ANDREAS de RUYTER

Real Name: Andreas de Ruyter

Identity/Class: Human technology user

Occupation: Former member of the South African Bureau of State Security

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Unnamed former masters, unnamed assassin

Enemies: Black Panther, Storm (Ororo Munroe)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: De Ruyter the Bull

Base of Operations: A mansion on Long Island’s North Shore.

First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up I#100/2 (December, 1980)

 

Powers/Abilities: In his prime, Andreas De Ruyter was very strong, but his strength had degraded considerably with age. In his robot body, Ruyter certainly had some degree of super-human strength and stamina, as well as full insulation from Storm’s electrical blasts. It is possible that he was fairly wealthy, in order to finance assassins and the technology needed for both the robot body and the mind-transferal system.

History: (Marvel Team-Up I#100/2(fb)) Some time ago, Andreas Ruyter was a member of the South African Bureau of State Security. Ruyter was instructed to capture Prince T’Challa of Wakanda, so that his masters could brainwash T’Challa into becoming their puppet leader, in order to gain Wakanda’s great mineral wealth. Ruyter and his men finally came close to capturing T’Challa near Lake Rudolph, Kenya. However T’Challa managed to hold them off, until a teenage Ororo Munro came to his aid. Catching them by surprise, Ororo defeated Ruyter’s thugs out with blasts of hurricane force wind. Ruyter then faced T’Challa and Ororo himself, but T’Challa knocked him to the ground and Ororo blasted his gun. Before Ruyter could react, Ororo flew away with T’Challa.

BTS-After his battle with Ororo and T’Challa, Ruyter supposedly became a changed man. Gradually, but inexorably, Ruyter’s career fell apart until he was forced into retirement. He later disappeared.

(Marvel Team-Up I#100/2) Craving revenge on the two that ruined his career, Ruyter (who had apparently taken up residence in a mansion on Long Island) set up a trap for the two. He first sends a hired Afrikaner assassin to murder Storm. However, the bullet misses its mark and only mildly grazes Storm’s head. Storm follows the assassin and made him reveal who had hired him. When she heard it was Andreas De Ruyter, she immediately knows that T’Challa’s life could be in danger. She has Prof. Xavier use his telepathic powers to erase the assassin’s memories of her and then she heads to the Wakandan Embassy. Once there, Storm meets T’Challa again and tells of him or her run-in with the assassin. Storm learned from the assassin, that De Ruyter has hired a whole team specifically to eliminate her and T’Challa. T’Challa checks several computer files from sources ranging from the Avengers compu-files, to the C.I.A, to Interpol. Eventually they find a mansion on the North Shore of Long Island. Carefully, the Black Panther and Storm make their way through the mansion, dispatching with the few guards they find and rudimentary electronic surveillance equipment. Storm becomes uneasy with the lack of security the house has, and the Black Panther is now convinced that it is a trap. They search the entire house and find nothing, except for a large locked door. As the Black Panther is about to kick it down, Storm notices a trigger plate that would have ignited a supply of explosives had the Panther kicked it. Using her lock-picking skills, Storm opens the door and they enter the dimly lit room. Inside they find a giant robot, speaking with De Ruyter’s voice. The robot immediately attacks them, and badly bludgeons the Black Panther. The robot is also immune to Storm’s lightning attacks. However, Storm blasts the ground with lightning shattered the floor beneath the robot, which hurls down to the lower floor. Storm and the Blank Panther find a concealed door and finding no booby-traps, they enter. They find De Ruyter, surrounded by electronic equipment. De Ruyter has been dead for over a minute, his mind unable to cope with the mental strain of the robot’s fall. With the danger eliminated, Storm and the Black Panther part.

 

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Bob McLeod

De Ruyter must have had some sort of aid in his mission of revenge. First of all, I doubt he could design and construct a robot and mind-transference electronics on his own, so either he was rich and bought them from somewhere or somebody (A.I.M? The Wizard?), or he was backed by some person or group with similar goals. This could mean that he had connections to any one the hundred or so racist and/or mutant-hating groups in the Marvel Universe.

There’s always a chance that his mind could’ve survived in the robot body (which seemed nigh indestructible), but seeing as he wasn’t that interesting a character to begin with, I think he’ll stay dead.

Profile by Spaceknight

Clarifications:
Andreas Ruyter (AKA the Bull) has no connection to:

images: (without ads)
Marvel Team-Up I#100, p34, pan3 (Andreas de Ruyter main image)
  p38, pan1 (de Ruyter's robot body)

Last updated: 12/21/02

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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