Mother's Milk | |
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The Boys character | |
![]() Mother's Milk as depicted in the comic book series (left; as Baron Wallis) and portrayed in the television series (right; as Marvin T. Milk) by Laz Alonso. | |
First appearance |
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Last appearance | Dear Becky #7 (2020) |
Created by | Garth Ennis Darick Robertson |
Adapted by | Eric Kripke George Mastras |
Portrayed by | Laz Alonso Elias Leon Leacock (young) |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Baron Wallis (comic series) Marvin T. Milk (television series) |
Nickname | Mother's Milk M.M. |
Species | Supe (comic series) Human (television series) |
Occupation | |
Affiliation |
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Weapon | Compound V |
Family |
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Spouse | Unnamed ex-wife (comic series) Monique Milk (ex-wife; television series) |
Children | Janine Wallis (daughter; comic series) Janine Milk (daughter; television series) |
Nationality | American |
Abilities |
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Mother's Milk, or simply M.M., is a fictional character and antihero appearing in the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Born Baron Wallis,[1] he is a member of The Boys, a group of CIA-sponsored black ops agents led by Billy Butcher who observe, record, and sometimes liquidate "Supes" (i.e. super-powered individuals who often masquerade as superheroes) artificially created by the mega-conglomerate Vought.
One of two "Supes" in the group alongside The Female, Wallis' mother was dosed with the superpower-inducing Compound V while pregnant with him, the result of which was her eventually mutating into a Cthulhu-like creature, and him becoming the first naturally-born Supe, prematurely aging (appearing to be in his 40s when in fact in his 20s). To stay alive, Mother's Milk requires continued consumption of his mother's Compound V-enhancing "mother's milk" on a semi-regular basis, leading to him taking the term as a sobriquet and boxing ring name. He later rises to become heavyweight champion of the world following his military career, before being recruited to the Boys after accidentally killing his opponent in the ring, becoming Butcher's second-in-command/best friend over years of missions and befriending Hugh "Wee Hughie" Campbell on his own recruitment. After helping Butcher finally get his revenge on Black Noir, M.M. learns that Butcher plans on killing all Supes and potential Supes (i.e. every person ever exposed to Compound V), including him and his daughter. After confronting Butcher over this (and for having already killed Frenchie, the Female, and M.M's abusive ex-wife), M.M. is smothered to death by Butcher to prevent him from interfering with his plan. In order to avenge her son, M.M.'s mother then gives Hughie the necessary milk to kill Butcher.
The character is primarily portrayed by Laz Alonso in the Amazon Prime Video streaming adaptation while Elias Leon Leacock portrays a young Marvin in the third season. Unlike the comic series, Marvin T. "Mother's" Milk, primarily known as M.M., is depicted as a regular human (though still a military veteran) with a dislike of Vought and its Supes resulting from a car crash caused by Soldier Boy in M.M.'s youth, which killed his mother, uncle, and grandfather, and led to his father working himself to death as a lawyer unsuccessfully attempting to sue Vought. In the present storyline, M.M. joins Butcher and the reformed Boys in exposing the existence of Compound V and taking down Stormfront in the first and second seasons, while in the third season, set two years later, a now-divorced M.M. rejoins the Boys as they attempt to take down Victoria Neuman and the Homelander, coming to odds with Butcher over his use of V-24 and partnership with a still-alive Soldier Boy (Homelander's father). Mother's Milk's lactophiliac tendencies from the comic series are additionally instead adapted to Homelander (portrayed by Antony Starr) in the television series, while his status as the first naturally-born Supe is adapted to Ryan Butcher (portrayed by Cameron Crovetti).[2] The character has received a positive critical reception.