Untouchable Comics/Encyclopedia

These are characters, groups, items and locations that exist in the universe of Untouchable Comics.

Introduced in Mister Midnight

 * Takeshi Roberts/Mister Midnight - a former operative of the Black Blade Clan who left the clan after killing an innocent man. After learning how dangerous Max City has become, he decides to use his Black Blade training to protect the city, becoming the honorable ninja vigilante, Mister Midnight.
 * Liam Rhodes/Smoke - a rebellious and aggressive teenager who was raised on the streets and soon found by Mister Midnight and raised into becoming his protégée and sidekick, learning both ninjutsu and a way to try and control his rage.
 * Caleb Jones/Yasuke - a historian who operates out of North End, also known as Shanty Street, as he grows inspired by the black samurai, Yasuke, into becoming a vigilante to protect North End. He gets found by Mister Midnight, becoming an ally to him and eventually a member of the White Blade Clan.
 * Akira/Mantis - a former member of the Black Blade Clan who after being forcefully mutated into a preying mantis, ran away and resides in the slums of Max City. After being found by Mister Midnight, he becomes a close confidant and a member of the White Blade Clan.

Introduced in The Venusian

 * Ian Rodie/The Venusian - a member of the Magistrates, an intergalactic group of protectors based out of Venus. Having been assigned to Earth, he does his best to protect the world from all kinds of threats, though most of his adventures take place in the city of Fartherend. In his everyday life, he masquerades as a police officer named Ian Rodie. While serious-minded most of the time, he is not afraid to make jokes, which are more often than not are very dry. He has a strong sense of justice and a powerful armor that grants him his powers.
 * Lanny Wayne/Gremlin - a teenager attending Thomas MacKenzie High School. She is a tomboy and somewhat of a delinquent who greatly looks up to Venusian, eventually becoming his helper and sidekick, using Venusian technology to keep up with him. In contrast to Venusian, she is talkative, loud, and much more quippy.
 * Kevin Rodie/Kid Venusian - a Magistrate in training who is being trained to eventually replace Venusian. In a somewhat unorthodox fashion, he has decided to study under Venusian directly on Earth. He is incredibly serious in all situations and doesn't understand jokes or sarcasm. He is also known for his somewhat oversized ego and violent tendencies.
 * Jean-Luc Smith/Doctor Transcendence- a teacher working at Lanny's school who is secretly a sorcerer that ran away from the magic world after being accused of an arcane crime. After being aided by Venusian, he becomes a recurring confidant of his. He is a wise and charismatic figure with great knowledge in sorcery, which he is sometimes even able to use to bend reality to his will.
 * Mordurr/Star Knight - an alien from a far off region of space who was trained to battle the evil forces of his galaxy. However, he was corrupted by the forces himself and ended up wiping out the people of his entire galaxy before being summoned to Earth, where Venusian managed to snap him out of it. Ashamed of his actions, he now wanders the universe in search of redemption, though his past has left him cold, stubborn, and prone to violence.

Introduced in Heat Source

 * Elizabeth "Liz" Morrison/Hot Spot - a shy yet intelligent college student who after taking a tour of Dawn Incorporated, accidentally gets hit with concentrated heat energy, which causes her DNA to change and her to be able to control heat itself. Due to this sudden boost in power, she decides to become Clover City's protector, calling herself Hot Spot.

Introduced in Golem

 * "Al"/The Golem - a golem created by an ancient Jewish order who was in hibernation for multiple decades as he reawakens in Snowy Valley, with none of his old creators in sight. He soon begins to grow attached to the residents of Snowy Valley, becoming their loyal protector, fighting numerous threats.

Introduced in Hex

 * Bartholomew "Barry" Hex - a slightly cocky traveling supernatural detective who deals with the mystical and supernatural, traveling all around the world. He is also the heir to the Hexum, an ancient spell book that gives the wielder the ability to cast spells, although the book is currently nearly empty, only having five spells.

