cockroach men of Earth-80521cockroach men of Earth-80521
Classification: Genetically-engineered humanoid-blattarian hybrids
Location/Base of Operations: Earth-80521, around 2360 AD (see comments)
Known Members: President of the United States of America
Affiliations: None;
Lucas Bishop of Earth-1191 never directly
encountered them, but he is indirectly responsible for their existence
by causing the conditions that led to their being created
Enemies: Cable (Nathan Summers/Nathan
Dayspring Askani'son) of Earth-616, Griff (Griffin), Hope Summers of
Earth-80521,
Hope Summers of Earth-616, General Zyker and his Dallas rebel force;
the rest of the population of New Liberty (including Sky); humanity in
general
Aliases: Cockroach Army, Humanoid-Blattarians, Roaches
First Appearance: (Armored forms) Cable II#7 (December, 2008);
(helmet) Cable II#8 (January, 2009)
Powers/Abilities: The cockroach men exist in two forms, one being a giant, human-sized cockroach, and the other being a humanoid biped.
The cockroach men possess
superhuman strength (perhaps "enhanced human," lifting greater than 800
lbs. but less than 2 tons); one of them kicked Cable through a
building. They also have somewhat enhanced leaping abilities.
They are protected by a chitinous shell/exoskeleton. Their endoskeletal structures are undefined (they may or may not have bones), and it is similarly unrevealed whether they can compress their bodies like conventional cockroaches
Like
conventional cockroaches they apparently breathe through tubular
tracheae, which attach to external spiracle valves on their thorax and
abdomen, allowing gas diffusion. They presumably possess some
connection between their airway in order to allow advanced phonation
(speech), but they do not need their head or necks to ventilate
(breathe). Wounds into their thoracic and abdominal cavities are more
damaging.
Cockroach men can survive
dismemberment and even decapitation. Not only that, but a decapitated
cockroach man can control his own body, continuing to fight effectively.
In conventional cockroaches, this is related to
their lacking mammal-like blood pressure, and they don't bleed to
death; barring evisceration or infection, they
may live up to a month. However, while they are alive, they retain only
limited response to tactile stimuli (they may move a limb or limbs when
touched). Presumably the cockroach men can control their own nervous
system even when separated from their bodies, presumably over a limited
distance.
Conventional cockroaches' joints can
separate at preset points to escape predators and can be regenerated.
It is unrevealed whether the cockroach men or the giant cockroaches
have these abilities, but
The cockroach men have human-like
oral structures, with sharp teeth, but they also have paired, united
hemi-mandibular structures (like most insect) below their lower jaw
(essentially two pairs of mandibles (lower jaws)), with no obvious
function to the lower mandibles (perhaps they assisted in bringing food
into the mouth). Many images make it look like the cockroach men have
three rows of teeth. However, the middle and lower teeth form the
equivalent of a human jaw
Presumably, like conventional
cockroaches, they are omnivorous but can survive for an extended period
(perhaps a month or more) without food or water. The President
referenced eating human flesh, which may be true or may have just been
used for shock value.
The cockroach men were created to resist radiation and the hostile climate of the Earth of their time.
Like many insects, cockroaches only undergo cell
division weekly and are thus protected from acute radiation, which
attacks only dividing cells and would only kill perhaps 25% of any
cockroach population at a time.
Preferring warm and moist climates, cockroaches can
nonetheless survive dry climates and occasional freezing temperatures. 
Cockroaches’ feet are covered by brush-like pili acting like multiple suction cups to scale walls or ceilings. Presumably at least the giant cockroach types can scale walls and/or ceilings (their mass may or may not prevent the latter).
Both the cockroach men and the
giant cockroaches had antennae, which at least enhanced tactile
sensation in darkness. Like conventional cockroaches, the
cockroach men may or may not be able to communicate via airborne
pheromones and.or fecal chemicals.
They may or may not cause allergies and asthma via tropomyosin and other proteins.
While the cockroach men do not
reproduce sexually as humans do, and they notably are not pained by a
kick in the crotch, presumably indicating that their gonads are
internal. However, their method of reproduction is unrevealed. It may
be that humanoid bipeds are male and the giant cockroaches are female
(or vice-versa), but there is no data to support or refute that.
Conventional female cockroaches are larger than
males to carry egg capsules, bearing about 800 offspring annually. In
about 50 days nymphs hatch out, becoming adults between 160-970 days. A few species are parthenogenetic, reproducing without males.
Later generations of cockroach men developed (presumably membranous) wings enabling flight (maximum speed, range, height, and weight-carrying are undefined), but they did not have evidence of outer protective/wing-covering shells.
