Fictional character from DC Comics
Comics character
Monsieur Mallah
is a
supervillain
in the
DC Comics
Universe
. He is the
gorilla
servant of and, in time, the partner to
Gorilla Grodd
and the
Brain
, while serving as an enemy of the
Doom Patrol
,
Justice League
, and the
Teen Titans
.
Monsieur Mallah appears in the third season of the
HBO Max
series
Doom Patrol
, voiced by Jonathan Lipow.
Publication history
[
edit
]
Monsieur Mallah first appeared in
Doom Patrol
#86 (March 1964) and was created by
Arnold Drake
and
Bruno Premiani
.
[1]
Fictional character biography
[
edit
]
Origin
[
edit
]
A scientist experimented on a captured
gorilla
from
Gorilla City
, raising his
I.Q.
to the genius-level of 178. He named the gorilla
Monsieur Mallah
and educated him for almost a decade before making him his personal assistant.
Ten years ago, I took a superior ape—stronger than any human... more agile than the best athlete! Through secret teaching methods and shock treatments, I gave it an I.Q. of 178! Genius status!
- The Brain, explaining Mallah's origin in
Doom Patrol
#86
The scientist's colleague,
Niles Caulder
, grows jealous of his work and arranges for the scientist to get caught in an explosion, which destroys the scientist's body. Only the brain survives, and Caulder plans on putting his brain in a robot body. Mallah rescues the scientist, taking his brain and transferring it to a computer network that keeps it functioning. Now known simply as the Brain, the scientist and Mallah gather together the criminal organization known as the
Brotherhood of Evil
in hopes of conquering the world and getting revenge on Caulder.
[2]
Caulder, now known as the Chief, through a series of other accidents that he manipulated, forms the superhero group known as the
Doom Patrol
. Setting out to destroy the Chief's 'pets', the Brain, Mallah, and their Brotherhood become enemies with the Patrol. Their criminal activities also put them into opposition with the
Teen Titans
.
Doom Patrol
[
edit
]
During
Grant Morrison
's
Doom Patrol
run, Mallah has the Brain placed in one of Robotman's bodies. In his new body, the Brain confesses to Mallah that he's in love with him. Mallah reveals that he feels the same way, and the two kiss. However, Robotman's body had developed sentience and vowed never to be enslaved by a brain again; when Mallah placed his lover in the body, he triggered a self-destruct mechanism, which explodes as they kiss.
[3]
The two later resurface (the Brain back to floating in a jar), with no explanation of how they survived the explosion. The Brotherhood begins raiding genetic research facilities to unlock the secrets of cloning and create a new body for the Brain, so he and Monsieur Mallah can resume their romance.
[4]
[5]
[6]
After a short while, the Brain's new clone body begins to break down, so he has Mallah rip off his head and put his brain back into another jar.
[7]
In the
Salvation Run
storyline, the Brain and Monsieur Mallah appear amongst the villains that were sent to the planet Cygnus 4019. The Brain and Mallah arrive at
Joker
's camp, and Mallah asks
Gorilla Grodd
to speak with him away from the others. Mallah proposes to Grodd that, as fellow gorillas and the natural kings of the jungle, they should team up and, through their combined might, rule the entire place by themselves. Grodd laughs at Mallah for considering himself, an "absurd science experiment", comparable to "a proud child of
Gorilla City
".
[8]
Mallah strikes Grodd and calls him a beast, causing Grodd to fly into a rage and try to kill him. Although Mallah also has a gun and shoots Grodd several times, Grodd still has the upper hand, and is about to kill Mallah when the Brain interjects, pleading for Mallah's life. Thinking better of it, Grodd picks the Brain up and beats Mallah to death with the Brain, smashing the Brain's protective hull in the process and killing him as well. Before breathing his last breath, Monsieur Mallah says he dies happy taking solace in that he and the Brain will finally be able to be together forever.
[9]
The New 52
[
edit
]
In September 2011,
The New 52
rebooted DC's continuity. In this continuity, Mallah was a gorilla who was experimented on by a New England scientist named Ernst to increase his intellect. He treated Mallah like a friend and an assistant. When an explosion occurred in his lab, Ernst was badly burned and Mallah saved his life by preserving his brain.
[10]
After becoming distrustful of humans, Brain took Mallah into attacking humans that they blamed for their plight. Then they raided
LexCorp
where they received a cyber-optic nerve so that Brain can see. During a standoff with the Special Crimes Unit,
Maggie Sawyer
tried to talk them down and agreed to help them if they surrendered.
[11]
In an altered future, Brain and Monsieur Mallah appear assisting Gorilla Grodd in taking over the remains of Central City while The Black had taken over most of the world. They end up capturing
Animal Man
and the heroes that are with him. Animal Man's group is saved by
Frankenstein
and his Patchwork Army who defeat most of the gorillas as a few of them are allowed to escape to tell the tale of their defeat.
[12]
DC Rebirth
[
edit
]
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "
DC Rebirth
", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". The Brotherhood of Evil worked together on a narcotic element which is then distributed to the addict population of New York City.
[13]
The designer drug, Bliss, was designed to put people in a fugue state so Brain could use their dormant mental capacity to expand his own intellect to godlike levels.
