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The Externals are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Considered a rare subspecies of mutants, most of them were X-Men . The original, unused name for the group was to be The Prophets, as seen on the back of the Sunspot & Gideon trading card included with X-Force #1. The characters first appeared in X-Force #10 (May 1992). (2026). 9781465478900, DK Publishing. ISBN 9781465478900
Each External was claimed to represent an intangible concept: X-Force #36–37 (July - August 1994)
At one point, X-Men regular and former New Mutants Cannonball was declared an External by Cable, X-Force #8 (March 1992) after he was killed by Sauron. His revival was sensed by the other Externals, who declared that he represented hope. Later, Selene betrayed her fellow Externals and despite the efforts of X-Force, she managed to kill them by absorbing their life forces. X-Force #52 (March 1996) X-Force #53 (April 1996) Selene ultimately escaped, but not before summarily dismissing the assumption that Cannonball was an External, calling into question Cable's conclusion and the reasons for it. X-Force #54 (May 1996) Yet, later Cannonball was shot three times through the chest by the Purifiers, and was back up and around in a matter of hours. When asked about it, Beast mentioned Cannonball's status as an immortal again, though it is not sure if he was joking or not. New X-Men (vol. 2) #28 (September 2006) Originally, Apocalypse was not considered to be External, though sometimes referred to as one. His longevity is believed by Selene to be mostly due to technological means, although Apocalypse was already many centuries old before his first encounter with the technology he would later integrate himself with. Selene herself needs to maintain her supply of life force that she drains from human victims.
However, it was revealed that all Externals previously believed to have been killed by Selene or the Legacy Virus had in fact survived. Cable (vol. 3) #150 (December 2017) The only way of effectively killing an External is by destroying their hearts, which consequently channels the life-force of the dead External into others, making them virtually all-powerful. Cable (vol. 3) #154 (April 2018) Cable (vol. 3) #151 (January 2018) Selene reveals she did not accomplish this deed herself because she could not handle the accompanying stress. Selene's assumptions about Cannonball and Apocalypse's status as Externals also cannot be taken as fact, as she incorrectly describes a total of seven Externals, rather than eight. Evidently, as long as there are at least two living Externals in a single timeframe, those who have died will be resurrected. This was the case with Burke, who was killed by the future version of Gideon, only to be reborn as a baby because the present versions of Selene and Gideon were alive. It is later confirmed that Apocalypse is an External and participated in the creation of Candra's gem with Selene and the other High lords eons ago.
Following the creation of a mutant nation on Krakoa, Apocalypse rescued his first Horsemen. He summoned his fellow Externals to the Eternal Caldera on Krakoa, revealing his intentions to sacrifice some of their life energy to power the Arak Maw Gate. Selene, Gideon, and Absolom are revealed to be a part of his plan and quickly turn on their fellow immortals. With the unexpected help of Rictor, the group wipe out four of the Externals and extract their life energy to fuel the gateway to Arakko. Excalibur (vol. 4) #12 (November 2020)
It was later believed the mutant White Sword was an External, when Summoner described him as "immortal" and "External" to his grandfather Apocalypse. X-Men (vol. 5) #12 (November 2020) White Sword is later revealed to not possess immortality. However, similar to the Externals, he can be permanently killed if he is stabbed in the heart. X-Men Red (vol. 2) #12 (August 2023) X-Men Red (vol. 2) #18 (February 2024)
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