====== Destiny ======
===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary =====
  *   **Core Identity:** **Irene Adler, known as Destiny, is a blind precognitive mutant whose prophetic visions have shaped the course of mutant history for over a century, serving as the strategic mind and lifelong partner to the shapeshifter [[mystique|Mystique]].**
  *   **Key Takeaways:**
    *  **Role in the Universe:** Destiny is the ultimate long-term strategist of the mutant world. Her primary function is not to fight, but to perceive the branching paths of the future, interpreting her visions to guide her allies—primarily [[mystique|Mystique]] and the [[brotherhood_of_evil_mutants]]—towards the survival and dominance of //Homo superior//. Her influence is felt most profoundly through her prophetic diaries. [[diaries_of_destiny]].
    *  **Primary Impact:** Destiny's greatest legacy is the //Diaries of Destiny//, a series of journals containing her visions of potential futures. These books became a holy grail for various factions after her death, driving major storylines like ''X-Treme X-Men'' and ''Messiah CompleX'' as different groups sought to control the future by deciphering her prophecies. Her recent resurrection has made her a living, breathing version of this ultimate chess master. [[krakoa]].
    *  **Key Incarnations:** In the Earth-616 comics, Destiny is a foundational character in the X-Men mythos, a former villain, and a current political leader on Krakoa. In stark contrast, **Destiny has never appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)**. This omission fundamentally alters the backstory and motivations of the MCU's version of Mystique, who lacks her key partner and guiding influence.
===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution =====
==== Publication History and Creation ====
Destiny made her first appearance in **//Uncanny X-Men// #141**, published in January 1981. This issue was the first part of the legendary "**Days of Future Past**" storyline, a cornerstone of X-Men lore. She was co-created by the prolific creative team of writer **Chris Claremont** and artist/co-plotter **John Byrne**.
Her creation was intrinsically linked to the expansion of Mystique's character. Claremont needed a counterpart for the manipulative shapeshifter, someone who could provide a strategic and intellectual foundation for her new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Destiny, with her passive yet overwhelmingly powerful precognitive abilities, provided the perfect contrast to Mystique's kinetic and deceptive nature. She was introduced as Mystique's oldest and most trusted confidante.
Critically, Chris Claremont intended from the very beginning for Destiny and Mystique to be a romantic couple, which would have made them one of the very first explicitly lesbian couples in mainstream comics. However, the restrictive **Comics Code Authority** of the era forbade the open depiction of homosexual relationships. As a result, Claremont was forced to portray their deep, century-long bond through subtext, referring to them as partners and having them raise their adopted daughter, [[rogue|Rogue]], together. It wasn't until decades later, long after the Comics Code's influence waned, that their romantic relationship was explicitly confirmed and explored in the comics, retroactively cementing their status as one of Marvel's most iconic and enduring same-sex couples.
==== In-Universe Origin Story ====
=== Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) ===
Irene Adler was born in Salzburg, Austria, in the late 19th century. Her mutant abilities of precognition manifested in her early teens, a terrifying and overwhelming experience that left her physically blind and haunted by fragmented visions of possible futures. For over a year, she meticulously recorded every vision she had, eventually compiling them into a series of books that would become known as the //Diaries of Destiny//. The process of documenting these futures helped her gain a semblance of control over her powers, allowing her to interpret the "certainties" among the infinite probabilities.
It was during this formative period that she met Raven Darkhölme, the mutant who would become Mystique. A shapeshifter and consultant, Raven sought out Irene based on her reputation as a seer. The two women found an immediate and profound connection. Raven provided Irene with protection and a physical anchor to the world, while Irene gave Raven's long, aimless life a sense of purpose and direction. They fell deeply in love, becoming lifelong partners.
Together, they navigated the tumultuous events of the 20th century, using Irene's visions and Raven's skills to amass wealth and influence. For a time, they tried to live a normal life, even adopting a young runaway mutant named Anna Marie, who would later become the X-Man [[rogue|Rogue]]. However, Irene's visions consistently pointed to a dark future for mutantkind, filled with persecution and extinction. Believing that [[charles_xavier|Charles Xavier]]'s dream of peaceful coexistence was naive and doomed to fail, they adopted a more proactive, militant stance.
