Some villains are a mirror of the heroes they oppose. Some are related to foes who can no longer fight the hero themselves. Bushmaster is both. Two brothers, two very different paths lead them to fighting against one man. Who are they and how did they become such villains? Let’s find out!
John McIver
Born in Caribbean, John and his brother, Quincy, would commit small crimes to live their lives. Whereas John was quick and clever enough to get away with his thieving, Quincy would squeal and admit he and John were brothers to a merchant who had caught him stealing. This would lead John to killing the merchant to keep this secret from getting out. John began to use violence as his main asset in crime, he’d become involved with organized crime along with is brother. Quincy wasn’t so lucky on their first mission out, he’d get all four limbs cut off by a boat propeller. John would leave his brother recovering in a hospital and head to Europe with a change of name to keep the connection to his brother hidden even further, John McIver left the Carribean and John Bushmaster entered Europe.
Years in Europe were good to John, he eventually was leading the European branch of the Maggia crime syndicate. His efforts were so successful he decided to branch out to the United States. He would get the notice of all of the government agencies of the nation, but none could infiltrate his organization. It would take the skills of Misty Knight going undercover to get into John’s good graces. Things were working well until John put out a hit on the hero, Iron Fist, he’d learn where Misty’s loyalties truly lied.
Realizing he had been tricked by heroes, John would kidnap two people close to Luke Cage, Claire Temple and Noah Bernstein, the man who gave Luke Cage his powers. Using this as leverage, John would get Cage to fight his own friends. John would demand that Bernstein give him the same procedure as he did Luke Cage when he learned Cage had lost his fight against Iron Fist, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing. When the four heroes arrived, they found that John was more powerful than Luke Cage with his new powers. John and Cage fought and their battle caused the chemicals in the building to react and explode the building, causing the heroes to believe John had died in the blast.
Unfortunately, John had survived, though the procedure that granted him powers had unforeseen side effects. John was now finding his skin turning into metal, he was slowly being encased in his own skin, losing mobility of any kind, bit by bit. He would use a team to grab Luke Cage and Noah Bernstein once more, this time to find a way to reverse the procedure with Cage as the guinea pig. Iron Fist would save Luke Cage and there wasn’t enough time for John to react, his body completely turned to metal, killing him.
John had a son named Cruz, who would take his father’s remains and then kidnap Luke Cage and Noah Bernstein once more to try and find a way to bring his father back and fix the procedure. This would end up resurrecting John, allowing him to possess his own son to try and fight Luke Cage once more, during their fight, Cage would stab a power cable into John, who was now absorbing all energy he could get, and caused him to overload into exploding.
Quincy McIver
Having lost his arms and legs while trying to escape from a criminal act, Quincy McIver would lay in a hospital bed until the Roxxon Oil Company came to him with some ideas. They’d give him new mechanical arms and replace his legs with a mechanical tail, making him a cyborg snake man. He’d learn of his brother’s death and take on the name Bushmaster for himself.
Now considering himself a freak, he would find camaraderie in the Serpent Society. He would befriend fellow teammate Diamondback who saw him for the man he was and not the snake man cyborg he was currently. During his first mission out, history would repeat itself, as his target MODOK (Mechanical Organism Designed Only for Killing) would take his limbs off once more.
Getting his limbs rebuilt, he stayed with the Serpent Society and found that Sidewinder, his leader, and Diamondback were the two most important people in his life. When the team leadership would change hands to Viper, Quincy was loyal to Sidewinder and would be nearly poisoned to death for it, if not for the intervention of Diamondback to save him.
Over the years, Quincy would find himself working with the Serpent Society sometimes, at other times he’d be against them. He’d find himself on the Thunderbolts during the hero Civil War. Often times, whatever Quincy ended up doing, he would find defeat at the hands of heroes. He still finds his way back to the Serpent Society as it is the only place he feels truly at home.
There you have it! Two brothers, one code name, and the tragic lives they would lead. One wanted to rule his kingdom of crime but got obsessed with being more powerful than one of his enemies until it ate him alive. The other just tried to fit in but can never really find his place anywhere but with crime. Bushmaster recently made his live action premiere on Luke Cage season 2 and has a bit of his own twist on things. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Iron Fist #15
Captain America #310
Power Man
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
