History: Little is known about Angelo Espinoza before he was captured by the Phalanx entity known as Harvest (see Phalanx). The Phalanx were attempting to discover a method by which they could assimilate mutants. Angelo has claimed to be a gang member, and is reputed to have faked his own death to escape gang life in South Central Los Angeles.

Angelo and his fellow captives Husk, M, and Blink, were rescued from Harvest by the combined efforts of Banshee, Jubilee, Synch, the White Queen, and Sabretooth (see individual entries). Soon after his rescue, Angelo enrolled in the newly reopened Massachusetts Academy, and became a member of Generation X (see Generation X).

During this time, Angelo, now calling himself Skin, and Generation X member Chamber, encountered the vigilante known as the X-Cutioner (see Chamber, X-Cutioner). The X-Cutioner wanted to bring Skin into custody on suspicion that he might have killed Angelo Espinoza, not realizing that Angelo and Skin were one and the same. This prompted a trip by Angelo and Chamber to travel to Los Angeles, where a tombstone with Angelo's name on it exists. The truth of Angelo's explanation for faking his death remains to be seen.