Introduced in Power

 * Jaime Santos/Alpha - a Super and member of the Super Project who is inspired by the hero Omega Man to become a superhero. He is intelligent and eccentric but also timid and easily embarrassed. He is the field leader of the Super Project's Green Team and has the natural ability to increase the abilities of other Supers by making physical contact with them. He later realizes he is also able to charge technology and begins using gadgets to his advantage in combat.
 * Catherine "Cathy" Green/Skyscraper - a member of the Super Project's Green Team. She is gigantic, around 15-feet-tall, and has the ability to grow even taller. She is very hyperactive and excitable, with a common gag being her giant size shakes the floor during her energetic fits. She is a self-proclaimed superhero fangirl and enjoys everything related to the profession.
 * Zhang Yulong/Troll - a member of the Super Project's Green Team who is kind-hearted, emotional, and sensitive, though he harbors a great amount of anger that is triggered when his friends are harmed or his buttons are pushed. He, along with Cathy, is Jaime's best friend and has incredible strength that is almost unmatched, though he is also heavily mutated with green skin and pointed ears.
 * Omega Man - TBD

Introduced in Mister Midnight

 * Gieho Ohno - a friendly and aging restaurant owner who is Takeshi's boss as he believes in the fact that everyone has goodness inside of them, no matter what they might have done.
 * Charles "Charlie" Jacobson - Takeshi's sarcastic coworker who is extremely friendly with him as he is completely unaware that his best friend is Mister Midnight.

Introduced in The Venusian

 * Valerie - Venusian's AI companion who is in charge of his spaceship Ignos-6, which floats around the sun. She is known for her sass, with her and Venusian often trading verbal blows, though in a friendly way.
 * Capt. John Kestler - the captain of the Fartherend Police Department and Venusian's boss in his everyday life. He is known for his temper and stone-faced demeanor, but he has a strong sense of justice he refuses to compromise. It's later revealed his attitude was caused by the death of his husband.
 * Officer Eli Bloomer - Venusian's partner in his everyday life. He is a large man fond of exorcise who, while not the brightest, cares deeply for those he sees as down on their luck. He has a faux rivalry with Venusian, jokingly picking on him to show affection.
 * Charlotte Wayne - Lanny's single mother who works several jobs at once to support her child. She is a spunky young woman who is not afraid to defend others, though she is often stressed and anxious due to her many jobs. She is initially off-put by Venusian but later warms up to and becomes a primary love interest of his.
 * Empress Kaali Kost - the ruler of the Nameless City of Lourn. Her city's power is terrifying and known on many worlds. She herself is a mix of being overly affectionate and cold and intimidating, though no matter what emotion she expresses her face doesn't change. Beginning the series a villain, she later falls madly in love with Venusian.
 * Harriet Storm - a member of the organization ISAEDA, where she works as a secret agent. She is confrontational, prone to anger, and trigger happy. The only person she seems to respect is her boss, Mad Hatter, though she is attracted to Venusian but refuses to admit it, often getting into arguments with him.
 * Director Tobias "Mad" Hatter - the director of ISAEDA. He is a former member of both the marine corps and the CIA as well as the founder of ISAEDA. While a heroic figure at the end of the day, he often butts heads with members of the superhero community, as he considers both them, anyone with powers, and anyone not from Earth to be a "freak".
 * High Magistrate - Venusian's real boss and the man in charge of all the Magistrates. Most if not all of the Magistrates hate him due to his aggressive and confrontational nature. He is supposedly the most powerful Magistrate of them all, even more powerful than Venusian himself. He refers to Magistrates as the planet they're assigned to, such as calling Venusian "Earth".
 * First Magistrate Earth - the original Magistrate who was sent to Earth before Venusian. He kept his existence hidden from the people of Earth except for a scant few and it is implied he was the alien in the Roswell Incident. After many years, he was murdered by the villain Injustice for unknown reasons, with him then proceeding to leave the planet.

Introduced in Hot Spot

 * Maxwell "Max" Parkers - an athletic yet friendly college student who is Liz's best friend as he sticks by her as a friend, having no idea that she is Hot Spot as he starts to fall in love with Hot Spot, having no idea she is his best friend.
 * Prof. Clark Donson - a science professor at Clover University who believes Liz to be a prodigy yet also considers Hot Spot to possibly be dangerous.

Introduced in Golem

 * Annabelle "Annie" Bronstein - a Jewish teenager who was raised without a home, who despite her condition, is rather intelligent as she soon finds and befriends the Golem, becoming attached to him, joining him on adventures occasionally.
 * Chief Marco Gonzales - the current chief of Snowy Valley's police department who works with Golem although he doesn't fully understand what he actually is.
 * Ramy - a rat who was mutated and grew to despise humanity due to her being a supposed freak as she starts out as a villain to Golem until he convinced her to give humanity a second chance.

