History
First Line-Up[]
The Ani-Men were a group of criminals hand-picked by the Organizer to orchestrate a crime wave that would benefit his reform party. The first line-up consisted of Gordon Keefer as the first Ape-Man, Henry Hawk as the first Bird-Man, Townshend Horgan as the first Cat-Man and Francois Le Blanc as the first Frog-Man, who were also known, both collectively and informally, as the Organization.[2] They were defeated by Daredevil[4] who later fought them on other occasions, during which the team operated without Frog-Man as the Unholy Three.
In his bid to take control of NORAD, Count Nefaria returned Frog-Man to the team, along with a new female member, Veronica Dultry as Dragonfly, and his scientists gave all of them super-powers. Now known as the Ani-Men, they succeeded in taking over the Cheyenne Mountain Missile Base for Nefaria, only to be decisively defeated by the new incarnation of the X-Men.[5]
Although having lost Dragonfly, who was confined to Moira MacTaggert's mutant research facility on Muir Island, Scotland, the four original Ani-Men continued working for Count Nefaria. During a battle against Iron Man, however, they were all killed by a bomb planted inside Nefaria's base by the Spymaster, who detonated the bomb and blew the base up with the Ani-Men still inside it.[6]
Second Line-Up[]
A second line-up of the Ani-Men, who also referred to themselves as the Unholy Three, consisted of Roy McVey as the second Ape-Man, Achille DiBacco as the second Bird-Man, and Sebastian Patane as the second Cat-Man. Recruited by Death-Stalker, for whom the original Unholy Three had worked for under a previous alias (i.e., the Exterminator), they also fought Daredevil. Ape-Man and Cat-Man were later killed by Death-Stalker; Bird-Man escaped this fate, having already been captured, but was subsequently killed by the Scourge of the Underworld in the "Bar with No Name" massacre in Ohio (though he has since been resurrected by the Hood).[7] The second Bird-Man's current whereabouts and activities are unknown.
Third Line-Up[]
The third line-up of the Ani-Men consisted of Giraffe-Man, Great Horned Owl-Man, Pig-Man, and Rabbit-Woman. In their only known appearance they attacked a modeling convention in Milwaukee, citing animal rights issues as their motive. They blamed the modeling industry for everything from animal testing of cosmetics to the wearing of fur. The Great Lakes Avengers showed up on the scene to fight the Ani-Men, but were beaten to it by the Avengers, who quickly dispatched the criminals.[8] Their current whereabouts and activities are unknown.
Fourth Line-Up[]
Later, a fourth line-up of the Ani-Men surfaced, consisting of the third Ape-Man, the third Cat-Man and the third Frog-Man, and robbed an armored car.[9]
Then during the Civil War the same group, now consisting of Ape-Man, the third Bird-Man and Cat-Man, were among the criminals seen being recruited by Hammerhead.[10][11]Notes
- The Ani-Men should not be confused with the Animen, a group of New Men sent by the High Evolutionary to sabotage one of the Jackal's laboratories.
See Also
- 12 appearance(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)
- 7 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)
- 4 minor appearance(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)
- 3 mention(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)
- 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)
- 14 image(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)
- 15 member(s) of Ani-Men (Earth-616)