Victor Borkowski first appears in "New Mutants" vol. 2 #2 in August 2003. Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis originally wrote a storyline for "New Mutants" that was to take place between issues 8 and 10. The plot involved Victor committing suicide after coming out as gay and being rejected by his parents and his friends, serving as "a powerful message about what intolerance can do to people." Due to the controversial subject matter, the storyline was dropped, with Victor coming from an accepting family and .