Randy O'Brien

Superherobox


caption = Artwork by Paul Ryan from D.P. 7 #32
comic_color = background:#ff8080
character_name = Antibody
alter_ego = Randy O’Brien
publisher = Marvel Comics
debut = " DP7" #1 (1986)
creators = Mark Gruenwald
Paul Ryan
alliance_color = background:#c0c0ff
alliances = Therapy Group C Clinic for Paranormal Research United States Army
aliases = Randy O'Connell
powers = Can project from his body a dark figure of himself that flew, could become intangible, and transfer its memories to another person by physical contact

Antibody (Randy O’Brien) is a fictional paranormal in the Marvel Comics imprint New Universe. He first appears in D.P.7 #1.

Fictional character biography

Pre-White Event

Randy O’Brien was born in DePere, Wisconsin, in February of 1958.

In 1968, when Randy was 10, he visited New York City with his father and went to the top of the Empire State Building. He was afraid King Kong would get him. Around 1973, he took a date to see the film The Exorcist, which really frightened her. Randy earned his bachelor degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison, after which he went to medical school at Marquette University. He stayed at Marquette for an internship, of which he completed in two years and a few months.

The Clinic

The White Event occurred in July of 1986, but it was on September 24, 1986, that Randy first manifested paranormal abilities. He encounters David Landers when he's wheeled into the hospital in incredible pain. Landers rages until two dark arms spring from O'Brien's torso that restrain him long enough for O'Brien to give Landers a tranquilizer that renders him unconsciousness. After a fight with his boss, Dr. Eastman, an negative image of himself (or antibody as it came to be called) flies across the room and attempts to attack Eastman, only stopping when Randy screamed 'NO'. Later, he falls asleep after reading a classified ad for the Clinic for Paranormal Research, a facility designed to help individuals who've acquired strange abilities. Through his Antibody, he relays the information to Landers and they travel to the Clinic under assumed names.

They are at first convinced of the Clinic staff's sincerity and are enrolled into Therapy Group C, where they meet Walters, Beck, Cuzinski, Harrington, and Fenzl. Late one night, O'Brien's antibody intrudes on the Clinic staff, at least four of whom are paranormals themselves, and learn the Clinic has plans to make an army out of them, to be led by Philip Nolan Voigt, the Clinic director who acquired the power to absorb and magnify anyone else's powers for his own use.

On the Run

Randy and the rest of Therapy Group C fight off the Clinic staff and the paranormal Hackbarth who can mainpulate others' nervous systems. They escape into the night and over the next year (twelve issues; unlike most comics, a year in the New Universe equalled a year in our own), the paranormals adjusts to life with their powers.

Shortly after leaving the clinic, the group was attacked repeatedly by a trio of paranormal bounty hunters hired by the Clinic. Though some members of the group, especially Scuzz, wanted to seriously harm or kill the bounty hunters, Randy always managed to talk them out of it.

Although most members of the group wanted to stay in Wisconsin, Randy thought it would be better if they got as far away as possible. David came up with a plan to split up the group temporarily. Dave, Stephanie Harrington, and Lenore Fenzl, went to get Stephanie's kids. while Randy and the others searched for Scuzz, who'd recently left the group.

While separated, Charlotte "Charly" Beck went missing. Dave sent his Antibody to look for Beck, who, unknown to him, had already been captured by more bounty hunters. At this time a second Antibody started to materialize, but stopped when Randy's attention was diverted. Before his Antibody could return, both he and Jeff Walters were captured as well.

Back at the Clinic

The Clinic attempted to brainwash all of the captured members of DP7 with psychic reinforcement during dreams. Meanwhile, Randy's lost Antibody needed a host to survive and entered into a young orphan boy named Evan Huebner. Evan gained all of the recent memories of Randy and managed to travel the long distance to the Clinic, only to have the Antibody disintegrate in front of him.

Eventually, the bounty hunters brought in Dave Landers. Dave found Randy and attempted to go and rescue the others, only to find that most of them had been brainwashed, and Stephanie was in some kind of coma. They encountered Clinic head Philip Nolan Voigt who revealed himself to be a paranormal capable of copying any other power. Randy then discovered he could created multiple Antibodies. Randy and Dave fought with him until Voigt generated a giant antibody and was pulled inside of it. When Dave destroyed the antibody, Voigt was nowhere to be found.

Randy convinced Dave to stay at the Clinic until they found out if Dave was the only 'bad apple' at the Clinic. Dave was misled by Dr. Dexter Charne, who claimed that Hackbarth was trying to kill Stephanie, and when he tried to stop it, Stephanie was accidentally caught in the backlash. This prompted Dave to attempt to kill the comatose Hackbarth, until Randy's antibodies pulled him off the man.

