deviant subrace.
  • Eternals are near-perfect immortals able to tap cosmic energy.
  • Deviants have an incredible rate of mutation, making each child completely different from their parents.
• Adding an extraordinary potential for super-powers, sometimes called the X-Factor Genetic Sequence. Though others species have Eternal and Deviant subspecies, the x-factor in Humans seems to have been uniquely successful.
  • If powers emerge spontaneously, often at puberty, the person is called a mutant. Like the X-Men.
  • If powers are triggered via exposure to exotic factors, the person is called a mutate. Like the Fantastic Four.

In this article, we postulate that the León Genetic Sequence is a part of the second manipulation. It carries the potential for an extended lifespan and greatly slowed aging once they reach full adulthood.

Just like the X-Factor, this sequence remains unexpressed in the vast majority of the population.

Namor is, off the top of me head, the earliest example of having to find a narrative device to explain why a 1940s Marvel Universe character was still in his prime during the modern age of super-heroes.

How ?

The León Genetic Sequence (LGS), when expressed, has several effects :

• The natural life expectancy of the person becomes normally distributed around a mean of 121 years, with a standard deviation of 10 years.
• The aging of the person drastically slows down during their 20s. Some, like Peter Parker, experience this as early as 17. The slowing effect is usually a factor of 3 or 4.
• The odds of spontaneous expression normally are 1 out of 200,000. But it seems active in more than 80% of superhuman or borderline superhuman mutants and mutates.
  It is thought that the X-Factor and the LGS sequences are intended by the Celestials to work together.
• 34% of the bearers of the LGS will have blue eyes or eyes with a noticeable tinge of blue. Even if their ethnicity should make this much rarer (e.g., most African and Asian ethnicities).

• LGS bearers associate with each other more than they statistically should. There might be subtle cues, perhaps pheromonal, that are subconsciously picked up by other LGS bearers.
• This might be a genetic engineering feature to enhance some aspect of reproduction. However, it doesn’t seem gender-sensitive. So maybe not.
• Two LGS bearers will not necessarily produce a LGS-active child, though the chances seem greatly increased.
• However, the fertility of all LGS bearers seems well below the Human average. This may be deliberate design, to keep the proportion of LGS-positive persons in the population at a certain level.
• Most persons with an expressed LGS sequence will have remarkable — but not usually superhuman — abilities to withstand many diseases and recover from physical trauma.
• The large majority of LGS bearers present a conventionally attractive physique. See our height and weight of super-heroes for more about this.
• This seems related to the manner many superhumans deploy impossible energies without major, visible physical alterations.

• Those an expressed LGS sequence retain their childhood ability to absorb vast amount of new information. This is believed to be related to their excellent healing abilities.
• In practice, it has been observed that LGS bearers tended :
  • To explore more areas outside of their academic specialties. This makes scientists, in particular, unusually multi-talented.
  • To be more curious and inclined toward exploration of the unknown.
  • To be more likely to remain in a school environment for much longer than the average.
• Many subjects also demonstrate below-average emotional maturity, which might be tied to this mental plasticity.
• Another psychological aspect is that LGS-active persons are more likely to see themselves as persons of destiny. And therefore to seek greater-than-life deeds and imagery, as well as enter dangerous situations.

• The first pass of the Godwave is the simplest approach. With “long youth” humans appearing as the gods do.
• The Ian Karkull incident, which altered the aging of many JSA members, might have echoed up and down the timeline. If so it changed reality to add people with LGS-like characteristics in the entire past, present and future.
• It might have occurred during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then have become part of the New Earth’s history.
  Perhaps the death of the Immortal Man occurred differently. Perhaps he deliberately sacrificed himself so that many people on the soon-to-be New Earth would be blessed with LGS-like characteristics.
• One may want to keep the Kirby connection by invoking the Third World.
  • Perhaps an Old God of youth was killed as the Third World gave way to the Fourth had their essence scattered on Earth.
  • Perhaps the LGS is actually a sort of anti-Anti-Life Equation, granting superior free spirit, non-conformity, youth and vitality to those happy subjects who host it in their subconscious.