This guy has more bad looks than Wonder Man.
THE TOAD (Mortimer Toynbee)
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The X-Men #4 (March 1964)
Role: Recurring Foe, Butt-Monkey Villain
Group Affiliations: The Brotherhood of Mutants, Freedom Force, HYDRA, Project: Black Womb
PL 9 (156)
STRENGTH 2
STAMINA 3
AGILITY 8
FIGHTING 10
DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2
AWARENESS 1
PRESENCE 0
Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+15)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+11)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+5)
Insight 5 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Investigation 4 (+4)
Perception 6 (+7)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+6)
Stealth 4 (+12)
Technology 4 (+6)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Chokehold, Defensive Roll 2, Elusive Target, Improved Critical (Tongue), Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Set-Up, Uncanny Dodge
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Toad-Like Physiology"
"Pheromones" Mind Control 4 (Extras: Area- Scent Perception) (Flaws: Touch Range) [12]
Movement 3 (Wall-Crawling 2, Sure-Footed) [6]
Leaping 3 (60 feet) [3]
Comprehend 2 (Speak to & Understand Animals) (Flaws: Limited to Frogs & Toads -2) [1]
"Psychoactive Resin From Pores" Affliction 4 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Cumulative, Reaction +3) (20) -- [22]
- AE: "Grappling Tongue" Affliction 8 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Defenseless & Immobile) (Feats: Reversible, Tether, Reach 5) (Extras: Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, One Target At a Time -2) Linked to Damage 4 (Feats: Reach 5) (18)
- AE: "Wind Gust" Affliction 6 (Strength or Athletics; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery) Linked to Blast 2 (7)
Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Tongue +10 (+8 Affliction & +4 Damage, DC 18 & 19)
Pheromones +4 Area (+4 Affliction, DC 14)
Initiative +8
Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +3 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +5
Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Toynbee cannot pass for an ordinary human.
Motivation (Power)- Bullied and crapped-on by Magneto, Mortimer developed an inferiority complex, and he now fights to overcome it, becoming a power-obsessed danger to others.
Obsession (The Scarlet Witch)- The Toad believed that Wanda cared for him, and he was obsessed with her, despite her obvious repulsion at every facet of his being.
Involuntary Transformation (Appearance)- Toad's powers are constantly in flux, as well as his appearance- he tends to shift in height, weight, obesity, thinness, skin colour, and more- ever since that damn movie came out and artists were unable to see eye-to-eye about what he was supposed to look like.
Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 15 (156)
Total Toady:
-The Toad made his debut as one of those classic Lee/Kirby Villains- horribly deformed, misanthropic and utterly reprehensible. His entire gimmick was that he was, well, a TOADY, licking Magneto's boots and fawning over his cruel master, while the Master of Magnetism treated him with utter disgust and contempt. His backstory includes a life of ill treatment over his ugly appearance- parental abandonment and orphanage abuse, which could be used for SYMPATHY, but typically only justified his selfish attitude for himself. He spent the early part of Marvel's Silver Age kissing up to Magneto, having his romantic advances rebuffed by the Scarlet Witch, and being used as a human shield by the other Brotherhood of Evil Mutants members. At one point, he was captured alongside Magneto by the mysterious Stranger, and Magneto abandoned Toad when he escaped. By this point, he had realized that Magneto cared nothing for him, and abandoned his post.
Bronze Age Toad:
-The Toad became a bit of an oddity after this point, acting as a solitary villain more often than not. He used a castle of Arcade's in an attempted to kill the Angel, became suicidal after Doctor Doom booted him out of it, and was reassured by Spider-Man- joining a loser squad called "The Misfits" alongside Spider-Kid & Frog-Man. He would quickly revert to type, and attacked the Scarlet Witch & Vision using The Stranger's technology. Chris Claremont clearly NEVER liked the character, as the revolution in the X-Books took place without ever considering Mortimer- even the Brotherhood was more or less taken over entirely by Mystique, with The Blob being the only Silver Age member to return- the rest were all newbies like Pyro, Avalanche, and others. Seriously, it's kind of weird that one of the most recurring X-Villains of the '60s was so completely ignored by Claremont's epic run.
