Jared Corbo (Earth-616)

Jared is one of the two Corbo brothers. They are maternal half-brothers, meaning they have the same mother but different fathers.^[1] The identity of Jared Corbo's father is uncertain. His father was reportedly a boxer, and this is one of the few things Radius knows about his mysterious father. While at Hull House, Jared received a single letter from his father. It provided him with some info but no return address.^[2] Jared has jokingly claimed that his father was the world middleweight champion. It is unclear if this is true.^[1]

Jared and his younger half-brother Adrian (later codenamed Flex) were raised in the Hull House orphanage, which was actually a facility operated by the Canadian government's secretive Department H. There they met Eugene Judd, who was working at the orphanage.^[3]

While Adrian became shy, reserved and bookish, Jared became athletically inclined, aggressive, and arrogant. Both brothers manifested mutant powers after puberty: Adrian gained the ability to transform parts of his body into blades, while Jared manifested a personal force field that could not be shut down. The brothers were recruited into a new incarnation of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight.

While his female teammate Murmur was interested in spending time with him, his inability to shut down his force field prevented any real intimate moments between them. He could neither touch others, nor could others touch him. Murmur did visit his room and reportedly gave him a back rub.^[4][5] The experience of not being able to touch or to be touched was frustrating for Jared and he was not happy when the subject was brought up by others.^[5] His force field reportedly also prevented him from eating without the help of an eating filter, which would pass the food through his force field. Without it, he could touch his food, stare at it, but not actually eat it.^[6] Jared insisted on getting morning showers, though his force field prevented even drops of water from touching his body.^[1]

Jared eventually revealed to Flex and Murmur what he had to do to eat. He wore a device on his face, which was apparently a food converter. It converted food to a form that could pass through his force field, allowing him to get the carbs necessary for his nutrition. However he felt like the freakiest thing on the planet when wearing it and warned them not to make jokes at his expense.^[1]

The Corbo brothers assisted the new Alpha Flight in battling several foes, including the Zodiac, the Brass Bishop, and Department H's own power-mad leader, Jeremy Clarke, who died of radiation poisoning during a Zodiac raid on the Department H headquarters. Their Alpha Flight team fought several members of the original Flight and later teamed up with them to defeat a new Weapon X, who had been created by a rogue Department H scientist. Both groups of Alphans merged into a unified Alpha Flight following this adventure. The Corbo brothers and several other members of the new team were later reassigned to Alpha Flight's trainee team, Beta Flight.

Radius was later recruited into the X-Corps, a militaristic strike force founded by former Generation X headmaster and former X-Man Sean Cassidy, a.k.a. Banshee. The X-Corps was ultimately betrayed by its criminal members, and Radius was defeated when the villain Avalanche opened a chasm beneath Radius, swallowing him. He survived, but later lost his powers on M-Day.

At some point in time, he joined the mutant-only nation of Krakoa. He was later seen at the Hellfire Gala, most likely repowered, reuniting with his old teammate, Avalanche.^[7]

• Permanent Force-Field Generation: Radius generates a permanent force field around him that he is unable to deactivate. The force field is able to block most physical and energy attacks.^[8] While the shield is generally porous enough for him to breathe, he can make it almost impervious, even to air.
  • Force Field Alteration: He can also create extensions of the field to use as a ranged attack, and brace objects against it to "fake" super-strength.^[8] He can use his force field in offensive ways by concentrating. He used a move called "nutcracker special" to place extreme pressure on a Wolverine Synthoid, crushing it.^[9]

• Hand-to-Hand Combat: Radius has some training in unarmed combat. He used martial art moves to smash a Wolverine Synthoid to the ground.^[9] According to General Jeremy Clarke, Radius shows no fear in combat. This increases his combat effectiveness.^[9]

• Force Field Control: While Radius had some control over his force field, he was unable to deactivate it. The force field left him unable to intimately touch others or to be touched by them. It also prevented him from showering or eating without the assistance of a special device, as the force field "protected" him from water and food.^[10][1]

• It was suggested in Alpha Flight (2nd series) #10 that Unus the Untouchable was Radius' father after Flex started searching for their parents through their adoption agency.
• According to Alpha Flight (Vol. 2) #1 (August, 1997), Jared Corbo's astrological symbol is Leo.^[11] This indicates Jared was born under this sign of the zodiac, sometime between July 22 and August 22.
• The narration of Alpha Flight (Vol. 2) #5 (December, 1997) points that Radius is a loner by nature. His personality is a lot like his force field, since it too pushes people away from him.^[2]

• Jared has stated his belief that the Internet is only for nerds and geeks.^[1]
• Jared has jokingly suggested that the actual parents of himself, Flex, and Murmur may be a couple of test tubes in the basement of Department H; making them all test tube babies and creations of the Department.^[1]