Mayhem (comics)

Mayhem (Brigid O'Reilly) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

For the Image Comics mini-series, see Mayhem! (comics).
Mayhem
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance(as O'Reilly) Cloak and Dagger #1 (Oct 1983)
(as Mayhem) Cloak and Dagger Vol. 2 #5 (Mar 1986)
Created byBill Mantlo
Rick Leonardi
In-story information
Alter egoBrigid O'Reilly
PartnershipsCloak and Dagger
Abilities
  • Breathes toxic gas that produces multiple effects
  • Retractable talons
  • Levitation

The character made her live-action debut in the television series Cloak & Dagger, portrayed by Emma Lahana.

Publication history

The character of detective Brigid O'Reilly first appeared in Cloak and Dagger #1 (Oct 1983), and was created by Bill Mantlo and Rick Leonardi.[1] She subsequently appeared in issues #2-4 (November 1983-January 1984) of the same series, and issues #1-5 (July 1985-March 1986) of the second Cloak and Dagger series.

In Cloak and Dagger Vol. 2 #5 (Mar 1986), Brigid underwent a drastic transformation and became known as Mayhem. The character subsequently appeared, as Mayhem, in Cloak and Dagger #6-9 (May–November 1986), Strange Tales #13-15 (April–June 1988), #19 (October 1988), The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #1-2 (October, December 1988), #5-6 (June, August 1989), #8 (November 1989), #10-18 (February 1990-June 1991), Web of Spider-Man Annual #9 (1993) and #10 (1994).

Mayhem received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #8. However, some of the color plates were reversed in that issue; those pages, including Mayhem, were re-printed correctly in issue #9.

Fictional character biography

Brigid O'Reilly was originally a police detective in Manhattan when she learned that Cloak and Dagger were attacking criminals in her precinct. she at first wanted to bring the pair to justice,[2] but she eventually learned to trust the young crime-fighters.[3]

Later, she took a squad of police officers to investigate a warehouse belonging to the same pharmaceutical company that was behind Cloak's and Dagger's powers. Some corrupt policemen, led by Roger Falcone, exposed the other police officers to a gas to asphyxiate them. With her dying breath, Brigid swore vengeance on Falcone. As Brigid lay dying, Cloak and Dagger found her, and though were too late to save the other police, Cloak surrounded her and Dagger with darkness, while Dagger tried to revive her with light. When this appeared not to work, the pair abandoned her body to search for those responsible.[4]

Though O'Reilly died, she was reborn as Mayhem. In this new form, Mayhem helped Cloak and Dagger find and fight the corrupt police. She then killed Falcone as promised.[5] She then became a vigilante, showing no mercy to the drug dealers and other criminals she pursues.

Brigid was considered as a "potential recruit" for the Initiative program, according to Civil War: Battle Damage Report.[6]

Powers and abilities

Mayhem exudes a green, venomous gas from her pores. If this gas enters another person's bloodstream, it paralyzes the person for a varying amount of time. Hence, Mayhem attacks people by raking their skin with her talon-like fingernails so that the gas will enter their bloodstreams.

The gas can also act like a truth serum, forcing a victim of Mayhem to tell her the truth.

Dagger's "light-knives" dissipate upon contact with this gas.

Mayhem can levitate herself and fly.

Other versions

The Ultimate Marvel version of Brigid O'Reilly is a NYPD officer who is hunting down teenage criminals Styx and Stone in an effort to trace the Serpent Skulls gang. Her partner Terry Schreck is critically injured and soon dies in the hospital.[7] She later speaks to her informant Bart Rozum before learning that Terry's body had disappeared from the morgue.[8]