Traits: While claiming to be bringing back America, the cockroaches wanted to conquer the nation and rule (and/or devour humanity)
Type: Bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid insectoid bipeds (and fully insectoid form in the case of the giant cockroaches)
Eyes: The
cockroach men had two pairs of eyes: larger, human-positioned eyes
(yellow irides without visible sclera vs. yellow sclera without visible
irides; vertical linear structure within central circular pupils), with
smaller similar and paired structures inferiorly located; the giant
cockroaches appear to have four pairs of eyes; conventional cockroaches
have two compound eyes covered by transparent cuticles
Fingers: Four (plus opposing thumb; the giant cockroaches had limbs ending in points, without digits)
Toes: Unrevealed (the giant cockroaches had limbs ending in points, without digits)
Skin color: Gray to brown
Average height: Approximately 6'
History:
(Cable II#7 (fb) - BTS) - Fleeing from Lucas Bishop of Earth-1191 with the first mutant child born since M-Day when the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) had reduced Earth's mutant population to around 300, Cable (Nathan Summers) traveled to the future of Reality-80521.
His time machine damaged, Cable was only able to travel into the future, but they continued to be pursued by Bishop who could travel both forward and backward in that timeline.
(Cable II#7 (fb) - BTS) - Cable eventually brought the mutant girl to some unspecified time period around 2360 A.D. (see comments) and arrived in the town of New Liberty,
where he eventually fell in love with a woman named Hope, unofficially adopting the young mutant girl as their daughter.
(Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS / Cable
II#10 (fb) - BTS) - The
maddened and obsessive Bishop began destroying society
to minimize the space in which Cable could hide from him. Australia was
destroyed first via tactical nuclear weapons. A year later cane the
Great
European Water Panic, using a U.S. government weapon that could poison
entire water supplies. This was followed by the South American
wildfires (using an advanced form of napalm that was barely withheld by
the ocean) and then a combination of bioweapons and toxic chemical
releases (apparently also leading to some civil war) in Africa and
Asia. A series of global disasters
continued, eventually wiping out every continent except North America.
Antarctica being already almost gone was left alone.
(Cable II#7 (fb) - BTS) - When Nathan married Hope, he buried his weapons in the ground beneath a concrete slab behind their house.
(Cable II#7 (fb) - BTS) - Cable also booby trapped the grounds around their house with enough Semtex to take out a fleet of tanks.
(Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS)
<Two years before the main story> - The United Nations declared
North America a free zone for all humanity, and survivors from the
other continents immigrated to North America.
(Cable II#8 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, seeking to design a race that could survive the worldwide devastation, some unidentified parties combined human and cockroach DNA.
(Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS) - One
of the cockroach men apparently declared himself President of America
and led the other cockroach men to assassinate the head of the United
Nations, and he vowed to take back America one square mile at a time.
(Cable II#7) - 579 days after
Cable's arrival in this time period (see comments), the Cockroach men pierced the
force fields around New Liberty, and they announced their presence,
noting that they were the government of the USA and that they were
there to help.
(Cable II#8) - As Cable
searched for the mutant toddler who had gotten out of their house, one of the armored invaders advised
him of a mandatory meeting.
Figuring he could take out the warrior
without raising any alerts, Cable punched the warrior, shattering his
helmet and revealing him to be a cockroach man who swiftly recovered
from his assault.
The cockroach man then kicked
Cable through a building and leapt after him. Cable kicked his
assailant in the crotch, which only amused the cockroach man.
Using a
scythe, Cable decapitated the cockroach man, but the cockroach man's
head continued to mock him while its body knocked Cable down and
continued to assault him. Cable then used a chain saw to cut through
the cockroach man's chest, which finally finished it off.
Cable was then joined by fellow
New Liberty resident Griff. When a pair of armored cockroach men
approached, insisting they needed to be at the meeting, Cable advised
Griff to aim for the chest, and they took out both cockroach men.
Griff then suggested they gather some men and some weapons, Cable told him he needed to find his daughter first (although he intended to take the girl and flee with her).
(Cable II#8 (fb) - BTS) - At
some point, the cockroach men captured Hope and several other
townspeople and bound them in ropes and drugged them in some fashion.
(Cable II#8) - As Cable located his daughter, the President told the gathered townspeople (at gunpoint) that the world had grown even scarier than they had remembered; they had brought protective materials so the townspeople could survive the harsh environmental conditions and could help them retake America, "one glorious state at a time!"
Seeing Hope amongst the cockroach men's prisoners, Cable considered his daughter to the be the priority and prepared to leave with her, but she pressured him to rescue Hope. Cable then recovered his weapons he had buried.
