Domino (Neena Thurman) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is best known as a member of the mutant team X-Force. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/co-writer Rob Liefeld, Domino made her first full cover story appearance in X-Force #8 (March 1992) as an original member of the Wild Pack team led by the mutant Cable.
In addition to her exceptional marksmanship and hand-to-hand skills, Domino possesses mutant probability-altering powers. She often uses her skills as a mercenary, but has also been the partner, confidante, and love interest of the superhero Cable, a lieutenant in his militant group X-Force, and a member of the X-Men.
Domino was portrayed by Zazie Beetz in Deadpool 2 (2018). She has also appeared in video games and minor animated television appearances.
Creation Liefeld spoke on the conception of the character stating "I was obsessed with the game dominoes. And I always thought that a character who was 100% black and white would be a tremendous visual. So when the time came for New Mutants #98 I got the full and I'm writing and drawing the book I had Deadpool, Domino, and Gideon.... 'What's up with the luck power?' I told him that when you play dominoes, it's a game of chance. When I pitched it to my editors they said, 'Yeah, go with that. That's good.'
Publication history Apart from being a mainstay character in the first series of X-Force, Domino has had two limited self-titled series, one of which had her teaming with Puck against Lady Deathstrike and Donald Pierce. The second revealed her childhood.
The first female Domino to appear in Marvel comics was not the genuine Neena Thurman. A Domino imposter, a mutant shapeshifter named Copycat, first appeared in The New Mutants #98 (Feb. 1991), and continued to assume Neena's role in X-Force for a time. The real Domino was first published in the main flashback story recalled by Cable in X-Force #8 (March 1992). Her current narrative, brief cameo, second appearance was published on the last page of X-Force #11 (June 1992).
Domino received two self-titled limited series. The first came in 1997 and ran for 3 issues. The next ran for four issues in 2003. She has also appeared in a number of issues of Cable & Deadpool (Marvel, 2004/2006 series),Cable and Deadpool #7–12, 27–29, 33–35, 40–42 and joined the first Wolverine-led X-Force as of X-Force vol. 3 #8 (Dec. 2008).
Domino appeared in her own three-issue miniseries with Wolverine entitled X-Force: Sex and Violence, written by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle and drawn by Gabriele Dell'Otto. The story centers upon Domino and Wolverine's mission to resolve a situation from Domino's recent past. Chris Yost has said, "It's a chance for us to go in-depth into a couple of the characters. In the story, Domino has a hit put out on her and Wolverine finds out about it. Essentially, it's the two of them going out to get that hit removed." Yost adds that the characters are up against the worst killers on the planet.
Domino was part of the main roster in Cable and X-Force (by Dennis Hopeless and Salvador Larroca), from 2012 to 2014. She guest starred in the 2014 X-Force, beginning in issue #7.
Domino starred in her own series again starting in 2018, which led into a limited series in 2019 titled Domino: Hotshots where she leads an all-female team. These were written by Gail Simone and drawn by David Baldeon.
Fictional character biography Domino gained her powers from a top-secret government breeding program intended to develop the perfect weapon. Domino was the only test subject to survive, but her "luck" power was deemed a failure at meeting the project's goals. Her biological mother broke her out of the project and left her with Father Rudolpho Boschelli in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Chicago.
Domino eventually left the Church and became a mercenary. One of her first jobs was to stop "Operation: Jericho" which was a remote-controlled warbot project. Domino wrecked the robot, but in the process fried the mind of the soldier controlling it. She was then assigned to guard the hard working and innovative Dr. Milo Thurman, whose analytical ability made him too dangerous for the government to let roam free. Somehow, Domino and Thurman fell in love and were married. The two separated after a raid on the facility by AIM members, with Milo believing Domino had been killed during the altercation.Domino #1–3 (Jan.–March 1997)
Six Pack Domino helped found the mercenary band Six Pack, which introduced her to the mutant time-traveler Cable. Domino worked with the Six Pack for some time, taking on many missions for cash. The Six Pack was very brutal in their adventures, often shooting down entire crowds of people who got in their way. The team, also known as the Wild Pack, went on missions in Iran,flashback in Cable: Blood and Steel #1–2 (Oct.–Nov. 1992) and participated in a raid on a Hydra base,flashback in X-Force #8 (March 1992) which Domino participated in. During her time with the Wild Pack, she had her first confrontations with Stryfe (Cable's evil clone) in Afghanistan and Uruguay.
Replacement When Cable became the leader of the New Mutants following their break from the X-Men, a mutant named Copycat impersonated DominoThe New Mutants #98 (Feb. 1991) and joined as his field leader and stayed with the team as they changed from the New Mutants to X-Force. When it was revealed that the real Domino was actually a prisoner of the supervillain Tolliver for over a year,X-Force #11 (June 1992) X-Force rejected Domino's imposter and, with Cable's reassurances, planned to rescue the real Domino and welcome her onto the team.
Meanwhile, the real Domino learned of Tolliver's destruction of X-Force's Adirondack base.X-Force #13 (Aug. 1992) Cable dragged Copycat along and found her at Tolliver's Italian home, where Copycat was stabbed from behind by her ex-boyfriend Deadpool. Domino was freed during the fight, shooting Deadpool herself.X-Force #14 (Sept. 1992) Cable sent her to find X-Force. She escaped on Tolliver's helicopter and survived a fall from Tolliver's helicopter into the sea.X-Force #15 (Oct. 1992) She found X-Force and joined the team.
