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Toad Flax" ?> - eMedicinal.com emedicinal.com | Thanksgiving in Washington (comic) naturalnews.com | AVMA Products - Comic Book-A Career as a Veterinarian avma.org |
Toad (Mortimer Toynbee) is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 (March 1964). Toad was originally a weak, hunchbacked mutant, with a superhuman leaping ability and protracted tongue. He was Magneto's sniveling servant in the 1960s line-up of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He eventually led his own version of the Brotherhood, which was more involved in petty crime than mutant liberation. Ray Park played a significantly different version of Toad in 2000's X-Men film. He was cocky and sarcastic and his superhuman agility and wall-scaling abilities made him a match for several X-Men. Aspects of this Toad have since been implemented into the comic book version. Subsequently, most versions of Toad written or drawn after 2000 resemble the Ray Park version more closely than the original Toad.
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Lackey Mortimer Toynbee was born in York, England, and was quickly abandoned by his parents and spent many years in an orphanage, where he was constantly tormented by other children due to his ugliness and strangely shaped body (as his mutant appearance was present from birth). He was considered to be mentally inferior due to his extreme shyness and mild learning disabilities during his primary school years, though he was actually quite intelligent. He dropped out at an extremely early age and decided to fend for himself. Based on years of abuse and knowing full well he was a freak, Mortimer developed a severe inferiority complex, becoming servile to anyone that showed him the slightest bit of affection. Later, he was recruited into Magneto's original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, becoming Magneto's sycophantic 'toady'. The Toad believed that Magneto loved him, while the mutant mastermind considered this henchman little more than a human shield. He was also obsessed with his then-teammate, the Scarlet Witch, leading to a continuing enmity with her and her brother, Quicksilver, though the crush was dropped years later after he saw her pregnant belly and became disgusted.[volume & issue needed]  As a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Toad aided Magneto in repeated clashes with the X-Men.[1] At one point, Magneto and Toad were captured by the alien Stranger as part of his collection.[2] Magneto managed to escape, but coldly left his lackey Toad behind.[3] When Magneto was re-captured by the Stranger, he took Toad with him during his second escape, but by then Toad's attitude towards his master had already begun to change.[4] Toad aided Magneto against the X-Men once more,[5] but realized that Magneto didn't care at all for him and rebelled against Magneto, and fled his lair with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.[6] However, he was soon captured by Sentinels, and then freed by the X-Men.[7] He was later captured with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.[8] [edit] Solo careerSome time later, Toad began to study the Stranger's technology, becoming familiar with it. He used the Stranger's alien technology to menace the Avengers.[9] He even attempted to kill the Angel in a castle outfitted with traps by Arcade. However, he instead turned the castle into an amusement park and became its caretaker.[10] Toad was eventually ejected from the castle by Doctor Doom, and he became suicidal, realizing that he was too dependent on others to work alone. He met and was befriended by Spider-Man, and teamed with Spider-Kid and Frog-Man as the superhero adventurer team, the Misfits.[11] However, Toad suffered from constant depression.[volume & issue needed] Eventually, Toad left the Misfits and returned to villainy. He sought repeatedly to abduct the Scarlet Witch, but was thwarted by Quicksilver, the Vision, and the Scarlet Witch.[12] Much later, he played a "game" with Gideon, and sought to enlist Proteus in a new Brotherhood.[13] He then formed his own subversive version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, along with Blob, Pyro, and Phantazia. He transformed Karl Lykos back into Sauron, and with the Brotherhood battled X-Force.[14] Toad's Brotherhood also battled X-Factor,[15] and then fought Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, and Portal.[16] [edit] X-Men: Forever
Years later, still struggling with depression, Toad was captured by Prosh, along with Juggernaut, Iceman, Jean Grey and Mystique as part of a time-hopping plan to stop a global threat. Toad learned that his deformed body was the result of experimentation by Juggernaut's father, Kurt Marko, at Alamogordo, New Mexico, which left Toad with an unstable genetic structure. The Stranger's equipment corrected his genetic flaws, resulting in an almost complete metamorphosis: Toad had a taller and slimmer appearance and had his powers augmented. Among the most notable changes was a prehensile tongue. Though his change improved his self-esteem, Toad continued to live life without direction. He joined several more incarnations of the Brotherhood of Mutants, none of which lasted for long. [edit] Bloodsport TournamentNot long after, Toad entered the Madripoor Bloodsport Tournament. In his first fight in the tournament, Toad wrapped his extremely long tongue around the villain known as Eel, crushing his opponent's bones and seemingly killing him instantly. In the next fight, however, Toad battled Wolverine. His new abilities caught the X-Man off guard and he managed to deal some damage. However, his overconfidence led to his defeat. Wolverine spared his life, not wanting to partake in the act of cold-blooded murder.