ANI-MATES
Membership: Alligator,
Baboon,
Bird-Brain, Bison,
Boar,
Elephant,
Goat,
Serpent,
possibly many unidentified others (see
comments);
formerly Armadillo,
Bat,
Bear,
Bolivar
Littlemouse,
Bufo,
Cat,
Dolphin,
Donkey,
Fox,
Hawk,
Hedgehog,
Horse,
Hyena,
Iguana,
Jackal,
Lion,
Octopus,
Orca,
Porcupine,
Rat,
Rhino,
Shark,
Strachiosaur,
Walrus,
Wolf,
many unidentified others
Purpose: To live in peace;
formerly to serve the Ani-Mator and eventually
humanity as slave labor
Aliases: "Scary Hazard Monsters"
Affiliations: Brightwind, Cannonball (Sam
Guthrie), Condor,
Magik (Illyana Rasputin), the New Mutants
(Cypher/Doug Ramsey, Magma/Amara
Aquilla, Danielle Moonstar, Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa, Warlock,
X-Man/Nate Grey of Earth-295), Wolfsbane (Rahne
Sinclair)
Enemies: The Ani-Mator (Frederick Animus), the
Mutant Liberation Front (Feral/Maria Callasantos, Forearm/Michael
McCain, Reignfire, Wildside/Richard Gill), the Right
(Cameron
Hodge,
others)
Base of Operations: Paradise, an island in the
North Atlantic Ocean
First Appearance: (in shadow, unidentified)
New Mutants I#58 (December, 1987);
(fully seen, identified) New Mutants I#59 (January,
1988)
History:
(New Mutants I#59 (fb) - BTS/#60 (fb) - BTS) - After the unethical Dr.
Frederick Animus was hired by the anti-mutant Right organization to
help further their goals, the mad Animus became the Ani-Mator and used
his research to create gene-spliced animal/human hybrids that he called
Ani-Mates.
(Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe MU5 - Dr.
Animus entry - BTS) - The Ani-Mates were designed to gain the
advantages of humanoid form and intelligence while retaining the
attributes of normal animals.
(New Mutants I#60 (fb) - BTS) - Knowing full well
that the Right would not be happy with his work on the Ani-Mates, the
Ani-Mator secretly feared the Right's commander, Cameron Hodge. That
fear inspired the Ani-Mator to create the first Ani-Mates based on
fierce creatures in case the Right quarreled with him over the
experiments.
(New Mutants I#59 (fb) - BTS) - The Ani-Mator
periodically tested the Ani-Mates'
worthiness to live by forcing them into a survival maze.
(Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe MU5 - Dr.
Animus entry - BTS) - Over a period of years, the Ani-Mator created
Lots A-E of Ani-Mates, some of which survived while others died.
(New Mutants I#59 (fb) - BTS) - One of the
Ani-Mates, Bird-Boy, feared the testing and fled the island.
(New Mutants I#58) - After the teenage New Mutants befriended Bird-Boy, whom they named Bird-Brain, Bird-Boy stole hamburgers and attempted to fly them back to the Ani-Mates but the New Mutants pursued. Upon arriving on the Ani-Mates' island, the New Mutants and Bird-Brain were surrounded by the Ani-Mates.
(New Mutants I#59) - As the Ani-Mates continued to
press towards the New Mutants, Bird-Brain expressed happiness to see
his friends and the New Mutants wondered if the Ani-Mates had perhaps
evolved into the forms they had or if someone had somehow made them
that way. Unaware of the New Mutants' arrival on the island, the
scientist Ani-Mator worked on creating the Ani-Mates' Lot F and felt as
if Lot F may be a failure much like Lot E before it. The Ani-Mator then
proclaimed that the night's testing would give the final word on Lot E
before he was interrupted by the Ani-Mate Bufo, who reported to the
Ani-Mator island invaders on his radar. Upon seeing that the invaders
were the New Mutants, the Ani-Mator ordered the Ani-Mates to kill the
intruders per his law but when he saw the escaped Ani-Mate Bird-Boy was
with them, the Ani-Mator phoned the anti-mutant Right organization to
inform them of the mutants on his island and set off to take care of
the New Mutants, tossing aside a Lot F experiment to focus on testing
the Ani-Mates against the New Mutants.
Back at the surface, the New Mutants attempted to communicate with the Ani-Mates using Cypher's linguistic powers and when that failed, Mirage tried to generate an illusion of what the Ani-Mates wanted most: food. As the New Mutants pitied the Ani-Mates being kept half-starved, Bird-Brain revealed the stash of stolen hamburgers and the Ani-Mates dug into the food. As the Ani-Mates ate, they began to accuse Bird-Brain of bringing humans to the island and foregoing his own animal ways in favor of the humans. When they reminded Bird-Brain that the law was to kill all strangers and announced plans to also kill Bird-Brain, Wolfsbane stepped in to stop them but they halted their attack upon seeing Wolfsbane's wolf form, which they considered to be like them. Soon after, a whistle went off, summoning the Ani-Mates to the testing grounds.
After explaining the testing and survival maze to the New Mutants and how he had given the Ani-Mates hope of escaping the island, Bird-Brain insisted that he had survive the testing maze and defeat the Ani-Mator. The New Mutants agreed to help rescue the Ani-Mates and they all ventured into the survival maze, where several Ani-Mates had already been killed. Inside, the group were attacked by larger Ani-Mates under the Ani-Mator's control and once the New Mutants had been defeated, the Ani-Mator appeared and ordered the larger Ani-Mates to sweep the maze and bring him any surviving Ani-Mates. Later, the Ani-Mator gloated to the captive Ani-Mates and New Mutants how the current group of Ani-Mates must be destroyed due to Bird-Brain's rebellion.
