PRETTY BOY
Earth-148611

Real Name: Bob Loeser

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-148611/New Universe) human paranormal

Occupation: Soldier

Group Membership: Paranormal Platoon (All-American/Jack Magniconte, Major Kathi Blizzard, Blur/Jeff Walters, Gridlock/Garth Mengeling, Mapper/Jonathan Matthews, Metallurgist/Chris Barrett, Norad/Jacob Lao, Pit Bull/Gaylord Picaro, Shooter/Vincent Sahno, Troll/Brian Pickett)

Affiliations: Sgt. Haldeman, the Paranormal Platoon

Enemies: Mozambican army, Colonel Oort

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Fort Benning, Georgia, USA

First Appearance: The War I#1 (1989)

Powers/Abilities: Pretty Boy had the paranormal ability to alter his appearance. When he assumed another form, he generated a psychic impression upon people who saw him so that they would be left with the belief he was someone they had seen before. People would remark that he seemed "familiar" when they met for the first time.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 170 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:
(The War I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Bob Loeser received paranormal abilities following the "White Event" caused by the Starbrand. Later, when the city of Pittsburgh was destroyed by Ken Connell (reducing Pittsburgh to "the Pitt"), this caused a paranoid reaction around the world, as virtually no one knew Ken was responsible or that it had been an accident. Fearing a foreign paranormal had destroyed the city, the United States instituted the draft specifically to ascertain which male U.S. citizens were paranormals so they could be honed into a fighting force against whichever nation had destroyed Pittsburgh. Bob Loeser was one of those drafted into the military and was assigned to the Paranormal Platoon, who received their basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia under drill sergeant Haldeman and under the command of Captain Jack Magniconte, alias the All-American. Bob Loeser received the codename "Pretty Boy" from the Army.

(The War I#1) - When the Army was at last ready to deploy the Paranormal Platoon in the field, they assigned Major Kathi Blizzard to assume command over them. When Captain Magniconte brought Major Blizzard to Fort Benning, Sgt. Haldeman assembled the platoon, consisting of Pretty Boy, Blur, Pit Bull, Gridlock, Metallurgist, Shooter, Norad, Troll and Mapper. As Major Blizzard shook hands with each of the men (using her own paranormal psychic powers to read each of their minds when they touched), she paused when she reached Pretty Boy and remarked "You look like somebody I know!" Pretty Boy replied "Ma'am, I look like everybody you know!" Major Blizzard informed them that they would be going on a mission in four days and that they were being given a pass to enjoy rest and relaxation before heading out. After the pass was over, the Paranormal Platoon boarded a plane and took off.

(The War I#2) - Once the plane was in the air, Major Blizzard showed the Paranormal Platoon a video recording of a paranormal from Mozambique named Casey, who claimed to have destroyed Pittsburgh with his power. Major Blizzard informed the platoon that they were headed to South Africa to plan an attack on Mozambique. Pretty Boy believed the recording was genuine and was impressed by the power he assumed Casey was capable of wielding.

    Arriving in South Africa, the platoon were greeted by the forces of Colonel Oort. When the South Africans began surrounding Magniconte and shaking his hand due to his celebrity status, Pretty Boy was impressed by all the attention he received. The Paranormal Platoon settled into their South African quarters but Pit Bull had noticed their hosts had snubbed both Blur and Major Blizzard because they were Black, telling Pretty Boy and the others not to be too quick to trust Colonel Oort.

    The Paranormal Platoon crossed into Mozambique to recon a camp staffed with Mozambican soldiers alongside their allies from Cuba, Angola and Tanzania. While the other platoon members watched from a distance, Pretty Boy simply walked into the camp, using his power to seem to be an unassuming fellow soldier in the crowd. However, back in South Africa, Major Blizzard had discovered Casey was actually a prisoner of the South Africans, incarcerated behind barbed wire. The South Africans had fabricated the video recording in an attempt to trick the United States into assaulting their enemies in Mozambique. Shocked, Major Blizzard sent out a psychic distress signal to the entire Paranormal Platoon.

    Unfortunately, the psychic pain caused by Major Blizzard's message caused Pretty Boy to lose control over his power. The moment he received Major Blizzard's message, his power faded and he was immediately recognized as an intruder. Pretty Boy tried to reinitialize his power but the alerted soldiers could see him trying to alter his form and so could not be fooled. As one of the soldiers tried to club Pretty Boy with his rifle, Shooter, watching from outside the camp, used his paranormal reflexes to fire a perfect sniper round at the soldier, killing him. Pretty Boy ran to the jungle to rejoin the platoon but the Mozambican forces opened fire on him, killing him before he could reach cover.

Comments: Created by Doug Murray and Tom Morgan.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Pretty Boy should not be confused with:

images: (without ads)
The War I#1, page 29, panel 1 (main)
The War I#2, page 6, panel 2 (face)

Appearances:
The War I#1-2 (1989) - Doug Murray (writer), Tom Morgan (artist), Howard Mackie (editor)

First posted: 09/11/2025
Last updated: 09/11/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters