Julio Esteban Richter grew up the son of a Mexican arms dealer. The life was a violent one, and Julio managed to witness his father's murder at the hands of a mysterious white-haired man. Shortly after Rictor's mutant powers manifested, he was kidnapped by the criminal organization known as The Right, who wanted to use his earthquake generating powers to cause massive devastation.

Rictor was rescued by the group X-Factor, then posing as mutant hunters, and was given safe haven on their sentient command center, appropriately called 'Ship'. There, Rictor met fellow X-Factor wards Tabitha 'Boom Boom' Smith, Captain Okada, Rusty Collins, Sally Skids Blevins, and the Morlock Leech. The six of them struck up an early friendship, and Boom Boom soon developed a crush on Julio.

Rictor spent quite awhile there, despite horrors he faced. The Right captured him again, and he almost killed himself to escape them. Tabitha had been the one to talk him out of it, and in the New Mutants he admitted that he owed her for it. After escaping The Right Again, he went back with the others, and they had seemingly chaotic days until X-factor decided to enroll them in boarding school.

After a brief time spent at the boarding school, the group, now calling themselves the X-Terminators after X-Factor's initial mutant hunting guise, left to find the kidnapped Artie and Leech right at the start of the Inferno crossover.

While looking for their missing friends, Rictor and the other X-Terminators ran into another teenaged mutant group, the New Mutants. After Inferno concluded, Rictor went on to join this new group along with the other X-Terminators. While a member of the New Mutants, Julio found an unlikely romantic bond with Wolfsbane.

After the leadership of the New Mutants changed hands, Rictor found himself being taught by Cable, a man who reminded Julio of the man who murdered his father all those years ago. The two butted heads early and often, but Cable managed to save Rictor after he was nearly killed by Sabretooth in the Morlock Tunnels. Yet, Rictor still managed to hold some dislike for him.

Shortly thereafter, the New Mutants were attacked by Genoshan soldiers. During the attack, Rictor was kidnapped along with Wolfsbane, Boom Boom, the New Mutant Warlock and the X-Man Storm. Rictor and Boom Boom managed to escape their captors and met up with X-Man Jubilee, an apparent rescuer who'd nearly gotten captured as well.

After the combined effort of nearly every X-Team in existance managed to overthrow the Genoshan government, Wolfsbane and the other captured mutants were set free. Wolfsbane, however, chose to remain on Genosha with Havok who she'd been recently bonded to. Heartbroken, Rictor left the New Mutants.

A while later, after Cable had created his new team X-Force from the remains of the New Mutants, Rictor was convinced Cable was indeed the man who murdered his father. He joined the Canadian group known as Weapon P.R.I.M.E. to help capture him. The team was unsuccessful.

Rictor begrudgingly joined X-Force shortly before Cable was accused of yet another crime; the attempted assassination of Professor X. The X-Men and X-Factor combined forces to apprehend him and his team, and Rictor was reunited with Wolfsbane for the first time since leaving her on Genosha. The two shared a kiss, but Rahne's feral nature got the better of her, and she bit him in the heat of it. Later, it was revealed that Cable had a clone named Stryfe who was responsible for Xavier's attack, and Cable's name was cleared. Rictor realized that it was also Stryfe who killed his father, but before he and Cable could reconcile, Cable was seemingly killed.

Rictor remained with X-Force and Cable returned alive and well. His friendship with Tabitha dwindled, but he began to get close to Shatterstar in replace. Rictor and Cable worked alongside each other with little problems until X-Force was integrated into the Xavier Mansion. Julio's inability to deal with Cable's new telepathic command style, along with the deaths of two more of his family members--an uncle and a cousin--prompted Rictor to leave X-Force and return to Mexico.

He did return, however, at the behest of Cable when his close friend Shatterstar was questioning his identity. He helped him through his crisis, and the pair later traveled back to Mexico as Shatterstar decided to return the favor by helping Rictor with his family problems.

Rictor stayed under the radar for a long time, only showing up again as a member of X-Corporation. His initial mission was a complete disaster, however, and it resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians and fellow teammate Darkstar. He quit X-Corporation soon after.

X-Factor Investigations

M-Day left Rictor powerless, and when first seen after this, he was planning to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Wolfsbane yelled at him from below screaming for him to get off of the ledge. He was talked out of jumping by a Jamie Madrox clone, but the same dupe pushed him off the building (he was apparently Jamie's "X-Factor", and was unpredictable. "The fly in the ointment. The spanner in the works). He was caught by M, and was taken to his motorcycle, and he and M went back to headquarters. He was offered a position on the new X-Factor team but refused because they were all mutants and he wasn't. He jumped on his motorcycle, and after being given a coupon of gas by Layla Miller, and left.

In a gas station, a young couple left the building with the man shouting at the woman about how she shouldn't be thankful that they weren't mutants anymore. He goes to attack the woman, but Rictor sprays him with gas, and when he prepares to fire a gun at the two, he catches on fire, and Rictor rides off with the woman.

Rictor then joins the new X-Factor team. When Siryn is attacked and abducted, Rictor is the one who saves her from a crazy, depowered mutant named Dr. Leery.

Rictor also begins to hate newcomer Layla Miller, thinking that she's creepy and was responsible for not telling them about Siryn getting attacked. During this time, Rictor also starts off on the wrong foot with Monet, whom he walks in on naked trying to get her attention about an important mission.

When X-Factor invaded Sigularity Investigations, he and Siryn impersonate members of a clean-up crew in hazmat suits, and Rictor sends Layla all the files from Singularity.

Rictor then begins to visit Quicksilver's clinic in a nearby location, and within a conversation with Madrox, hinted jokingly that he was bisexual and may have had a past romance with his X-Force teammate Shatterstar.

When X-Cell attacked, Rictor was taken to Quicksilver. Quicksilver made Rictor an offer, for him to siphon Quicksilver's powers so Quicksilver can repower all the X-Cell mutants and Rictor himself. He fell unconscious during the process, but when he woke up, Quicksilver was about to kill Layla Miller, but Rictor fought him and destroyed the Terrigen Mists that gave Quicksilver his abilities.

Rictor locked himself in his room. Rahne came to visit him with food, but he knocked it out of her hands. He begins to cry about how he doesn't have his powers, and as Rahne is about to leave, she turns around and the two sleep with each other. Later, when Rahne jumps on him and rips the back of his shirt, we can see some remains of the Terrigen Crystals protruding from his skin.

When the Isolationist is convincing the others with mind control about the million mutant march, Rictor is immune to his telepathy and isn't convinced. When the Isolationist then attacks, Rictor is immune to all of his powers. When the Isolationist leaves then, Rictor figures out how to use the Isolationist's teleporting device, and brings Rahne, Guido and Jamie back from an Artic prison the Isolationist had forced them into.

Messiah Complex

During Messiah Complex, Rictor's job was to infiltrate the Purifiers, which he does successfully due to him having an undetectable mutant gene. He manages to find out that they don't have the Baby Mutant, but his undercover operation is ruined by the interference of Anole and his fellow New X-Men. He then manages to calm Pixie so she can perform her teleportation spell, and he escapes with them.

Currently

When Rictor believes he sees Layla on the street, he runs after her. She turns out to be a protitute/hooker named Caitlin, but the encounter gets him beat up by her entourage. He's saved by Strong Guy and taken to the hospital. When he returns to X-Factor HQ, he finds a letter from Rahne saying she's left.

He burns the letter and then flushes it down the toilet. He then tells the team he's leaving, but when he goes outside, he's in space. He goes back in, and when he looks back outside, it's plain old mutant town. He walks down to the pavement/sidewalk of Mutant Town and falls down a trap door. We then see him strapped to a table, about to be castrated by a gigantic swinging blade, while two voices talk over him. The two men who have trapped him are Silver Age X-Men villain Arcade and the member of the Purifiers who recruited Rictor into their group.

The ex-Purifier has wanted to enact revenge on Rictor for fooling him, causing him to be outed from the group himself. Rictor calls for Monet and with her superhuman hearing she finds him. Unfortunately, Arcade is well prepared for her arrival and blasts her with an intense bolt of electricity thrusting her to the ground unconscious. Siryn and Madrox finally find him before it is too late and the trio escape only to learn that a bomb has been implanted in Mutant Town and a forcefield over the city has prevented anyone from getting out.

The team finds Taylor, the ex-Purifier, dying in Arcade's control room. He reveals that when his heart stops beating the town will explode. With one last sip of his poison, Taylor falls to the ground dead.

Powers

Currently, Rictor possesses no powers, because his powers were taken away because of M-Day.

Previously, Rictor had the ability to release seismic vibrations. Mostly channelled through his fingertips, and he normally used it to create earthquakes. His powers also worked on other objects other than earth.

For some reason, Rictor was immune to the Isolationist's powers. This could be because he's a depowered mutant, or because of the remains of the Terrigen Mists remaining on his backs. Peter David did state in an interview though that the crystals gave Rictor what he wanted (e.e. he slept with Wolfsbane when he wanted someone).