Iron Age Toad:
-The Toad returned to... well, not PROMINENCE, exactly, but he started getting used again in the Iron Age. Fabian Nicieza used him as an inexplicable manipulator during his
Kings of Pain quartet of tales in the X-Annuals, competing with Gideon to see if they could resurrect the mighty Proteus (it didn't work). By this point, he had become the leader of the Brotherhood again, recruiting The Blob, Pyro, Sauron & Phantazia. Nicieza wrote them attacking X-Force, but they suffered a humiliating defeat. This incarnation turned into Recurring Jobbers, though luckily avoided the slaughtering of most of the X-Rogues during the '90s- they would lose to Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, X-Factor and others.
-The Toad got a new lease on life with the successful
X-Men movie- played by "movie martial artist" Ray Park, he was funny, ill-mannered (he ate a pigeon using his prehensile tongue), and was the victim of the worst joke in the history of film. Despite never reappearing, this led to a bit of a clumsy resurrection in the gimmick, as he suddenly appeared with a more human-like stance- said to be the result of The Stranger's equipment reversing mutations brought about by... The Juggernaut's father? ... Okay.
-Alas, this led nowhere, as fans kind of saw through the transparent alteration of a loser character (the same way most fans did when Marvel replaced all their heroes with women & minorities at once), and he never took off. That he was with the Brotherhood, which by this point had lost all credibility and tended to just be a series of one-off opponents, didn't help. He managed to kill The Eel in a Bloodsport Tournament in
Wolverine, but Logan beat him in the next round, sparing his life. Grant Morrison used him as a second-in-command of Magneto for his
Planet X story arc, which was later revealed to be Xorn in disguise- Toad was more forceful with his master, but still abandoned the scene when Logan killed him.
Modern Toad:
-The Toad was a backgrounder during much of the "198/Utopia" stuff, but reappears in Jason Aaron's
Wolverine and the X-Men as the school's janitor, being trusted by Logan as having reformed. In this book, he develops a crush on Husk, who is going through clear mental problems that seem to be ignored by everyone else (who are, to be fair, quite busy). In a minor arc, he follows her to the Hellfire Academy, but is disgusted to find himself still a janitor. Finally, disgusted with the Academy's actions, he breaks out with Quentin Quire, eventually saving Husk and her sanity during the subsequent brawl. He & Husk attempt to reconnect, but the self-loathing Toad abandons the school and her, feeling that she'd soon see him "for what I really am", and he runs off with the descendant of Victor Frankenstein (who'd been forced to join Logan's school earlier; Toad had refused him and another ex-Hellfire Academy kid in their attempts to leave), acting as his assistant.
The Toad as a Whole:
-The Toad is a bit of a loser character- one of those Silver Age guys not created with much depth- just some irony (he worshipped someone who openly despised him). This lack of character led to him just being a standard "Hideous Villain" and backgrounder in many stories, usually as a one-off foe. Artists in the '90s tried to give him a more menacing, hunched appearance, but his Brotherhood were total Jobbers and thus lacked credibility. The modern day has seen many attempt to turn him into a quality "Sad Sack" character, and it kind of worked in Aaron's case, but he's still not really that deep. It doesn't help that people keep trying to make him more bad-ass, which never really "takes". Though his best moment ever was in
W&TXM, as he defeats the mighty Sauron using only a mop.
The Toad's Powers:
-Toad's a PL 9 with his Tongue Snare, a PL 6.5 unarmed, and a PL 9 defensively, making him not really well-rounded, but potentially dangerous. Notably, his best attack still can only hurt one person at a time. He's hard as hell to hit, and can modify some of his caps, but he's no powerhouse in combat. The Grappling Tongue thing is dangerous, but limited to only one target at a time (a pretty big Flaw for something that Snares people), so he's best off in team battles, tying up one of the heroes for a teammates' attack. And yeah, apparently he's recieved even MORE power-ups over the years, so he can also use a Paralyzing Aura and a Wind Gust, in addition to Communicating with Amphibians. I would bet CASH MONEY that every subsequent author after that has forgotten those powers (Jason Aaron sure as hell never used them), so I'm only leaving them for completion's sake.