Gateway
(Australian mutant)
Context
Gateway was a support character during the X-Men’s Australian Outback Era. He thus appearing in 1988, explaining the somewhat dated concept. This profile covers his first 15 years or so.
As was frequent in X-Men books back then, Gateway is a Terribly Mysterious Character™.
A teleporter is quite useful in super-hero stories. During the 2010s, Gateway’s role as such was mostly taken over by a more modern Aboriginal character, Manifold.
Background
- Real Name: Unrevealed.
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: Ex-member of the Reavers and the X-Men.
- Base Of Operations: Australian Outback.
- Height: 5’5″ Weight: 125 lbs. Age: Elderly.
- Eyes: Brown Hair: White
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Powers and Abilities
Gateway’s mutant power is to open up gateways through which one can travel to any location on Earth. He creates them by spinning a bullroarer. All opened gateways appear like circular holes in the air and will remain open and active as long as Gateway wishes. This power may have an Earth-aspected, or even magical, facet to it.
Mysteriously, Gateway tends to know exactly where each subject wishes to travel without them having to tell him about it. He also knows when each transported subject wishes to return to their original starting position. The elder is capable of summoning them back by another bullroaring circle in the air. These seeming telepathy also makes his mind unreadable.
Gateway has some sort of suopernatural cognitive abilities. He can sense coming and ongoing disasters and catastrophes.
Gateway can also levitate in the air, which is often done in a sitting stance while meditating or spinning the bullroarer.
Gateway also demonstrated the ability to open gateways into the past, but this seem intended for watching rather than travel.
Skills
As a wandering bushman, Gateway also knows well how to endure hard weather, find food in the outback and hunt by the use of a boomerang. He is also competent at meditation, bullroaring and the tales of the outback.
Most likely, as these archetypal guru types go, Gateway possesses the knowledge of old skills and hidden spiritual truths. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was found to possess some medical skills as well as knowledge of dream-time magics.
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Bullroarers
Bullroarers are a sacred instrument. It is a flat oval shaped piece of wood with a double string attached to one end. It is spun over the head by the other end of the string. The sound is a hauntingly beautiful whirring, caused by the wood spinning as air moves across it, and the string twists and untwists.
The sound of the bullroarer is known as the ’voice of God‘ to the Australian Aborigines. It is given to men at naming ceremonies or other auspicious occasions. Used as a ’talk back switch‘ to the Creator.
To sound a Bullroarer it is swung lasso style which causes it to spin and make a ’humming type‘ sound. It is called by several different names including “Burliwarni”, “Ngurrarngay” and “Muypak”.
They were used to display sacred symbols and sounded to warn the uninitiated that they were being shown. They were also used to send animals into ambush, and to alert one tribe of another’s presence, and in rainmaking ceremonies.
This type of instrument has been used all over the world. To the Maōri it is called “Purerehau”. It was used by North American Native Cultures from the Athabaskan, Nootka, Yokuts, Pomo, and Nahua. In New Guinea it was placed inside human like effigies in the throat area symbolizing the spirit voice of the effigy and was sometimes used in ceremony.
A smaller version of the Bullroarer was used by the Maōri known as “Porotiti”. It was used for healing by spinning over areas of rheumatism or arthritis, the sound vibration massages joints in a similar way to modern ultrasound.
The sound that the bullroarer makes is sacred to the Apaches, who only wanted it used in specific circumstances.
History
The enigmatic Gateway rarely speaks, and it is unlikely that anything will be learned about his past. While the X-Men, and the Reavers before them, were headquartered in Australia, Gateway served as their primary mode of transport. When both left that base behind, Gateway remained, tending the sacred spot he had cared for before either superteam arrived.
Gateway seems to like Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), and once gave her a literal window into a critical moment of her past.
Later, Gateway mysteriously appeared at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. He brought the young mutant Penance with him.
Gateway also may have been a sort of mentor for the Generation X member known as M. But the details surrounding this relationship are unclear. There are also indications that Gateway was somehow responsible either for the creation of the creature known as Emplate, or for Penance becoming a victim of Emplate’s evil. Gateway’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Description
Gateway is a small, elderly Aboriginal man with a dark complexion. He has white hair and beard and brown eyes. Regardless of weather, he will wear a pair of grey shorts while wearing a boomerang and a bullroarer.