Introduced in Hex

 * Adam - the world's first human who is immortal thanks to eating the Apple of Eden, now running a supernatural night club called Eden's Gate, being somewhat friends with Barry Hex.
 * Helena Phillipa "H.P." Lovecraft - the granddaughter of the horror author H.P. Lovecraft who is aware that her grandfather's stories were based on true fact as she decides to hunt down after all remaining loose ends, crossing paths with Barry several times.

Introduced in Power

 * Chairman Ellen Strong - TBD

Introduced in Mister Midnight

 * Daigo Majima/The Shadow Dragon - the cold and sinister leader of the Black Blade Clan who descended from a lineage of Shadow Dragons, causing him to believe that the world is his birthright. He wields a mystically enhanced sword known as Soulcatcher that can transform itself into the elements.
 * Gendo Nakamura/Odachi - the man who has raised Takeshi who was both physically and mentally abusive to him, being devoted to the ideology of the Black Blade clan. After learning that Takeshi is Mister Midnight, he decides to make it his mission to kill Mister Midnight for the glory of the Black Blade clan.
 * Akuma - a mysterious masked man who wears a demon mask and is fashioned as a samurai as he has a mysterious grudge against Mister Midnight and wants to be the man who kills him.
 * Gideon Worthington/The Sharp Dressed Man - a charismatic Southern arms dealer who wears a fancy suit as he sells military grade weaponry, clashing with Max City's protector, Mister Midnight.
 * The Fungus - a dangerous parasitic mushroom hive mind that existed underneath Max City as they want to expand and grow, becoming one of Mister Midnight's strangest yet most dangerous villains.
 * DeShaun Bone/Boogeyman - a mentally insane anarchist who has an obsession with chaos and destruction, being able to bend his limbs to terrifying degrees.
 * Kaitlin Mallow/Pyre - a pyromaniac who is obsessed with seeing everything burn as she wields a high tech suit that allows her to create fire.