Meanwhile, the cockroach men revealed their true forms to the townspeople, who fled in terror.
(Cable II#9) - Sending his
daughter into the woods to hide with a bag (containing the triggers to
the buried Semtex) and wait for him, Cable then went in hard and fast,
shooting the cockroach men, but they tolerated their wounds and
remained standing.
Cable then charged and forced his way past the cockroach men and freed Hope, but as she was still anesthetized by whatever they'd used, he was forced to carry her as he fled. As Hope started to awaken and they were reunited with their daughter, the cockroach men caught up with them again.
The lead cockroach man introduced
himself as the President of the United States of America and told them they could be very useful if they let
the cockroach people reach their full potential. Pointing to a dead
cockroach man, the president noted that he was in need of a new
secretary of defense, and that if Cable was interested in the position,
his wife and daughter would be allowed to live, unmolested. 
Instead, Cable gave his daughter
the signal, and she detonated the Semtex he had planted long ago. Most
of the cockroach men were blown apart by the explosives.
Retreating to
the woods, Cable shot down cockroach men stationed on high platforms
and told Hope of his plan to lead the cockroach men far enough away
that Sky and the others could close the force field behind them and
save New Liberty.
(Cable II#10 (fb)) - As Cable, Hope, and their daughter led the cockroach men away from New Liberty, the angered president sent his army after them.
(Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS) - The President promised a presidential medal of honor to the soldier who could bring back Cable's head.
(Cable II#10 (fb)) - Over the
next six months, Cable found the weaknesses in the roaches' armor, and
as he killed a lot of roaches while surviving in the barren
environment, he found himself wishing that the roaches were edible.
The president and his soldiers continued to stalk Cable and his family, pursuing them into the wastelands where the food was scarce.
(Cable II#10) <"Day 758" - see comments>
Ambushing Cable's family and holding Hope at gunpoint, the President
was ultimately stabbed by Cable and Hope's daughter and captured by
Cable.
(Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS) - Cable cut the President in half at the waist.
(Cable II#10) - Cable, Hope, and their daughter walked away, leaving the President for dead.
(Cable II#10 - BTS) - After Hope was slain in a skirmish with locals at a settlement, Cable named their daughter Hope in her honor.
|
(Cable II#11 (fb) - BTS) - The
cockroach army rebounded and swiftly grew, eventually reaching numbers
in the millions, and they also developed wings and the ability to fly. (Cable II#11 (fb) - BTS) - At
some point, Cable joined a a rebel unit in the former site of Dallas,
Texas (among the last remnants of humanity), and he offered his
services in exchange for food, protection, and arms, considering that
it would have been difficult to survive out in the open. He served
under General Zyker. The scientists there developed a
bioweapon that would theoretically wreak havoc on the roach-soldiers'
genetics, immobilizing the roaches before causing respiratory
paralysis. However, there was a "more-than-good" chance it would do the
same to general humanity. (Cable II#11) <Day 1514 -
see comments> - As the cockroach army assaulted the rebel base,
Cable argued with Zyker, insisting that using the bioweapon was a
mistake, and Zyker ultimately relieved Cable of duty. |  |
Comments: Created by Duane Swierczynski & Ariel Olivretti.
While earlier issues gave specific time periods for Cable and the baby's travels to Earth-80521, this
arc did not…or I missed it.
It wasn't until after Cable buried Hope Summers 27 days after the President's death that he named his adoptive daughter after her, and she became the next Hope Summers. Prior to that, Cable called her Little One and Little Girl, while her adoptive mother called her "Little Momma."
Blattaria is the Order of insects consisting of roaches. Kingdom-->Phylum-->Class-->Order-->Family-->Genus-->Species.