(New Mutants I#60) - Gloating that he would deliver humanity from drudgery using the Ani-Mates, the mad Ani-Mator then had the larger Ani-Mates take the New Mutants to his laboratory for later experimentation. Bird-Brain demanded to accompany the New Mutants and at first, the Ani-Mator proclaimed that Bird-Brain was still an Ani-Mate until he somehow won other status, but he ultimately decided to bring Bird-Brain along to observe what his rebellion had wrought. As the larger Ani-Mates brought the New Mutants into the Ani-Mator's lab, one of them questioned whether Wolfsbane was the one rumored to transform into an animal form and Wolfsbane turned away from the Ani-Mate, only to have him strike Cypher and provoke Wolfsbane into transforming into her wolf form in retaliation. The large, cat-like Ani-Mates then forced Wolfsbane to the ground and spat on her as the Ani-Mator ordered the larger Ani-Mates to cage the New Mutants. With the mutants sufficiently captured, the Ani-Mator then ordered the larger Ani-Mates to destroy the Lot G of new Ani-Mates. During the destruction of the infant Lot G Ani-Mates, the Ani-Mator was contacted by Right commander Cameron Hodge, who sought to not only check on the Ani-Mator's work but also keep the New Mutants from escaping the Ani-Mator's captivity. After Hodge ended communication and prepared to traveled to Paradise, the New Mutants questioned whether the Ani-Mator was supposed to have created the Ani-Mates for the Right and the Ani-Mator proclaimed that he was not, further remarking that the Ani-Mates would still be able to serve the Right's goals if the organization was open-minded enough to see that. He then ranted about how the Ani-Mates could be tailored to suit special purposes and that he would be rich once the Ani-Mates were introduced to the outside world with the proper patents. Upon thinking about the Right's intentions and the probable disappointment they would have with him, the Ani-Mator decided to have the larger Ani-Mates take Bird-Brain and the smaller Ani-Mates to the testing maze to be killed.
When the New Mutants argued against the Ani-Mates' destruction, the Ani-Mator proclaimed his intentions to destroy his lab and abscond with the New Mutants to create a mutant/Ani-Mate army. He then ordered some of the larger Ani-Mates to carry the still-captive New Mutants to his ship and once they had left the Ani-Mator's presence, the New Mutants had Cypher inform the larger Ani-Mates that the Ani-Mator planned to kill them as well, prompting them to drop the New Mutants, shattering their glass tube cages and freeing them. Hearing the breaking glass, the Ani-Mator summoned Ani-Mate reinforcements to punish the New Mutants for escaping. The New Mutants eventually managed to defeat the army of large Ani-Mates while Cypher downed the Ani-Mator and halted the self-destruction of his laboratory. The New Mutants then went to check on Bird-Brain and the smaller Ani-Mates, only to be met with Cameron Hodge and his Right soldiers. After apprehending both the New Mutants and the Ani-Mator, Hodge killed the Ani-Mate Bufo and ordered the Right soldiers to sweep through the Ani-Mator's lab to kill any remaining Ani-Mates.
Shortly thereafter, the Right soldiers located Bird-Brain and the remaining Ani-Mates. When the soldiers killed one of the larger Ani-Mates that were forcing Bird-Brain and the other Ani-Mates into the maze, Bird-Brain fought back, knocking rocks on top of the soldiers and rallying the other Ani-Mates to fight the Right. Bird-Brain and the Ani-Mates soon came to the New Mutants' rescue, teaming with them against the Right. During the battle, the escaping Ani-Mator tried to shoot Wolfsbane but Cypher jumped in the path of the gunfire and Hodge boarded his plane in an effort to bomb the island, killing mutant and Ani-Mate alike. Before Hodge could do a second sweep to completely destroy the island, an Ani-Mate octopus emerged and pulled Hodge's plane into the waters, where it exploded. The Ani-Mator then attempted to kill Bird-Brain for luring the New Mutants and the Right to the island but Bird-Brain defeated the Ani-Mator and assumed leadership of the Ani-Mates. Upon learning of Cypher's death, Magik teleported the Ani-Mator into Limbo and when one of the Ani-Mates subsequently attempted to eat one of the dead Ani-Mates, Bird-Brain explained that men honor their dead. The wolf-like Ani-Mate claimed that the Ani-Mates were not men without clothes but Cannonball explained that it wasn't clothes that made a man but rather, the decisions a person made. He then reminded the Ani-Mates of the choice Cypher had made to save Wolfsbane and how the Ani-Mates' choice to aid the New Mutants against the Right had made them more human than most. Cannonball then commented that the Ani-Mates had earned the right to choose names for themselves, further remarking that Cypher would have wanted that.
(New Mutants I#61) - Bird-Brain and the Ani-Mates remained around the New Mutants as they mourned their fallen teammate, Cypher. When a surviving Right agent fired on the New Mutants, Magik teleported him to Limbo and emerged to explain her actions, remarking that the New Mutants couldn't take the Ani-Mates back with them as long as people would hate or cage them. She further explained that they also couldn't leave the Ani-Mates there with surviving Right agents ready to kill them so she teleported the agent to Limbo. The Ani-Mates continued watching as the New Mutants decided to return home and said their goodbyes to Bird-Brain, who declined to accompany them back, feeling as if he belonged with the other Ani-Mates. As the New Mutants teleported away, Cannonball informed the Ani-Mates that Cypher had always thought of them as people and that he would have been proud of their actions. Not long after they returned home, Magneto returned to find Cypher dead and Wolfsbane explained how the New Mutants had left to help Bird-Brain save the Ani-Mates. An enraged and mourning Magneto magnetically entrapped the New Mutants, emotionally feeling as if it was the only way to truly protect them, but the New Mutants continued explaining the situation of how Cypher had died saving Wolfsbane and how the New Mutants had saved the Ani-Mates.
(Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe MU5 - Dr.
Animus entry - BTS) - Following the fall of the Ani-Mator, the
Ani-Mates Bolivar Littlemouse, Bufo, Octopus and Wolf were confirmed to
have died during the encounter with the Right.
(Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe MU5 - Bird-Boy entry - BTS) - Bird-Brain remained in regular contact with the Ani-Mates as their leader and he attempted to teach them dignity, civilization and the good points of humanity.
(Nova II#5 (fb) - BTS) - Trapped in the form of an
Earth condor, the criminal Condor learned of the Ani-Mates and traveled
to the Ani-Mates' island Paradise, hoping they could restore his
humanoid form.
(Nova II#3) - When Condor arrived on Paradise, Bird-Brain and a couple of Ani-Mates greeted him and Bird-Brain proclaimed Condor to be a kindred spirit.
(Nova II#4 - BTS) - The Ani-Mates came to call Condor
a friend and Bird-Brain subjected Condor to the Ani-Mator's machines in
an effort to restore his humanoid form.
(X-Force
I Annual#3 (fb) - BTS) - After the Mutant Liberation Front took over
the Ani-Mator's former base on Paradise, the Ani-Mates grew to fear the
MLF after MLF member Feral hunted down two of the Ani-Mates.
(X-Force I Annual#3) - Recognizing Moonstar but unsure of her loyalties due to their fear of the MLF, the Ani-Mates stalked Moonstar, who attempted to assure Bird-Brain that she meant no harm to the Ani-Mates. When Bird-Brain reminded Moonstar of how different she had become, Moonstar entered the base, thinking to herself how she couldn't blame the Ani-Mates for being afraid.
(New Mutants III#38 - BTS) - After suffering a nightmare related to his original death, the recently resurrected Cypher decided to visit Paradise in an effort to sort through unresolved emotions involving his death and his New Mutants teammate accompanied him to the island, which they found covered in rotting vegetation and decomposing Ani-Mate corpses. When a virus-ridden Bird-Brain attacked the New Mutants, Warlock ultimately caged him and determined that every living thing on Paradise, including the Ani-Mates, had been infected with the virus.
(New Mutants III#39) - When the New Mutants were also infected by the virus, the uninfected Warlock led them to the Ani-Mator's old lab in hopes of finding a cure and once there, the New Mutants were attacked by the virus-infected surviving Ani-Mates. Earth-295's X-Man eventually managed to telekinetically push back the Ani-Mates and Magma held them off until the New Mutants were able to enter the Ani-Mator's lab. Once inside, Magma sealed the entrance to keep the Ani-Mates out. Just as Cypher learned the virus itself was a reconstituted Ani-Mator that was rebuilding his physical form by absorbing genetic material from the island, the reborn Ani-Mator, having absorbed several of the Ani-Mates into itself, seeped into the lab. The Ani-Mator, with the Ani-Mates merged into his plant-like physical form, then attacked the New Mutants, absorbing some of them into his new form before Cypher utilized Warlock as a suit of armor to confront his original killer.
(New Mutants III#40) - While Warlock battled the
reborn Ani-Mator construct composed of plant life, the Ani-Mates and
some of the New Mutants, Cypher utilized a targeted Transmode Virus to
end the Ani-Mator's pre-programmed commands on the virus that rebuilt
his form and the virus became benign, effectively freeing the absorbed
Ani-Mates and New Mutants and restoring Paradise to its natural state.
The Ani-Mates then regrouped with the New Mutants and Cypher explained
what he had done to his newly-freed teammates, further revealing that
he had named the virus Genome and that the now-benign Genome had
dedicated itself to looking after Paradise and the Ani-Mates.
Comments: Created by Louise Simonson, Bret Blevins and Terry Austin.
The only Ani-Mates identified in
their initial storyline of New Mutants I#58-61 were Bolivar
Littlemouse, Bird-Brain and Bufo. The other Ani-Mates were not
identified/named until the Dr. Animus entry in the TSR's Gamer's
Handbook of the Marvel Universe MU5. While some might consider the
Gamer's Handbooks to be non-canon, they did typically (at least try to)
stay very close
to the continuity established in the Marvel Comics and each book
contained a copyright statement mentioning that all Marvel characters
and the likenesses thereof were the copyright of Marvel Entertainment
Group and used by TSR with permission. That essentially means that any
characters (including the Ani-Mates and their names established in the
Gamer's Handbooks) are the official property of Marvel so the names are
official in that regard and that is how I'm identifying the various
Ani-Mates in this profile.
Speaking of identification, it was slightly difficult to determine which Ani-Mate was which at times, as they seem to slightly change in appearance from one panel to the next. For example, Alligator first shows up with an Elvis-like head of hair (see image below in his subprofile) but just a page or two later, he's seen without any hair. The character who later appears to be an/the Armadillo (based on the plating) first shows up looking more like some sort of snapping turtle (with another Ani-Mate next to him that more closely resembles an armadillo) but throughout appearances in New Mutants I#60-61, he begins to take on a more armadillo-like appearance (skin resembling plating more than an actual shell) but it must be the same character based on coloring and its head of hair. Since that character shows up more frequently and begins to look armadillo-like, I chose to refer to that character as Armadillo even though it first shows up looking more like a turtle. In some cases, it was difficult to tell exactly what sort of animal an Ani-Mate was (examples being the more canine/feline ones and a couple of horse-like ones which could have been either Horse or Donkey). For the purposes of this profile, I did my best to determine which Ani-Mate each named character was supposed to be. In some cases, there were multiple Ani-Mates based on the same animal (such as several wolf-like Ani-Mates, at least two different armadillo-like ones as mentioned above, several rat and mouse-like Ani-Mates and several lizard-like Ani-Mates). Like I said, I did my best to identify the named ones based on their appearances...While it's likely just the art, it could be that the spliced genes were slightly unstable, leading to subtle but constant changes in their genetic structure...?
