Elixir (Joshua "Josh" Foley) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily in association with the X-Men. Elixir has the mutant ability of biokinesis, able to manipulate biological matter in a number of ways.
Formerly a member of the Reavers, an anti-mutant criminal group, Elixir later reforms and joins the Xavier Institute after learning that he is a mutant himself. He joins the New X-Men and later joins X-Force.
During the Krakoan Age, Elixir joins the Five, using his healing abilities in combination with other mutants to resurrect the dead.[1]
Publication history
Elixir first appeared in New Mutants (vol. 2) #5 (), and was created by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, and Keron Grant.[2] Elixir was introduced as a member of the Reavers, joining the Xavier Institute, appearing in the remainder of the New Mutants, before appearing as a featured character in New X-Men (vol. 2).
Elixir appeared as a member of X-Force (vol. 3). During the Utopia era and Krakoan Age, he appeared in minor appearances throughout many books.
Fictional character biography
Joshua Foley's powers first manifest during his time as a member of the anti-mutant group the Reavers. His powers initially go unnoticed by the other Reavers, and he uses them to save fellow mutant Laurie Collins.[3] Outed as a mutant and thrown out of his house by his parents, Joshua reluctantly joins the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and becomes Prodigy's roommate.[4][5] His parents sign legal guardianship over to Danielle Moonstar.[6]
A depowered Rahne Sinclair visits the X-Mansion. Joshua is instantly smitten by the new "wild child" Rahne,[7] and sneaks out of the Institute at night to go to a bar where Rahne is playing pool. A connection is established between them as Joshua shows an immediate understanding of her inner struggle. As the two kiss, Joshua unconsciously restores Rahne's powers. She loses control and mortally wounds Joshua. With Archangel, the mansion's other healer, absent, the residents resort to electrically shocking Josh awake so that he can heal himself. As an unexpected side effect, Josh's skin and hair turn a reflective gold color.[8][9] He is assigned to Danielle Moonstar's New Mutants squad and given the codename Elixir.[3]
Rahne attempts to end her relationship with Elixir after she becomes a teacher at the school, but Elixir is persistent and they continue to see each other secretly. However, when Rahne witnesses him on a date with Laurie, she ends the relationship. Elixir is depressed at first, but eventually realizes that it was for the best and pursues a relationship with Laurie.[10]
Decimation and Childhood's End
The events of "House of M" leave only 27 students with their powers, with Elixir being among them.[3] Fearing their safety, Emma Frost orders the students and staff to leave the institute.[11] However, many of the students are killed when William Stryker bombs a bus carrying them. Josh is unable to heal his dying classmates in time, and becomes severely depressed and loses confidence in his abilities. Elixir participates in a melee fight organized by Emma Frost to join her New X-Men and makes the team.[12] After Stryker has Laurie Collins killed, Elixir uses his powers to kill Stryker, which causes his skin to turn black.[13][14][3]
Before the other students are teleported to Limbo, the Stepford Cuckoos help Elixir learn advanced science by giving him information taken from Beast's mind. This increases his power exponentially, allowing him to heal otherwise fatal injures with a touch. He also masters his "black abilities" by being able to switch instantly from golden/healing to black/disease-causing.[15][3]
X-Force
Due to Elixir being a "problem" to X-Force, X-23 contacts the Stepford Cuckoos to help Rahne and erase Elixir's memories of the team at his request. However, before his memories can be erased, X-Force is interrupted and sent on a mission. Elixir joins X-Force and receives a dark-colored uniform. He helps his new team capture Vanisher, creating a deadly tumor in Vanisher's brain. Elixir keeps X-23 from killing herself after she becomes infected with the Legacy Virus and manages to purge the virus from her body.[16]