This profile was completed 3/06/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The cockroach men should be distinguished from:
 |
Also known as just the President, and Cable once called him "Mr. President" (Cable II#8 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, seeking to design a race that could survive the worldwide devastation, some unidentified parties combined human and cockroach DNA. (Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS) - One
of the cockroach men apparently declared himself President of America
and led the other cockroach men to assassinate the head of the United
Nations, and he vowed to take back America one square mile at a time. (Cable II#7) - The President led a group of Cockroach men pierced the force fields around New Liberty, and they announced their presence, noting that they were the government of the USA and that they were there to help. (Cable II#8 (fb) - BTS) -
While Cable sought out his toddler daughter and learned the true nature
of the invaders, the cockroach men captured Hope and several other
townspeople and bound them in ropes and drugged them in some fashion. (Cable II#8) - The President told the gathered townspeople (at gunpoint) that the world had grown even scarier than they had remembered; they had brought protective materials so the townspeople could survive the harsh environmental conditions and could help them retake America, "one glorious state at a time!" Noting that his people
couldn't save America without the people of New Liberty and that they
were the future of their great nation, the President removed his helmet
and had the cockroach men reveal their true forms. As those townspeople not
drugged and bound fled in terror, the President vainly assured them
that there was no need to be afraid. (Cable II#9) - Cable charged and forced his way past the cockroach men and freed Hope and fled with her. As Hope started to awaken and they were reunited with their daughter, the President and other cockroach men caught up with them again. The lead cockroach man introduced
himself as the President of America and noted how he was surprised to
find a natural-born killer among the likes of simple, peace-loving
agrarian folk. Although Hope denounced him as a tyrant, Cable silenced
her, and the President told them they could be very useful if they let
the cockroach people reach their full potential. Pointing to a dead
cockroach man, the president noted that he was in need of a new
secretary of defense, and that if Cable was interested in the position,
his wife and daughter would be allowed to live, unmolested. |  |
 | Instead, Cable gave his daughter
the signal, and she detonated the Semtex he had planted long ago. Most
of the cockroach men were blown apart by the explosives. Retreating to
the woods, Cable shot down cockroach men stationed on high platforms
and told Hope of his plan to lead the cockroach men far enough away
that Sky and the others could close the force field behind them and
save New Liberty. (Cable II#10 (fb)) - As Cable, Hope, and their daughter led the cockroach men away from New Liberty, the angered president sent his army after them. (Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS) - The President promised a presidential medal of honor to the soldier who could bring back Cable's head. (Cable II#10 (fb)) - Over the
next six months, Cable found the weaknesses in the roaches' armor, and
as he killed a lot of roaches while surviving in the barren
environment, he found himself wishing that the roaches were edible. The president and his soldiers continued to stalk Cable and his family, pursuing them into the wastelands where the food was scarce. (Cable II#10) <"Day 758" - see comments> Ambushing Cable's family and holding Hope at gunpoint, the President forced Cable to place an obedience collar around his own neck. Noting that there was enough food for himself and Cable to start the hard work of rebuilding the American Empire, the President then instructed Cable to kill Hope and his daughter with his bare hands, after which they would feast on them. However, the daughter instead picked up Cable's dagger (with which he had been shaving) and stabbed the President in the chest with it. As he coughed and swore, Hope removed the collar from Cable, after which he punched the President and then placed the collar on him, forcing him to relate what had brought America to this state. Hearing of the worldwide
destruction, Cable realized that this had all been engineered, and he
correctly suspected that Bishop had done this. (Cable II#10 (fb) - BTS) - Cable then cut the President in half at the waist. (Cable II#10) - Cable, Hope, and their daughter walked away, leaving the President for dead.
|  |
images: (without ads)
Cable II#7, last page (armored forms, piercing New Liberty's force field);
#8, pg. 8 (unmasked, knees up);
pg. 9, panel 3 (leaping to the assault);
pg. 10, 4-6 (decapitated, body attacking Cable);
pg. 11, panel 2-3 (cut in half at mid-section);
pg. 22, panel 1 (almost full, plus six-limbed more fully insectoid forms);
#9, pg. 3, panel 2 (various forms surrounding prisoners);
pg. 8, panel 2 (wounded, but not hindered);
pg. 10, panel 5 (president, shins up);
pg. 11, panel 2 (president, face);
#10, pg. 9, panel 1 (president holding Hope hostage);
pg. 15, panel 1 (president dismembered);
#11, pg. 2, panel 1 (swarm assaulting Dallas rebel base);
pg. 3, panel 2 (flashback battle);
pg. 5, panel 2 (bio-weapon);
Appearances:
Cable II#7
(December, 2008) - Duane Swierczynski (writer), Ariel Olivretti
(artist), Will Panzo & Sebastian Girner (assistant editors), Axel
Alonso (editor)
Cable II#8-9 (January-February, 2009) - Duane Swierczynski
(writer), Ariel Olivretti (artist), Will Panzo & Sebastian Girner
(assistant editors), Axel Alonso (editor)
Cable II#10 (March, 2009) - Duane Swierczynski
(writer), Ariel Olivretti (artist), Sebastian Girner
(assistant editors), Axel Alonso (editor)
Cable II#11 (March, 2009) - Duane Swierczynski
(writer), Ariel Olivretti (the New Liberty era part) & Jamie McKelvie (the future part) (artists), Sebastian Girner
(assistant editors), Axel Alonso (editor)
First posted: 09/07/2021
Last updated: 09/06/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