It's not entirely clear how many
of the Ani-Mates are still around. When we last saw them (in New
Mutants III#38-40), the only Ani-Mates we saw were Alligator,
Baboon, Bird-Brain, Bison, Boar, Elephant, Goat and Serpent. Prior to
them showing up, the storyline established that numerous Ani-Mates died
as a result of the virus unleashed by the deceased Ani-Mator to
resurrect himself in a new form. The Ani-Mates seen were eventually
freed from the Ani-Mator's new form but many Ani-Mates had died from
the virus prior to the Ani-Mator reconstituting himself. We also are
told in X-Force I Annual#3 that Feral hunted down two of the Ani-Mates,
though we don't know if Feral actually killed them. Several of the
Ani-Mates also perished at the hands of the Ani-Mator in the original
storyline in New Mutants I#58-61. With all of this in mind, all we know
for sure is that the Ani-Mates definitely still count Alligator,
Baboon, Bird-Brain, Bison, Boar, Elephant, Goat and Serpent among their
number. There may be others still living that we didn't see in the New
Mutants III#38-40 storyline but it's also possible that Alligator,
Baboon, Bird-Brain, Bison, Boar, Elephant, Goat and Serpent are the
only Ani-Mates still living following the Mutant Liberation Front using
Paradise as their base and the Ani-Mator's later virus.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Ani-Mates have no known connections to:
Alligator was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of an alligator. He was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise and when Bird-Brain tossed fast food out to the other Ani-Mates to distract them from harming the New Mutants, Alligator immediately began chowing down on the food. The distraction didn't last long, however, and Alligator and the other Ani-Mates soon turned on the New Mutants once more until Bird-Brain attempted to explain why he had brought the New Mutants there. When the Ani-Mates sought to kill the New Mutants as strangers under the Ani-Mator's orders, Wolfsbane transformed into her wolf form to fight back, prompting Alligator and the other Ani-Mates to back away, sensing the animal-like Wolfsbane to be a kindred spirit. Years later, Alligator was one of the last surviving Ani-Mates infected by the virus intended to reconstitute the deceased Ani-Mator. When the New Mutants returned to Paradise for Cypher to confront his fears of the Ani-Mator, the virus-stricken Alligator and other Ani-Mates attacked the New Mutants until the mutants escaped into the Ani-Mator's lab, sealing the Ani-Mates outside. While the New Mutants attempted to learn more about the virus using the Ani-Mator's computers, Alligator and the other Ani-Mates were attacked and absorbed into the Ani-Mator's new physical form.
--New Mutants I#59 (New Mutants III#39,
Armadillo was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of an armadillo. He was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise and when Bird-Brain tossed fast food out to the other Ani-Mates to distract them from harming the New Mutants, Armadillo immediately began chowing down on the food. The distraction didn't last long, however, and Armadillo and the other Ani-Mates soon turned on the New Mutants once more until Wolfsbane transformed into her wolf-like form to defend herself, prompting the Ani-Mates to see her as a kindred spirit. Moments later, a whistle sounded and, trained to obey the whistle, Armadillo and the other Ani-Mates headed into the island tunnels, where they were captured by the Ani-Mator's larger Ani-Mate servants. When the anti-mutant Right organization stormed the Ani-Mator's base, Armadillo and the other Ani-Mates made their way back to the surface, where Armadillo assisted in freeing the New Mutants from the Right. During the subsequent battle, the New Mutant Cypher was killed and once the Right had been defeated, Armadillo joined the other surviving Ani-Mates in mourning Cypher. He remained with the Ani-Mates as the New Mutants teleported away.
--New Mutants I#59 (#60-61,
Baboon was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a baboon. He was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise and he was years later one of the surviving Ani-Mates that was infected by the virus intended to reconstitute the deceased Ani-Mator's form. When the New Mutants returned to Paradise for Cypher to confront his fears of the Ani-Mator, Baboon and the other virus-stricken Ani-Mates attacked the New Mutants until the mutants escaped into the Ani-Mator's old lab, sealing the Ani-Mates outside. While the New Mutants attempted to learn more about the virus using the Ani-Mator's computers, Armadillo and the other Ani-Mates were attacked and absorbed into the Ani-Mator's new physical form. After Cypher deprogrammed the virus using Warlock's Transmode Virus, Baboon was freed from the Ani-Mator's reconstituted form and remained on Paradise as the newly-freed virus (now dubbed Genome by Cypher) opted to look after the Ani-Mates.
Bat was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a bat and he was trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. He was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise and he was later one of the larger Ani-Mates utilized to capture the smaller Ani-Mates and round up the New Mutants for the Ani-Mator.
--New Mutants I#58 (#59-60,
Bear was one of the Ani-Mates created using the
genetic material of a bear and he was one of the several Ani-Mates
to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise.
He was ultimately captured and placed in a holding cell in the
Ani-Mator's lab by a group of larger Ani-Mates serving the Ani-Mator.
If you ask me, Bear looks more like a cow but many of the Ani-Mates looked to be spliced together from more than one animal. See my comment about the changes to the looks of the Ani-Mates above in the Comments section. It could also just be the angle & pose in which he is seen. --Proto-Man
--New Mutants I#59
Bison was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a bison and he was trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. Bison, much larger than most of the other Ani-Mates, was initially utilized to capture the smaller Ani-Mates and round up the New Mutants for the Ani-Mator. After capturing the other Ani-Mates and New Mutants, Bison brought them before the Ani-Mator and even aided in preventing the New Mutants' escape until Mirage managed to trick the larger Ani-Mates into dropping the glass cylinders housing the captive New Mutants. The freed New Mutants immediately leaped into battle against Bison and the larger Ani-Mates and Bison was soon knocked out by a bat-wielding Magik. Following the Ani-Mator's defeat, Bison remained on Paradise island and much later, when the Mutant Liberation Front began using Paradise as a base of operations, Bison was one of the Ani-Mates who stalked Danielle Moonstar (formerly the New Mutant Mirage) in the shadows, fearful of the MLF and their intentions. Later still, Bison was one of the Ani-Mates infected by the viral reincarnation of the Ani-Mator and he attacked the New Mutants alongside other Ani-Mates when the mutants arrived on the island to help Cypher face his fears of the Ani-Mator. After the New Mutants held the Ani-Mates off and entered the Ani-Mator's old lab, Bison and the other infected Ani-Mates were absorbed into the gestalt form of the slow reconstituting Ani-Mator. The New Mutants ultimately defeated the Ani-Mator's viral form by reprogramming it using Warlock's Transmode virus and Bison was freed from the Ani-Mator's reconstituted form. Freed of the Ani-Mator's programming, the virus was dubbed Genome and it promised to look after Paradise and the Ani-Mates.
