This is "Walkin' Backwards," a new feature where I look into how superheroes who turned to villainy were walked back from their heel turn and turned into superheroes once more.

Today, based on suggestions from readers Tom A. and Steve M., I take a look at Colossus' brief and odd turn to become one of Magneto's Acolytes during the mid-1990s.

As a quick set-up bit, in Uncanny X-Men #300, the X-Men rescue Moira MacTaggert from the Acolytes. One of the Acolytes, Neophyte, breaks from the rest of his colleagues to help the X-Men free Moira, as he realizes that the Acolytes' leader, Fabian Cortez, is a bad guy...

Okay, so during this time period, Colossus was going through some real rough stuff. His parents were murdered. His brother turned up alive and then seemingly died again. His sister was sick with the Legacy Virus.

We see in Uncanny X-Men #302 that he was in a bad place...

The next issue, his beloved sister died and Colossus wasn't even there for it...

As you would expect, the death of his sister hit him HARD. The next issue, the 30th anniversary of the X-Men, Colossus is acting super weird around Kitty Pryde...

At Illyana's funeral, Magneto shows up like a jerk and offers any of the X-Men who want to join him a spot on his Acolytes...

Magneto doesn't realize, though, that the X-Men have added a new member, Bishop, who can absorb all sorts of energies, even Magneto's. So while the rest of the X-Men were paralyzed, Bishop was getting so powered up that he was able to attack Magneto. Bishop had Magneto on the ropes when suddenly Colossus decided to switch teams, as it were...

This was part of the Fatal Attractions crossover. It was a weird crossover, in that it took place over a series of months, all in a single issue of an X-Title.

In X-Men #25, Magneto attacks the Earth with a large electomagnetic pulse. The X-Men feel that they have to stop him once and for all. Colossus allowed the X-Men to sneak into Magneto's Asteroid M base, but in the end, Xavier mindwiped Magneto. The X-Men figured Colossus would leave with them, but he decided to stay behind...

Colossus was injured in the Excalibur tie-in of Fatal Attractions, and he went to Muir Isle to be healed...

At the end, Colossus leaves with the Acolytes again, but not before sharing a kiss with Kitty...

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Okay, so the Acolytes captured Neophyte in Uncanny X-Men #315 and the Acolyte's new leader, Exodus, puts him on trial for his life. Colossus is his defense attorney...

In the end, Colossus wins the case, but by demonstrating that he isn't really WITH the Acolytes...

After Age of Apocalypse, Asteroid M is destroyed and the Acolytes have to evacuate...

The next issue, we see that the Acolytes (and the comatose Magneto) are spread all over the globe. Colossus is saved by someone mysterious...

It turns out that it is Callisto!

She needs his help and the X-Men's help, so he travels to New York to get help from the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #325 (the 20th anniversary of the all-new, all-different X-Men)...

When the crisis is resolved, though, he leaves them again...

He travels to Muir Isle, still remembering that kiss from Kitty. He gets there to see her kissing Peter Wisdom!

He then almost beats Wisdom to death, but Wisdom almost kills Colossus in the process, as well. Colossus is healed, and he is kept in a cell. Nightcrawler explains to him that he will have to join Excalibur to avoid being punished for his actions...

Obviously, over time, he gelled with the team and became a valued member. When the team broke up, he rejoined the X-Men with Kitty and Nightcrawler.

Thanks for the suggestion, Tom and Steve!

Okay, folks, feel free to suggest more examples of this sort of thing! Obscure ones, famous ones, whatever! Send your suggestions to brianc@cbr.com!