HARRY PALMER

Real Name: Harry Palmer

Identity/Class: Human/Brood Queen

Occupation: Paramedic

Affiliations: Norman Belmont, Brood, Brood Mutants, Dale, Sally Harding, Fran Morrow, Ruth, Josey Thomas

Enemies: Hannah Conover, Reverend William Conover, X-Men

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Lord Harry, Prime Carrier

Base of Operations: Denver Colorado

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men#232 (August, 1988)

Powers/Abilities: Harry Palmer possessed the ability to infect others with Brood eggs; he was telepathically linked with all of his Brood, possessed superhuman strength, speed and endurance. As a human, Harry Palmer possessed a great deal of medical knowledge and skill.

Weaknesses: As a paramedic, Harry Palmer was totally unaware of the reasons for his bizarre actions and the presence of the Brood Queen within him. He was often overcome by his confusion and fear.

History: (Uncanny X-Men#232 (fb))- Harry Palmer and his three friends, Fran Morrow, Norm Belmont, and Sally Harding were out camping in the Rio Diablo Mountains in New Mexico, when a large object crashed into the ground nearby. Thinking it a plane crash, Harry and his friends went to investigate, and found, a gigantic Shark. As the four friends pondered the bizarre scene, Sally went over to examine the beast, thinking it dead. It wasn’t. The Star Shark turned and devoured her. Horrified, Palmer backed away, falling backward over the body of a dead Brood. Then he heard a horrible scream, calling his name, as Norman was strangled and impaled by a live Brood. Harry turned towards his VW Van, ignoring the pleas for help of his girlfriend, Fran, who had injured her ankle and couldn’t get away from the ravenous beasts emerging from the great Star Shark, he just turned and ran.

(Uncanny X-Men#218 (BTS)/#232 (fb))- The next morning, as Harry Palmer sped away in his VW Van, he ran Alex Summers and Lorna Dane’s jeep off the road. He was so terrified, he didn’t even notice.

(Uncanny X-Men#232)- Several weeks later, Palmer and his partner, Josey Thomas, sped towards an emergency call at the Dynasty Plaza office of Robert Delgado, an attorney whose mutant power to hurl super-heated balls of plasma had suddenly manifested itself, setting the office on fire, and giving Delgado a heart attack. After learning the particulars, Harry told Delgado he wasn’t going to die, “In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll live forever!” His right arm morphed into a Brood appendage, and he inserted it into Delgado’s abdomen, infecting him with a Brood egg, healing him and transforming Delgado into the Brood Mutant known as Spitball. Later that night, as he returned to his apartment, he remarked how his calls had lately been taking a lot out of him, especially those involving mutants. He noticed a pair of young lovers nearby, and remembered Fran, though evidently he did not remember how she had died. As he entered his apartment, he remarked that the way the night was going he’d probably open his door and “find some demon queen, waiting to steal my soul.” As he opened the door, Psylocke emerged from the shadows, and Colossus blocked his exit. Palmer, lifted the giant Russian and threw him into Betsy, and out the wall of his third story apartment, and then jumped after them, running for his car, having no idea why he was running and totally unable to stop himself. As he reached his car, Havok melted the engine, and the young lovers, Longshot and Dazzler, headed for him. He threw the car door at them with such force that it severed an electrical post, “This is wrong, why am I fighting…Dear Lord, what’s happening to me!” As Rogue tied up the electric wires, and the X-Men re-grouped, Harry ran for his life, trying unsuccessfully  to hail a cab, then running in front of a city bus to get it to stop, “Not an escape, not really…only a reprieve.” The woman in the seat in front of him turned around, admonishing him to give up, Rogue. Palmer jumped her, overpowering her, his arm morphing once again into a Brood appendage. “This is a moment long overdue, little X-Girl. And a vengeance well worth the wait!” Just as he was about to infect her, Wolverine pulled him through the bus window. “That girl…what was I about …to do?! My hand…looks like my hand…but before?!?” Harry fled into a nearby alley, where Rogue and Logan corner him. Just then Police Officers Dale and Ruth arrived, guns drawn, and ordered the X-Men against the wall. Logan, however, attacked, knocking Dale out and killing Ruth. Rogue was horrified, thinking that Logan, in a berserker rage, had murdered a police officer, but the X-Men arrived, and Psylocke confirmed the cops are actually Brood. “They aren’t the only ones, X-Men. We’re all of us Brood here. And soon, old enemies…very soon…you will be too!” His Nest had arrived, and the X-Men are in for the battle of their lives!