[14]
As his acumen began to reach hyper-genius levels of intellectual capacity, The Brain began to physically transcend his body at varying percentages over time. As his abilities increase, he situated ecological catastrophes as bait to lure his enemies in the Justice League toward various traps while he worked toward achieving transcendent consciousness.
[15]
His ascent to godhood also came with the side effect of nullifying his empathy, becoming personally distant from the humanistic coil such as relations and his dearest confidante. To that end, Mallah betrayed Brain to the Titans before he could reshape reality to his own ends, ending the threat he posed for good.
[16]
Year of the Villain
[
edit
]
During the "
Year of the Villain
",
Joker
imprisoned Brain and Monsieur Mallah in an old fairground while
The Batman Who Laughs
was infecting people. Joker tortured them and left them in
Lex Luthor
's care in exchange for the knowledge to defeat The Batman Who Laughs.
[17]
Powers and abilities
[
edit
]
Monsieur Mallah has inhuman strength, durability, speed, agility, reflexes, and intelligence, as well as a keen sense of smell. He usually carries a machine gun or any other
firearms
with him.
[18]
In other media
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
- Monsieur Mallah appears in
Teen Titans
, voiced by
Glenn Shadix
.
[19]
This version is irritable, overconfident, and typically prefers direct assaults via his brute strength over tactical prowess. He assists the
Brotherhood of Evil
in their plot to eliminate young heroes around the world, only to be defeated and flash-frozen by the
Teen Titans
.
- Monsieur Mallah appears in
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
, voiced by
Kevin Michael Richardson
.
[19]
In the episode "Gorillas in our Midst!", he joins
Gorilla Grodd
and
Gorilla Boss
in forming G.A.S.P. (Gorillas and Apes Seizing Power) and replacing
Gotham City
's citizens with apes, only to be thwarted by
Batman
,
Detective Chimp
,
B'wana Beast
, and
Vixen
. In the episode "The Last Patrol!", Mallah and the
Brain
join forces with
General Zahl
, among other enemies of the
Doom Patrol
, to seek revenge on them, only to be defeated by Batman once more.
- Monsieur Mallah appears in
Young Justice
, voiced by
Dee Bradley Baker
.
[19]
This version is a member of the
Light
in the first two seasons, during which he is eventually captured by the
Team
, and the
Suicide Squad
in the
third season
.
- Monsieur Mallah appears in the "Doom Patrol" segment of
DC Nation Shorts
, voiced by
David Kaye
.
[19]
- Monsieur Mallah appears in
Teen Titans Go!
, voiced by
Fred Tatasciore
.
- Monsieur Mallah appears in
Doom Patrol
, voiced by Jonathan Lipow.
[19]
This version is a member of the Brotherhood of Evil. After helping the Brain steal
Robotman
's body, Mallah leaves the former.
- Monsieur Mallah appears in the
My Adventures with Superman
episode "My Adventures with Mad Science", voiced by
Andre Sogliuzzo
.
[20]
This version is a kind-hearted gorilla who was given greater intelligence by the Brain of
Project Cadmus
.
[20]
Video games
[
edit
]
Miscellaneous
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).
The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe
. DK Publishing. p. 208.
ISBN
978-1-4654-5357-0
.
- ^
Wells, John (2015).
American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64
. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 180.
ISBN
978-1605490458
.
- ^
Doom Patrol
(vol. 2) #34 (July 1990). DC Comics.
- ^
Teen Titans
(vol. 3) #34 (May 2006). DC Comics.
- ^
Teen Titans
(vol. 3) #35 (June 2006)
- ^
Teen Titans
(vol. 3) #36 (July 2006). DC Comics.
- ^
Teen Titans
(vol. 3) #37 (August 2006). DC Comics.
- ^
Salvation Run
#3. DC Comics.
- ^
Salvation Run
#4. DC Comics.
- ^
Red Hood: Outlaw
#44. DC Comics.
- ^
Young Monsters in Love
#1. DC Comics.
- ^
Animal Man
(vol. 2) #15. DC Comics.
- ^
Titans
(vol. 2) #19. DC Comics.
- ^
Titans
(vol. 2) #20. DC Comics.
- ^
Titans
(vol. 2) #22. DC Comics.
- ^
Titans
(vol. 2) Annual #2. DC Comics.
- ^
Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen
#1. DC Comics.
- ^
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe
#16 (June 1986)
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Monsieur Mallah Voices (Teen Titans)"
.
Behind The Voice Actors
. Retrieved
February 10,
2024
. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (
link
)
- ^
a
b
Nelson, Samantha (June 26, 2023).
"My Adventures With Superman Review"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
July 7,
2023
.
- ^
Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013).
"DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
April 9,
2024
.
- ^
"Justice League Adventures #6 - Wolf's Clothing : Sold! (Issue)"
.
Comic Vine
. Retrieved
April 9,
2024
.
- ^
"Justice League Unlimited #31 - The One-Man Justice League (Issue)"
.
Comic Vine
. Retrieved
April 9,
2024
.
- ^
Smallville Season 11
#9 DC Comics.
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