Most likely, he will be found sitting in a Lotus stance with his hands held palm to palm, with a calm face and closed eyes, residing in deep meditation.
Personality
Gateway lives the life of an archetypal shamanistic native of the Aboriginal folks. His sole existence seems to be dedicated to deep contemplation and being in total harmony with nature. This is usually attained by silence and meditation. Regardless of outer circumstances (heavy rain, being surrounded by enemies etc.) he will be found in deep meditation most of the time.
He appears to find tending that sacred area in the Australian Outback where he resides an important task. It is only on very rare occasions that he will leave this sacred area.
Gateway also possesses an apparently unshakable peace of mind. Much points to that he is constantly tuned into the balanced forces of the cosmos. He virtually never speaks, except for educational purposes, or to warn people of coming dangers. He is calm in the face of even the greatest of dangers. Perhaps he lives most of his life in dream-time.
Other traits
He will open a gateway to anywhere on Earth for anyone, and he has served both the Reavers and the X-Men. He has, however, been known to suddenly summon people to a specific location where that person’s friend has been in great need. This would indicate that he believes that helping others helps keep the balance of nature in check.
He has also transported people in need, such as Penance, to locations where there are people that can help that particular person.
Considering his history with both the Reavers and the X-Men, perhaps he periodically swaps alignments in order to balance out everything in the consequences of his action and involvement in things. This would lend credibility to the thought that Gateway balances all his actions with both good and bad.
He is, however, a mysterious man to everyone, even to Charles Xavier, since his mind and thus his true motives cannot be read by any known means.
DC Universe History
Gateway is a minor and strange character. Since his origins are a mystery, he’d easily be inserted just as he is in the DC Universe. Likely, the Tasmanian Devil would have met the character, and it is possible that he would now serve as a transporter for the Global Guardians.
Previously, he’d have worked for a minor criminal gang of thugs or cyborgs, trying to emulate Intergang (who have Boom Tubes).
Afterward, though, it’s at least possible that Gateway worked with the Silver Age Justice League, thereby resolving the question of where the teleportation tubes came from without Thanagaran or Kryptonian technology in the Post-Crisis DCU.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
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Gateway
| Dex: 02 | Str: 02 | Bod: 04 | Motivation: Unwanted Power |
| Int: 04 | Wil: 05 | Min: 10 | Occupation: Bushman, Transporter |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 03 | Spi: 13 | Resources {or Wealth}: 000 |
| Init: 007 | HP: 015 |
Powers:
Air-Walking: 03, Awareness: 05, Detect (Transported Characters): 25, Empathy: 06, Mind Blank: 15, Postcognition: 25, Warp: 25
Bonuses and Limitations:
- See below for Warp.
- Postcognition can be Combined with Warp, allowing for viewing events that took place a long way away. Roll Warp first to reach the distance, then Postcognition.
Skills:
Artist (Bullroaring): 05, Survival: 05, Weaponry (Aborigine Weapons): 03
Advantages:
Area Knowledge (Australian Outback), Iron Nerves, Language (Australian Aboriginal), Scholar (Meditation), Scholar (Australian Native Lore and Mythology).
Connections:
The Reavers (Low), X-Men (Low).
Drawbacks:
Age (Old), MPR (Voluntary Mute; must pay 5 HPs to utter a couple of sentences; for 10 HPs he can tell a complete story).
Equipment:
- Bullroarer [BODY 03, Flash (Sonic): 03].
- Boomerang [BODY 05, EV 02, Bonus: If thrown, the weapon will return to the hands of a Skilled user the following Phase].
The bullroarer and the gateway
Gateway creates a warp in his vicinity to any desired location on Earth by rotating his bullroarer above his head. His Warp Power requires the spinning of a bullroarer to work and can only form a warp within 3 APs of the bullroarer (-1). All Warps are stationary and require the subject to step into it in order to be transported away (-1).
A Warp is usually closed straight after every willing subject has stepped into it. By continuous use of his Detect Power, however, Gateway can mentally sense and warp-summon back anyone previously sent away if the subject gives him a mental request (this is probably possible within a time frame equal to the APs of Warp).
Source of Character: X-Men Comics.
Helper(s): John Colagioia, Sébastien Andrivet, Marvel Superheroes Adventure Game X-Men Roster Book.