MICKEY DITILLIO

Real Name: Michael "Mickey" Ditillio

Identity/Class: Human, non-combatant

Occupation: Investigative Reporter

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Former lover of Lyssa; Associate of Sen. Wilbur Wycombe and Sen. Miller
later even Demon and Lloyd Zahner

Enemies: Project: Glamor

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Rodent

Base of Operations: Washington, DC

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents#2/2 (voice only, September, 1988), Marvel Comics Presents#3/2 (October, 1988)

Powers: None. Mickey is a skilled investigative reporter with no combat training.

History: Mickey Ditillio was working with US Senator Wilbur Wycombe on an investigation into covert US government activities, including arms sales to Latveria and drug sales with Columbia. Wycombe uncovered the existence of the underlying operation, Project: Glamor, which was attempting to recreate the super soldier serum originally created by Dr. Theodore Sallis. To prevent further exposure, Project director Jody Choate (aka Steel) had Wycombe abducted and used as a test subject. However, another senator, Miller, took over the investigation, and Mickey continued to work with him to uncover the truth.

Mickey traveled to Florida in an effort to investigate Sallis' old laboratory to learn more about the serum. However, Choate decided that Mickey (now code-named Rodent) was getting to close to the truth, so he sent Zahner (Corndog) and Monteiro (Taco Bell) to abduct him. They succeeded in capturing him after he arrived in Florida, but he managed to escape into the swamp. Mickey wandered aimlessly through the swamp for a few days, until he was recaptured, this time by Skinny, a member of a satan worshipping cult that was also connected to the Project. Skinny planned to use Mickey as the next subject for the Project, but Skinny was killed when the shack was assaulted by Zahner and a group of mercenaries. Mickey, along with Zahner and Demon, the leader of the cult, narrowly survived the bombing of the shack by the mercenaries.

Convincing Zahner that he owed no loyalty to his boss, Selbert (aka Brass), who had deemed him expendable, Ditillio learned the entire story of the Project from Zahner and Demon. In an effort to stop Mickey from revealing his story to the public, Selbert kidnapped Mickey's girlfriend, Lyssa, and confronted the trio. However, Railsback, a former Project member who had been unwilling subjected to the serum under Selbert's orders, then arrived and slew Selbert. Mickey, Zahner, and Lyssa fled, but were confronted by Choate, who had subjected himself to the serum. Choate killed Zahner and Lyssa by smashing their heads together. However, the Man-Thing then assaulted Choate, incinerating him. Mickey returned to his office, wrote his story, and then took a long vacation.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber and Tom Sutton

Clarifications: Rodent has no connection to:

• Rodent: a man mutated by the experimental rat poison Mortalycide @ Strange Tales II#5
• Rodents: the henchmen of Rascal, @ Wolverine II#124

Lyssa was Mickey's girlfriend.
--Marvel Comics Presents#3/2 (MCP#3/2, 10/2-12/2

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Marvel Comics Presents#3, p13, pan5 (main image)