Barnell Bohusk
Barnell Bohusk is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
New X-Men
Barnell Bohusk
Bohusk attended a training session inside the Xavier Institute's Danger Room, where Hank McCoy assisted him in attempting to harness his flight capabilities. Lacking confidence in his physical skills despite his mentor's reassurance, Barnell Bohusk completed the session and was escorted by McCoy out into a main hallway populated by a large crowd of fellow students. There, McCoy publicly announced Barnell Bohusk's new mutant codename, Beak, which caused many of the surrounding students to openly mock and laugh at him. Feeling deeply isolated by the cruel reception, Barnell Bohusk intended to offer McCoy a prized titanium baseball bat as a gift to solidify their growing bond as fellow physically mutated individuals. Later, while anti-mutant protestors picketed outside the school's gates, McCoy met with Professor Charles Xavier in an office to discuss Barnell Bohusk's severe lack of self-esteem and ongoing struggles to adjust to life at the Institute. (New X-Men v1 #117) He came to be a student at the Xavier Institute where he came to be taught to fly by Henry McCoy. Later, Beast was telepathically attacked by Cassandra Nova, when Beak arrived to present his prized baseball bat as a token of thanks. He was controlled telepathically by Cassandra and forced to beat Beast. (New X-Men v1 #118) Jean Grey attempted to restore the damage done to Barnell but he remained seriously injured and mentally distraught. Presumably, she finished the job at a later date by the time Cassandra Nova returned to the school. Beak met Angel Salvadore for the first time when she let him out of the lab he had been residing in. He played a minor role in the defeat of Cassandra Nova. (New X-Men v1 #126)
Exiles
Beak's life was flipped upside-down when he found himself involved with the reality hopping Exiles. The Exiles, had just arrived in Beak's reality trying to figure out their next mission, their Tallus saying only 'cast your possessions and earn your wings', and their newest member, Namora ran off on her own. The team encountered Beak near the Xavier Institute grounds, and brought him with them to the Fantastic Fours headquarters - having just learned that Namora has been captured by the Fantastic Four and the Sub-Mariner - so that he couldn't alert others of the Exiles' presence. (Exiles v1 #46)
New Warriors
Shortly afterwards, Barnell joined the the anti-registration team New Warriors under the guise of Blackwing. Blackwing had the power of flight and energy blasts, which were derived from a power suit. Angel was also a member of the group under the name Tempest. The team was led by the new Night Thrasher. (New Warriors v4 #2)
House of X
At the Nebraskan farm, his father Charles came to suffer from Taylor Ellis disease that affected his mind and caused him to forget how to operate in his daily life. Around this time, he was one of many Mutants that globally received a message of Professor X who was establishing a unified nation for their kind on the island of Krakoa. However, Beak and Angel decided to remain behind on the farm to continue caring for his father. Sometime later, they were visited by Armor along with a few other Mutants from Krakoa who offered the Bohusk family Krakoan medicinals. These cured his father of his memory loss and the family was offered a place on Krakoa but then the farm came under attack from a gang looking to pillage the Krakoan pharmaceuticals. (New Mutants v4 #3) The X-Men later arrived to save him though Beak was injured and the leader of the Bohem Cartel was responsible for killing Barnell's father and mother. He was taken to Krakoa where he was grieving endlessly for his parents alongside his wife and children. This was until the two albino Mutants Maxime and Manon used their memory manipulation ability to make him believe that his parents died back when he was a child. Similarly, they used this power on the rest of the Bohusk family to prevent them from remembering the tragedy that affected them. (New Mutants v4 #6)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Barnell Bohusk was a teenage human male born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, who possessed a distinct, heavily mutated avian physiology. Rather than standard human arms, Barnell Bohusk had large, feathered wing-arms, and his hands terminated in sharp, animalistic talons. His facial structure was deeply elongated into a large, prominent bird-like beak, which completely replaced a normal human nose and jaw. He had oversized, bulbous black eyes set into a head that lacked traditional human hair configurations. Because of his avian lineage, his entire skeletal structure was entirely composed of light, fragile, and hollow bones. In his base civilian state at the Xavier Institute, he dressed in standard student clothing that accommodated his unique wings and physical proportions. (New X-Men v1 #117)
Powers and abilities
Barnell Bohusk was a born human mutant whose genetic mutation manifested during puberty to drastically alter his anatomy. On a basic feats level, his physical avian physiology granted him the capability to glide through the air for short distances using his feathered wing-arms, though he lacked the thrust and stamina for sustained, prolonged flight. His hollow bone structure drastically reduced his total body weight, affording him heightened agility, faster reflexes, and a lighter physical impact footprint than a typical human teenager. Furthermore, his bulbous eyes provided him with an advanced tier of avian vision, allowing him to perceive structural details and localized motion with significantly greater clarity than standard baseline humans. (New X-Men v1 #117)
Beak's mutation meant that his bones were light and hollow. His arms had feathers which allowed him to glide and fly for short distances with great effort.
Notes
- Barnell Bohusk was created by Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver where he made his first appearance in New X-Men v1 #117 (October, 2001).
Alternate Versions
- In New X-Men v1 #151 (2004), an alternate version of Barnell Bohusk was referenced in the Here Comes Tomorrow reality that was designated as Earth-15104 in the Multiverse. Barnell's grandson Tito Bohusk Jr. was an X-Man in the future where the mansion was closed after the death of Jean Grey. Like his father, aunts, and uncles, he was named after the Jackson 5. Tito was dedicated to Xavier's cause and living up to the legend of his grandfather, the original Beak, which had become inflated over time, much to Wolverine's amusement.
- In Weapon X: Days of Future Now v1 #4 (2005), an alternate version of Barnell Bohusk appeared in the Days of Future Now reality that was designated as Earth-5700 in the Multiverse. Beak was seen as member of Gene Nation when Magneto assembled various super-powered teams, among them the Avengers and the X-Men, and asked them all to put aside their differences and band together in the face of a common threat: the Sentinels.
- In X-Men: Age of Apocalypse v1 #1 (2005), an alternate version of Barnell Bohusk appeared in the Age of Apocalypse reality that was designated as Earth-295 in the Multiverse. Barnell Bohusk was put into one of many of Sinister's slave pens. Following the death of Apocalypse at the hands of Magneto and the rebuilding of society, Barnell was rescued from the pens along with Rahne Sinclair and the mysterious Xorn. Barnell joined the X-Men and took on the code name Beak. Beak was only be an X-Man in training, and participated in a football game pitting the X-Men against each other in playful competition.
- In Age of X: Universe #2 (2011), an alternate version of Barnell Bohusk appeared in the Age of X reality that was designated as Earth-11326 in the Multiverse. Barnell was one of the mutant children for whom Mystique sacrificed herself facing Captain America and the Avengers.
- In Cataclysm: Ultimate X-Men v1 #1 (2013), an alternate version of Barnell Bohusk appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality that was designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse.
Appearances
- New X-Men v1: (2001)
- New Warriors:
- Domino Annual v1:
- New Mutants v4: (2019)
External Links
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