Joining X-Force Domino stayed with the team for most of its existence, becoming its de facto leader when Cable left the team on several occasions. For a while, she was a prisoner of the forces of Bastion, which severely affected her mentally and physically. During X-Force's existence, Domino had several solo adventures. During one, she was forced to kill her mentally ill, ex–Six Pack partner Grizzly.Cable #24 (Oct. 1995)
X-Corporation
When X-Force briefly disbanded, Domino joined the X-Corporation.X-Force vol. 3 #1 (Feb. 2008) While working in their Hong Kong branch, Domino's partner, Risque, was murdered and she summoned the core group of the X-Men to help investigate. Together the mutants uncovered the truth behind Sublime's "Third Species" movement: he was harvesting body parts from living mutants to create his U-Men. They also helped free the mutant named Xorn.New X-Men Annual 2001 (Sept. 2001)
During her solo period, Domino began to search for her mother, Beatrice, and clues to her past. In her search, Domino learned that the "Project: Armageddon", was still active. Led to a secret base in Florida, Domino finds a mutant boy named Lazarus who had the same eye tattoo. Lazarus imprisoned Domino there for observation.Domino vol. 2 #4 (Aug. 2003) Lazarus turns out to be her half-brother with powerful emotion controlling abilities and the true result of the Perfect Weapon program. Soon after attempting to liberate him, a fanatical group of quasi-priests called the Armajesuits, who were against the project, arrive to kill Lazarus and prevent him from reaching his full development. Domino discovers that her mother leads the Armajesuits and is forced to shoot her to save Lazarus's life. She takes Lazarus to Father Boschelli and the Church she was raised in for sanctuary, although unbeknown to her, Beatrice subsequently abducts Lazarus from there.Domino vol. 2 #1–4 (June–Aug. 2003)
Cable and Deadpool Later, she was employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. as a member of the new Six Pack. Alongside G. W. Bridge, Hammer, Solo, Anaconda, and Constrictor, she attacked Cable at his community Providence, but she quickly defected to his side after the Six Pack was defeated by Cable and Deadpool. Domino followed Deadpool to Rumekistan, where she assassinated the country's dictator, Flag-Smasher, only to find out it was part of a plan to install Cable as leader of that nation. After a conversation with Citizen V, she then attempted to kill Cable, believing that he would lead them to ruin.Cable & Deadpool #28 (July 2006)
"Civil War" During the 2006 "Civil War" storyline, Domino, Shatterstar, and Caliban, under the X-Force name, led an attack on the Xavier Institute and broke out more than half of the 198, bringing the tension between the 198 and O*N*E to a head.Civil War: X-Men #1 (Sept. 2006) After her other team, the Six Pack disbands, she and Cable are allies on Providence, until a fight with Hecatomb causes the island to sink into the ocean, leaving Cable presumed dead.
Domino is later recruited by G. W. Bridge along with Silver Sable and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to track down the Punisher. When a fake Punisher started targeting civilians, she was the only team member to believe in Castle's innocence.
X-Force After the Punisher stint, Domino finds Wolverine and X-Force in Tokyo and joins them in trying to capture Vanisher.X-Force vol. 3 #8 (Dec. 2008) Questions to Domino's authenticity have been raised when her luck powers fail her several times.
On behalf of Wolverine, Domino is asked to stop in a cemetery to deliver flowers to a deceased loved one. She encounters Spiral, Chimera, and Lady Deathstrike who have dug up Revanche's body. After a brief fight, she wounds Chimera and the women escape with the body,Uncanny X-Men #508 (June 2009) but Domino manages to replace Jean Grey's body before the Red Queen could take it as a host.The Uncanny X-Men #511 (Aug. 2009)
Domino and Wolverine go on a mission to resolve a situation from Domino's past.X-Force: Sex and Violence
2010 – present Domino is the first person to learn Red Hulk's identity and is marked for death. Doc Samson provides Red Hulk with a list of people (Deadpool, the Punisher, Thundra, and Elektra) to kill her. When the group arrives, they find her in a bar with the members of X-Force.Hulk vol. 2 #14 (Aug. 2009) Afterwards, she reveals it was her husband who named her Domino.Hulk vol. 2 #17 (Jan. 2010)
Domino appears post-"Regenesis" as a regular member of Storm's security team, tasked with the responsibility of safeguarding Utopia from all foreign threats.. She fights with them during the war against the Avengers.
After the events of the 2012 "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Domino left Utopia like all the mutants who lived there. She later joins Cable's new X-Force group.
In the 2016 Marvel NOW! branding, Domino forms a second incarnation of the Mercs for Money alongside Gorilla-Man, Machine Man, and Masacre. When they arrive to help Deadpool in freeing Negasonic Teenage Warhead from Umbral Dynamics, Domino states to Deadpool that they arrived to help and that she is the group's leader.Deadpool & the Mercs for Money vol. 2 #4
Domino appears as a target for the newly revamped Weapon X Program and is opted to join Old Man Logan's new team.X-Men Prime vol. 2 #1
For the "Dawn of X" relaunch, she joins the new X-Force team, which now operates as an intelligence agency for Krakoa.X-Force Prime vol. 4 #3
Powers and abilities