Brothers Grimm (comics)
The Brothers Grimm are two sets of twin supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The first appearance of the first Brothers Grimm came in Spider-Woman #3. These were a pair of identical, magically animated mannequins created by doll collector Nathan Dolly (also known as Mister Doll) and his wife Priscilla.[1] During their initial appearances only one was ever seen at a time and the singular identity, Brother Grimm was used instead of their true plural name. After three return appearances in Spider-Woman, they perished in issue #12.
Although the characters were introduced while
The second Brothers Grimm appeared in Iron Man #188. They would eventually be thrown together with other lesser known super-villains in a group called the Night Shift.
Fictional character biography
First Pair
Brothers Grimm | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Spider-Woman #3 (June 1978) |
Created by | Marv Wolfman and Carmine Infantino |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Jake and William Dolly |
Abilities | Costume granted matter production |
Mister Doll, real name Nathan Dolly, was a criminal who could mystically harm a person by harming a doll whose features he could reshape to resemble the victim's.[3] Later in the process of creating the Brothers Grimm dolls, Nathan's consciousness was trapped simultaneously inside both doll mannequins. These mannequins mailed themselves to Nathan's wife Priscilla and transferred their life forces into two life size versions.[4] She named them Jake and William (after the historical Brothers Grimm), and believed them to be her sons, a delusion which they played along with.[4]
The "brothers" had sharply opposed personalities, rarely could come to agreement, and as such pursued separate criminal careers. William, though timid and shy in his civilian personality, was a flamboyant, confrontational jokester in his Brother Grimm guise. After debuting with a robbery of a theatre, he pursued the more lucrative pursuit of stealing from diamond merchants. In contrast, Jake was flirtatious in his civilian identity but cold and dispassionate as Brother Grimm, preferring less publicly visible crimes such as extortion. He was also less skilled with his abilities than William; while William was able to consistently defeat Spider-Woman, Jake was defeated in both his confrontations with her, and William had to free him from prison.[5] William was later hired by Pyrotechnics to capture Spider-Woman, and succeeded.[6]
Priscilla planned to use her
Second pair
Brothers Grimm | |
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Publication information | |
Anti-Arach9 | |
Abilities | Costume granted matter production |
Twin brothers Percy and Barton Grimes are born in Fresno, California. They work as realtors, and while exploring a theatre they own, they find the original Brothers Grimm mannequins. On a whim, they decide to try the costumes on and become gifted with the powers of the original pair. As the Brothers Grimm, they terrorize a restaurant belonging to a business rival, and then battle Iron Man II. Tony Stark deduced their true civilian identities, and the police arrested the brothers.[8]
The Brothers Grimm later became professional criminals, and join the
During the "
The Brothers then briefly rejoin the Night Shift, under the leadership of the new Hangman, and the Night Shift's powers are increased by Satannish. They battle the Avengers West Coast again, but are defeated.[16]
The Brothers are later depicted as prisoners in the Raft, a high security prison for costumed criminals, and escape.[17]
The Brothers Grimm are later hired by the
During the "Secret Invasion" storyline, the Brothers Grimm appear as part of the Hood's alliance with super-powered heroes; the grouping is intent on defeating the Skrull invasion force of New York City.[20] They are later seen as part of the Hood's criminal gang that is sent by Norman Osborn to attack the New Avengers.[21]
The Brothers Grimm are seen to be among the new recruits for
The Brothers Grimm were seen during the battle of Camp H.A.M.M.E.R.,[25] until the Hood ordered his men, including the Brothers Grimm, to teleport to aid Osborn in Siege of Asgard.[26] After the battle was over, the Brothers Grimm were arrested along with other members of the Hood's gang.[27]
The Brothers Grimm were later recruited by Max Fury to join the
The Brothers Grimm were among the criminals who attempted to fulfill a lucrative contract Daredevil put out on himself, but were quickly defeated by him.[29]
During the "Search for Tony Stark" arc, the Brothers Grimm rejoined Hood's gang and assisted in the attack on
During the "
The Brothers Grimm later appear as members of
Powers and abilities
Both pairs of Brothers Grimm had powers which were somehow related to the Brothers Grimm mannequins built by Nathan Dolly. Both pairs of Brothers Grimm possess the ability to conjure, with the appearance of sleight of hand, a variety of small novelty items from within their costumes. Each of these items has a unique offensive capability; long strands of nearly unbreakable thread, corrosive filled eggs, pies filled with blackbirds, paralytic "stardust", fast-growing bean seeds, and many others have been used. They could also emit poisonous smoke from their hands. They could fly by means of floating five-pointed "stars" and small cloud banks which are somehow solid enough to stand on.
References
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
- ^ a b Aushenker, Michael (February 2010). "Brother(s) Grimm". Back Issue! (#38). TwoMorrows Publishing: 79–83.
- ^ Tales of Suspense #48. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c d Spider-Woman #12. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Spider-Woman #3-4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Spider-Woman #7. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Spider-Woman #11. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Iron Man #187-188. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Captain America #330-331. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Solo Avengers #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #40. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers Spotlight #22, 24-25. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Spectacular Spider-Man #159. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Web of Spider-Man #64-65. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Marvel Comics Presents #87. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers West Coast #76-79. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Spider-Man: Breakout. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The New Avengers #35. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Last Defenders #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Secret Invasion #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The New Avengers #50. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #25. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #26. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #27. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #34. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Siege #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The New Avengers: The Finale #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Secret Avengers #29. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Daredevil vol. 5 #15. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Invincible Iron Man #597. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Superior Octopus #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Spider-Woman Vol. 7 #20. Marvel Comics.
External links
- Brothers Grimm (Barton and Percy Grimes) at Marvel.com
- Original Brothers Grimm at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Barton and Percy Grimes at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe