The stresses that a child is under when they manifest the X-Gene often seem to affect the powers and abilities of a Mutant.
For instance a girl bitten by a radioactive scorpion may gain the climbing ability of a scorpion along with enhanced strength and speed and tougher skin or even venomous fingernails.
Often people who work hard to change their own physical, mental or spiritual abilities gain what can only be called superpowers or uncanny abilities that most normal people can never learn. These people do not show signs of the 'X' gene but something is certainly at work.
One example is the Tibetian monks who defeated the Communist Chinese Army's invasion of Tibet. Without modern weapons or training these men using hand to hand fighting skills, uncanny stealth and the ability to cloud men's minds defeated a dedicated and trained army using modern weapons. This is a little different from the 'canon' version of the Marvel Mutant Universe but all characters with superpowers are either Mutants, those who have trained themselves, or those with technology like a battlesuit.
See what he or she looks like in your own mind before you try putting it down on paper. You should know not only know what powers you want him or her to wield but what kind of person is he? Does he have a family, siblings, wife, children? Are they close? Is he married, divorced, cheating on his spouse? Is he a religious person? What religion does he believe in? What does he think of his powers? Are they a gift from God or a Curse? Does he have friends? Do they know about his powers, if so what do they think about it? Where was he raised? Where does he live now? Is he wealthy, has he ever been in want or need? How does he feel about those less fortunate than he is? What kind of music does he enjoy, what kind does he hate? D???????oes he go to the movies, watch videos at home or have no time for any of that? What does he do for a living? Unless he is a hero fulltime he probably has a job. Does he have a favorite hobby? Is he a Mariners fan or Yankees? Does he even care about sports? What about his 'guilty pleasures'? Is he a secret fan of bad japanamation? Does he watch 'Big Time Wrestling'? Can he tell you who all the Monkees were or who all of the Backstreet Boys are? What kind of car does he drive? Does he ride a bike or use mass transit instead (good luck in Seattle!)?
What kind of education does he have? Does he use it? Is he working in the field that he studied for? Is he still pursuing an education? What kind of politics does he espouse? Does he care about politics? Is he a patriot? Is he a Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, independent? Does he have a favorite vacation spot, restaurant, or pub? Where does he go to unwind?
These are just some questions you can answer to give yourself an idea of your character. You needn't even write the answers down. Just think about it.