Irene took the codename Destiny and, alongside Mystique, formed a new incarnation of the [[brotherhood_of_evil_mutants]]. Her role was not as a frontline combatant but as the team's seer and strategist. Their first major act was the attempted assassination of Senator Robert Kelly, a politician whose anti-mutant rhetoric, according to Destiny's visions, would directly lead to the dystopian "Days of Future Past" timeline. Though they were foiled by the [[x-men]], this event established Destiny as a major force in mutant affairs. Later, to receive a presidential pardon, the group was rebranded as the government-sponsored team **Freedom Force**, with Destiny continuing to provide strategic foresight for their missions. She was eventually killed on Muir Island during a battle with the powerful but unstable mutant [[legion|Legion]], dying in Mystique's arms. Her death and the legacy of her diaries would haunt the X-Men for years until the dawn of the Krakoan Age brought about her resurrection.
=== Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ===
To be unequivocally clear, **Destiny (Irene Adler) does not exist and has not appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)** or its associated properties. The character of Mystique, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the "First Class" era of the Fox X-Men films (which have loose connections to the MCU via the multiverse), has a backstory that completely omits the existence of Irene Adler.
This is one of the most significant deviations from the comic canon for a major X-Men-adjacent character. The MCU/Fox version of Mystique is defined by her sibling-like relationship with Charles Xavier and her tumultuous romantic connection to [[magneto|Magneto]]. Her motivations are driven by a mix of mutant liberation ideology and personal betrayals, but she lacks the steady, guiding influence and century-long partnership that Destiny provides in the comics.
**Analysis of Adaptation:**
  * **Streamlined Narrative:** By removing Destiny, the films simplify Mystique's motivations, focusing them squarely on her relationships with the X-Men's two ideological leaders, Xavier and Magneto. This makes her arc easier to follow for a mainstream audience unfamiliar with the deeper comic lore.
  * **Thematic Shift:** The absence of Destiny removes the core romantic relationship that defines Mystique in the source material. It changes Mystique from a character driven by a deep, enduring love and a shared vision for the future into a more solitary, reactive figure tossed between the philosophies of others.
  * **Future Potential:** Should the MCU choose to introduce a more comics-accurate version of Mystique or the Brotherhood in the future, the introduction of Destiny would be a critical component. Her precognitive abilities offer immense storytelling potential, and her relationship with Mystique could provide a powerful, much-needed source of LGBTQ+ representation within the franchise's main continuity. As of now, however, any discussion of her MCU counterpart remains purely speculative.
===== Part 3: Abilities, Equipment & Personality =====
=== Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) ===
Destiny's power set is both incredibly potent and subtly defined, making her one of the most dangerous strategic threats in the Marvel Universe despite her lack of physical prowess.
==== Powers and Abilities ====
  * **Precognition (Psionic):** Destiny's primary mutant ability is the power to perceive future events.
    *   **Nature of Visions:** Her power is not a simple, linear view of "the" future. Instead, she perceives a complex web of future probabilities, seeing the branching paths that result from specific actions. Her great skill lies in interpreting these visions to identify the most likely or most significant outcomes. She experiences these visions as sensory flashes that overwhelm her normal sight, which is the cause of her physical blindness.
    *   **Accuracy and Range:** While she can be mistaken, her predictions are astoundingly accurate, especially when they pertain to events of great significance to mutantkind. She can perceive events minutes, days, or even centuries in the future. Her visions allowed her to predict the rise of threats like Apocalypse and the danger posed by [[moira_mactaggert|Moira MacTaggert]] long before anyone else.
    *   **Limitations:** Her power is passive; she cannot always control what she sees. Furthermore, she is vulnerable to "psionic blindspots"—individuals or events that she cannot perceive accurately. This includes certain powerful telepaths, chaotic magical entities, or beings who exist outside the normal flow of time, such as [[cable|Cable]].