Introduced in The Venusian

 * Injustice - Venusian's arch-nemesis and a former member of the Magistrates. Having grown up on the peaceful planet of Venus, he grew bored with his life and upon being exposed to war, violence, and general misconduct for the first time he became obsessed with it, swearing to spread it across the galaxy. Most of his life seems to be dedicated to making Venusian and other Magistrates' lives worse.
 * Pada Pytt/Sin - a teenage girl from the planet Lourn who was raised a slave and became a thief after escaping this life. During a rampage on Lourn, she was discovered by Injustice who saw the same want to do harm in her eyes as him. Relating to her, he decided to take her in and raise her as his own, giving her similar technology as Gremlin.
 * Jackie Wales - the CEO of the Ichor Corporation. She has a burning hatred of extraterrestrial life, seeing their advanced technology and natural powers as making them superior to humanity, which causes her to constantly search for a way of making humans on-par with them. Later events reveal this hatred is born from a fear of the unknown. She is supposedly the most intelligent woman in the world and uses all kinds of science to battle against aliens such as Venusian.
 * Prof. Gabriel "Gabe" Agnew/Mr. Tinker/Zenith - Jackie Wales' top scientist and an employee of the Ichor Corporation. He despises his boss and often works behind her back. He is more corrupt than her, more willing to work with known criminals and take illegal jobs. Later in the series, he hyper-evolves himself and gains superhuman abilities, though his personality changes greatly in the process. In this new form, he refers to himself as a "Homo Ultimus".
 * The Signal - a psychic alien heavily inspired by eldritch creatures such as those from the Cthulhu mythos. It is a giant white creature made entirely of tendrils. It's goals are unknown though they seem to be malicious. It has the ability to drive anyone insane with his psychic energy, often resulting in them becoming violent and amoral.
 * Michael Maverick - the unquestioned lord of crime in Fartherend. He is a cool-headed and intimidating crime boss who has a role in almost every corner of the criminal underworld, ranging from petty thefts to military-grade weapon trafficking, though he specializes in the stealing, trading, and using of superhuman equipment, such as plasma guns and magical artifacts.
 * Lord Vrilo - the leader of a race of subterranean reptilian creatures called the Pangeans. Supposedly, they were the first intelligent species on Earth, which has built a resentment towards humans in Vrilo, believing they stole what was rightfully his people's property and wanting to conquer the world and set the course of history right.
 * Alkro Maltix - an intergalactic warrior who resembles an albino wolf and believes himself to be unbeatable. He travels the universe in search of a worthy opponent and often comes into conflict with Venusian due to this. Venusian is supposedly the only man to have beaten him, which has sparked a never ending hatred of him within Alkro.
 * The Magus - an ancient sorcerer of mysterious origin who is obsessed with becoming the most powerful magic-user in the world and then conquering it. He practices all forms of magic and has extensive knowledge in the arcane arts. All that is known about his past is that he was once a pupil of the ancient masters of magic but they turned him away due to having darkness in his heart.
 * Jason & Orpheus - the ancient Greek heroes who are now a pair of time traveling adventurers that are sent on missions by the god Chronos. Their time machine is a magic sailboat referred to as Argo II. Jason is egocentric and charismatic while Orpheus is weak-willed and cowardly. While not always villains, their missions and anti-heroic tendencies often bring them into conflict with heroes.
 * Ebenezer "Eb" Ward/Condor - the leader of the infamous high-tech mercenary group, the Raptors. He is an eccentric Englishman who is always acting as if he is the lead in a play. He and his group act as henchmen more often than not, but they are also very high-profile thieves, stealing anything they can and selling it to fund their work.
 * Facsimile - a robot copy of Venusian built by the Ichor Corporation in order to frame him. He later becomes self-aware and begins believing he is the original Venusian, with it eventually driving him insane, wanting to prove he is either the original or superior to Venusian. His madness also causes him to act far more hostile and amoral than Venusian.
 * Anthony "Tony" Marrow/Atrocity - a scientist who was studying evolution and looking for a way to push humanity forward. However, this research eventually led to him attempting to evolve himself and instead mutating into a bestially creature with its bones and muscle exposed. In this new form, he is now more of a force of nature than a human being.
 * Aziz Abdel Moneim/Ramses - an Egypt archaeologist who discovered a mask that resembled that of King Tut's. A mysterious magical energy in the mask eventually corrupted him, convincing him it was his destiny to recreate the Egyptian dynasty of pharaohs. The mask also gives him the ability to channel the powers of an Egyptian god by calling their name.
 * Niles Wright/Chessmaster - a self-proclaimed master criminal who enjoys setting up complicates schemes as testaments to his intellect. He considers himself to be superior to all people, most notably Venusian, who he believes is an imbecile. He has powerful psychic abilities that he mainly uses for clairvoyance, though he can only see a few seconds into the future.
 * The Saturnian - the last remaining member of the Saturnian race, who were wiped out by a mysterious parasite that possessed his body, using him to infect other worlds. He is incredibly unhinged and speaks as though he is a zealot for the parasites themselves, which he refers to as "The Voice". He is unique, as Venusian is unable to touch him for very long without getting infected himself.
 * Stalker - an intergalactic bounty hunter and mercenary who is self-proclaimed as having no side and instead "following the money". He is incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and wields weapons from across the galaxy, which he takes as trophies from his victims. He is unable to live in alien atmospheres, however, requiring a breathing apparatus to survive.
 * The Evaluator - a mysterious and cold alien who evaluates planets to see if they deserve to live and then destroys the unworthy ones. His position causes him to clash with the Venusian, although the Evaluator may have moments of anti-heroism.
 * Dr. Vulko Valtis - a deranged tentacled alien mad scientist who is obsessed with experimenting on other forms of life, creating deranged beasts he calls his subjects as he catches his eyes on the human race to experiment on.
 * Kaito "Kai" Ta'Kan - an infamous space pirate known for his ego. He is the pilot of the ship Star Sailor and is constantly making fun of his opponents and victims, though his ego is fragile and can be burst easily. He wields an energy sword and his crimes range from thefts, murders for hire, kidnapping, and more.
 * King Gilgamesh - the immortal king of Uruk who has gone mad, believing it is now his destiny to conquer the world. Over the course of many years he has gone by many aliases and allied with many factions. In present day, he is one of the most wanted men in the world and a global terrorist. He is egotistical, manic, and a genius with centuries worth of knowledge.
 * Jason Maverick/Leech - Michael Maverick's illegitimate son who was mutated by both him and Mr. Tinker, gaining the ability to absorb all forms of energy and project it out. However, an addiction to the power has driven him mad, not helped by major regret for the mutation, as it left his body heavily deformed.
 * Grandmaster - the leader of the intergalactic group of conquerors, The Uniters. He is a cyborg alien with an emotionless, robotic personality with weapons built directly into his body and enhancements in his brain. However, he operates entirely on logic and is unwilling to accept any form of empathy and emotion.

