| Bushmaster |
| Real name: Quincy McIver Aliases: None Identity: Known to authorities Occupation: Professional criminal and mercenary Citizenship: Unrevealed Place of Birth: Unidentified Caribbean island Known relatives: John (older brother, deceased), Cruz (nephew, deceased) Group Affiliation: Serpent Society, Thunderbolts Education: High school dropout Height: 18' 1/2" (from head to tail) Weight: Unrevealed Eyes: Brown Hair: Black, shaved head bald Powers: Bushmaster possesses a long, snake-like, superhumanly strong bionic tail that enables him to move and strike at superhuman speed. By rapid muscular contractions along the length of his tail, Bushmaster can move at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. By wrapping his tail into a tight coil and making a sudden lunging motion, he can move 18 1/2 feet in under two seconds. The bionic motors in his artificial arms and tail respond to his nerve impulses. Abilities: Bushmaster has formidable hand-to-hand combat skills. Weapons: Two 6-inch "fangs" strapped to the back of each of his hands. The fangs are needle-sharp at the tips and contain a fast-acting poison derived from snake venom. History: As a child, Quincy McIver was raised by his older brother, John. Once John was initiated into the path of a career criminal, Quincy followed behind him and joined the mob boss John worked for. During his first mission to smuggle cocaine, he was ambushed by the police, and fled the scene. He attempted to escape by jumping into a nearby river. Fearing returning to his brother as a failure, he wished to drown instead. His suicide was cut short when a police boat past by and Quincy's arms and legs got ripped off by the propellers. Awakening in the hospital, Quincy realized his arms and legs were missing, and sunk into a further depression when his brother decided to abandon him to go to Europe. He was then approached by Seth Voelker, Sidewinder, and given artificial limbs, as well as a snake tail. Quincy accepted his new look, taking the name of his brother, Bushmaster, and found friendship within Sidewinder's criminal organization, the Serpent Society. The first mission Bushmaster was sent on was alongside his teammate Diamondback. They were ordered to search for MODOK, under contract with AIM. After searching several AIM headquarters, the pair finally found MODOK in an underwater base. In the skirmish, Bushmaster grabbed onto MODOK as he attempted to escape, and was pulled into the sea, having his arms ripped apart from a mind-blast. Diamondback quickly saved her partner and pulled him to shore. Due to losing his arms, Bushmaster stayed out of several subsequent missions, though he eventually received new arms. During Viper's takeover of the Serpent Society, Bushmaster abstained from betraying Sidewinder, and stayed loyal to the man who had given him a new body. Viper had injected Bushmaster, along with the others who refused to betray Sidewinder, with venom, allowing them a painful death. After Captain America intervened, Bushmaster was given an antidote and fled the scene. He resurfaced alongside the rest of the group as they battled the X-Men. He faced off against Diamondback, who's mind had been placed in Dazzler's body. She convinced him of being his teammate, and he refused to battle her, abandoning the battle to return to a Serpent Saucer. After Cobra took over the Society, Bushmaster was placed as second-in-command. Loyal and trustworthy, Cobra found Bushmaster to be a great substitute leader after he had gone through his test against Mr. Hyde. Later, Bushmaster voted innocent during Diamondback's trial, his friendship with her continuing strong. However, the rest of the Society had voted guilty, and he obeyed the Serpent Society's rules by attacking Black Mamba and Asp, who had attempted to save Diamondback. He was eventually defeated, but returned when Captain America stormed the base, ambushing the hero. He was defeated once again, and then imprisoned in The Raft. He was later freed by his lawyer, but he decided he'd rather stay in the Raft with his Serpent Society allies than leave into the real world as a freak. When the Serpent Society escaped prison, Bushmaster participated in the mission against Jack Flag and Free Spirit, and later the mission to exact revenge from Diamondback. He was defeated both times. More recently, he has been seen being apprehended by the Thunderbolts into joining their army of super-villains. He was later kidnapped by the new Kraven, being forced to battle for his survival. He survived the encounter and is presumably at large. Suggested Reading: Captain America #311-313, Captain America #342, Uncanny X-Men Annual #13, Captain America #365, Captain America #367, Captain America #381-382, Captain America Annual #10, Thunderbolts #104, Thunderbolts #107, Punisher: War Journal #13-15 |