Pretty Boy (comics)

Pretty Boy is a super villain in the Marvel Comics Universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #229 (May 1988) and was created by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri.

Fictional character biography

The cyborg Pretty Boy was a member of the original Reavers, a gang of cyborgs living in a ghost town in Australia, who perpetrated robberies across the globe. When robbing a bank in Hong Kong, Pretty Boy took Jessan Hoan hostage and brought her back to the Reavers' Australian base where he began to alter Jessan's mind so that she would join the team as their financial expert. The X-Men arrived and battled the Reavers, interrupting the process and freeing Jessan. Pretty Boy, Bonebreaker and Skullbuster, fled and avoided being sent through the Siege Perilous with the other Reavers.^[1] Under the leadership of Donald Pierce, the remaining Reavers allied themselves with Lady Deathstrike and her minions and began training to defeat the X-Men. The Reavers never ended up battling the X-Men but encountered Wolverine, beat him half to death, and then crucified him.^[2]

After Wolverine escaped, the Reavers attacked Muir Island where they battled the Muir Island X-Men and Freedom Force, killing Sunder and Stonewall before being defeated.^[3] After the Muir island massacre, Pretty Boy and the other Reavers continued to attack various heroes and mutants such as Wolverine, Rogue, and the Punisher as well as Emma Frost's factories. As part of the Upstarts' competition, Trevor Fitzroy sent his Sentinel to attack Pierce and the Reavers. The Sentinels arrived in Australia and quickly dispatched the Reavers.^[4]

Pretty Boy was among the other Reavers reassembled by Pierce and the Shadow King, who attacked the X-treme X-Men. While battling Sage, he pinned her to the ground and attempted to reprogram her brain with the circuitry in his own. Sage proved to have the stronger will and better training and she turned Pretty Boy's programming back on him, using his own link. Under Sage's control, Prettyboy helped the X-Men defeat the Reavers and was then handed over to the police.^[5]

Powers and abilities

Like the other members of the Reavers, Pretty Boy is a cyborg and has bionic implants that augment strength, leaping, stamina, and reflexes beyond the levels of a normal human.

The implants of Pretty Boy also include extendible cybernetic limbs, retractable capture coils in his chest, electroshocks, and filaments released from his eyes that enter the minds of others, altering their personality to whatever Pretty Boy desires. They can also pass through computer networks or telephone lines, allowing him to see what is at the other end.

The personality change induced by Pretty Boy caused Jessan Hoan to become Tyger Tiger the crime lord of Madripoor.

Other media

• Pretty Boy and several other Reavers make an appearance in the 27th episode of the 1990s X-Men TV series.
• Pretty Boy appears in the The Punisher arcade game by Capcom.^[6]

References

1. ↑ Chris Claremont (w), Marc Silvestri (p), Dan Green (i). "Down Under" Uncanny X-Men 229 (May 1988), Marvel Comics
2. ↑ Chris Claremont (w), Marc Silvestri (p), Dan Green (i). "Fever Dream" Uncanny X-Men 251 (November 1989), Marvel Comics
3. ↑ Chris Claremont (w), Marc Silvestri (p), Dan Green (i). "Crash and Burn" Uncanny X-Men 255 (December 1989), Marvel Comics
4. ↑ Jim Lee, John Byrne, and While Portacio (w), While Portacio (p), Art Thibert (i). "Fresh Upstart" Uncanny X-Men 281 (October 1991), Marvel Comics
5. ↑ Chris Claremont (w), Salvador Larroca (p), Sandu Horca (i). "Queen of Shadows" X-Treme X-Men Annual 2001 1 (February 2002), Marvel Comics
6. ↑ Damen, Pepijn (2013-05-22). "Klapper Woensdag – The Punisher". Gamestalker.nl. Retrieved 2013-09-27.