DUMMY
Real Name: Dean Boswell
Identity/Class: Human mutant,
citizen of the United States
Occupation: Student
Group Membership: Xorn's Special Class (Angel
Salvadore, Basilisk/Mike Columbus, Beak/Barnell Bohusk, Ernst,
No-Girl/Martha Johansson, Kuan-Yin Xorn)
Affiliations: Xavier
Institute student body (Choir/Irina
Clayton, Contact/Frida Rivera, Crater/Erik Hallgrimsson, Forearm/Marcus
Tucker, Glob Herman/Robert Herman, Imp/Anders Nobel, Keratin/Dave Finn,
Longneck/William Hanover, Mentat/Robert Zepheniah, "Michael Jackson,"
Polymer/Dana Holmes, Radian/Christian Cord, Redneck/Vincent Stewart,
Spike/Gary Walsh, Stalwart/Adewale Ekoku, Stepford Cuckoos (Celeste,
Esme, Mindee, Phoebe, Sophie, Cuckoo), Tattoo/Christine Cord, other
unidentified students), X-Men (Beast/Henry McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers,
Phoenix/Jean Grey, Professor X/Charles Xavier, White Queen/Emma Frost,
Wolverine/James Howlett, Xorn/Kuan-Yin Xorn)
Enemies: The Omega Gang (Glob Herman/Robert Herman, Kid Omega/Quentin Quire,
Radian/Christian Cord, Redneck/Vincent Stewart, Tattoo/Christine Cord),
U-Men
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Human fart" (nickname used by Basilisk)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Xavier Institute,
Salem Center, New York, USA
First Appearance: New X-Men I#135 (February, 2003)
Powers/Abilities: Dean Boswell was a mutant who,
upon hitting puberty, mutated into a living, gaseous form. In order to
preserve him, he was placed inside a rubber suit that contained his
essence. Now known as Dummy, Boswell could exert sufficient force to
manipulate the suit, thereby simulating movement. He could also speak,
though how he accomplished this without vocal cords or lungs was
unclear. The smell of his gaseous form was foul, described by some as
"eggs and parmesan cheese." Whether this was its natural odor or the
result of being cooped up in a small space for extended periods of time
is unrevealed.
Height: Inapplicable
Weight: Inapplicable
Eyes: Inapplicable
Hair: Inapplicable
History: (New X-Men I#135 (fb) - BTS) - When his mutant powers manifested
themselves, Dean Boswell turned into a sentient gas cloud that had
to rely on a rubber containment suit. As a result, he felt ostracized
and lonely, even after joining the Xavier Institute.
(New X-Men I#135) - Dummy was placed in Xorn's "Special Class" along
with other young students whose unique powers or backgrounds warranted
specialized tutelage. Among his classmates were the sarcastic Basilisk,
the seemingly geriatric Ernst, the outspoken Angel, the relatively
powerless Beak and the ever-elusive No-Girl. Xorn, ignoring the
"jackass" sign taped to his back, decided to take them all camping to
get to know one another a little better. Deep in the forest, while
making camp for the night, none of them were aware they had been located
by a squad of mutant-harvesting U-Men out on patrol, who prepped for
attack
(New X-Men I#136) - Chased by the U-Men, Xorn led Dummy and the others
to a safe place in the woods. However, Dummy's suit was nicked by one of
the U-Men's scalpel guns. No one noticed this until after Xorn left them
alone to go deal with the U-Men but soon Dummy's foul-smelling odor and
the hissing sound coming from the leak in his suit became obvious. After
some initial bickering and boasting between Basilisk and Beak, they came
up with a solution: Beak patched up the leak with a spare condom. After
they all returned to the school, Xorn noted that the trip had given
Dummy what he longed for: the sense he was part of a community that
cared for him.
(New X-Men I#137) - During the Xavier Institute's
Open Day, the rebellious, Kick-addicted Omega Gang got into a fight with
a band of human protesters. During the confrontation, the school was
rocked by a series of explosions. One of them blew out the windows just
as Dummy was floating past. He was struck by the flying shards. His suit
pierced, a shocked Beak and Ernst, holding her nose, watched their
classmate deflate away into nothingness.
(New X-Men I#138 - BTS) - Following
the riots, the Special Class attended the Xavier Institute's
prize-giving ceremony. Basilisk couldn't take the prestigious event
seriously, commenting to Xorn that he was sure he smelled the gaseous
Dummy somewhere near his mentor's butt.
(X-Men II#157) - Apparently having pulled his gaseous form back together, Dummy walked in the background when Lucinda Guthrie dropped off
her son Icarus (Jay Guthrie) at the Xavier Institute. (see comments)
Comments: Created by Grant Morrison (writer), Frank
Quitely (pencils) and Tim Townsend (inks).
It's not been revealed if Dummy was able to slowly gather
himself back together. Though, if all you have forward to is life as a
sentient, stinky bag of gas, I wouldn't be surprised he decided to float
away into oblivion.
Dummy appeared quite a few months after his apparent death in X-Men
II#157. It easily might have
been the original Dummy, having pulled himself back together, or possibly the suit could be standard containment
vessel for any and all gas-based mutants.
Dummy received a profile in Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 2: X-Men. Dummy's real name
was revealed in the Xavier Institute entry of the Official Handbook of
the Marvel Universe A-Z I#13.
Profile by Norvo.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dummy should not be confused with
- any other
"Dummy" characters
images: (without ads)
New X-Men I#135, p2, pan1 (main image)
New X-Men I#136, p14, pans1&2 (doesn't want to die)
New X-Men I#137, p12, pans3&5 (dies)
Appearances:
New X-Men I#135 (February, 2003) - Grant
Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Mike
Marts (editor)
New X-Men I#136 (March, 2003) - Grant
Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Avalon Studios (inks), Mike
Marts (editor)
New X-Men I#137 (April, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely
(pencils), Avalon Studios (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
New X-Men I#138 (May, 2003) - Grant
Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Avalon Studios (inks),
Mike Marts (editor)
X-Men II#157 (November, 2005) - Peter Milligan (writer), Salvador
Larroca (pencils), Danny Miki, Allen Martinez (inks), Mike Marts
(editor)
First Posted: 07/05/2015
Last updated: 06/18/2015
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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should check out the real thing!
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