  * **Genius-Level Intellect & Strategist:** Independent of her powers, Irene Adler is a brilliant intellectual. Her mind is perfectly suited to processing the vast amounts of data her visions provide. She is a master strategist and tactician, capable of crafting intricate, decades-spanning plans to achieve her goals. She was the true mastermind behind the Brotherhood and Freedom Force, with Mystique serving as the field leader who executed her plans.
==== Equipment ====
  * **Crossbow:** For personal defense, Destiny carried a lightweight, compact crossbow. While blind, she was surprisingly proficient with it, often using it to threaten or disable opponents at close range. It was more a tool of intimidation than her primary weapon.
  * **//The Diaries of Destiny//:** Her most significant creation. These thirteen volumes, written in a complex code, contain the sum of her life's work: the transcription of her most important prophecies. After her death, the diaries became a legendary artifact. Possessing them meant holding a potential roadmap to the future, making them a target for heroes and villains alike, including the [[x-men|X-Men]], the [[marauders|Marauders]], and Mister Sinister. They predicted major events like the M-Day decimation, the birth of Hope Summers, and the fall of the X-Men.
==== Personality ====
Destiny's personality is a direct result of the immense burden of her powers. She is typically calm, serene, and deeply analytical. While others react to the present, she is always living in the future, weighing the consequences of every action. This often makes her appear detached or fatalistic, as she has already seen the tragic outcomes of many paths.
Her single greatest emotional driver is her profound love for Mystique. Her every major action is dedicated to protecting Raven and securing a future where they can be safe and mutantkind can prosper. She is the calm, steadying anchor to Mystique's passionate and often chaotic nature. While she has committed villainous acts, her motivations are rarely born of malice, but from a calculated, pragmatic belief that her actions are necessary for the greater good of her people. Her resurrection on Krakoa has shown a fiercer, more politically ruthless side, as she now has the power to directly shape the future she has only ever been able to observe.
=== Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ===
As Destiny has not appeared in the MCU, there is no established canon for her abilities, equipment, or personality in this continuity.
If she were to be introduced, it is likely her core precognitive abilities would be retained, as they are central to her entire character concept. The adaptation would likely focus on visualizing her powers in a cinematically interesting way, perhaps similar to how Doctor Strange's visions of the future were depicted in //Avengers: Infinity War//. Her personality and equipment would be developed to serve the specific narrative of her introduction, but the core elements—her calm demeanor, her strategic mind, and her deep bond with Mystique—would be essential to a faithful adaptation.
===== Part 4: Key Relationships & Network =====
==== Core Allies ====
  * **[[mystique|Mystique (Raven Darkhölme)]]:** This is the defining relationship of Destiny's life. They are not merely allies; they are soulmates whose romantic partnership has spanned over a century. Irene is the only person who truly understands Raven, seeing past her many forms to the person within. Their relationship is a perfect symbiosis: Destiny provides the vision and purpose, while Mystique provides the action and protection. Mystique's grief after Destiny's death, and her subsequent rage-fueled quest to resurrect her on Krakoa, demonstrates the absolute centrality of this bond. Their reunion was one of the most pivotal emotional moments of the Krakoan era, and their combined political power makes them a formidable force on the Quiet Council.
  * **[[rogue|Rogue (Anna Marie)]]:** Irene and Raven raised Rogue as their adoptive daughter. Irene acted as a calming, maternal influence on the troubled young girl, providing guidance and attempting to help her control her dangerous absorption powers. While their relationship was strained by Rogue's decision to leave them and join the X-Men, a deep familial love remained. Rogue was devastated by Destiny's death, and her resurrection has brought complex, unresolved feelings to the surface, especially as Destiny's current political agenda sometimes puts her at odds with the X-Men.
==== Arch-Enemies ====
  * **[[moira_mactaggert|Moira MacTaggert (Moira X)]]:** Destiny's greatest and most insidious enemy, a conflict revealed in the //House of X/Powers of X// saga. In one of Moira's previous lives, she encountered Destiny, who used her powers to see through Moira's reincarnation cycle. Destiny correctly identified Moira as a potential "cure" for mutation and a fundamental threat to the future of their species. Before Moira could kill her, Destiny had Mystique burn Moira to death, but not before prophesying that if Moira ever created a cure, Destiny would hunt her across all of her lives. This threat, and Destiny's subsequent resurrection on Krakoa against Moira's explicit wishes, forms the central secret conflict of the entire Krakoan nation. Destiny's primary goal on the Quiet Council is to neutralize Moira's influence permanently.
