Kevin Ford

Kevin Ford always considered himself cursed and unlucky. When his mutant powers manifested, it first began affecting plants in his garden, and then even his clothes. Panicking as his clothes began to decay, Kevin's father tried to calm him down, but touching Kevin killed him. Traumatised by the experience, Kevin began hiding out and avoiding the public.

Located by Dani Moonstar, Kevin was invited to attend the Xavier Institute to learn how to control his powers. While initially alone and isolated, he developed a friendship with other new students, among them Laurie Collins whom he developed feelings for. Kevin was finally finding a place where he could belong. However, after being attacked by Donald Pierce and his Reavers, Kevin went into a rage and used his powers to attack Pierce, slowly killing him. To stop him, Dani Moonstar was forced to show Kevin his worst fear - killing Laurie. Kevin became so distraught by the image that he left the Institute, fearing his lack of control might endanger others.

Some months later, Dani (with the help of Emma Frost) set out to bring him back to the school, to fill the sixth place on her New Mutants Squad. Kevin had exiled himself to living in a scrap yard. While there he turned unwanted scrap into beautiful art and practiced with his powers on animals. While Kevin was still angry at Dani, Emma managed to persuade him to return, and he joined the New Mutants Squad under the codename Wither. Shortly after he returned to the school, Kevin was arrested by FBI Special Agent Justin Pierce for killing his father. While the Hellions tried to "rescue" him, the New Mutants tried to stop them fearing the consequences of involving the Institute in a fight with the FBI. The X-Men soon arrived and ended the fight. Although Kevin was later freed, the damage was done. Upon returning to the Institute, Kevin swapped squads with Icarus to become a Hellion, feeling that the New Mutants had betrayed him.

On M-Day, when most of the world's mutants lost their powers, Kevin mistakenly thought he had lost his powers also.

During the final battle on Necrosha, Kevin was killed by Elixir, whose omega-level biological manipulation allowed him to overwhelm Wither's death touch and disintegrate him.

Years later, Wither resurfaced in the newly-founded mutant nation of Krakoa, having been presumably reborn by the hand of The Five, a group of mutants capable of combining their powers into a process of resurrection, brought together by Charles Xavier as part of his plans for mutant ascension. He was seen talking to Bevatron with his old Hellions Squad, living on the Akademos Habitat.