Bova Ayrshire (Earth-616)

Bova was an evolved cow created by the rogue scientist known as the High Evolutionary as one of his New Men, animals given humanoid form and high intelligence. As one of his first creations, her purpose was to serve as nursemaid and caretaker to her fellow New Men, including his high guard, the Knights of Wundagore.^[1]

Magda Eisenhardt (Earth-616) and Bova Ayrshire (Earth-616) from Avengers Vol 1 186 001 — Bova allegedly delivers the twins Pietro and Wanda

When the pregnant Magda Lehnsherr arrived at the Evolutionary's citadel after fleeing from her husband, Bova served as midwife for the birth of her children, Pietro and Wanda.^[2] Fearing her husband might find her, Magda secretly left the castle a short time later, leaving her children behind. Soon afterward, Bova would again serve as midwife to the World War II-era hero Miss America, whose child was born stillborn, with the mother dying moments later. Hoping to soften the grief of Miss America's husband, the Whizzer, Bova offered Magda's abandoned babies to him, passing them off as his own, but he was overcome by grief and fled, leaving them behind in Wundagore. The High Evolutionary then intervened and gave the twins to a Romani couple, the Maximoffs, whose tribe happened to then be camped near the base of the mountain.^[3]

Bova also raised Jessica Drew after the High Evolutionary left Earth.^[4]

On Her Own[]

Bova was one of the few New Men who stayed behind after her creator left for outer space to continue his research, and she began living in a cottage at the base of her mountain home. There, she had a chance encounter with the children she helped bring into the world, now known as the Avengers Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who had traveled to Transia to battle the dark magician Modred.^[5] After severing his bond with the elder god Chthon, Modred reverted to a child-like mental state and was placed in Bova's care.^[6]

Some time later, Bova was approached by Magneto disguised as a traveler seeking shelter. Goading her for information on his wife and children, he used his powers to send blood to her brain, giving her a stroke which left her paralyzed and Modred to wander off.^[7] Quicksilver then took Bova to the Inhuman homeland of Attilan to heal her, where she made a full recovery.^[8]

Siege of Wundagore[]

Bova became friends with a shepherd named Fydor who looked after her when she fell ill from a mysterious ailment.^[9] When the Evolutionary finally returned to Earth, Quicksilver and his wife Crystal took him to be by her side. They learned that Fydor had been infected by a sentient mutant virus named Rakkus, who influenced him to poison Bova over a long period and draw the Evolutionary out.^[10] After destroying her cottage, Rakkus was defeated and Bova returned to live with her creator.^[11]

When the Acolytes attacked and took control of the Evolutionary's citadel, Bova and several Knights fled to New York while their master recovered in a safe location.^[12] Looking after Quicksilver's daughter Luna, Bova later joined the rest of the Knights in re-taking the citadel and defeating the combined forces of the Acolytes and the Man-Beast.^[13]

Earth's Mightiest[]

When Modred returned to Wundagore Mountain seeking to revive his master Chthon, he slew all the Knights present in the caves beneath except for Bova, whom he forced to hold the tome of Darkhold while he recited his incantations.^[14] After learning that Quicksilver's soul was trapped in the book, Bova distracted Modred enough for the Mighty Avengers to stop him and his master, returning Quicksilver back to normal.^[15]

Death[]

Bova and the rest of the New Men were killed by the High Evolutionary, as he stated they were never meant to be.^[16]

Attributes

Power Grid^[18]

Powers

Bova's bovine physiology gives her a very slight degree of enhanced strength, as well as a dense frame, a pair of solid horns on her head, and a ruminant digestive system.

Abilities

Bova is adept at nursing (including childbirth), childcare, and cooking.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Atomic Steed

Notes

Exactly which number of the High Evolutionary's creations Bova is has varied over the years. In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22, she was said to have been his twelfth successful evolution, while in Avengers #381, he referred to her as his "first and finest creation". Still later in Quicksilver #9, he called her his second creation, after his pet dalmatian.
Based on her above-referenced status as one of the High Evolutionary's earliest creations, Bova would be over 80 years old, likely aging at a reduced rate.

Although this article accurately summarizes Bova's origin and history as they were known at the time the stories in which she appeared were published, retcons that were later made to the origins and back-stories of a number of characters who were central to Bova's life have negatively affected the apparent canonicity of those stories. So far, Marvel Comics has not made any attempt to untangle the resulting continuity snarl.
- The 2005 Spider-Woman: Origin limited series massively rewrote the origin and past of Jessica Drew. Aside from revealing that Jessica was only about 30 years old (as opposed to having been born in 1927 and then having spent decades in suspended animation), a major change was that her father, Jonathan Drew, was working for HYDRA at a research center on Wundagore Mountain instead of being the partner of Herbert Wyndham with whom he co-founded the Citadel of Science in 1931. Although Jonathan's HYDRA supervisor is General (Herbert) Wyndham, the limited series makes it clear that he is not the High Evolutionary, but makes no attempt to reconcile the High Evolutionary's history with the new, retconned history of Wundagore.
- In Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #7, a spell cast by an inverted Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) revealed that, contrary to what had been established back in 1982, she and her brother Pietro had no blood ties with Magneto, meaning that they could not be the children he fathered with his wife Magda. This in turn cast doubt on the idea, established in Avengers #186, that Bova had been the midwife who had helped deliver Magda's twin children when they had been born in Wundagore. Further revelations, made in Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 2) #4, Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #4 and Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #12-12, confirmed that Wanda and Pietro had no connection to Magda and were in fact the children of the previous Scarlet Witch, Natalya Maximoff, and that Django Maximoff and his wife Marya, the Romani couple who had raised them as their own, had been their uncle (by blood) and aunt (by marriage).
As a result of these retcons, the origins of both the High Evolutionary and Bova are now somewhat uncertain, and the stories of her helping to deliver Wanda and Pietro and to raise young Jessica Drew now seem to be complete falsehoods.

Trivia

Bova is the only known member of the New Men with a last name, Ayrshire, which is also the name for a breed of dairy cow.

Links and References

References

[Amazing_Spider-Man_Annual_Vol_1_22-1] Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22

[Giant-Size_Avengers_Vol_1_1-2] Giant-Size Avengers #1

[Avengers_Vol_1_186-3] Avengers #186

[Spider-Woman_Vol_1_20-4] Spider-Woman #20

[Avengers_Vol_1_185-5] Avengers #185

[Avengers_Vol_1_187-6] Avengers #187

[Avengers_Vol_1_245-7] Avengers #245

[Avengers_Vol_1_247-8] Avengers #247

[Avengers_Vol_1_380-9] Avengers #380

[Avengers_Vol_1_381-10] Avengers #381

[Avengers_Vol_1_382-11] Avengers #382

[Quicksilver_Vol_1_2-12] Quicksilver #2

[Heroes_for_Hire_/_Quicksilver_'98-13] Heroes for Hire / Quicksilver #'98[[Category:]]

[Mighty_Avengers_Vol_1_21-14] Mighty Avengers #21

[Mighty_Avengers_Vol_1_23-15] Mighty Avengers #23

[New_Warriors_Vol_5_1-16] New Warriors (Vol. 5) #1

[17] Avengers Assemble #1

[18] Avengers Assemble Vol 1 1

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