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| Peepers | |
|---|---|
_from_S.W.O.R.D._Vol_2_1_001.jpg) Peepers as depicted inS.W.O.R.D. (vol. 2) #1 (December 2020). Art by Valerio Schiti. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America Annual #4 (1977) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Peter Quinn |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | The 198 Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Mutant Force Resistants Secret Empire S.W.O.R.D. |
| Notable aliases | Occult, Peeper |
| Abilities | Telescopic/microscopic eyesight X-ray vision Eye beams |
Peepers (Peter Quinn) is afictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He first appeared inCaptain America Annual #4 and was created byJack Kirby.[1]
Peter Quinn was born inCedar City, Utah. He was recruited byMagneto as a mercenary and professional criminal to be part of his newBrotherhood of Evil Mutants. He takes the namePeeper and joinsSlither,Shocker,Lifter, andBurner. After the group fails their first mission, Magneto abandons them.[2]
The group changed their name to Mutant Force and offered their services toMandrill and battled theDefenders for him in his scheme to take over the U.S. Peeper became the field leader of the team, his powers allowing him to see his enemy's movements and plan for them. They battledValkyrie,Wasp,Hellcat,Nighthawk, andYellowjacket. Despite being successful at first in defeating the Defenders and capturing the female Defenders so that Mandrill could enslave them, the group was defeated by the Defenders during their third encounter.[3] Mutant Force was arrested, but they bargained with the U.S. government and became their agents in exchange for a pardon. Their tenure as government agents was short. They battled theHulk, and later testified before a secret tribunal against the Defenders.[4] Peeper and Mutant Force were later employed byProfessor Power'sSecret Empire. Alongside Mutant Force andMad Dog, he battled the Defenders once again.[5]
TheRed Skull became the group's new sponsor. They form a terrorist group called theResistants who pose as mutant rights advocates. To avoid being associated with their old criminal group, many of the members changed their identities. It was later revealed that the Resistants were one of many groups that was unknowingly controlled by the newly resurrected Red Skull. Peeper now called himself Occult and wore a helmet to hide his features.[1] The group rescued the mutantQuill from the custody of the new Captain America,John Walker, andBattlestar.[6] The group fought Captain America again and claimed that their actions were all to oppose the Mutant Registration Act. They were soon joined by various new members, includingMentallo who posed asThink Tank. This time they came into conflict withFreedom Force,[volume & issue needed] a group who ironically enough, had been another incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but had now become government agents.
The new Captain America, John Walker, lost control during a battle near Carson City, Nevada, and seemingly killed Occult along with several other members of the Resistants due to his recent violent streak as the result of the death of his parents at the hand of theWatchdogs, another group the Red Skull had formed to discredit the image of Captain America. During the fight, Quinn was seriously injured after hitting high tension power lines and was electrocuted and believed dead.[7]
These injuries may have been the cause of his later mental problems: in his next appearance Quinn would never speak.[8] Another mission as the Resistants was a failure as well, so the team changed its name back to Mutant Force, but by now Peeper was becoming afraid during combat. Mutant Force was defeated and Quinn, now calling himself Peepers, was imprisoned atThe Cage.[9]Wolverine and theBeast met him and befriended Peepers, who by now was a stuttering, nervous mutant who had become mentally unbalanced. Peepers repeatedly stabbed a prisoner who tried to kill Beast at this time.[10] Shortly afterwards, he is released and becomes a bartender at Satan's Circus, a bar for supervillains.[1][11]
Peepers is among the 198 mutants who retain their powers afterM-Day, when theScarlet Witch depowers most mutants on Earth.[1][12][13][14]
InX-Men: Messiah Complex, Peepers is killed byPredator X.[15][1] However, he later appears alive as a resident of Murderworld inAll-New, All-Different Marvel.[16] During theKrakoan Age, Peepers joinsS.W.O.R.D. under the command ofAbigail Brand.[17]
Peepers is amutant with "telescopic eyesight" that enables him to see through solid objects as well as see things that are miles beyond normal vision range or too small for ordinary vision. He can also project beams of energy from his eyes.[1][18]
An alternate universe variant of Peepers from Earth-58163 appears inHouse of M as a member of Magneto's mutant army.[19]
