M.M.

Lore & Background

Mother's Milk is a big, physically imposing and highly patient and methodical African-American man, appearing first in issue #2. Taught by his father to check every possible angle and means of attack, he can be somewhat particular and compulsive, getting annoyed whenever anyone does not put a drink coaster under their glasses or fails to sort out trash properly. He is the only member of the team, aside from the retired Greg Mallory, who is an American citizen by birth. In issue #35, M.M. reveals he is the only member of the unit exposed to Compound V since conception. His mother worked in a factory that had previously been a Vought-American laboratory, not sanitized afterwards, leading to her contamination. As a result, his brother Michael was born with severe mental disability and he himself was born needing regular doses of his mother's breast milk to survive. Issue #17 showed him throwing up and feeling disturbed by the constant need, while also finding the nourishment highly energizing and developing into a breast fetish, adding to his discomfort. His father worked tirelessly to sue Vought-American over his children's special needs and eventually succeeded, but the experience took a large mental and physical toll on him. M.M. became aware that Vought's lawyers were shrugging the loss off, but never told his father. His brother Michael died soon after, killed by the manifestation of his own superpowers; their father died from the stress of trying to sue VA over and over again. His mother was left broken and unwilling to fight anymore, becoming morbidly obese; her own powers expressed themselves due to her overwhelming despair, mutating her into a Cthulhu-like creature. She now lives in M.M.'s basement, completely unaware of her surroundings.

In Their Own Story

To support his mother and his new wife and daughter, M.M. joined the U.S. Army, volunteered for the Rangers, and became an army heavyweight boxer. In a championship match, M.M.'s powers suddenly manifested and he accidentally killed his opponent in the ring by punching his head off. He was released from the military and was recruited by Butcher and Mallory for the first incarnation of The Boys. After a year with The Boys, Butcher accompanied him to rescue M.M.'s infant daughter Janine, whose mother, a drug addict, was incapable of raising her properly. The pair rescued Janine from a drug house whose addicts smoked crack cut with Compound V; Butcher suffered a savage beating from the addicts in the process. M.M. was later present at the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge (caused by the Seven's attempt to prevent 9/11), where he attempted to help a woman from a falling car. Although he maintained his hold on her, she could not get free of her seat belt and was torn in half, dying in M.M.'s arms. The experience would haunt M.M. and serve as additional motivation for continuing the fight against Vought-American. After the disbandment of the unit, M.M. performed community work and tried to raise his increasingly rebellious daughter Janine, now a teenager (and as a result of Compound V, matured early – although she appears 16–17, she is only 12 chronologically). Janine shows M.M. great disrespect but regards Butcher with affection, calling him "Uncle Billy." M.M. eventually agrees to return to the team, acting as Butcher's second-in-command. He is one of the few people who receives any consistent level of civility from the pathologically rude Butcher, who thinks very highly of him. He is also the only member of the Boys (other than Hughie) who thinks at least a few superheroes might be decent people (as mentioned in issue #6). In The Bloody Doors Off, M.M. discovers his abusive ex-wife forced their daughter into starring in a pornographic film. He wrecks the Boys' HQ in a fury and leaves to deal with the issue. He later tracks down Janine, who reveals Butcher murdered the producers and cast of the adult film, including brutally murdering her mother in front of her. Butcher's final words to Janine were for her to leave M.M. alone. In issue #68, M.M. returns to New York for a meeting with The Boys to stop Butcher from using a weaponized version of the "V" compound on the rest of the Supes and innocents affected. Butcher offers him a chance to walk away, but M.M. attempts to stop him. Butcher reveals he thought of killing M.M. to prevent interference with his genocidal plan.

Reader's Guide

Mother's Milk is a member of The Boys, a group of CIA-sponsored black ops agents who observe, record, and sometimes liquidate Supes. He is the first naturally-born Supe, requiring regular consumption of his mother's Compound V-enhancing milk to survive. His powers manifested during an army heavyweight boxing championship match, where he accidentally killed his opponent by punching his head off. He is methodical and compulsive, checking every possible angle and means of attack, and gets annoyed when others fail to use coasters or sort trash properly. He acts as Butcher's second-in-command and is one of the few people Butcher treats with civility. M.M. is the only member of the Boys (other than Hughie) who believes some superheroes might be decent. He has a great deal of affection for Hughie, which led him to put Hughie in contact with Colonel Mallory after discovering Butcher had been manipulating Hughie. His arc culminates in a confrontation with Butcher over his genocidal plan to kill all Supes and potential Supes, including M.M. and his daughter.

Did You Know?

• Mother's Milk is the only member of The Boys, aside from the retired Greg Mallory, who is an American citizen by birth.
• His brother Michael was born with severe mental disability due to Compound V contamination and was later killed by the manifestation of his own superpowers.
• M.M.'s mother now lives in his basement, completely unaware of her surroundings, having mutated into a Cthulhu-like creature after prolonged exposure to Compound V.
• In issue #6, Hughie is noted as the only member of The Boys (other than M.M.) who thinks at least a few superheroes might be decent people.
• M.M.'s daughter Janine, due to Compound V, matured early and appears 16–17 but is only 12 chronologically.