  * **[[legion|Legion (David Haller)]]:** The mutant who killed her. During a battle on Muir Island, an out-of-control Legion, whose mind contained hundreds of warring personalities, absorbed the consciousness of an evil entity called the Shadow King. In this state, he perceived Destiny as a threat and lashed out, killing her. It was a tragic, almost random act of violence that nonetheless fulfilled one of her own prophecies about her death. It is a moment of deep irony that the son of Charles Xavier was the one to end her first life.
  * **[[mister_sinister|Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex)]]:** While not a personal nemesis in the same vein as Moira, Sinister has long been an ideological and strategic rival. Both are master manipulators who see people as pieces on a chessboard. Sinister has always been obsessed with the future of mutantkind and genetics, and he desperately sought the Diaries of Destiny to further his own twisted plans. On the Krakoan Quiet Council, they are frequent political opponents, with Destiny often seeing through Sinister's layers of deception and theatricality.
==== Affiliations ====
  * **Brotherhood of Evil Mutants:** Destiny was a founding member and the chief strategist of Mystique's second iteration of the Brotherhood. This team included characters like Pyro, Blob, and Avalanche. While Magneto's Brotherhood was driven by raw power and ideological fury, Mystique's was a more surgical, strategic unit guided by Destiny's visions.
  * **Freedom Force:** In a bid for legitimacy and amnesty, Mystique brokered a deal with the U.S. government to rebrand the Brotherhood as a sanctioned team of mutant operatives. As part of Freedom Force, Destiny used her powers to aid in missions to capture rogue mutants like Magneto and the Avengers. This period placed her in a morally gray area, often pitting her against former allies and enemies alike.
  * **The Quiet Council of Krakoa:** Following her resurrection, Destiny was overwhelmingly elected to a vacant seat on the Quiet Council, the ruling body of the mutant nation. She and Mystique form a powerful voting bloc, often advocating for more aggressive and proactive policies to protect Krakoa. Her presence has created a deep schism in the council, particularly with Xavier and Magneto, who know she is the one person who could expose the nation's foundational secret about Moira X.
===== Part 5: Iconic Events & Storylines =====
==== Days of Future Past (Uncanny X-Men #141-142) ====
This is Destiny's debut and one of the most famous X-Men stories ever told. Her visions revealed a catastrophic future timeline where Senator Robert Kelly's anti-mutant legislation leads to the creation of the Sentinels, the internment and slaughter of mutants, and a dystopian America. To prevent this future, Destiny directs the Brotherhood to assassinate Senator Kelly in the present. This act of "pre-crime" is the central moral conflict of the story. While the X-Men successfully stop the assassination, the event sets the stage for decades of conflict and confirms the terrifying accuracy of Destiny's powers.
==== The Death of Destiny (Uncanny X-Men #255) ====
This pivotal issue marks the end of Destiny's first life. While on Muir Island, the X-Men and Freedom Force are caught in a battle with the Reavers and an out-of-control Legion. Destiny has a final, chilling vision of the future: she foresees the X-Men's impending deaths during the "Fall of the Mutants" crossover and the disbanding of their team. As she is trying to process this, she is killed by Legion. Her final act is to impart a cryptic prophecy to Mystique, a warning that would guide Mystique's actions for years to come. Her death had a profound impact, removing the key strategic mind from the mutant villain community and leaving Mystique unmoored and vengeful.
==== House of X / Powers of X ====
While Destiny is deceased during this 2019 line-wide relaunch, she is arguably one of its most important characters. The entire foundation of the mutant nation of Krakoa is revealed to be built on the secret of Moira MacTaggert's multiple lives. Flashbacks show that in a previous life, Destiny discovered Moira's secret and identified her as the ultimate threat to mutantkind. This past encounter is the reason Moira forbade Xavier and Magneto from ever resurrecting precogs, specifically fearing Destiny's return. Mystique's central motivation throughout the early Krakoan era is to force the council to bring her wife back, a desire that eventually leads her to defy Xavier and succeed. Destiny's past actions and prophecies are the secret engine driving the core conflict of the entire modern X-Men era.