Introduced in Hot Spot

 * Silas Dawn/Eclipse - the eccentric yet sinister CEO of Dawn Incorporated who is fascinated by Hot Spot, believing that she and he are destined to face each other as he soon develops a suit that allows him to control darkness itself, being devoted to fighting Hot Spot.
 * Mister Graves - a calm mob boss who has the superhuman ability to absorb life force from people as he soon becomes one of Hot Spot's most dangerous enemies.
 * Amy Corus/Fission - a pathetic bank robber who wants to make a name for herself, stealing a high tech suit from Dawn Incorporated that allows her to multiply as she uses it in order to make a name for herself as the world's greatest super villain.
 * Jeremiah Pecks/Hurricane - a disgruntled investigative journalist who while investigating Dawn Incorporated, gets accidentally transformed into a living Hurricane, now making it his life mission to destroy Dawn Incorporated and soon all of society.
 * Fox - a young and charismatic thief who uses high tech to steal from the powerful and elite as he has a flirtatious relationship with Hot Spot.

Introduced in Golem

 * Judgement - a golem created to be a judge of morality who after seeing countless atrocities committed by humanity as he believes that the only way for there to be peace is to destroy humanity, believing Al to be weak for protecting humanity.
 * Christopher "Chris" Starr/The Blind King - an aging blind man who turns out to be one of Snowy Valley's greatest mob bosses as he is extremely cold and calculating, often sending out common thugs and other super villains to fight for him, often clashing against Golem.
 * Apex - a giant android created by a group of scientists to study and collect as his mission lead him to Snowy Valley where his mission caused him to clash against Golem. Since his defeat, he becomes used by many people for numerous schemes.
 * Roderick Payne/Tiger - a bike gang leader who after being beaten by Golem, voluntarily injects himself with tiger DNA, becoming a hulking tiger-human hybrid, able to go one on one against Golem.
 * Judd Enrique/Bandit - an outlaw mercenary who hunts after Golem as he believes him to be a threat, wanting to become the actual protector of Snowy Valley than some Golem.

Introduced in Hex

 * Josephine Hex - Barry's younger sister who is envious of her older brother as she made a pact with the Devil to gain power, being given the Amulet of Oroboros, having stolen most of the spells from the Hexum, now wanting to kill her own brother.
 * Huang Guiying - a terrorist from Hong Kong who uses a technological bo-staff that can channel dark magic as he believes that society is flawed and there must be a mass reaping in order to rebuild the world.
 * Wilbur Whately - the son of the dark god Yog-Sotthoth who is a towering albino resurrected by his father as he runs a massive cult, wanting to free his father, being a surprisingly charismatic yet dangerous figure.
 * Elias St. John/Slayer - a member of the Knights Templar who is devoted to destroying everything magic, often clashing against Hex due to him being a magic user.
 * Sin-Eater - a demented creature created by demons to feast on the sins of humans as he takes a dangerous pleasure in absorbing and eating sins.

Introduced in Power

 * Mr. E - TBD
 * Joseph Cain/Stormbringer - TBD
 * Ike Quinn/Super Sonic Thunder Quake - TBD
 * Herman Stein/The Mask - TBD
 * Oliver Fate/Sparkthrower - TBD
 * Antonio Santos/Gravitar - TBD
 * Louis Jephcott/Black King - TBD

