Much of Gateway's past remains a mystery, including his name and place of birth. He is an
Aboriginal Australian man who appears to have grown up in the
Outback. He serves the criminal group the
Reavers in repayment for an undisclosed favor they did him. As extra assurance of his loyalty, they threaten to destroy an Aboriginal holy place if he betrays them. They call him "Gateway" in reference to his ability to create gateways between two points in space. Some time later, the
X-Men appear in the Outback and attack the Reavers' headquarters. Though Gateway helps the Reavers
Skullbuster,
Bonebreaker, and
Pretty Boy escape, the X-Men realize that he is not affiliated with them. The X-Men take up residence in the Reavers' former hideout, and Gateway begins voluntarily using his powers to assist them. Initially, since he seems unable or unwilling to speak,
Psylocke uses her telepathy to communicate to Gateway where the X-Men wish to go. However, they soon realize he always knows their desired destination without being told. Gateway later appears at the
Xavier Institute in Massachusetts, where
Generation X is training, with a young girl. When he encounters
Banshee, he simply speaks the word, "
Penance", which is assumed to be the girl's name. Gateway appears sporadically around Generation X for some time, often in the presence of the
St. Croix twins Nicole and Claudette, with whom he apparently had a teacher-student relationship. Gateway appears briefly to
Storm's X-Treme X-Men team, shortly after the death of Psylocke, and reveals that he is the ancestor of
Bishop and
Shard. He is one of the mutants to have retained his powers after
M-Day, when the
Scarlet Witch removed the powers of most mutants on Earth. It is revealed to
Iceman and
Cannonball that Gateway was one of the targeted mutants the
Marauders were killing, along with
Cable,
Vargas, and the
Witness, due to his powers giving him the ability to see into the future. Gateway survives the assassination attempt and becomes a mentor to
Eden Fesi, who possesses similar teleportation abilities to his. In
Uncanny X-Force (2012), Gateway is killed by
Ultimaton. Years later, he is resurrected following the establishment of
Krakoa as a mutant nation and joins
S.W.O.R.D. ==Powers and abilities==