Piotr “Peter” Rasputin was born on a collective farm in the former Soviet Union called The Near Lake, Baikal Ust-Ordynski collective in Siberia. He lived there with his mother Alexandra, father Nikolai, and little sister, Illyana. His older brother, Mikhail, had been a Russian astronaut and had apparently died in a space accident. Peter's mutant abilities were awakened during his teens, when a runaway tractor was heading straight for his sister. Professor Charles Xavier learned of his existence and came into contact with him. Xavier recruited a new team of X-Men to rescue the original team, most of which had been captured by the mutant living island, called Krakoa.1

Reluctantly, Piotr agreed to help Xavier's other new recruits. After winning the battle, Piotr remained in the United States with the X-Men and took the code name Colossus.

X MenSince his arrival with the X-Men, Colossus captivated with his serenity, altruism, and nobility. On a journey to the Savage Land, the prehistoric jungle hidden in Antarctica, Colossus met a native named Nereel, with whom he had an affair and fathered a son, whose existence Colossus ignored for many years. Especially captivated by Colossus was the young x-man Kitty Pryde, who since she met Colossus fell in love with him, although at first he only reciprocates with a sincere friendship. His family always remained in his thoughts and he frequently wrote letters to them. Shortly after joining the X-Men, a woman known as Miss Locke kidnapped a few X-Men to use to free her boss, the terrorist named Arcade, who had been captured by a Doctor Doom robot. Among those held captive was Colossus' young sister Illyana, who was kidnapped by Locke from the collective farm and taken to the United States.2 The X-Men released Illyana from captivity and the little girl left to live with her. brother to the mansion. Colossus, Illyana and the X-Men would end up being kidnapped by the evil demon Belasco, ruler of an infernal dimension known as Limbo. The X-Men manage to escape Belasco and return to Earth, but Illyana is held back by the demon. While on Earth only a few minutes passed, Limbo years passed (according to its temporal laws). Illyana grew up, learned black magic, and overthrew Belasco on the throne of Limbo. Illyana returned with her brother to Earth, but now turned into the sorceress and warrior named Magik.