==== Inferno (2021) ====
This storyline is the direct payoff to the secrets established in //House of X//. Now resurrected and a member of the Quiet Council, Destiny is reunited with Mystique. Together, they outmaneuver Xavier and Magneto, exposing the truth about Moira MacTaggert to Emma Frost and the rest of the council. The event culminates in a massive confrontation where Moira is depowered and exiled, shattering the secret alliance that founded Krakoa. //Inferno// re-establishes Destiny as a top-tier political player in the Marvel Universe, proving that her strategic mind is as dangerous as any Omega-level power.
===== Part 6: Variants and Alternative Versions =====
  * **Age of Apocalypse (Earth-295):** In this harsh reality created by the premature death of Charles Xavier, Destiny's role is drastically different. Here, she is known as Irene Adler and is not a member of any villainous group. Instead, she is a resident of Avalon, a hidden sanctuary for humans and mutants in the Savage Land. She acted as the adoptive mother of [[nightcrawler|Nightcrawler]] in this timeline and used her precognitive abilities to guide and protect the community from Apocalypse's forces. This version highlights her capacity for good when not driven by the bleak visions of the main timeline.
  * **X-Men: The Animated Series (1990s):** Destiny appeared in several episodes of the iconic animated series, primarily in adaptations of her key comic storylines. She was featured prominently in the "Days of Future Past" adaptation as a member of Mystique's Brotherhood, guiding their attempt to assassinate Senator Kelly. She also appeared in episodes focusing on Rogue's backstory, where her role as one of Rogue's adoptive mothers, alongside Mystique, was shown. The series portrayed her as a mysterious, robed figure who spoke only in cryptic prophecies, faithfully capturing her comic book essence.
  * **X-Men: Evolution (2000-2003):** In this animated series which reimagined the X-Men and Brotherhood as teenagers, Destiny plays a key, albeit unseen, role. Mystique is shown consulting with a shadowy figure for guidance, who is later revealed to be Destiny. In the final episode, a flash-forward to the future shows an adult Destiny standing alongside Mystique and the rest of their fully-formed Brotherhood, confirming her importance to the team's future even in this alternate continuity.
===== See Also =====
  * [[mystique]]
  * [[rogue]]
  * [[moira_mactaggert]]
  * [[krakoa]]
  * [[brotherhood_of_evil_mutants]]
  * [[diaries_of_destiny]]
===== Notes and Trivia =====
((Destiny's real name, Irene Adler, is a direct homage to the famous character from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia." In the story, Irene Adler is a brilliant opera singer and actress who is the only woman to ever outwit Sherlock Holmes, who thereafter always referred to her as //"the// woman." This clever naming adds a layer of literary prestige and hints at her formidable intellect.))
((Writer Chris Claremont has stated in numerous interviews that he always wrote Mystique and Destiny as a romantic couple. The line in //Uncanny X-Men// #265, where a grieving Mystique says of Destiny, "I am... what I am. And for over twenty years, //she// was my center," was as close as he could get to an explicit confirmation under the Comics Code Authority at the time.))
((The specific number of Destiny's diaries is thirteen. Their contents have been a major MacGuffin in several X-Men titles. The quest to find and interpret them formed the entire basis for the 2001 //X-Treme X-Men// series by Chris Claremont.))
((Before her resurrection was finally allowed, Mystique was given a series of impossible tasks by Xavier and Magneto, who promised to bring Irene back if she succeeded. One of these tasks was to steal information from the Orchis Forge, a mission that led directly to the events of //X-Men// #20 (2021) and the successful revival of Destiny.))
((Destiny's final prophecy to Mystique before her death involved a vision of Mystique marrying the X-Man Forge. Mystique, horrified, later attempted to kill Forge but ended up developing a complex, antagonistic relationship with him instead.))