MICROBE

Consider helping keep the site ad free by using our Affiliate Link!

Real Name: Zachary Smith, Jr.
Aliases: None
Identity: Secret
Occupation: Former Lab Assistant, Crime Fighter
Citizenship: American Citizen, with no known criminal record.
Place of Birth: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Known Relatives: Zachary Smith (Father, Deceased), Dwayne Taylor (Night Thrasher I, Legal Guardian), Elvin Haliday (Rage, adoptive brother), Donyell Taylor (Bandit/Night Thrasher II, adoptive uncle), extended adoptive family through Dwayne Taylor
Group Affiliation: New Warriors
First Appearance: New Warriors #1 Volume 3
History: When Dwayne Taylor turned eighteen years old, he became the sole proprietor of the Taylor Foundation. The Taylor Foundation became the first corporation willing to match pharmaceutical salaries for Cancer Research. Dwayne Taylor himself searched out the best microbiologists. It was Zachary Smith who reached the headlines supposedly discovering a bacteria that prevented dairy products from spoiling.

Within two months, Zachary Smith, after being grabbed by Dwayne Taylor, was making major headlines with his discovery of bacteria that fed off Cancer cells alone. With the Taylor Foundation skyrocketing, it was not longer after that they had learned the secret of Zachary Smith’s success.

It turned out that his dairy had spoiled as soon as it left his sight, and that his cure to cancer was a complete failure, and in some cases, fatal.

As it turned out, Zachary’s son was a mutant that was capable of talking to germs, and had “spoken” to the germs to do his father’s bidding, doing so unconsciously. Zachary refuses to believe it as the truth and immediately fled to a small lab in the Scottish Highlands where he swore he would never see his son again, and that he would prove to the world that they were wrong.

Dwayne had eventually sought out Zachary and found him dead. As it turned out, Zachary had tried his “cancer eating bacteria” on himself. Without his son there to tell them what to do, they did what came naturally and it led to Zachary’s demise. So at the age of seventeen, Zachary’s son was orphaned.

An orphan himself at a young age, Dwayne took him in and trained him on how to control and use his mutant powers, adopting the name Microbe.

Microbe eventually joined the New Warriors himself, when a television show began to broadcast them as a “reality show.” As a part of the New Warriors, Microbe fought against foes such as: Tigershark, Armadillo, Red Ghost’s Super Apes (although it should be noted they would rather be called “The Super Apes”), Terrax, as well as The Corruptor.

During a televised raid by the New Warriors of a building in which Cobalt Man, Speedfreak, Coldheart, and Nitro, who had recently escaped from the Raft, resided. Namorita followed after Nitro. Slamming him into a bus, Namorita taunted him, but Nitro screamed he wasn’t the kind of loser that she was used to facing, she was in fact “playing with the big boys now”, before letting off a massive explosion that killed Namorita, Night Thrasher, Microbe, all of the children at the nearby elementary school, and all residents in the surrounding neighborhood where the fight took place.

Microbe was among the many mutants, who was resurrected on Krakoa, by the X-Men.

Height: 6’5
Weight: 330 lbs.
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown (Buzzed Short)
Powers: Microbe possesses the ability to speak to germs, bacteria and other microorganisms. This ability to speak with germs and microorganisms allows Microbe has proven that he is capable of mending wounds as well as combating disease and poison in others. This ability also seems to provide Microbe with an immunity to disease and poison himself, including the effects of the likes of The Corruptor.

Accessories: Microbe has developed canisters that are full of germs, bacteria and other microorganisms that he has been known to throw, commanding the germs and bacteria to do his bidding (typically infecting others to become ill, so that they can be subdued).

Note: Though Microbe’s father’s name was given (Zachary Smith), Microbe’s own first name is never mentioned. While Microbe may appear to be a “simpleton” he has proven he is anything but that, having apparently learned from his father. One instance, when the New Warriors were in need of replacing a flat tire, he had spoke to germs that were eating a deceased porcupine and had them digest the rubber on the tires; the by-product of such a thing had created heat, oxygen, and adhesive sludge. The tire essentially inflated while the holes sealed themselves.

Note: It appears since Microbe was a mutant, he was revived in the pages of Marauders #3 on Krakoa.