Nanny and Peter wanted some kids. Nanny and Peter popped off some lids. And all The X-Factors, and all the X-Men, couldn't let Nanny and Peter kidnap again. Today's Z-Listers are the X-Men villains Nanny and The Orphan-Maker.
Nanny would appear in "X-Factor #30" in 1988, with her companion The Orphan-Maker appearing an issue later. The duo were created by Louise Simonson and Walt Simonson as villains for X-Factor. The aforementioned X-team was made up of the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, and Iceman). Nanny was originally a mutant scientist working for a villainous movement called "The Right". When she learned The Right were anti-mutant (and when they learned she was a mutant), the woman was sealed in cybernetic, egg-shaped armor. The horrific ordeal psychologically bent her. After escaping The Right's clutches, she went by the name "Nanny" and made it her life goal to save mutant children by murdering their parents. In her twisted mind, any parent who hides their mutant child from society should be killed so that Nanny can care for the child. The first child she saved was a mutant named Peter who was a prisoner of the mutant geneticist Mr. Sinister. Nanny built Peter his own cybernetic armor and dubbed him "The Orphan-Maker", using him to slaughter the parents of mutants.
The two first encountered X-Factor when they broke into another of Mr. Sinister's bases with a group of mutant children aiding them. These "Lost Girls and Boys" were children "saved" by Nanny and turned into her personal army. Cyclops and Marvel Girl had come to this base to save the captured Cable, but ended up clashing with Nanny, Orphan-Maker, and The Lost Girls and Boys. It's during this first appearance we learn of Nanny's mutant ability of mind-control, fooling her minions into believing her actions (you know, killing their parents) were noble.
After escaping their fight with X-Factor, Nanny and Orphan-Maker battle The X-Men in Australia. During this encounter another of Nanny's abilities is shown; the ability to mentally de-age her enemies. She de-ages the minds of Havok, Dazzler, and Psylocke, then she seals them in dangerous battle suits. The other X-Men are able to free and revert their three friends, but Nanny and Orphan-Maker try to escape in their ship with Havok and Storm. Havok-upon regaining his maturity-blows the ship up in a rage of confusion. He survives and believes Storm to be dead.
But she ain't! The ship destroyed by Havok was a decoy ship with a decoy Storm robot. Yeah, I hate that excuse too. Storm finds herself in Nanny's secret base where her mind is reverted back into a child. While Nanny attempts to sway Storm to her side, but Gambit frees Storm and helps her recover her adult memories. The two defeat Nanny and Orphan-Maker and escape.
Last they were seen, Orphan-Maker's suit malfunctioned during a battle with Generation X and he was forced to escape in an ice cream truck. Pieces of Nanny's egg-suit were seen outside her base, but all we saw of her body outside the egg-suit was a vague shadow.
Okay, so wow. Just wow. It's no wonder Fox doesn't want to use actual X-Men villains because villains like these are just bonkers. Making orphans, reverting people into children, using children as soldiers. Well, to be fair Professor X is guilty of that last one. For as messed up as Nanny and Orphan-Maker are I find them kinda refreshing. Usually The X-Men are fighting anti-mutant protestors, or murderous mutants, or even the occasional alien or demon, but two cybernetic wackjobs with a crazy goal and the means to accomplish it? That's pretty unique. And again it draws parallels to Professor X and The X-Men. Sure, Charles doesn't kill his student's parents or make them think they're kids, but he is still recruiting young people to fight for his cause. Nanny just goes about it to the extreme. I'm kind of disappointed that comparison hasn't been drawn yet and I can only hope Marvel uses these two again in future X-Men stories. I mean we have all these new mutants circa 2011 and nothing to do with them, give them a book and let Nanny be their enemy. They could at least cameo in a Deadpool comic. After all, like all great superheroes Deadpool is an orphan.
Thanks for reading.
The two first encountered X-Factor when they broke into another of Mr. Sinister's bases with a group of mutant children aiding them. These "Lost Girls and Boys" were children "saved" by Nanny and turned into her personal army. Cyclops and Marvel Girl had come to this base to save the captured Cable, but ended up clashing with Nanny, Orphan-Maker, and The Lost Girls and Boys. It's during this first appearance we learn of Nanny's mutant ability of mind-control, fooling her minions into believing her actions (you know, killing their parents) were noble.
After escaping their fight with X-Factor, Nanny and Orphan-Maker battle The X-Men in Australia. During this encounter another of Nanny's abilities is shown; the ability to mentally de-age her enemies. She de-ages the minds of Havok, Dazzler, and Psylocke, then she seals them in dangerous battle suits. The other X-Men are able to free and revert their three friends, but Nanny and Orphan-Maker try to escape in their ship with Havok and Storm. Havok-upon regaining his maturity-blows the ship up in a rage of confusion. He survives and believes Storm to be dead.
But she ain't! The ship destroyed by Havok was a decoy ship with a decoy Storm robot. Yeah, I hate that excuse too. Storm finds herself in Nanny's secret base where her mind is reverted back into a child. While Nanny attempts to sway Storm to her side, but Gambit frees Storm and helps her recover her adult memories. The two defeat Nanny and Orphan-Maker and escape.
Last they were seen, Orphan-Maker's suit malfunctioned during a battle with Generation X and he was forced to escape in an ice cream truck. Pieces of Nanny's egg-suit were seen outside her base, but all we saw of her body outside the egg-suit was a vague shadow.
Okay, so wow. Just wow. It's no wonder Fox doesn't want to use actual X-Men villains because villains like these are just bonkers. Making orphans, reverting people into children, using children as soldiers. Well, to be fair Professor X is guilty of that last one. For as messed up as Nanny and Orphan-Maker are I find them kinda refreshing. Usually The X-Men are fighting anti-mutant protestors, or murderous mutants, or even the occasional alien or demon, but two cybernetic wackjobs with a crazy goal and the means to accomplish it? That's pretty unique. And again it draws parallels to Professor X and The X-Men. Sure, Charles doesn't kill his student's parents or make them think they're kids, but he is still recruiting young people to fight for his cause. Nanny just goes about it to the extreme. I'm kind of disappointed that comparison hasn't been drawn yet and I can only hope Marvel uses these two again in future X-Men stories. I mean we have all these new mutants circa 2011 and nothing to do with them, give them a book and let Nanny be their enemy. They could at least cameo in a Deadpool comic. After all, like all great superheroes Deadpool is an orphan.
Thanks for reading.
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