[volume & issue needed] [edit] New X-MenToad made a brief reappearance on Genosha some time after the island's annihilation, leading a team including Paralyzer and Unus to try and rebuild the statue of Magneto as a monument to him.[17] For reasons unknown, Toad eventually returns to Magneto's side during the Planet X storyline; however, Toad was not as docile and subservient as he had been in the past, even openly questioning Magneto at times. Magneto, in turn, is tyrannical in his treatment of Toad, who had become his second-in-command. At that point, the long-presumed-dead Magneto's image had taken a Che Guevara-like notoriety, and Toad questions if Magneto may have been more powerful dead than alive. Nonetheless, Toad tries to defend his former master, only to be incapacitated by Fantomex, who shoots his kneecaps out. Shortly thereafter, Magneto is killed by Wolverine and Toad vanishes from the scene.[18] It is later revealed that this was not the real Magneto, but a copycat named Xorn. It is unknown if Toad was aware of this. Either way, the real Magneto turns out to be alive after all. So far, Toad has made no known attempts to rejoin him. Unus' gang has come into conflict with Xavier and his allies, who have gained a foothold on Genosha soil. [edit] House of MWhen a mentally unstable Scarlet Witch warped reality into the mutant-dominant House of M, Toad appeared as a member of Wolverine's Red Guard, and wrote a best-selling book about his time in Magneto's service. When his real memories were restored, he agreed to help the heroes in changing the reality back to normal.[19] [edit] The 198During the battle with the House of M, the Scarlet Witch changed back reality, genetically altering over ninety percent of the world's mutant population and only leaving a few hundred with their powers as a result, Toad among them. After rescuing Lorelei from anti-mutant thugs in Mutant Town, Toad escorted her to the Xavier Institute, where the X-Men had set up a camp for refugee mutants. Once he arrived at the institute he was paired with Fever Pitch as his tent mate, and made his disgust of the Sentinels "watching" them well known.[20] [edit] Civil War
Toad was among the group of mutants who broke out of the 198 camp, with help from Caliban, Domino, and Shatterstar. The group hid in what they believed was an abandoned nuclear bunker in the Nevada desert. While the X-Men and O*N*E battled outside the bunker, Johnny Dee was instructed by General Lazer to cause chaos amongst the 198. The group of mutants discovered this as Outlaw, being controlled by Johnny, pointed her gun at Domino. Domino's powers caused a misfire, giving Toad a chance to bring Outlaw down. It was then revealed that the bunker was actually a blast-containment chamber for experimental weapons. As the auto-destruct sequence was initiated, Toad was trapped inside the chamber with the rest of the 198. The X-Men, teaming up with Bishop, Iron Man, and Ms. Marvel, quickly found a way to rescue the trapped mutants and the 198 walked away unharmed. [edit] Dark ReignToad is later seen rioting in San Francisco, angry about the fact that mutants have been forbidden to mate with each other to prevent new mutant births. Toad is faced by Cyclops and is defeated.[21] He is later seen being carried by Trance and Dragoness, who are being pursued by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents.[22] [edit] Powers and abilitiesThe Toad's intellect and physical abilities have gone through some changes over the years. In the character's inception, he possessed superhuman leg strength and endurance, agility, reflexes, coordination, and a superhuman ability to leap great distances. However, over the years, the Toad's original powers have increased and he has gained additional powers through further mutation. Toad's primary mutant ability is a superhuman leaping ability that allows him to leap many times higher and farther than an ordinary human. In his first appearances, Toad had very little knowledge of hand to hand combat, fighting mainly by kicking wildly and by leaping about and attempting to land on his opponents. Recently, he has demonstrated a better sense of combat and a leaner physique, using both his leaping ability and his elongated prehensile tongue to his advantage. He is highly formidable in kick-boxing despite a lack of any formal training. Toad's intellect has increased beyond his original levels and he has considerable knowledge of advanced technology and access to vast technological and scientific knowledge, which he gained as a lackey to Magneto and while he was held captive by the Stranger, as well as his studies of machinery in the possession of Arcade and Arkon. He once possessed alien technology that he stole from the Stranger's world, and could utilize it to create synthezoid robots, among other uses. He has demonstrated the ability to apply this advanced technology, but lacks the creativity to make progress beyond his existing knowledge. For example, the Toad has employed a robotic suit of battle armor containing an exoskeleton that greatly amplifies his strength. The battlesuit emits a pulse of ball lightning when he hits a target. The suit is also equipped with termoblasters, poison gas projectors, and a self-teleportation device. The Toad has also used a strength amplifying "exoskeleton" composed of pure energy. Toad has some degree of superhuman strength and endurance, particularly in his legs which grants him his superior leaping abilities. Toad also has a very flexible spine, allowing him to remain in a crouching position comfortably for hours, though he can stand if he wishes. He also has gained the ability to extend his tongue great distances and ensnare objects and people. His tongue is superhumanly strong and tough to the extent that he once killed a magistrate of Genosha by ensnaring him with his tongue and