Shortly afterwards, Charne put the Clinic's new interim director into a coma as a bid to gain power. When Dave learned of this, he assumed Charne was responsible for Stephanie. He was prepared to kill the man, but before he was able to one of Randy's new antibodies strangled the man to death.

Randy, who does not believe in killing another human even in self defense, is furious at the Antibody that killed Charne and seeks a way to keep it from re-entering his body. His killer Antibody ends up finding a host in Evan Huebner, who stayed at the clinic.

Military Life

Randy's friend Jeff Walters left the Clinic suddenly in the aftermath of the disaster that came to be known as The Pitt, because he had family in the area. Randy suggested the group go after him, and they agreed.

They drove as far as they could in Dave's old Winnebago, and then walked the rest of the way, until they fell over the side of the Pitt. Dave fell all the way to the bottom while waiting for Randy's antibodies to come back and rescue him. There he found Jeff, circling the bottom of the Pitt. He tried to save Jeff by climbing out, but when a sheet of rock broke off they fell to the bottom, and would have died if they'd not been saved by Jennifer Swensen in her MAX Armor. Dave was weak and nearly unconscious for a while after that until Sponge managed to wake him up in order to deal with a vicious paranormal named Pitt Bull. Immediately after the fight, the group was surrounded by the United States Army and captured.

Randy, Dave, and Jeff were informed about a paranormal draft, and in order to escape prosecution for being in a restricted area, were signed up. While acting as a doctor in the military Randy comes in contact with the mutated Robinson Family entity known as Famileech. He learns he can 'wear' his Antibodies giving him added strength and flight.

When Dave is sent on a mission to the Pitt, Randy goes awol and tries to find him. While flying about the Pitt in one of his Antibodies, Randy is hit with a blast of Pitt Juice. Paralyzed, it is Dave who finds and saves Randy. From this time on, Randy is stuck inside his Antibody, and the additional Antibodies he makes are only one foot tall.

New York City

Confident they army was no longer interested in the two of them, Randy and Dave headed for New York, where they learned Voigt was now a presidential candidate.

At his campaign headquarters, they confronted Voigt, who, upon learning that he couldn't mind control them, revealed a number of Randy's former friends, including both Stephanie and Charly. Voigt ordered the girls to kill Dave and Randy and, unable to resist the mental compulsion, they obeyed.

Just before they killed Dave and Randy, Voigt stopped them and warned them that if they tried to interfere with his plans, he'd order them all to kill themselves. The reunited group were then able to become friends, even moving in together. Later, Dave and Randy were able to convince a holder of the Star Brand to take on Voigt on their behalf.

Randy remained in New York with the others. When a paranormal who had the power to remove other's paranormal powers called the Cure showed up, Randy seriously considered having his powers removed. However, at the last minute he decided he could not live without his Antibodies.

Powers and abilities

Randy O'Brien is able to create multiple negative-image versions of himself out of an unknown substance dubbed "psychoplasm." These duplicates can fly, become solid or immaterial at will, and are as strong as their human original. They are also immune to attacks that affect the mind or the central nervous system. Although they lack vocal apparatus, they can confer their experiences upon living beings by touching them and willing such an information-transfer.

The number of Antibodies Randy can manifest at one time is unknown. Each Antibody develops its own personality, apparently based on some facet of O'Brien's personality. Each of them, once created, are capable of independent activity, and respond to O'Brien's verbal or mental commands to varying degrees. The Antibodies apparently need to rest inside O'Brien's body for at least an hour every 24 hours or else their psychoplasm begins to deteriorate (an Antibody once spent 78 hours out of O'Brien's body before totally dissipating). The demoses of his Antibodies apparently has no physical effects on O'Brien. O'Brien is able to prevent Antibodies from re-entering his body through hypnosis, as he did when one of his Antibodies went rogue.

Initially, Randy believed he had only one Antibody, but later discovered he could create up to five at a time. Later still, he learned he could create any number of Antibodies, and enter their bodies, taking on their physical appearance. On at least one occasion Randy created four Antibodies, and then immediately reabsorbed them, gaining five times his normal strength in the process.

Randy is presently unable to remove the Antibody he resides in, due to a blast of "Pitt juice." Within the Antibody, he possesses the same powers as any other Antibody, except the ability to become intangible. Also, any additional Antibodies he creates are only one foot in height.

Randy O'Brien is trained in medicine and is a speed reader. He is also a natural leader and athlete.

Other versions

Exiles

During the Exiles World Tour, an alternate version of Antibody came into existence after the Exiles battled the Proteus possessed Justice shortly after DP7 escaped. His history, demeanour, and powers remained the same, but how the Exiles affected his future is yet to be revealed.

External links

* [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/rndobi.htm Randy O'Brien at marvunapp.com ]