 | |
| Cerebro | |
| Type: | Technology |
| Continuity: | Marvel Universe |
| Aliases: | Mental intensifier; Mass influencer; Mini-Cerebro; Cerebra |
| Availability: | Unique item |
| Manufacturer: | Charles Francis Xavier |
| 1st appearance: | The X-Men, Volume 1 #7 |
Cerebro is a fictional electronic device featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is considered part of the mainstream Marvel Universe and is associated with the X-Men family of comic titles. It first appeared in The X-Men, Volume 1 #7 in September, 1964. Cerebro has also appeared in alternate media relating to the X-Men including the 2002 X-Men animated series and other cartoon projects such as X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men. It also appeared in the X-Men film series produced by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Description & History[]
Cerebro is an electronic device designed for detecting the presence of mutants. It consists of a headset that can be connected to a computer system and is usually housed within a large spherical monitoring station. The device intensifies the telepathic abilities of whoever wears it, providing that the individual possessed such abilities to begin with. It was developed and utilized by the mutant Professor Charles Xavier, who used Cerebro to increase the power and clarity of his psionic abilities in order to track down and identify other mutants. Over time, Xavier's former student, Jean Grey, became proficient with the use of Cerebro as well.
The development of Cerebro was an extension of a much larger device called a mass influencer, which Professor X used only once to erase all knowledge of the X-Men from the minds of The Blob and his army of circus performers who once laid siege to X-Mansion. [1]
A smaller device called a mini-Cerebro was developed, and was used strictly for the purpose of tracking known mutants. This device did not require the user to be a psychic and could only track mutants whose unique bio-signature had already been uploaded into a database on Xavier's computer system. Xavier once gave Storm a mini-Cerebro so she could track down her missing colleague, Warren Worthington, III. [2]
Almost like a mutant itself, Cerebro's systems and capabilities continued to evolve. Cerebro was upgraded with a nonotech body after interfacing with the futuristic Sentinel entity called Bastion. In this capacity, Cerebro became known as Cerebra. [3]