―Bernard the Poet
History[]
Bernard was a beatnik poet who often performed at the Coffee A Go-Go, a coffee shop frequented by the original team of X-Men and their friends.
While teenage Bobby Drake (Iceman) and Henry McCoy (the Beast) found him unappealing, their girlfriends at the time Zelda Kurtzberg and Vera Cantor enjoyed his performances.
Bernard read aloud a housewife's shopping list to an adoring crowd, who viewed it as "zen poetry".
At one point, Bernard approached to their table but Drake assumed he was looking only for a free cup of coffee and used his own mutant powers to spoil his plan.
Later, during Drake's 18-birthday party, Bernard invited himself to cake in exchange for an ad-hoc poem to celebrate the event - however, this deal was not widely accepted by his fans.
It is unknown if he kept his powers after M-Day, though he continues to be a poet.
Attributes[]
Powers[]
Bernard had the mutant power to alter the perceptions of others when he recited his poetry. This mutant power was described as being latent, and only activated by the presence of other mutants.