Boar was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a boar and he was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. He was later one of the several Ani-Mates infected by the viral reincarnation of the Ani-Mator and he attacked the older New Mutants when they arrived on Paradise to help Cypher confront his fears of the Ani-Mator. After the New Mutants held off the Ani-Mates and ventured into the Ani-Mator's old lab, the Ani-Mator's partially reconstituted form absorbed Boar and the other Ani-Mates into its reforming body but the New Mutants ultimately defeated the partially resurrected Ani-Mator by using Warlock's Transmode Virus to free the virus of the Ani-Mator's orders. Dubbed Genome, the now-freed virus promised to look after Paradise and the Ani-Mates.
Bolivar Littlemouse was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a mouse and he was trained to directly serve the
Ani-Mator in his lab. While working on Lot F of new Ani-Mates, the
Ani-Mator directed Bolivar Littlemouse to bring him a globe housing a
developing Ani-Mate. As Bolivar Littlemouse watched, the Ani-Mator
monologued about whether or not to destroy the embryo but the Ani-Mator
was soon interrupted by Bufo, who informed the Ani-Mator about the
arrival of the New Mutants on the island Paradise. When the smaller
Ani-Mates refused the Ani-Mator's orders to kill the New Mutants due to
the intervention of the Ani-Mate Bird-Brain, Bolivar Littlemouse
watched as the Ani-Mator's hurled the embryonic globe to the ground,
smashing it. Bolivar Littlemouse was later present when the New Mutant
Mirage attempted to distract the Ani-Mator with an illusion of the
Right leader Cameron Hodge. Enraged, the erratic Ani-Mator exclaimed
that the New Mutants knew nothing of curiosity and creation and,
grabbing up Bolivar Littlemouse, the Ani-Mator proclaimed that the New
Mutants would act as genetic progenitors for his next lot of Ani-Mates.
Praising his Ani-Mates as a wonderful slave race, the Ani-Mator
theatrically hurled Bolivar Littlemouse against a wall, smashing the
poor creature into a bloody pulp and killing him.
Bolivar Littlemouse was colored
brown in New Mutants I#60 despite appearing gray in #59. This was
likely a mistake in coloring, as the mouse in #60 clearly resembles
Bolivar Littlemouse in the shape of his face, but the coloring could
also be chalked up to an unstable genetic code since many of the
Ani-Mates' forms seemed to be different from panel to panel. See my
comment above in the Comments section regarding the changes in the
Ani-Mates' forms. --Proto-Man
Bufo was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a frog and he was trained to directly serve the
Ani-Mator in his lab after surviving a deadly maze to weed out the less
useful Ani-Mates of Bufo's lot. At some point following his creation,
Bufo was tasked with aiding the Ani-Mator in creating a viral backup of
his personality in order to ensure the Ani-Mator would live on
following the death of his physical form. Some time later, while the
Ani-Mator was working on Lot F of new Ani-Mates, Bufo interrupted him
to report invaders on the island Paradise. At first annoyed at Bufo's
incessant attempts to get his attention, the Ani-Mator was ultimately
pleased at Bufo's observant nature when he noticed the invaders himself
and he promised Bufo an extra ration of flies for his good deed. Bufo
later informed the Ani-Mator of a call from the anti-mutant Right
leader Cameron Hodge and when Hodge and the Right subsequently arrived
on the island to capture the New Mutants, Bufo hid from the Right as
they murdered several of the Ani-Mates. Remaining close to the
Ani-Mator's side, Bufo rushed to assist the Ani-Mator after the
Ani-Mator was knocked aside by Hodge, returning the Ani-Mator's glasses
to him. Overhearing Bufo, Hodge shot Bufo dead as the Ani-Mator
proclaimed Bufo a fool for not bringing him something useful such as
guns or bombs to use against Hodge. While Hodge ordered the Right to
sweep through the island and kill all of the Ani-Mates, the Ani-Mator
remarked on how much of a waste Bufo was, proclaiming that Bufo was
apparently not given enough brains and commenting that it was a wonder
Bufo had survived the maze in the first place.
Cat was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a cat and was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on the island Paradise. Cat was later captured by larger Ani-Mates on orders from the Ani-Mator and placed in a holding cell with several other smaller Ani-Mates. Cat remained in the cell as the larger Ani-Mates brought in more captive Ani-Mates and the New Mutants and witnessed the New Mutants try and fail to escape. A short time later, after the New Mutants successfully escaped as the anti-mutant Right arrived on Paradise, Cat was freed and fled with several other Ani-Mates large and small. Right leader Cameron Hodge ordered the Right to purge all of the Ani-Mates from the island and some of the Right members soon located Cat and a small band of escaping Ani-Mates and fired on them, killing Cat while the Serpent and others dodged.
There were several
different cat-like Ani-Mates with varying fur colors. Only one was
identified as "Cat" in the Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe so I
chose to go with the one with gray fur and red eyes for the purposes of
this profile, as none were identified by name in the New Mutants issues
themselves. --Proto-Man
Dolphin was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a dolphin and was one of the several Ani-Mates that lived in the waters surrounding the island Paradise. Dolphin was one of several aquatic Ani-Mates that approached the Ani-Mator's lab as larger Ani-Mates brought forth the captured New Mutants.