During the "Necrosha" storyline, Elixir faces off against Wither in a fight to the death. Elixir shifts to his black form, then reverses the effects of Wither's powers before turning him to dust. In the aftermath of Necrosha, Elixir quits X-Force, stating that he is having difficulty shifting out of his black form.[17]
Death and resurrection
Elixir later resurfaces, having joined a church group to help find himself, when he is tracked down by Sabretooth and M. While there, the group is attacked by the Dark Riders and most of the church volunteers are killed. Elixir is shot and killed by Gauntlet,[18] but manages to resurrect himself after being buried.[19][20]
After Surge and Hellion contract the Legacy Virus, Elixir cures them, but falls into a coma as a result of the strain. He is later sought out by Hrimhari when Wolfsbane collapses after a battle with Frost Giants.[21] Upon arriving on Utopia, Hrimhari makes a deal with Hela after learning that Rahne is pregnant with his child and may not survive childbirth. Unable to choose between his lover or his child to save, Hrimhari requests Hela heal Josh so that he can save Wolfsbane and their child. Elixir heals her by transferring some of her baby's strength to her to ensure that she can survive the pregnancy.[22]
Elixir and Exodus are later approached by Magneto to help contain Mothervine, a biotech enhancement that triggers mutations and was released worldwide by Miss Sinister, Havok, Emma Frost, and Bastion. Elixir neutralizes all samples of the Mothervine serum, putting an end to the threat.[23]
Elixir is an Omega-level mutant with the ability to manipulate the structure of organic matter within his vicinity, including his own body.[27][8] Besides healing, he is capable of boosting and restoring mutant abilities,[28] and possesses a death touch that can swiftly kill others and temporarily turns his skin black.[14][9] Elixir is capable of cleansing the effects of drugs and curing the Legacy Virus and M-Pox.[16][29] He used his healing abilities to enable Wolfsbane to survive the birth of her and Hrimhari's child Tier.[30] Elixir is virtually immortal due to his healing abilities enabling him to regenerate his body and resurrect himself if killed.[19]
Elixir later develops the ability to resurrect others.[19]Monet and Magneto speculate that he could do so to millions of people at once, but would lose his sanity in the process.[20]
Reception
CBR ranked Elixir 18th "The 20 Most Powerful Secondary Mutations",[9] 15th in "15 Most Powerful X-Men Who Can't Fly, Ranked"[31], 12th in "The 15 Strongest Omega-Level X-Men, Ranked"[32]
Screen Rant ranked Elixir "10 Most Overpowered X-Men Heroes So Broken, The Franchise Left Them Behind"[33], and in the list "10 Most Underrated X-Men in Marvel History".[34]
123Staff, CBR. "X-Men: The 20 Most Powerful Secondary Mutations, Ranked". CBR. Valnet. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2025. Elixir is known for his signature golden skin, but he wasn't always like that. For a while, Elixir only had his mutant healing ability and not the physical aspect of his mutation. It was only after Elixir used his ability to heal himself after a fight with Wolfsbane that his strange skin color appeared.Most of the time, Elixir's skin is golden, but if he uses his Omega-level abilities to hurt someone, his skin turns a metallic shade of black.
↑Schedeen, Jesse (September 18, 2019). "Marvel Just Made Goldballs the Most Important X-Men Character Ever". IGN. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2025. [Goldballs] and four other mutants (Proteus, Elixir, Tempus and Hope) are the key to a process that can bring dead mutants back to life. This issue reveals that the "balls" Fabio shoots from his chest are actually eggs. When those eggs are energized by Proteus, rendered genetically ripe by Elixir, incubated by Tempus and topped off by Hope's power of mutant synergy, they can be transformed into pods capable of producing cloned mutant bodies.
↑Diaz, Eric (September 19, 2019). "How House of X #5 Evolved the X-Men To The Next Level". Nerdist. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2025. We learn in House of X #5 that thanks to the combined efforts of five lesser known X-Men — Elixir, Goldballs, Eva Bell, Proteus, and Hope Summers — Xavier has turned the mutant island of Krakoa into a living mutant resurrection machine.
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