(Uncanny X-Men#233)- Harry Palmer revealed that these Brood were all mutants. As a paramedic, Harry had been subconsciously influenced to infect those he treated who had mutant powers. The X-Men fought a pitched battle, unwilling, for the most part, to harm these unfortunate people, (though Wolverine was all too eager, as usual). After Temptress used her pheremonal powers to gain control over Rogue and Betsy, they were able to capture Wolverine, and Lockup paralyzes him with his power. Palmer implanted Logan with a Warrior’s egg. (Didn’t these Brood know that wouldn’t work on Wolverine, all Brood possess all the knowledge of the Brood, surely they would have realized their mistake after the debacle on “Sleazeworld”)! After Logan was infected, Dive-Bomber was killed by Havok while delivering Storm to his master, and Brickbat was killed in battle with Colossus. Harry realized that the X-Men meant business and decided to flee, ordering Rogue/Temptress to carry Temptress’ real body and Logan’s unconscious form to safety.

(Uncanny X-Men#234)- Rogue, Temptress and Logan flew off, as the battle moved to the Mile High Diner, where Spitball and Dazzler crashed through the window, as Dazzler blasts Delgado off her, the patrons grabbed her, thinking she was an evil mutant, and Spitball used the opportunity to fire a blast at them, nearly taking them all out. Whiphand grabbed Dazzler by the neck, as Blindside grabbed a human who tries to interfere. The man yelled as Blindside teleported behind him, and grabbed him. Longshot jumped to the rescue, stabbing Blindside in the back, only to be ensnared by Whiphand’s torturous energy bands. Whiphand saw Longshot smiling, and realized too late that Colossus was behind him, as the giant mutant grabbed him, and coldly snapped his neck. Blindside was fried by Storm’s lightning, and Spitball fled, meeting up with Palmer, Tension, Lockup, and Betsy, who was still under Temptress’ control. They fled in Dale and Ruth’s police cruiser, and headed for the Red Rocks Amphitheater, meeting site of The Glory Day Ministry, led by the Reverend William Conover, where Rogue was headed with Temptress and Logan. Logan recovered too quickly, however, and killed Temptress, causing Rogue to throw him to the earth with the force of a small meteor. Hearing this from Psylocke, Palmer called Rogue a “Brainless Bimbo!” He wanted Logan alive (a very stupid move, as I’ve already stated the Brood eggs can’t overcome Logan’s healing factor, so just kill him already!). Delgado suddenly asked Harry if he was wearing his seatbelt. “Why?”. The car was smashed against Colossus’ armored bod’ a few seconds later. Palmer ordered Spitball to kill Piotr, but his blasts had no effect, and with the arrival of Storm, and the return of Psylocke’s psyche, Palmer, Spitball, Tension and Lockup fled, their escape covered by Rogue, still under the control of Temptress’ personality. Dazzler took down Rogue, and the X-Men headed to church. The infected Wolverine was approached by the Reverend William Conover, who, thinking him affected by drugs, tried to help him with prayer, the Brood overwhelmed Logan, and Conover prayed harder, as Logan’s healing factor finally kicked in, killing the Brood. Tension then reached from the revivals scaffolding, choking the Reverend for opposing the Brood, but was quickly dispatched by Havok. As Havok wrestled with his conscience over killing Dive-Bomber and Tension, Spitball launched a sneak attack, but Longshot saved Havok, and a wall knocked over by Delgado’s own attack crushed Spitball and Lockup. Harry, alone, grabbed Hannah Conover, the Reverend's wife, and threatened to kill her unless he was allowed to escape. “The days of human hegemony are over. And not your vaunted technology, nor your super-beings… nor even the mutant offspring of your misbegotten race…can save you from me.” One of those “mutant offspring” however, had crawled under the stage, and, ripping his way up, Wolvie’ snatched Palmer down under the stage. Palmer reverted to his human personality, perhaps the Brood hoped it would save them, but Wolverine was not known for either his restraint or compassion. “Please, don’t! Who are you people! Why are you after, me, what have I done?!!” “You don’t understand, bub. Harry Palmer died a long time ago. Now, at last, he’ll have his chance to rest in peace.” At that, Wolverine drove an adamantium claw through Palmer’s skull, killing him.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri.

Harry Palmer, was, in the end, a pathetic character, he had no idea why the X-Men were after him, what was going on, or even why or how he reacted in the ways as he did, he died completely unaware of why he was being killed. I wonder if the X-Men had any regrets for all the Brood-infected people they killed, when they found another way, with Hannah Conover. Harry Palmer is considered a Brood Queen, even though he is a male. Harry Palmer, as a human, was male, but the Brood embryo within him was female, a Queen. I wonder if Harry knew that Hannah was also a Brood, he didn't seem to, of course, it could have just been an act.

Uncanny X-Men#231-234 was reprinted in X-Men: Earthfall.