Gideon was once a sailor with the
Spanish armada sailing for the Americas several hundred years ago. He died from
scurvy and was buried when the ship reached land. A few hours later, Gideon awakened, discovering that he was immortal. Over several centuries, Gideon amassed a vast personal wealth. He also encountered and allied himself with several other
Externals, a group of fellow immortal mutants. At the end of the 20th century, the group begins seeking out their newest member, whom Gideon erroneously believed to be
Roberto da Costa, a young mutant who had joined the
New Mutants as Sunspot. Gideon had known Roberto from a young age, having business relations with his father, businessman
Emmanuel da Costa. Gideon has his servant Eve kill Emmanuel, then takes Roberto under his care. Gideon mentors Sunspot for a short while, until it was discovered that not Sunspot but his New Mutants teammate and best friend,
Samuel Guthrie (a.k.a. Cannonball) was the new External they had been seeking. Gideon meets with the other Externals, and proposes sending
Crule to capture Cannonball. He contacts Crule, and then gives Sunspot over to one of his scientific labs, where he is experimented on and has his powers augmented. Gideon forces Cannonball to promise not to interfere with External affairs in return for Sunspot's life. Gideon is killed, along with most of the Externals, by
Selene. Gideon mysteriously appears alive and well in the near future, working beside
Ahab against fellow External Cannonball. Later while investigating a disturbance in the timestream caused by the premature death of
Candra,
Cable travels back in time and discovers that the Externals were alive, but being targeted by an unknown assailant. Cable travels to Gideon's location and learns that he is still in stasis, recovering from Selene's attack. Cable is confronted by the mysterious murderer, a time-traveling Gideon. He reveals that he spent 3,000 years in stasis and when he woke up, humanity had changed considerably. Deciding to prevent this outcome, Gideon traveled back in time to kill his fellow companions. ==Powers and abilities==