Real Name: Mikhail
Zamorska
THE BABY KILLER
Real Name: Mikhail
Zamorska
Identity/Class: Human clone and technology user (see comments);
Polish citizen
Occupation: Soldier
Group Membership: Euroforce (Black Knight/Dane Whitman, Sliver/Franco Fibbri, Swordswoman/Marjorie, Tiger/Hughes Aït-Kaci, Tumult)
Affiliations: Avengers (Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Nightmask/Adam, Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, Star Brand/Kevin Connor), Sebastian Druid, Champions of Europe (Ares, Captain Britain/Brian Braddock, Guillotine/Jeannine Sauvage, Outlaw/Nigel Higgins, Peregrine/Alain Racine), U.S. Avengers (Enigma/Aikku Jokinen, Squirrel Girl/Doreen Green)
Enemies: Hydra, Morgan Le Fay
Known Relatives: Mikhail Zamorska (clone progenitor; see comments)
Aliases: "Look Who's Talking"
Base of Operations: Mobile throughout Europe;
formerly Poland
First Appearance: Avengers World #8 (August 2014)
Powers/Abilities: Despite his youthful body, the Baby Killer wields twin submachine guns, as well as carrying at least one other large stock gun on his back. He wears custom-fitted body armor, and presumably carries other equipment and weapons in his various pouches. His equipment is either presumably specially modified to be handled by a child, or else he possesses a degree of enhanced (for a child, at any rate) strength. He seems capable of making huge leaps, appearing to bound around the battlefield; whether this is down to some component of his armor, an innate superhuman ability, or just artistic license, remains unconfirmed. He possesses several decades worth of military experience, is well versed in armed combat with various weapons, and presumably is a good tactician and strategist, albeit he seems to let his combat enthusiasm stop him from using these latter two.
Height: 3'2" (by approximation)
Weight: 32 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond (see comments)
History: (Avengers World#12 (fb)) - Polish scientists cloned sixty year old General Mikhail Zamorska (see comments) and attempted to transfer his consciousness into the infant's body. After twelve days the scientists began to wonder if they had failed, as they noticed no evidence of the child displaying any of the general's personality traits, failing to notice the child showing a curiosity about the PM-84 Glauberyt slung over the shoulder of the guard who had picked him up. On day thirteen, the child snatched the rifle off the surprised guard's shoulder and gleefully terrorized the scientists by firing several rounds through his playroom's observation window and over the heads of the monitoring scientists, demonstrating the experiment was a success.
(Avengers World#12 (fb) - BTS) - Taking the codename the Baby Killer, the toddler terror joined Euroforce, armed with years of military experience and specialized weaponry designed for his small body.
(Avengers World#1 - BTS / Avengers World#8 - BTS) - Some time later, Morgan Le Fay took control of a City of the Dead beneath the Italian town Velletri. One of several underground spirit traps constructed in Europe by Yagzan's followers, the Cult of Entropy, back in the 15th and 16th centuries, the City held countless tormented lost souls unable to move on. Either as a deliberate act or a side-effect of seizing control, Morgan's action caused everyone within the city limits of the Italian town Velletri to simultaneously vanish. With the Black Knight serving as their temporary leader, the new Euroforce -- Baby Killer, Sliver, Swordswoman, Tiger and Tumult -- were sent to investigate, reaching Velletri four hours after the mass disappearance. They soon found their way to the City and learned of Morgan's plot, but were trapped and unable to communicate their discoveries to the outside world. Eight hours later S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Maria Hill dispatched a squad of Avengers - Hawkeye, Nightmask, Spider-Woman and Starbrand - to the scene. They also found their way into the City.
(Avengers World#8) - Not recognizing them as
Avengers, Swordswoman impetuously attacked the Avengers before Black Knight
called her off. He introduced his new teammates to the Avengers, and was
about to inform the Avengers about Morgan when an army of monsters
attacked. As Black Knight called the two teams to action, Baby Killer
confirmed his weapons were loaded and ready, then leapt into action, clearly
revelling in the combat, somewhat to Spider-Woman's bemusement. Noticing
this, Black Knight gave her a necessarily abbreviated summary of the Baby
Killer's background. While the teams fought the demons, Morgan used the power
of the tormented souls to unleash armies of the dead from all the Cities
of the Dead, sending them to assault Europe's capitals.
(Avengers World#10 - BTS) - The Avengers and Euroforce continued to battle the City's monstrous defenders while Morgan's armies rampaged. As they fought, the Avengers and Black Knight relayed the news of Morgan's involvement in events back to Maria Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D.
(Avengers World#12) - The battle continued with no apparent end in sight to the demons. The City produced a giant spider to attack them, but the Baby Killer happily attacked it, announcing that they were now fighting in Hell, but it belonged to the Baby Killer. His bombastic overconfidence prompted Hawkeye to sarcastically tell "Look Who's Talking" that the spider was all his, but the Baby Killer either ignored or missed the tone, merely smiling as he gladly accepted the offer. This didn't prevent Sliver also attacking and slaying the arachnid. However, more monsters kept coming, until Sebastian Druid teleported in, his magic disrupting the creatures. He explained that Morgan was nearly invincible in her current empowered state, but he had figured out a way to beat her; before he could expand on this, he was impaled from behind by a spear wielded by a giant spectral image of Morgan herself. Druid collapsed to the ground, seemingly slain, and Morgan demanded that the other heroes bow to her.