Donkey was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a donkey and was one of the several larger Ani-Mates that had been trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. When the New Mutants escaped the Ani-Mator's captivity, Donkey was one of several larger Ani-Mates who attempted to recapture the New Mutants and he was bit on the ear by Wolfsbane during the subsequent fight and ultimately knocked unconscious. Following the Ani-Mator's defeat, Donkey emerged from the Ani-Mator's lab to witness Bird-Brain assume leadership of the Ani-Mates. He remained present as the New Mutants discovered their teammate Cypher had been shot during the New Mutants' battle with the Ani-Mator.
Elephant was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of an elephant and was one of the several Ani-Mates to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. He
and the other Ani-Mates were briefly distracted by fast food dumped by
Bird-Brain but they soon turned on the New Mutants on the Ani-Mator's
orders until Wolfsbane transformed into her wolf-like form, prompting
the Ani-Mates to consider her a kindred spirit. The Ani-Mator soon
sounded a whistle meant to draw the Ani-Mates back for food and
Elephant and the others blindly followed the sound of the whistle into
a trap set by the Ani-Mator to capture both the smaller Ani-Mates and
the New Mutants. Captured, Elephant was taken in chains to the
Ani-Mator's lab, where he witnessed the New Mutants try and fail to
escape. Later, after the New Mutants successfully freed themselves and
the anti-mutant Right organization arrived on the island, Elephant fled
the lab with other Ani-Mates large and small. The Right soon tracked
them down and killed one of their number but Bird-Brain led Elephant
and the other Ani-Mates to the island surface, where the New Mutants
were battling the Right. Joining in the fight, Elephant and the other
Ani-Mates aided against the Right and the Ani-Mator and Elephant was
present when Bird-Brain assumed leadership of the Ani-Mates from the
defeated Ani-Mator. Elephant remained present as the New Mutants
discovered their teammate Cypher shot by the Ani-Mator's hand. He was
later one of several Ani-Mates infected by the Ani-Mator's viral
consciousness and the stricken Elephant attacked the older New Mutants
when they returned to Paradise in an effort to have Cypher face his
fears of the Ani-Mator. Held back while the New Mutants ventured into
the Ani-Mator's old lab, Elephant was soon absorbed into the
reconstituting physical form of the Ani-Mator and remained trap inside
the collective form until the New Mutants utilized Warlock's Transmode
Virus to remove the Ani-Mator's programming from the virus. Now free of
the Ani-Mator's influence, the virus was dubbed Genome and it promised
to look after Paradise and the Ani-Mates.
Fox was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a fox and was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. He and the other Ani-Mates were briefly distracted by fast food dumped by Bird-Brain but they soon turned on the New Mutants on the Ani-Mator's orders until Wolfsbane transformed into her wolf-like form, prompting the Ani-Mates to consider her a kindred spirit. He was later captured by larger Ani-Mates serving the Ani-Mator and placed in a holding cell while the other Ani-Mates and the New Mutants were captured. He remained in the holding cell as the New Mutants were brought in and they tried and failed to escape.
There is a
similarly orange, sort of vulpine-like Ani-Mate that is seen carrying
the captured New Mutants in New Mutants I#60. I don't believe this is
Fox, as the shape of the snout is different and longer than the one
originally seen on Fox. Plus, Fox SEEMED to be one of the Ani-Mates
captured in holding cells towards the end of New Mutants I#59 and the
beginning of #60 (though it's admittedly difficult to tell, as the
coloring of the holding cells were yellow so I'm going off of the shape
of the Ani-Mates seen in the cells here). If Fox was captured in a
holding cell, he wouldn't have been free to be carrying the equally
captured New Mutants. Personally, I believe Fox was captured and the
other orange, cat-like Ani-Mate to be a different Ani-Mate with similar
fur color since the two snouts look different. While foxes do have
longer snouts than say, a cat, the Ani-Mate carrying the New Mutants
had a snout that longer than a fox's, more like a wolf or coyote.
--Proto-Man
Goat was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a goat and was one of the several Ani-Mates to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. He
and the other Ani-Mates were briefly distracted by fast food dumped by
Bird-Brain but they soon turned on the New Mutants on the Ani-Mator's
orders until Wolfsbane transformed into her wolf-like form, prompting
the Ani-Mates to consider her a kindred spirit. He was soon lured away
with the other Ani-Mates by a whistle sounded by the Ani-Mator and was
subsequently captured by larger Ani-Mates serving the Ani-Mator and
deposited unconscious onto the ground of the Ani-Mator's lab. Goat
remained unconscious on the floor as the anti-mutant Right organization
arrived and throughout the subsequent battle between the New Mutants,
the other Ani-Mates, the Right and the Ani-Mator. After Bird-Brain
assumed leadership of the Ani-Mates, Goat remained with the Ani-Mates
on Paradise and remained after the terrorist Mutant Liberation Front
took over Paradise for use as their base of operations. Recognizing
Danielle Moonstar from her earlier visit alongside her former New
Mutants teammates, Goat and a few other Ani-Mates stalked her, fearful
of the Mutant Liberation Front's intentions and unclear about
Moonstar's association with them. Later still, Goat was one of the many
Ani-Mates infected by the viral consciousness of a reconstituting
Ani-Mator and while stricken with the virus, Goat attacked the older
New Mutants when they returned to Paradise to help their teammate
Cypher confront his fears of the Ani-Mator. Held back by the New
Mutants as they ventured into the Ani-Mator's old lab, Goat and the
other Ani-Mates were soon absorbed into the reconstituting Ani-Mator's
new physical form but the New Mutants ultimately utilized Warlock's
Transmode Virus to deprogram the viral consciousness. Freed of the
Ani-Mator's influence, the virus, now dubbed Genome, promised to look
after Paradise and the Ani-Mates.
Hawk was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a hawk and was one of the several Ani-Mates to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise.
Hedgehog was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a hedgehog and was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. Hedgehog was later seen alongside many of the Ani-Mates that were captured and placed inside holding cells within the Ani-Mator's lab.
Horse was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a horse and was one of several Ani-Mates who aided the New Mutants against both the Right and the Ani-Mator. Horse was present as the New Mutants discovered their teammate Cypher, who had been shot by the Ani-Mator.