squeezing him, causing the magistrate to be crushed to death. He is also able to secrete an adhesive resin from his hands and feet as well as an ability to secrete odorless pheremonous venom that he is able to use to control minds to a limited extent. Toad also possessed the ability to psionically communicate with amphibian life and to expel powerful gusts of wind from his lungs capable of knocking someone down, though he has used both abilities only on one occasion each. It is unclear if these abilities remain, or if Toad has lost them after having his unstable genes re-organized. [edit] Other versions[edit] 1602Toad appears in as Magneto's spy in the Vatican. As Magneto's plot was to recruit the "witchbreed" who could conceal their abilities in the unfriendly world, it is unclear why Toad was included, as he is shown with a long tongue constantly coming out of his mouth. He also has the ability to move around on walls and ceilings. When his deception is discovered by the Papacy, he betrays Magneto and his allies in exchange for his life. However, when Magneto's group breaks free, they capture Toad.[23] Magneto promises to kill him, but his death is at least delayed, as he is seen alive on the ship later, though he doesn't appear in the climax.[24] [edit] Age of ApocalypseIn the Age of Apocalypse, Toad was a member of Forge's resistance group, the Outcasts. This version of Toad was a highly articulate Shakespearean actor, and a master swordsman. When the Outcasts were attacked by Domino, Toad killed her henchman Caliban but dies immediately afterward at the hands of Grizzly.[25] [edit] Marvel NoirToad (Mortimer Toynbee) is a mutant partner of homicide detective Fred Dukes in X-Men Noir.[26] [edit] Marvel ZombiesToad is seen as a zombie, along with several other members of the zombie Freedom Force chasing after the still living Blob.[volume & issue needed] Although they fail to catch Blob and Blob ends up being one of the few characters to not be infected by the zomibe plague.[volume & issue needed] [edit] PowerlessIn the limited series Powerless where the characters of the Marvel Universe are ordinary humans, Toad, referred to simply as Mortimer or Mort, appears as member of the shadowy organisation headed by Erik Lensherr. He briefly aids Victor Creed as they search for Weapon X, but they are attacked by their target and their car runs off the road. Mortimer's fate is unseen but Creed assumes Weapon X kills him. He does not appear again.[27] [edit] RoninIn the limited series X-Men Ronin, Toad is an elderly teacher that several of the X-Men turn to for help when the entire Prefecture are made to believe they are monsters. Toad works to help heal Wolverine, who had been laid low by a telepathic blast.[volume & issue needed] [edit] Ultimate ToadIn the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Toad was a founding member of the Brotherhood of Mutants. In this version, he is not the sycophantic Toad from the mainstream universe, but rather is ruthless and vicious. This Toad is also British like the mainstream version but has four fingers, green skin and can walk on walls and ceilings like Spider-Man. He became good friends with Ultimate Cyclops, when they were in the Brotherhood together. This friendship carried on even after Cyclops returned to the X-Men.[28] It appeared that Toad returned in Ultimate X-Men #69, where he crashed a dance alongside the Brotherhood, but was later revealed that the Brotherhood in that issue was an illusion cast by another villain. After the supposed death of Professor Xavier and the consequent passing of control of the school to Cyclops and Jean Grey, Toad works as an instructor at the school, something that Jean feels mildly uncomfortable with. Cyclops asks Toad to visit the Morlocks and tell them of the new school regime that he is trying to create. Sunder, the Morlock leader had taken in Nightcrawler and believes the two to be working against him. Toad and Nightcrawler are then taken captive and then freed by Cyclops, Jean, Rogue, and Iceman.[29] After the Apocalypse debacle, Professor X returns to the Institute. The world outside has returned to how it was before Apocalypse appeared, but the mansion has both Cyclops's group who remained behind and Bishop's team of New X-Men together as a much larger team. Toad officially joins the team and, like Iceman, wears a bandana with the X symbol on it.[30] Toad is then rarely seen in the Ultimate X-Men comic following this and is not even shown during the "Banshee Drug" storyline where Colossus makes an X-Men team of drug-enhanced X-Men to fight Xavier's X-Men. He is a part of Xavier's X-Men during the storyline, but is not shown. The Ultimatum Wave then hits New York. Nearly all of the X-Men die including Toad. Along with Psylocke, Toad was killed off-panel and it is unknown how he died.[volume & issue needed] Ultimate Toad's personality and appearance is more snarky British punk than subservient yes-man, and he has been shown as a relatively competent fighter in his few appearances. In the first story arc ("The Tomorrow People"), Toad successfully disables both Cyclops and Storm by leaping on them, but is defeated by Iceman, who freezes his legs. Storm then strikes him with a kick across the face.[31] [edit] In other media[edit] Television
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Categories: 1964 comics characters debuts | Characters created by Jack Kirby | Characters created by Stan Lee | Fictional English people | Fictional henchmen | Fictional secret agents and spies | Fictional taekwondo practitioners | Film characters | Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength | Marvel Comics martial artists | Marvel Comics mutants | Marvel Comics supervillains | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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