Hellion

Hellion (Julian Keller) is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.

Fictional character biography

New Mutants, vol. 2/Academy X

Born in Los Angeles, California, to parents who managed to work their way out of poverty to become billionaires, Julian was sent to the Xavier Institute in hopes that he would learn to use his powers with some discretion. Hellion has quickly adopted an attitude of superiority while training at the Xavier Institute that has annoyed some of his classmates. A fast favorite of headmistress Emma Frost, who sees in him great potential for heroism as well as a frightening disposition for personal gain and villainy, Julian named himself 'Hellion' in tribute to the former White Queen's first class of students (who had been killed by Trevor Fitzroy).

Hellion has demonstrated quite a significant interest in Sofia Mantega, co-leader of the rival New Mutants squad. The two different personalities had a flirtatious relationship from the beginning, but also often clashed when it came to ideals and beliefs. The two had quite an effect on each other. While Sofia became more rebellious, even helping the Hellions attempt to break Wither out of jail, Julian became more sensitive and more comfortable with his emotions. However, when Sofia rejected Julian's invitation to the school dance, Julian dated all three of the Stepford Cuckoos. By the end of the night, the pair eventually reunited on the dance floor.

Early access

Early access, alphafunding, or paid-alpha is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can pay for a game in the early stages of development and obtain access to playable but unfinished versions of the game, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue work on the game. Those that pay to participate typically help to debug game, provide feedback and suggestions, and may have access to special materials upon release of the game. The early access approach is a common way to obtain funding for indie games and may also be used along other funding mechanisms including crowdfunding.

History

Traditionally, game publishers do not release unfinished versions of their products to the public, instead relying on in-house testing non-disclosure agreements. This prevents such versions from becoming the target of software piracy, and limits what information can potentially be shared with competitors. As such, publishers will fund the full development of a game through its completion, but will be less willing to take risks on experimental titles. In some cases, publishers have found ways to allow players to win or buy into access into a game's beta state in a controlled environment. For example, an invitation to the beta version of the multiplayer portion of Halo 3 was bundled with the game Crackdown, attributing to that game's strong sales.