If you ask me,
Horse really doesn't look much like a horse but really, none of the
Ani-Mates strongly resembled a horse. Donkey comes close but the longer
ears sort of differentiate it from a horse. Since all of the Ani-Mates
were genetically engineered, it's possible the Ani-Mator spliced the
genetic material of a horse with some other animal to create this
Ani-Mate. --Proto-Man
Hyena was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a hyena and was one of the several Ani-Mates to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise.
Iguana was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of an iguana and was one of the several Ani-Mates to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise.
Jackal was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a jackal and was one of the several Ani-Mates to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise.
Jackal was later captured by larger Ani-Mates serving the Ani-Mator and
brought to the Ani-Mator's lab, where it witnessed the Ani-Mator
attacking Bird-Brain in front of the captive New Mutants. After the New
Mutants were freed and helped take down the anti-mutant Right, whom the
Ani-Mator was serving, Jackal was present alongside several other
Ani-Mates as the New Mutants mourned the loss of their teammate,
Cypher. Jackal was also present as the New Mutants teleported back
home.
In New Mutants
I#59, it's a little difficult to differentiate between Jackal and Fox,
as they both have similar fur color. The big determining factor is that
Fox is more humanoid-sized with orange fur while Jackal is much smaller
in size, more along the size of a dog, and Jackal's ears are more
pointy.
Lion was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a lion and was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. Lion was one of several Ani-Mates drawn away from the New Mutants for testing when the Ani-Mator sounded a whistle.
It was unclear what became of Lion after he was drawn away to the Ani-Mator's testing grounds. We do see several of the Ani-Mates captured later but we never see Lion again. It's possible Lion was killed during the Ani-Mator's tests...
Octopus was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of an octopus and was one of the several Ani-Mates
that
lived in the waters surrounding the island Paradise. Octopus was one of
several aquatic Ani-Mates that approached the Ani-Mator's lab as larger
Ani-Mates brought forth the captured New Mutants. Later, after the New
Mutants were freed and helped take down the anti-mutant Right, whom the
Ani-Mator was serving, Octopus reached up out of the water and snagged
Cameron Hodge's plane with its tentacles as Hodge was attempting to
escape. Octopus then slammed the plane into the waters outside
Paradise, causing the plane to explode and killing itself in the
process.
Orca was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of an orca and was one of the several Ani-Mates that lived in the waters surrounding the island Paradise. Orca was one of several aquatic Ani-Mates that approached the Ani-Mator's lab as larger Ani-Mates brought forth the captured New Mutants.
Porcupine was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a porcupine and was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. Porcupine was later seen captured alongside Lot F of the Ani-Mates in the Ani-Mator's lab as the Ani-Mator had several other captured Ani-Mates brought forth in front of the equally captured New Mutants. Porcupine remained captured as the Ani-Mator subsequently attacked Bird-Brain. After the New Mutants were freed and helped take down the anti-mutant Right, whom the Ani-Mator served, Porcupine was one of several Ani-Mates present as the New Mutants mourned the loss of their teammate, Cypher. Porcupine was also present as the New Mutants teleported back home.
Rat was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a rat and was one of the several Ani-Mates to initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise. Rat was later seen captured alongside Lot F of the Ani-Mates within the Ani-Mator's lab as the Ani-Mates had several other captured Ani-Mates brought forth in front of the equally captured New Mutants. Rat was later one of the Ani-Mates stalking Danielle Moonstar when she returned to Paradise as part of her undercover mission with the Mutant Liberation Front.
Rhino was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a rhinoceros and was one of the several Ani-Mates
to
initially encounter the New Mutants upon their arrival on Paradise.
Serpent was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of some sort of serpent and it was trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. Serpent, much larger than most of the other Ani-Mates, was initially utilized to capture the smaller Ani-Mates and round up the New Mutants for the Ani-Mator. After capturing the other Ani-Mates and New Mutants, Serpent brought them before the Ani-Mator and even aided in preventing the New Mutants' escape until Mirage managed to trick the larger Ani-Mates into dropping the glass cylinders housing the captive New Mutants. The freed New Mutants immediately leaped into battle against Serpent and the larger Ani-Mates and Serpent was knocked out during the fight. When the anti-mutant Right, whom the Ani-Mator was serving, arrived on Paradise, Serpent attempted to escape them alongside several other Ani-Mates large and small and he narrowly avoided death when the Right fired on the Ani-Mates, killing Wolf. When Bird-Brain came around the corner, intending to attack Serpent, Serpent insisted that he was there as a friend and Bird-Brain led Serpent and the other Ani-Mates to the surface, where they all participated in freeing the New Mutants and battling the Right. Following the Ani-Mator's defeat, Serpent witnessed the New Mutants mourn the loss of their teammate, Cypher, and was present when the New Mutants teleported home. Serpent remained on Paradise and much later, after the Mutant Liberation Front began using Paradise as a base of operations, Serpent was one of the Ani-Mates who stalked Danielle Moonstar (formerly the New Mutant Mirage) from the shadows, fearful of the MLF and their intentions. Later still, Serpent was one of the Ani-Mates infected by the viral reincarnation of the Ani-Mator and it attacked the New Mutants alongside other Ani-Mates when the mutants arrived on the island to help the resurrected Cypher face his fears of the Ani-Mator. After the New Mutants held the Ani-Mates off and entered the Ani-Mator's old lab, Serpent and the other infected Ani-Mates were absorbed into the gestalt form of the slowly reconstituting Ani-Mator. The New Mutants ultimately defeated the Ani-Mator's viral form by reprogramming it using Warlock's Transmode Virus and Serpent was freed from the Ani-Mator's reconstituted form. Freed of the Ani-Mator's programming, the virus was dubbed Genome and it promised to look after Paradise and the Ani-Mates.
Despite appearing
to be green in New Mutants I#59-61, Serpent was colored purple in New
Mutants III#39-40.
