As Season 2 of The Gifted begins, a new age is dawning while mutants are fractured. Here’s what to expect from your favorite characters when The Gifted: Dawn of the Mutant Age premieres on Tuesday, September 25th at 8 PM on FOX.
The Strucker Family
The Strucker family is the heart of Fox’s The Gifted. The family finds themselves at the center of the mutant drama when kids Lauren–played by Natalie Alyn Lind–and Andy– played by Percy Hynes White– discover they have powers. This puts them at odds with their father Reed, played by Stephen Moyer, who works as an attorney prosecuting mutants. However, once he discovers that his children are mutants, he abandons his job.
The Strucker family joins the Mutant Underground, a group aimed at protecting mutants. They are in hiding from the Sentinel Services, an organization which hunts mutants. Caitlin Strucker, played by Amy Acker, is able to put her nursing skills to use by helping those injured while her husband uses his knowledge to help the Underground free some of the mutants who have been captured.
However, as tensions grow and the fighting becomes more intense, the Strucker family’s bonds are tested. Lauren and Andy must come to grips with their new, dangerous powers and their family’s history. Reed struggles to learn more about his past and his father, revealing new secrets- and possibly mutant abilities of his own. And with the creation of the Inner Circle, the Struckers are faced with a difficult decision that could tear them apart.
Eclipse
Marcos Diaz is a mutant who goes by the name Eclipse. He is played by actor Sean Teale.
Eclipse has the ability to absorb and manipulate photons, controlling light, heat, and energy. He can also project powerful beams of energy from his hands. Eclipse is an original mutant created for The Gifted, but does share some traits with the X-Men character Sunspot.
As a child, Marcos was kicked out by his family for being a mutant. He had to live on the streets, eventually joining a Colombian drug cartel. Marcos is haunted by these events in his past and the things he had to do to survive. He only left the cartel after meeting and falling in love with fellow mutant Polaris. By her side, he became one of the leaders of the Mutant Underground. His goal is to protect the other mutants, especially Polaris and their unborn child. When Polaris is arrested Marcos will do anything to get her out of jail- including going back to working for his old cartel boss again.
The Mutant Underground faces many challenges. There are those, including Polaris, who think the organization should take a more radical approach in dealing with those who oppose them. Marcos is the one who must try to hold the group together, even if it means going against the woman he loves.
Polaris
Lorna Dane is a mutant who goes by the name Polaris. She is played by Emma Dumont. Polaris is proud of her mutant abilities and doesn’t believe in hiding them. Polaris can manipulate various forms of magnetism, giving her the power to move metallic objects and sense the presence of metal even allowing her to control electric currents. She can also use metal to make herself levitate- which is why she chooses to wear steel toe boots. In the comics, Polaris is the daughter of the powerful mutant Magneto. On The Gifted, Magneto has only been alluded to, but Polaris knows her father was once the King of the Inner Circle.
Alongside Thunderbird, Polaris helped found the Mutant Underground. Their goal is to protect others like them. While forming the Underground Polaris met Marcos Diaz aka Eclipse and the two fell in love. Polaris is currently pregnant with Marcos’ baby. The unborn mutant child strengthens Lorna’s already impressive abilities. Along with her pregnancy, Polaris must deal with increasing pressure as a leader and a woman with bipolar disorder.
Polaris has a tough choice to make when it comes to leaving the Mutant Underground. While she co-founded the group, she has come to disagree with its methods. She wants to take more action, especially with the life of her child on the line. She no longer believes that humans and mutants can co-exist. This places Polaris in a difficult position as she must decide between the man she loves and what she believes is right.
Thunderbird
John Proudstar is the mutant Thunderbird. He is played by Blair Redford. Thunderbird is the leader of the Mutant Underground, chosen for this job by the X-Men before they disappeared. Thunderbird has superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, and durability. He also has superhuman tracking skills helped by his enhanced senses. With his military training and Apache background, he is a natural leader and a skilled combatant.
Thunderbird takes the responsibility of Mutant Underground very seriously. While Eclipse and Polaris can be impulsive, he is calm and strategic. Even when it is revealed that his former best friend, Pulse, has been turned into an agent for the Sentinel Services he puts the safety of the Underground and the mutants ahead of his own feelings of anger and sadness.
Thunderbird develops a relationship with fellow mutant Blink after helping to rescue her from the police. He helps her learn to control her powers and she comforts him over the death of their other mutant friends. With Polaris and some of the other mutants leaving the Mutant Underground to join the Inner Circle, Thunderbird is left questioning his leadership skills and with an even stronger desire to keep his friends safe.
Blink
Clarice Fong is a mutant who goes by the name of Blink. She is played by actress Jamie Chung. Blink has the ability to create portals which allow herself and others to teleport from one location to another. Like most of the other mutants, Blink is still learning to master this power, especially the ability to hold the portals open for a long period of time.
Before joining the Mutant Underground Blink had a very rough life. Unlike some of the other mutants, Blink cannot pass as human in society because of her appearance. Because of this, she grew up in a special foster care for mutants, forced to hide her abilities for her own protection. Eventually, Blink grew tired of hiding and went to live on her own. Blink joined a gang of mutant runaways, not knowing they were affiliated with the Brotherhood, a mutant terrorist organization. Once she discovered their criminal activities, she left that group as well. Eventually, Blink was caught by the police and placed in a mutant detention center. However, she eventually escaped, putting her face to face with the Mutant Underground.
At first, Blink is hesitant to join the Mutant Underground- which makes sense based on her previous experiences. She believes that their fight is not one she shares. However, over time she comes to trust the other mutants. She begins to act as a mentor to Lauren who is also discovering her mutant powers. She even develops a relationship with Thunderbird. The two bond when he teaches her how to hone her abilities.
With big changes shaking up the Mutant Underground, it looks like it may be time for Blink to stop running and take her place as a leader. She has finally found a place where she belongs and now she must fight to protect it.