Mandrill (comics)

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Mandrill
Mandrill (comics).png
The Mandrill as depicted in The Defenders #79 (January 1980). Art by Herb Trimpe and Ed Hannigan (pencillers), Mike Esposito (inkier), and Carl Gafford (colorist).
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Shanna the She-Devil #4 (June 1973)
Created byCarole Seuling (writer)
Ross Andru (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoJerome Beechman
Species Human mutant
Team affiliations Black Spectre
Mutant Force
Partnerships Nekra
Notable aliasesHensley Fargus, Monkey Face
AbilitiesGifted planner and strategist
Skilled acrobat and hand to hand combatant
Superhuman strength, speed, agility, dexterity, flexibility, reflexes, coordination, balance and endurance
Above-normal intellect
Mind control via pheromones

Mandrill (Jerome Beechman) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Mandrill is a mutant resembling his namesake who has battled Daredevil, Shanna the She-Devil, and the Defenders on multiple occasions. He can generate pheromones that place women under his control, which he used to found the all-female cult Black Spectre.

Contents

Mandrill has made limited appearances in media outside comics, with Fred Tatasciore and Kevin Michael Richardson voicing him in the animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and M.O.D.O.K. respectively.

Publication history

Mandrill was created by writer Carole Seuling and artist Ross Andru, and first appeared in Shanna the She-Devil #4 (June 1973). [1] Steve Gerber contributed to the comic, but denied having any role in the character's creation, crediting it to Seuling. [2]

Fictional character biography

Jerome Beechman is the son of Frederic Beechman, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Margaret Beechman. Due to his parents being affected by radiation, Jerome was born with black skin and tufts of body hair. [3] [4] [5] As a result, he was rejected and abandoned in the New Mexico desert. [6] [7]

While wandering the desert, Jerome encounters Nekra Sinclair, the daughter of a cleaning woman who was bombarded by radiation in the same accident that affected Jerome's father. Although her parents were black, she was born albino and developed vampiric features. For six years, the two live by theft and scavenging until they are attacked by a lynch mob whose members believe them to be monsters. During the battle, Jerome and Nekra's mutant abilities activate, enabling them to escape. [8]

Now possessing a primate-like appearance, Beechman becomes a professional criminal and takes the name Mandrill. He and Nekra found Black Spectre, a cult of black women committed to overthrowing America. [7] [9] As leader of Black Spectre, Mandrill battles the Thing and Daredevil. [10]

In the Dark Reign storyline, Mandrill joins the Hood's gang in attacking the New Avengers, who were expecting the Dark Avengers. [11]

In the "Hunted" storyline, Mandrill is among the animal-themed superhumans who are captured by Taskmaster and Black Ant for Kraven the Hunter. During Kraven's Great Hunt, Mandrill is killed by hunter robots. [12] In Captain America (vol. 9), Mandrill is revealed to have survived. [13]

Powers and abilities

Mandrill is a mutant who possesses superhuman physical abilities as well as pheromones that can control women. [3] [5] [14] [15] In at least one instance, he used technology to affect men as well. [10]

In other media

Television

Video games

Mandrill appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance . He is killed by the Circle of Eight.

References

  1. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 229. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ↑ [ dead link ] August 18, 2005 post to Howard the Duck Club (members only)
  3. 1 2 Trinos, Angelo Delos (February 6, 2023). "10 Dark Marvel Villains Everyone Forgot About". CBR . Retrieved September 27, 2024. The Mandrill's Mutant powers basically made him a walking aphrodisiac. He used these to mentally control women and amass deadly armies composed of his enthralled victims. Unsurprisingly, The Mandrill was also a vile misogynist. Worse, Jerome Beechman was born white, but his powers first manifested by darkening his skin.
  4. ↑ Bailey, Caleb (January 16, 2020). "10 Marvel Villains That Would Never Be Made Today". CBR. Retrieved September 27, 2024. Here's the scenario; a White couple has child that inexplicably is born with dark skin and lots of curly, kinky hair. The husband suspects his wife of cheating on him but the truth is far more problematic. Frederic Beechman's son inherited the characteristics of an animal because Fred's Black coworker Gemma Sinclair got hit with atomic rays - somehow mixing Frederic and Gemma's genes together. Frederic's son Jerome would eventually become the Mandrill - a misogynist villain with the power to mind control any woman.
  5. 1 2 Albinder, Cole (March 19, 2020). "10 Weird Marvel Characters We Want To See Join The MCU". CBR. Retrieved March 18, 2025. A mutant born with ape-like features due to his father's exposure to radiation, Mandrill was shunned by his family for his appearance and abandoned at ten years old. Later becoming a criminal, Mandrill's mutant ability is giving off pheromones that attract women and allow him to control them.
  6. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains . New York: Facts on File. p. 205. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
  7. 1 2 Bjork, Juliette; Allan, Scoot; Curtin, John (July 1, 2018). "The 30 Weirdest Marvel Characters Not Even The MCU Could Sell to Fans". CBR. Retrieved March 18, 2025. Jerome Beecham had the appearance and strength of an actual mandrill ape, which caused him nothing but pain and ridicule as a child. His father abandoned him when he was only ten, which gave him a hatred of American ideals and a burning desire to seek vengeance from his parents. Beecham's mutant powers later emerged, which gave him the ability to control women with his released pheromones. Mandrill used his gifts to raise multiple all-female armies for the purpose of overthrowing nations and punishing his parents for the pain they had caused him.
  8. ↑ Shanna the She-Devil #4 (June 1973)
  9. ↑ Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 103. ISBN   978-1605490564.
  10. 1 2 Marvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974)
  11. ↑ New Avengers #50 (April 2009)
  12. ↑ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #19 (June 2019)
  13. ↑ Captain America (vol. 9) #11 (August 2019)
  14. ↑ Chrysostomou, George (January 8, 2020). "5 Marvel Characters That Will Stick Around For The Next Decade (& 5 That Will Be Forgotten About)". CBR. Retrieved March 18, 2025. Mandrill has slowly been featured less and less. He once had a role on the Hood's gang and could be seen fighting heroes across New York but his days in the comic industry are almost numbered. The strange villain just isn't that memorable. Sure he has the appearance of a large primate and can use his powers to influence individuals to do his bidding, but there's not a lot to work with here.
  15. ↑ Eckhardt, Peter (April 15, 2023). "15 Avengers Villains Too Controversial For An MCU Adaptation". CBR. Retrieved September 27, 2024. The Mandrill is one of Marvel's few mutants not directly associated with the X-Men. Born with the ability to manipulate women through the use of pheromones, Mandrill never showed his fellow mutants any particular affinity. Instead, he opted for a series of sexually charged attempts at conquest and domination. The Mandrill was also a disgusting misogynist, racist, and sexual abuser. He used his power to have his way with women he controlled.
  16. ↑ "Mandrill Voice - The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved February 18, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  17. ↑ "Marvel's M.O.D.O.K.: Every Single Easter Egg You Might Have Missed". Marvel.com. May 24, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2025. The Bar With No Name - A working-class Super Villain bar from the comics which first appeared in CAPTAIN AMERICA #318. The villain The Orb is the bartender in the show, he first appeared in MARVEL TEAM-UP #15. Other patrons are Whirlwind who first appeared in TALES TO ASTONISH #50 and The Mandrill who first appeared in SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL #4.
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