(Avengers World#14) - Ignoring this demand, the two teams continued to battle as the City's monstrous creations again attacked them. However, Druid's spirit emerged from his downed body, now able to fully access the City's death magic, and forcibly returned all her ghostly armies to the void, painfully depowering Morgan back to normal strength. Druid, Spider-Woman and Black Knight then swiftly and simultaneously struck, finishing her off. While his teammate Tiger cheered their victory, and the others caught their breath following their close call, the Baby Killer glanced around, guns still at the ready, as if hoping the combat might soon recommence.
(Captain America: Steve Rogers#18) - Euroforce battled Hydra forces next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. When a woman fell from the Eiffel Tower's observation deck, Swordswoman swung up on an energy rope and caught her, then deposited her safely back atop the tower. Swordswoman then surprised the woman with a passionate kiss before swinging off again to rejoin the fight. Leading the team, Key shouted to his compatriots to bring the terrorists down, an order Sliver, Tumult, Tiger and Baby Killer were happy to comply with.
(U.S. Avengers#9) - Hydra took over France, maintaining control with the aid of the flying fortress La Deuxiéme Bastille, which hovered over Paris threatening to rain down death. Euroforce members Baby Killer, Swordswoman and Tumult, plus their ally Black Knight, were held hostage in the fortress' brig under power-dampening fields. However, the recently assembled Champions of Europe (Outlaw, Captain Britain, Guillotine, Ares and Peregrine), joined by U.S. Avengers Squirrel Girl and Enigma, attacked in stolen Hydramechs, damaging the fortress' generators, which in turn shut off the power dampeners. Confronted by the freed and angry quartet, the fortress' commander swiftly surrendered. They joined the Champions on the ground as Enigma received word from her girlfriend Toni Ho that anti-Hydra forces in America were also rallying. In response, Enigma informed Toni that she and her fellow heroes were all "coming home."
(Secret Empire#9) - As Earth's superhumans went to war with Hydra in Washington, D.C. to reclaim the United States, Euroforce (Tiger, Baby Killer and Tumult visible) teleported to join the fight.
Comments: Created by Nick Spencer (writer), Marco Checchetto (pencils, inks).
With only a brief appearance, three issues and, outside his origin flashback, only a couple of panels per issue, there remains a lot as yet unclear about the Baby Killer. Firstly, there's his codename - one hopes he is the Baby Killer because he is a killer who is also a baby, but given he was an elderly general old enough (for the moment at least) to have served in the Polish military under Communism, there is the possibility of a more sinister option - he had a reputation for killing babies. However, if the latter was the case, you'd think Euroforce would not want him in their number. Given how gung-ho he is, you've got to wonder what kind of general he used to be - but maybe its the sudden regaining of his youth that made a formerly mature and cautious soldier turn into a combat monster.
Then there's the reasons for cloning him. Okay, at sixty, he was getting on, but that age alone isn't enough of a reason. Was he badly injured or terminally ill? Or just so unwilling to retire that he was willing to risk his life undergoing an untested procedure to transfer into a younger clone body. Where did they get the technology? Did they develop it themselves, or has someone captured Arnim Zola's old notes/equipment and tried to make sense of them? Why clone him as a child, and not an adult? At a guess, they couldn't age the child artificially, and they couldn't wait for him to grow (and perhaps develop an individual personality) before attempting the transfer. And is his body aging naturally, or faster than normal, slower than normal, or not at all? I guess we'll know if and when he makes his next appearance - kids grow up fast normally.
Did the scientists really succeed in transferring the original Zamorska's consciousness, or did they just create a copy? Presumably the transfer ended the old body's life, or else we are talking a copy, which doesn't seem to be what the scientists were aiming for. If he's a copy, then the original is effectively his clone father.
Is the kid normal (apart from his mind and how he was created), or somehow physically enhanced? His actions in battle in the City of the Dead could be explained by powered body armor or specially adapted weapons, but he easily handled and fired an adult's full sized automatic weapon in his flashback in Avengers World#12 without any armor to assist. I know some guns are small enough for toddlers to use, but not a Polish army PM-84 Glauberyt. Artistic license, or low level supertoddler strength?
His haircut radically altered between his first and second issues, going from a brownish full head of hair to a blond mohawk. Given this was in the heat of battle, leaving little time to visit a barber, we'll put that down to artistic license. In terms of his physical stats, he is seen standing alongside Tumult and Tiger in Avengers World#12, and looks to be around half Tumult's height. That would make him a little over 3' tall, which, as far as I can tell, is roughly the size of an average three year old, an age that feels about right given his appearance.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Character name has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Avengers World I#8, p8, pan1 (main image)
Avengers World I#12, p12, pan2 (headshot, no glasses)
Avengers World I#8, p15, pan1 (enthusiastically giving demon spawn a taste
of his blood steel)
Appearances:
Avengers World#8 (August, 2014) - Nick Spencer (writer), Marco Checchetto
(pencils, inks), Will Moss (editor)
Avengers World#12 (November, 2014) - Nick Spencer (writer), Marco Checchetto
(pencils, inks), Will Moss (editor)
Avengers World#14 (December, 2014) - Nick Spencer (writer), Marco Checchetto
(pencils, inks), Will Moss (editor)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#18 (August, 2017) - Nick Spencer & Donny Cates (writers), Javier Pina (pencils), Andres Guinaldo (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
U.S. Avengers#9 (October, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Paco Medina (pencils), Alex Arizmendi (pencils/inks), Juan Vlasco (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Secret Empire#9 (October, 2017) - Nick Spencer (writer), Leinil Francis Yu, Joe Bennett & Rod Reis (pencils), Gerry Alanguilan, Leinil Francis Yu, Joe Pimentel & Rod Reis (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 04/04/2016 Last updated: 10/21/2017
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