Groups

 * The Black Blade Clan - an international clan of ninjas who are focusing their efforts in Max City as they plan on gaining power over the world, being major threats to Mister Midnight.
 * The White Blade Clan - a clan created by Mister Midnight to be foil to the Black Blade Clan, being made to specifically take down the Black Blade Clan.
 * Magistrates - an intergalactic team of Venusian soldiers trained and sent off to protect other worlds to protect them. Due to the beliefs of Venus, all Magistrates are men. They are also genetically altered to resemble the primary intelligent species of the planet they are sent to.
 * I.S.A.E.D.A. - the International Supernatural, Abnormality, & Extraterrestrial Defense Association. Founded in response to the various superhuman threats appearing worldwide, their job is to battle against these threats, defeat, and, if possible, arrest them. They are based out of a tower in Nevada, which is connected to a massive base underneath the ground.
 * Ichor Corporation - a group that, on the surface, is dedicated to the creation and selling of high-tech equipment, such as weaponry and vehicles. However, they also have the secondary and hidden goal of exterminating extraterrestrial life.
 * The Uniters - an intergalactic team of conquerors made up of alien cyborgs. They operate in a similar way as the Magistrates, believing they are bringing peace to the planets they conquer but placing them under a fascistic martial law in the process.
 * Council of Venus - five women who together are in charge of all of Venus. Little information exists about them other than that they are all highly intelligent, respected, and feared. They vote on every choice they make, with the majority vote winning.
 * Dawn Incorporated - a multipurpose corporation that is currently ran by Silas Dawn which is responsible for helping advance Clover City.
 * Ultimate Crusaders - a team consisting of various superheroes that are devoted to protecting the entire world as they have a revolving group of members.
 * Super Project - a government-funded organization recognized worldwide, dedicated to the finding and training of Supers. They are a combination of a university and a military camp, teaching the Supers how to properly control their abilities and use them against criminals. However, it is a completely optional program and graduates are not required to use their training to be superheroes. Superheroes who graduate the program are legally recognized by the government but allowed to operate outside of some of its laws.
 * Dead Men Underground - TBD
 * M.A.S.K. - a terrorist group which is directly opposed to the Super Project, dedicated to the finding, hunting, and killing of Supers. Their acronym stands for "Men Against Super Kind", as well as being in reference to the fact all members wear various masks. They are also themed after chess pieces.
 * The Youth Crusaders - a team of teenaged heroes which was formed Gremlin and Smoke as they fight relatively small threats.

Species/Races

 * Venusians - the primary inhabitants of the planet Venus. Their people are a matriarchal society, with every Venusian city being led by a woman, referred to as a Chancellor, and all Chancellors answer to a council of women referred to as the Great Council. Men on the other hand are expected to be warriors, battling to defend their land. All Venusians are immune to high temperatures in either direction as well as all forms of toxin and disease. In their base form, they are a grayish green race with four arms, six eyes, and nostrils on their foreheads.
 * Golems - creatures made by an old order of Jews in order to protect villages although some of them were given other purposes. All of them are made out of some form of rocks although there are variations including stone and clay. Most of them are currently either dormant or destroyed although there are a few golems still active.
 * Atlanteans - TBD
 * Supers - TBD

Locations

 * Max City - a massive bustling city that is a melting pot of Japanese and American cultures that also happens to be a hot spot for criminal activity.
 * North End - a district in Max City known for being mainly populated by African Americans and people of African descent which currently has a major crime rate, having the nickname of Shanty Street.
 * Hell's Gate - a max security that resides in Max City which holds multiple criminals and is named that way due to it becoming a place nobody can truly escape.
 * Fartherend - a large metropolitan city located close to Lake Michigan. The city is a melting pot of various people, cultures, races, and more, though, like most large cities, it suffers from a high crime rate.
 * Thomas MacKenzie High School - one of the many schools in Fartherend which doesn't have the best reputation, as many of its students are rowdy and some even end up criminals.
 * Barlos Ultramax Penitentiary - a prison designed to be even higher security than a supermax, designed to host super-criminals of all kinds.
 * Clover City - a popular city in California which is a technological hub as it soon becomes the home of the heroine known as Hot Spot.
 * Snowy Valley - a decent sized town in Colorado that is the home of several strange occurrences, the biggest one being Al, the Golem.

Items

 * Soulcatcher - a mystical sword that belongs to the leader of the Black Blade Clan which is able to transform into any of the elements.
 * The Hexum - an ancient spell book that was in the possession of the Hex family for several centuries as it has been both given to Barry Hex and had most of its spells stolen, only having five spells remaining. Later on in the timeline, the book slowly gains more and more spells.
 * The Amulet of Oroboros - a demonic amulet gifted to Josephine Hex that has the power to steal magic, being used to steal spells from the Hexum.