Shark was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of a shark and was one of the several Ani-Mates that lived in the waters surrounding the island Paradise. Shark was one of several aquatic Ani-Mates that approached the Ani-Mator's lab as larger Ani-Mates brought forth the captured New Mutants.
Strachiosaur was one of the Ani-Mates created using the genetic material of some sort of dinosaur and was one of the larger Ani-Mates trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. Strachiosaur assisted the other larger Ani-Mates in rounding up the smaller Ani-Mates and bringing them before the Ani-Mator. Strachiosaur later held Bird-Brain at bay as the captured New Mutants were led into glass cylinders within the Ani-Mator's lab and he was subsequently ordered to take Bird-Brain into the testing mazes to kill by the Ani-Mator.
I'm not sure what
sort of dinosaur-like genetic material was used to create Strachiosaur.
I'm not aware of any dinosaur called a Strachiosaur but this Ani-Mate
had a horned, finned head not unlike that of a triceratops or
styracosaurs. Strangely enough, it also seemed to have gray fair,
suggesting that some sort of mammalian genetic material was also used
in Strachiosaur's creation...
Walrus was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a walrus and was one of the larger Ani-Mates
trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. Initially used to capture
smaller Ani-Mates during the Ani-Mator's testing of them, Walrus
battled the New Mutants when they attempted to save the smaller
Ani-Mates from the testing mazes and Walrus later brought several
smaller Ani-Mates to the Ani-Mator. After the larger Ani-Mates were
tricked into dropping the glass cylinders housing the New Mutants,
Walrus battled the escaping New Mutants.
Wolf was one of the Ani-Mates created
using the
genetic material of a wolf and was one of the several larger Ani-Mates
trained to serve the Ani-Mator blindly. When the larger Ani-Mates were
tricked into dropping the glass cylinders housing the captured New
Mutants, Wolf was one of many Ani-Mates who battled the escaping New
Mutants. After being knocked out by the New Mutants, Wolf was one of
many Ani-Mates who attempted to escape the anti-mutant Right, whom the
Ani-Mator served. While being led to the surface by Bird-Brain, Wolf
and the other Ani-Mates were attacked by the Right, who gunned down
Wolf.
It was a bit
difficult to determine which wolf-like Ani-Mate was the one identified
as "Wolf" in Dr. Animus' entry in the Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel
Universe MU5. Since the Gamer's Handbook does confirm Wolf's death, it
stood to reason that the one identified as Wolf was the gray-furred
wolf wearing a piece of red cloth on its head that first battles the
New Mutants during their escape and is later gunned down the Right.
images: (without ads)
New Mutants III#39, p4, pan3 (virus-stricken Ani-Mates attacking, main
image)
New Mutants I#60, p19, pan2 (New Mutants vs. large Ani-Mates, Wolf
image)
X-Force I Annual#3, p9, pan2 (Ani-Mates in shadow, stalking Moonstar)
New Mutants I#59, p2, pan4 (Alligator, Bear & Jackal)
New Mutants I#59, p8, pan4 (Armadillo & Elephant)
New Mutants III#40, p17, splash page (Baboon)
New Mutants I#59, p17, pan2 (Bat)
New Mutants I#59, p4, pan2 (Boar & Cat)
New Mutants I#59, p3, pan4 (Bolivar Littlemouse & Bufo)
New Mutants I#60, p6, pan1 (Dolphin, Octopus, Orca, Shark &
Strachiosaur)
New Mutants I#60, p37, pan5 (Donkey)
New Mutants I#59, p8, pan1 (Fox)
New Mutants I#59, p6, pan6 (Goat)
New Mutants I#58, p23, pan5 (Hawk, Hyena & Rhino)
New Mutants I#59, p2, pan2 (Hedgehog, Iguana, Lion & Rat)
New Mutants I#60, p38, pan4 (Horse)
New Mutants I#61, p2-3, pan1 (Porcupine)
New Mutants I#60, p27, pan3 (Serpent)
New Mutants I#59, p15, splash page (Walrus)
Appearances:
New
Mutants I#58 (December, 1987) - Louise Simonson (writer), Bret Blevins,
Off the Wall Studios (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Ann Nocenti
(editor)
New Mutants I#59 (January, 1988) - Louise Simonson (writer), Bret
Blevins (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
New Mutants I#60 (February, 1988) - Louise Simonson (writer), Bret
Blevins (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
New Mutants I#61 (March, 1988) - Louise Simonson (writer), Bret Blevins
(pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Gamer's
Handbook of the Marvel Universe MU5 (1989) - Scott Bennie, David E.
Martin, Chris Mortika, David Rogers, William Tracy (writers), the
Marvel Bullpen (interior illustrations), Mark Bagley (pencils), Joe
Sinnott, Don Perlin (inks), Anne Brown, William Connors, Scott Haring,
Richard Steinberg (editors)
Nova II#3 (March, 1994) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Chris Marrinan
(pencils), Mark Stegbauer (inks), Rob Tokar (editor)
Nova II#4 (April, 1994) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Chris Marrinan
(pencils), Mark Stegbauer (inks), Rob Tokar (editor)
Nova II#5 (May, 1994) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Chris Marrinan
(pencils), Mark Stegbauer (inks), Rob Tokar (editor)
X-Force
I Annual#3 (October, 1994) - "In Deep" story - Fabian Nicieza (writer),
Mike Wieringo (pencils), John Lowe (inks), Lisa Patrick (editor)
New Mutants III#38 (April, 2012) - Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning (writers),
Leandro Fernandez (art), Sebastian Girner (editor)
New Mutants III#39 (May, 2012) - Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning (writers),
Leandro Fernandez (art), Sebastian Girner, Bill Rosemann (editors)
New Mutants III#40 (June, 2012) - Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning (writers),
Leandro Fernandez (art), Sebastian Girner, Bill Rosemann (editors)
First Posted: 05/31/2024
Last updated: 05/31/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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