WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for X-Factor #7 by Leah Williams, David Baldeon, Israel Silva and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.

When dealing with mutants, one would not expect for gods to involve themselves in their affairs. That slot belongs to Thor and the Avengers, right? Unfortunately, this is not the truth regarding one mutant in particular: Siryn. She has long since been the latest host for the goddess, Morrigan. But what once had just been a subtle influence in her mind has now overridden Siryn completely. And with Morrigan now in control she has used her powers in ways that draw parallels between herself and the classic X-Men villain, Malice.

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Malice debuted in Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr.'s Uncanny X-Men #210. She was a psychic entity who acted a mercenary. She was hired by Mister Sinister to join his Marauders and draw the X-Men out of hiding. Malice proved herself to not only be a powerful enemy, but a clever one. She manipulated Dazzler by preying on her need to be loved, knowing that Dazzler would reveal herself to the X-Men and draw their targets into the open. Once Dazzler played her unwitting role, Malice then possessed not one, but three of their heaviest hitters. So right away, it is obvious how Malice and Morrigan can be seen as similar.

Morrigan is still a goddess however. She has inhabited the body of every new incarnation of the Morrigan for thousands of years and is not nearly as young as Malice. Though she is just as malevolent and manipulative. Theresa Rourke, also known as Siryn, is the latest host for her. She was desperate for Morrigan's power and the ancient goddess used this to push Siryn into murdering the last host, claiming it was the only way for the power to be transferred. And there lies another similarity between the two: Both are incredibly manipulative and their machinations aren't discovered until it is too late.

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They have even had the same victims. Malice once possessed Polaris herself, forming a near permanent bond with the young woman and then later developing an obsession with regaining Polaris' body. And in recent issues of X-Factor, Morrigan used Siryn's own hypnotic voice to compel Polaris to cover up Morrigan's murders for her, as Polaris was the one investigating Siryn, not knowing that her friend had been lost to the deity within her. It is not exactly possession in the strictest sense, but it certainly follows the guidelines of forcing someone to act against their own will.

And Malice did not stop with Polaris. She has possessed heroes like Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and even Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four. Both Morrigan and Malice have the same drive to do and take whatever they want, regardless of the cost to those around them. It would be admirable if it wasn't so destructive. But their shared ruthlessness has certainly made it possible for them to survive all this time. After all, Morrigan has always managed to find a host for her spirit and Malice always finds one way or another to reform and rain misery down upon her enemies.

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