COCKROACHES
Membership: None named
Purpose: Takeover of the world
Affiliations: Roger Dooley, Will
Campbell, and a number of unnamed
victims (pawns),
<Cockroach Conspiracy>
Enemies: She-Hulk,
SHIELD I (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law
Division)
Base of Operations: Nevada desert, USA; They have likely spread across the surface of Earth, if not beyond...
First Appearance: Sensational She-Hulk Graphic Novel (1985)
Powers: The Cockroaches possess a collective, human-level intelligence. They are virtually resistant to even high levels of radiation. They can take possession of a human host by entering its body, usually via the mouth. Once inside the host, they can take control of its mind and body. Eventually they consume the host from the inside-out, and they need to find another host. They possess phenomenal (although not necessarily superhuman) strength within a human host, and they can usually ambush a new victim and forcibly initiate mouth-to-mouth contact and transfer before a victim can stop them.
History: (Sensational She-Hulk GN (fb) ) - A countless number of cockroaches were exposed to massive amounts of radiation during nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s. On at least one occasion, some of these developed a collective intelligence. This occurred during one of the last tests in the Nevada Desert. These Cockroaches eventually found that they could take human hosts, with which to further their plans of conquest. Their first victim was Will Campbell, an elderly prospector who wandered near the base of the Cockroaches.
(Sensational She-Hulk GN) - During the final days of SHIELD I, the Directors (ie the Deltites) ordered the collection of the She-Hulk to determine if she could potentially become a threat similar to her cousin, the Hulk. Under the authority abused by acting commander Roger Dooley, the She-Hulk, along with her boyfriend, Wyatt Wingfoot, and a few other "bystanders" were teleported up to the SHIELD Helicarrier. Once there, they were split up, and one of the bystanders (actually a host for the Cockroaches) made his way towards the command chamber. It ambushed Dooley and transferred the Cockroaches into him. Seeking to demonstrate their power to humanity, the Cockroaches forced Dooley to disable the main port rotors of the Helicarrier and boobytrap the controls. She-Hulk sought out Dooley, only to be attacked by him as he tried to transfer the Cockroaches into her more powerful form. She swatted him aside, causing his damaged body to rupture, revealing the thousands of Cockroaches. When the technicians attempted to restart the rotors, they exploded, causing the Helicarrier to plummet to the earth. Most agents fled in escape pods, and the Helicarrier was stabilized sufficiently that no one was killed when it crashed. However, the atomic pile of the Helicarrier was damaged (either by the Cockroaches or the crash), and the She-Hulk was needed to deactivate it from inside the core. As she attempted to do so, thousands and thousands of Cockroaches poured from the wall of the core, covering her from head to toe. However, she kept a clear head and grabbed handful after handfull and smashed them all, leaving her free to disable the core. The radiation to which She-Hulk was exposed caused her to lose the ability to transform back and forth to her Jennifer Walters form at will. And no one ever learned how the Cockroaches knew exactly when and from where SHIELD was going to beam the She-Hulk up. However, a few Cockroaches were seen, ominously wandering around over the top of She-Hulk's room.
COMMENTS: ...oh, but there is a connection. see the Cockroach Conspiracy.
Created by John Byrne.
You like the Thousand? You'll like the Cockroaches. or not.
Of course not all of the Cockroaches would have been killed. They're out their, waiting, plotting, and planning their revenge.
CLARIFICATIONS: The Cockroach Conspiracy has yet to be revealed in the Marvel Universe. Until that time, there are no confirmed connections between the Cockroaches and the dozens, if not hundreds of other cockroach based plots throughout the Marvel Universe.
According to carycomic: It could be that the first battle of wills, between Frank Johnson and Yucoya-Tzin, was witnessed by the roach-possessed prospector, Will Campbell, or one of his successors. And, shortly afterward, some of the bugs were delegated to use those same magical paints (which created Zzutak) to create an alternate host body! If such is the case, then the roach-possessed derelict on Broadway could have been spying on Wyatt Wingfoot (initially, a good friend of Johnny Storm's) rather than the She-Hulk!!
Will Campbell an elderly prospector who wandered near the base of the Cockroaches, he became the first host/victim of the Cockroaches @ 25 years ago.
Roger Dooley was a Level Four Special Officer for SHIELD I. With Fury on vacation, he convinced the SHIELD Directors (Deltites) to allow him to run the operation to evaluate the She-Hulk. Rather than request permission to examine her, he sent a squadron of Mandroids to attack and abduct her from the busy street of Broadway in Manhattan, New York. When she overpowered the Mandroids, he authorized teleporting them aboard, which resulted in a few bystanders being transported as well. It was this move that brought the host of the Cockroaches aboard the Helicarrier.
Dooley used the threat of injury to her boyfriend, Wyatt Wingfoot, to force the She-Hulk to comply with his orders. He demanded she submit to a strip search in front of an entire squadron of agents. When "Dum Dum" Dugan learned of this and put a stop to it, Dooley contacted the Directors, who ordered Dugan back to Washington, leaving Dooley in charge. Dooley forced her to submit to rigorous examination, chained up in the nude, and video-taped it for his later viewing pleasure. When the She-Hulk broke out of her cell, he left his quarters to join the search, and was ambushed and possessed by the Cockroaches. The Cockroaches took control of him, forcing him to sabotage the Helicarrier's thrusters, etc., which resulted in its ultimate destruction. His body was destroyed when the Cockroaches had him try to transfer the Cockroaches into the She-Hulk. She threw him off of her, and his damaged body ruptured in half.
images: (without ads)
Sensational She-Hulk Graphic Novel, p68, pan3-4 (main image)
p40, pan1-3 (taking over Dooley)
p3, pan2 (Will Campbell)
p40, pan4 (Roger Dooley)
First Posted: 09/03/2001
Last updated: 07/18/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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