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Bushmaster is the name of twosupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The first was a master criminal, while the second Bushmaster was given superpowers as he had a long, mechanical snake tail grafted to his torso and bionic arms.
Mustafa Shakir portrayed the original version of Bushmaster, John McIver, in theMarvel Cinematic Universe, as part of thesecond season of the television seriesLuke Cage.
The first Bushmaster (John McIver) first appeared inIron Fist #15 (September 1977) created by writerChris Claremont and writer/artistJohn Byrne.[1] John McIver, known as John Bushmaster, became aMaggia crime boss in Europe and later expanded into the United States. In the United States, he was confronted byMisty Knight,Iron Fist andPower Man. Due to an accident during a fight with Power Man, Bushmaster was transformed into "Unliving metal", which later led to his death.
The second Bushmaster (Quincy McIver), first appeared inCaptain America #310 (October 1985), created byMark Gruenwald andPaul Neary. Quincy McIver, younger brother of John, lost both his arms and legs in a boating accident while trying to avoid the police. TheRoxxon Oil Company used their resources to graft bionic arms to Quincy's body and replace his severed legs with a long bionic snake tail, transforming him into Bushmaster. He became a founding member of theSerpent Society, finding acceptance among the team. He would remain loyal to Society leaderSidewinder whenViper took control of the Serpent Society. He was not shown to be a member of Serpent Solutions when the Society was reorganized.
| Bushmaster | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Iron Fist #15 (Sept. 1977)[2] |
| Created by | Chris Claremont John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | John McIver |
| Team affiliations | Maggia |
| Notable aliases | John Bushmaster, Power Master |
| Abilities | As Bushmaster: Skilled street fighter Superhuman strength and durability As Power Master: Energy absorption |
John McIver was a powerful crime boss, criminal financier and organizer, and the brother of Quincy McIver. As a teenager, John and Quincy grew up on an unidentified island in the Caribbean Sea. Unlike Quincy, John was quick and savvy enough to stay out of trouble, despite stealing from local merchants. After John found out that Quincy blurted out that they were brothers to a shopkeeper who had caught him, John gave Quincy a beating. A few nights later, John beat the shopkeeper to death. Years later, John was in the employ of Herve Argosy where he worked as his muscle man in his gun-extorting business. John got Quincy in with Herve Argosy, but Quincy got all four limbs chopped off by a motorboat propeller on the first mission. John visited Quincy in the hospital to mock his misfortune. John McIver then took on the name John Bushmaster and headed off to Europe to run some of Argosy's trade there.[3]
Several years later, John Bushmaster managed to take over the European branch of theMaggia. As he began to show interest into expanding into the United States starting with New York, he attracted the attention of theFBI,CIA, andInterpol, who have failed to infiltrate his organization. New York'sdistrict attorney sentMisty Knight to take a stab at it under the alias of Maya Korday. She did so successfully. Bushmaster returned early from his press conference and warmly greeted Maya at the Cutlass Bay resort on the Caribbean island of Ste. Emile.[4]
Bushmaster agreed to put a hit out onIron Fist for a man named Shrieve. Discovering this, an enraged Maya used her bionic arm to force Bushmaster to tell her where the hit would occur. Maya then went to a boat where Bushmaster planned to see her dead.[5]
Bushmaster sent his agents to captureClaire Temple andNoah Burstein. Bushmaster summonedPower Man to his mansion atLake Michigan, where he showed them the videos of the hostages and threatened to kill them if they did not bring Misty Knight to him. In exchange, Bushmaster offered to give them videotapes provided by a technology user named Gadget that would prove his innocence for the crimes that Luke Cage was initially framed for. To make sure that Power Man followed his offer, Bushmaster sentShades andComanche to follow them.[6] Power Man ended up fighting Misty,Colleen Wing, and Iron Fist. When Cage was seemingly defeated by Iron Fist, Shades and Comanche reported this to Bushmaster.[7] At Seagate Prison, Bushmaster coerced Noah Burnstein into utilizing the "Power Man" process on him to an even greater extent that was used on Cage. Power Man, Iron Fist, Misty, and Colleen Wing fought Bushmaster at Seagate Prison where Bushmaster proved to be more powerful than Cage. In the course of the battle, Power Man and Bushmaster pierced a chemical vat and were doused in chemicals which were then electrified by a torn power line. Bushmaster was believed killed in the resulting explosion.[6]
Bushmaster survived and his body continued to mutate, transforming into metal. While he still could move, Bushmaster had his agents capture Noah Burnstein's wife Emma to force Noah to reverse the process. His agents also captured Power Man and brought him to Seagate to be used as a guinea pig. Virtually immobile, Bushmaster watched as Noah Burnstein began the process. When Iron Fist arrived and shattered the tank to rescue Power Man, Bushmaster reached for a signal switch to order his men to kill Emma Burnstein, but his body disintegrated, leaving only a metal skeleton.[8]
Bushmaster is later resurrected by his son Cruz, but is killed after being overloaded with energy.[9]
| Bushmaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America #310 (October 1985) |
| Created by | Mark Gruenwald Paul Neary |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Quincy McIver |
| Team affiliations | Thunderbolts Serpent Society |
| Abilities |
|
Quincy McIver was born on a Caribbean island and is the younger brother of the first Bushmaster. He became a quadruple amputee when he lost his arms and legs in a boating accident while trying to evade the police underwater.[3]
Shortly later, theRoxxon Oil Company equipped him with bionic arms and a snake-like tail in the place of his lower body. He took the name "Bushmaster" from his fallen brother. Years later,Sidewinder enlisted Bushmaster to join theSerpent Society.[10]
In his first mission with the Serpent Society, he was hired byAIM to hunt downMODOK. MODOK severed Bushmaster's artificial appendages, and Diamondback saved Bushmaster's life.[11] He soon received new bionic arms.[12]
After theViper took over the Society, Bushmaster remained loyal to Sidewinder. He was poisoned by the Viper, but was saved byCaptain America and Diamondback.[13] He then participated in the Serpent Society's mission to recover mystic objects forGhaur andLlyra. He withdrew from combat against theX-Men to repay his debt to Diamondback.[14]
Sidewinder, disillusioned by the betrayals of some of the Serpents, had turned over control of the guild toCobra, and Bushmaster served him next.[15] At Diamondback's trial, Bushmaster voted to spare her life from a death sentence.[16] After the trial, Bushmaster fought Diamondback, and next, Captain America andPaladin. He was finally taken into custody.[17] He was later released from theVault.[3]
During the 2006 "Civil War" storyline, Bushmaster is among the villains apprehended byBaron Zemo and forced to joinThunderbolts. He briefly appears along with fellow Serpent Society membersKing Cobra andRattler.[18]
Alyosha Kraven later began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans,[19] includingGargoyle,Tiger Shark,Kangaroo,Aragorn,Vulture,Mongoose,Man-Bull,Dragon Man,Swarm,Mandrill,Grizzly,Frog-Man, andRhino. Bushmaster is apparently killed by Kraven and left face down in the water aboard the sinking ship.[20]
Later, several Serpent Society members including Anaconda, Black Mamba, Bushmaster and Cottonmouth, fought members of theNew Avengers in a semi-tropical locale. He was defeated byRonin andLuke Cage.[21]
During the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Bushmaster was seen with the Serpent Society where they were robbing a bank until they are defeated byHope Summers.[22]
As part of theAll-New, All-Different Marvel initiative, Bushmaster appears as a member of Viper's Serpent Society under its new name of Serpent Solutions.[23]
Bushmaster appears in the 2017 "Secret Empire" storyline, where he and the rest of the Serpent Society are members of the Army of Evil.[24] He alongside Puff Adder and Viper attack a woman in the woods. She is saved by a bearded haggard man in a World War II uniform who introduced himself as Steve Rogers.[25]
Bushmaster then participated in a bank robbery with his teammates Sidewinder, Cottonmouth, and Anaconda, though it was quickly thwarted by the X-Men.[26] He was later seen staying at theOwl's hideout among several other criminals with visual oddities.[27]
In the "Hunted" storyline, Bushmaster and several members of the Serpent Society are captured byKraven the Hunter,Taskmaster, andBlack Ant and forced to participate in a murderous hunt set up byArcade.[28]
The first Bushmaster had street-fighting skills. He later went through the same process that gave Luke Cage his powers which gave him superhuman strength and durability. As Power Master, he can absorb energies from other people.[volume & issue needed]
The second Bushmaster was given bionic prosthetic limbs and a tail attached through surgery courtesy of the Roxxon Oil Company and Brand Corporation. His long, snake-like, superhumanly strong bionic tail enables him to move and strike at superhuman speed. He has two 6-inch (150 mm) "fangs" strapped to the back of each of his hands, which are needle sharp at the tips and contain a fast-acting poison derived from snake venom.[volume & issue needed]
In theUltimate Marvel universe, Bushmaster is a member of the gang called the Serpent Skulls. He served as a lieutenant of the group until he was killed by theScourge of the Underworld.[29]
During the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, a zombified version of Quincy McIver / Bushmaster resides in theBattleworld domain of the Deadlands was seen among several other villains enhanced byUltron. He is later killed byJanet van Dyne.[30]
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