main image

DUMMY

Real Name: Dean Boswell

Identity/Class: Human mutant, citizen of the United States

Occupation: Student

Group Membership: Xorn's Special Class (Angel Salvadore, Basilisk/Mike Columbus, Beak/Barnell Bohusk, Ernst, No-Girl/Martha Johansson, Kuan-Yin Xorn)

Affiliations: Xavier Institute student body (Choir/Irina Clayton, Contact/Frida Rivera, Crater/Erik Hallgrimsson, Forearm/Marcus Tucker, Glob Herman/Robert Herman, Imp/Anders Nobel, Keratin/Dave Finn, Longneck/William Hanover, Mentat/Robert Zepheniah, "Michael Jackson," Polymer/Dana Holmes, Radian/Christian Cord, Redneck/Vincent Stewart, Spike/Gary Walsh, Stalwart/Adewale Ekoku, Stepford Cuckoos (Celeste, Esme, Mindee, Phoebe, Sophie, Cuckoo), Tattoo/Christine Cord, other unidentified students), X-Men (Beast/Henry McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Phoenix/Jean Grey, Professor X/Charles Xavier, White Queen/Emma Frost, Wolverine/James Howlett, Xorn/Kuan-Yin Xorn)

Enemies: The Omega Gang (Glob Herman/Robert Herman, Kid Omega/Quentin Quire, Radian/Christian Cord, Redneck/Vincent Stewart, Tattoo/Christine Cord), U-Men

Known Relatives: None 

Aliases: "Human fart" (nickname used by Basilisk)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
                                  formerly Xavier Institute, Salem Center, New York, USA

First Appearance: New X-Men I#135 (February, 2003)

Powers/Abilities: Dean Boswell was a mutant who, upon hitting puberty, mutated into a living, gaseous form. In order to preserve him, he was placed inside a rubber suit that contained his essence. Now known as Dummy, Boswell could exert sufficient force to manipulate the suit, thereby simulating movement. He could also speak, though how he accomplished this without vocal cords or lungs was unclear. The smell of his gaseous form was foul, described by some as "eggs and parmesan cheese." Whether this was its natural odor or the result of being cooped up in a small space for extended periods of time is unrevealed.

Height: Inapplicable
Weight: Inapplicable
Eyes:
Inapplicable
Hair:
Inapplicable

History: (New X-Men I#135 (fb) - BTS) - When his mutant powers manifested themselves, Dean Boswell turned into a sentient gas cloud that had to rely on a rubber containment suit. As a result, he felt ostracized and lonely, even after joining the Xavier Institute.

(New X-Men I#135) - Dummy was placed in Xorn's "Special Class" along with other young students whose unique powers or backgrounds warranted specialized tutelage. Among his classmates were the sarcastic Basilisk, the seemingly geriatric Ernst, the outspoken Angel, the relatively powerless Beak and the ever-elusive No-Girl. Xorn, ignoring the "jackass" sign taped to his back, decided to take them all camping to get to know one another a little better. Deep in the forest, while making camp for the night, none of them were aware they had been located by a squad of mutant-harvesting U-Men out on patrol, who prepped for attack

(New X-Men I#136) - Chased by the U-Men, Xorn led Dummy and the others to a safe place in the woods. However, Dummy's suit was nicked by one of the U-Men's scalpel guns. No one noticed this until after Xorn left them alone to go deal with the U-Men but soon Dummy's foul-smelling odor and the hissing sound coming from the leak in his suit became obvious. After some initial bickering and boasting between Basilisk and Beak, they came up with a solution: Beak patched up the leak with a spare condom. After they all returned to the school, Xorn noted that the trip had given Dummy what he longed for: the sense he was part of a community that cared for him.

(New X-Men I#137) - During the Xavier Institute's Open Day, the rebellious, Kick-addicted Omega Gang got into a fight with a band of human protesters. During the confrontation, the school was rocked by a series of explosions. One of them blew out the windows just as Dummy was floating past. He was struck by the flying shards. His suit pierced, a shocked Beak and Ernst, holding her nose, watched their classmate deflate away into nothingness.

(New X-Men I#138 - BTS) - Following the riots, the Special Class attended the Xavier Institute's prize-giving ceremony. Basilisk couldn't take the prestigious event seriously, commenting to Xorn that he was sure he smelled the gaseous Dummy somewhere near his mentor's butt.

(X-Men II#157) - Apparently having pulled his gaseous form back together, Dummy walked in the background when Lucinda Guthrie dropped off her son Icarus (Jay Guthrie) at the Xavier Institute. (see comments)

Comments: Created by Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils) and Tim Townsend (inks).

It's not been revealed if Dummy was able to slowly gather himself back together. Though, if all you have forward to is life as a sentient, stinky bag of gas, I wouldn't be surprised he decided to float away into oblivion.

Dummy appeared quite a few months after his apparent death in X-Men II#157. It easily might have been the original Dummy, having pulled himself back together, or possibly the suit could be standard containment vessel for any and all gas-based mutants.

Dummy received a profile in Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 2: X-Men. Dummy's real name was revealed in the Xavier Institute entry of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z I#13.

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Dummy should not be confused with


images: (without ads)
New X-Men I#135, p2, pan1 (main image)
New X-Men I#136, p14, pans1&2 (doesn't want to die)
New X-Men I#137, p12, pans3&5 (dies)


Appearances:
New X-Men I#135 (February, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
New X-Men I#136 (March, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Avalon Studios (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
New X-Men I#137 (April, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Avalon Studios (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
New X-Men I#138 (May, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Avalon Studios (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
X-Men II#157 (November, 2005) - Peter Milligan (writer), Salvador Larroca (pencils), Danny Miki, Allen Martinez (inks), Mike Marts (editor)


First Posted: 07/05/2015
Last updated: 06/18/2015

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 www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters