Early life Born in
Rhinebeck, New York to working-class Italian parents, Guido Carosella gained a fortune in a settlement when his parents were killed by falling space debris. Skinny and shy, Guido's mutant powers were triggered in childhood when an incident with schoolyard bullies and being hit by a bus ended in his body becoming disproportionately large and muscular, separating him further from his peers. He had the love and support of his aunt and uncle, who took him in after his parents' deaths. Guido coped with his emotional and physical pain caused by his mutation by developing an outgoing "public face", rarely letting even those close to him see him in discomfort. During the incident with the bus, another boy, Charlie Ronalds, was hurt by Guido's flailing. Due to luck, Charlie survived with only a slight limp. He would later become the villain
Charon.
Lila Cheney and Muir Island After losing much of his fortune, Guido begins to take on jobs that allow him to maintain his luxurious lifestyle. This leads to him becoming a long-time
roadie and
bouncer for the mutant musician
Lila Cheney. He later finds
Dazzler near Lila Cheney's Malibu house, and helps rescue her from drowning. Guido is among the mutants living on
Muir Island who are mentally controlled by the
telepath Shadow King. After the Shadow King is defeated, several of the Muir Island mutants, with the help of
Valerie Cooper, are recruited to form a new
X-Factor, a team of government operatives.
X-Factor Guido's teammates are
Havok,
Polaris,
Wolfsbane, and
Quicksilver. Required to come up with a codename, Guido announces himself as "Strong Guy" at an X-Factor
press conference after hearing a reporter say, "He must be the strong guy! Every super-group has a strong guy!".
Mister Sinister manipulates Strong Guy into destroying the
Washington Monument while fighting
Slab. With X-Factor, he aids the American-supported Trans-Sabal government in a war against rebels, and fights the
Hulk, then battles the
Mutant Liberation Front. He also fights the
Brotherhood of Mutants. Strong Guy and X-Force become involved in a confrontation between Lila Cheney and the alien
K'Lanti, who plant bombs throughout
Madripoor. While disarming the last bomb, Strong Guy absorbs its energy and suffers a severe
heart attack. He spends time in
suspended animation until Jamie Madrox returns and frees him. However, Strong Guy remains in poor health until
Forge creates a device to heal him. Strong Guy chooses to accompany Lila Cheney and her band instead of rejoining X-Factor.
X-Factor Investigations In
Peter David's run on
X-Factor, in the aftermath of Marvel's "
Decimation" storyline, Strong Guy moves to
New York City to become an
enforcer for Jamie Madrox's detective agency,
X-Factor Investigations. In the process, he rejoins many of his former teammates from the previous incarnation of X-Factor. Some time later, Valerie Cooper contacts Strong Guy and offers him a job as
sheriff of
Mutant Town. Guido informs Jamie Madrox that he will be taking the job, but changes his mind when Mutant Town is destroyed by the villain
Arcade. Strong Guy is hired to protect
J. Jonah Jameson from super-powered assassins. He is shot through the heart and overexerts himself stopping a
Mandroid from falling onto a crowd. Strong Guy is rushed to the hospital, but the doctors are unable to save him due to the damage to his heart. A few minutes later, he miraculously revives, showing no injuries. It is revealed that
Layla Miller resurrected Strong Guy, who no longer has a soul. As a result, he begins acting more aggressive, and after a failed date with M, quits the group, only to return during the Hell on Earth War where he works for
Mephisto against the other Hell Lords. By the end of the event, he murders Wolfsbane's son Tier to become the Supreme Hell Lord.
Return to Earth Strong Guy returns in
Death of X, along with other mutants, helping the X-Men. In
Secret Empire, Strong Guy is seen among the inhabitants of the mutant nation of New Tian following
Hydra's takeover of the United States.
New Mutants: Dead Souls At some point, Strong Guy joins
Magik's team of New Mutants, and is revealed to have regained his soul with Magik's help. He also reconciles with Wolfsbane after he apologizes for killing her son. While fighting with Tran Coy Manh, Strong Guy is able to take a hold of him and Magik is forced to banish both of them to
Limbo, where time passes differently. Magik is able to summon him back when she is attacked by her teammates, who are infected with the
Transmode virus and are controlled by an insane
Karma. However, despite only a few days passing in the real world, it has been years from Strong Guy's perspective. During the fight, he suffers from a heart attack, though
Danielle Moonstar saves him by infecting him with the virus. Strong Guy is later seen on
Krakoa, having been revived by the Krakoan council like many other previously dead mutants. ==Powers and abilities==