Toad

Real Name
Mortimer Toynbee

Occupation
Former criminal

Citizenship
U.K. (international criminal record)

Place of Birth
York, England

Known Relatives
Unrevealed

Group Affiliation
Formerly 198, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Misfits; (formerly) associate of Gideon, Emma Frost

Education
Unrevealed

Height
5' 9"

Weight
169 lbs.

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Brown

Powers
Orginally, Mortimer Toynbe's mutant power was the sole ability of leaping. His leg muscles are incredibly strong, allowing him to deliver powerful kicks, to jump to great heights, and to rapidly move via jumping. Later, after gaining access to some of the Stranger's technology, he genetically altered himself to be able to secrete a poisonous resin, as well as gain minor super-strength and a malicious evil mind. He had later returned to his previous state, although he appeared able to gain control over a group of sentient carnivorous frogs that he used as spies. Currently, Toynbee has mutated further, and now possesses a tongue which can elongate like a whip as well as deliver venomous pheromones that sink through the skin directly into the bloodstream. These pheromones cause any exposed to them to have their will become subservient to the Toynbee's.

Abilities
Despite his social awkwardness and seeming lack of intelligence early on, Toynbee proved capable of understanding and utilizing advanced, even alien, technology.

Other Info
Mortimer Toynbee was born in England and was abandoned by his parents early in his childhood, therefore, he cannot remember them. He was placed in an orphanage where the other children bullied him because they considered him a freak due to his ugliness, his unusual physique, and his leaping ability. Mortimer was so traumatized by his loneliness and continual abuse that it affected his learning abilities; the teachers and administrators in the orphanage regarded him as mentally retarded, even though, in actuality, he was of normal intelligence. Mortimer became so desperate for affection that he developed a pathetically subservient personality, and would unquestioningly obey anyone he thought sincerely cared about him.

When he was an adult, Toynbee was recruited to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants by Magneto. Magneto gave Toynbee the alias "Toad" because of Toynbee's powers, appearance, and personality. The Toad took Magneto's verbal and physical abuse because Magneto was out to conquer the human race that had rejected Toad so much. As a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Toad met the Scarlet Witch and became infatuated with her, though she did not did not have the same feelings for him. (Toad infatuation with the Scarlet Witch continues through his life, even though she gets married, and pregnant later.) (To learn more about the team or characters above, just click on their names. Note: Scarlet Witch has some revealing pictures on her bio page.)

After one of the many confrontations with the X-Men, Magneto and Toad were captured by the alien called the Stranger and imprisoned on the alien's distant world. Magneto was able to escape, but he left Toad behind; this is when Toad's attitude toward Magneto began to change. After being recaptured, Magneto escaped a second time and took Toad with him, but Toad's resentment increased with Magneto's continual bullying. Later, Toad took his revenge on Magneto by abandoning Magneto to die in an explosion that followed an encounter with the Avengers. (To learn about the teams and character above, just click on their highlighted names.)

Toad served a short prison term after an attack on the Avengers. He was later released, at which time he commissioned the criminal Arcade to construct a sort-of "Toad kingdom," complete with a series of deadly traps, in a seemingly deserted castle in upstate New York. Here, he planned to entrap everyone who he felt had abused him, placing them in the palace where they would be killed in the attempt to escape. His first victim was the X-Men’s Angel, but Toad had accidentally kidnapped the Thing too. Just as the two were about to escape, Arcade stepped in and demanded immediate payment for his services. Unable to pay, Toad began to panic and fear for his own life. Angel took pity on Toad and made an agreement to convert the castle into an amusement park, paying the debt in the process. This endeavor was a success until it was discovered that the castle's original owner was the villain, Victor von Doom (aka Doctor Doom). Doctor Doom sent a robot of himself and a security force to remove Toad and restore the structure to its original state. After this, Toynbee had decided to commit suicide, but his attempt was interrupted by Spider-Man. (To learn more about the characters above, just click on their names.)

Months later, Toad resurfaced again with new powers, a heightened intelligence, and a vicious mean streak. He tried to form his own Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (simply called "the Brotherhood). However, Toad's Brotherhood later fell apart and the members went their separate ways. Toad then was recruited by former teammate Blob to join a new version of the Brotherhood of Mutants. After that team, Toad joined yet another Brotherhood of Mutants, this time led by Mystique. (To learn about the above characters, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the revealing first picture on Mystique's bio page.)

During a time-traveling adventure, Mortimer discovered that, as an infant, he and thousands of other mutant babies were experimented upon. The experiments were to track the evolution of mutantkind. Ultimately in this time-traveling adventure, in a battle with the alien Stranger, Toad was wounded to the point of death, but an alien named Prosh healed him. This healing resulted in Toad having an altered appearance and strange new powers. Later, Toad was able to return to the present day.

Lately, Toynbee has appeared more clear-headed and reflective of his actions. He recently used his abilities to help another mutant in need. Since then, Toad has joined the band of mutant refugees called the 198. (If you would like to learn in more detail about Toad's life in chasing the Scarlet Witch, about the different teams that he has been on, and/or about his life in general, just click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Toad.)