In other media

Brigid O'Reilly appears in the live-action television show Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, portrayed by Emma Lahana.[9] Introduced in the first season, this version of O'Reilly is a detective who formerly worked in Harlem before moving to New Orleans.[10] She grows suspicious of her partner, corrupt police officer James Connors, which she later confirms after with help from Tandy Bowen.[11] O'Reilly soon allies with Tyrone Johnson, who wants to avenge his brother's death at the hands of Connors.[12] They succeed in getting Connors to admit his guilt and see him arrested. However, O'Reilly discovers her boyfriend was murdered.[13] Additionally, Connors is released on suspension and proceeds to beat her in front of other officers to reinforce her outcast status among their fellow officers.[14] O'Reilly joins forces with Tyrone Johnson to stop a dark energy called the Terror, from being released by the company Roxxon. While aiding him, she is shot by Connors while she was exposed to the Terror's energy. She falls into a swamp and later re-emerges with glowing green eyes.[15] In the second season, it is revealed that this O'Reilly, later named Mayhem, is a physical copy of the original with all of her memories and knowledge. However, Mayhem is a ruthless vigilante with no compunction about murder. In the opening episodes, Mayhem proceeds to kill a number of New Orleans underworld figures, and later assumes Brigid's identity to take a criminal investigation into her own hands. In the meantime, Tyrone finds Brigid tied up at home, then teleports with her to Tandy, who is at a crime scene with Mayhem.[16] Following this, Mayhem searches for Connors, killing his partner in the process. While examining O'Reilly, Roxxon environmentalist Mina Hess theorizes and later proves the former was split between two forms, with O'Reilly representing her fear and Mayhem representing her aggression. Amidst a criminal investigation into a prostitution ring, Mayhem attacks and nearly kills a criminal gang before Tyrone uses his powers to send her to the Darkforce Dimension.[17] Tandy follows Mayhem, unwittingly depriving Tyrone of his powers. Together, Mayhem and Tandy find evidence of Connors' presence and endeavor to leave the Dimension, but Tandy accidentally exits the Dimension with Connors, leaving Mayhem behind. Mayhem later finds Andre Deschaine's metaphysical record store and destroys his records, which held his victims' despair; freeing Tyrone from Andre's spell and allowing him to rescue Tandy from Deschaine's prostitution ring.[18] After ending up in the Loa Dimension, O'Reilly encounters Mayhem, and the two agree to allow the latter to take control on certain occasions. Once they leave, they are fused back together.[19] Mayhem later defends Tyrone's friend Evita from forces that threatened to foil Tyrone and Tandy's mission to stop Andre and Brigid leaves Connors' dead body for her fellow police officers to see.[20]

References
  1. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. Cloak and Dagger #1
  3. Cloak and Dagger #4
  4. Cloak and Dagger Vol. 2 #1-4
  5. Cloak and Dagger Vol. 2 #5
  6. Anthony Flamini & Ronald Byrd (w), Scott Kolins (p), Scott Kolins (i). Civil War: Battle Damage Report 1 (March 2007), Marvel Comics
  7. All-New Ultimates #1-2
  8. All-New Ultimates #3
  9. Highfill, Samantha (April 16, 2018). "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger: Jaime Zevallos and Emma Lahana's characters are revealed". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  10. Ridgely, Charlie (June 28, 2018). "'Cloak & Dagger' Confirms Major Connection to 'Luke Cage'". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  11. Hoar, Peter (director); Ariella Blejer and Dawn Kamoche (story); Peter Calloway (writer) (June 15, 2018). "Stained Glass". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 1. Episode 3. Freeform.
  12. Russo-Young, Ry (director); Niceole R. Levy & Joe Pokaski (writer) (June 28, 2018). "Princeton Offense". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 1. Episode 5. Freeform.
  13. Lopez, Alex Garcia (director); Christine Boylan & Jenny Klein (writer) (July 20, 2018). "Ghost Stories". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 1. Episode 8. Freeform.
  14. Woolnough, Jeff (director); Niceole R. Levy & Peter Calloway (writer) (July 26, 2018). "Back Breaker". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 1. Episode 9. Freeform.
  15. Yip, Wayne (director); Joe Pokaski (writer) (August 3, 2018). "Colony Collapse". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 1. Episode 10. Freeform.
  16. Woolnough, Jeff (director); Peter Calloway & Niceole R. Levy (writer) (April 4, 2019). "White Lines". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 2. Episode 2. Freeform.
  17. Hastings, Matt (director); Kate Rorick & Marcus J. Guillory (writer) (April 11, 2018). "Shadow Selves". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 2. Episode 3. Freeform.
  18. Pokaski, Joe (director); Joe Pokaski (writer) (May 10, 2019). "Vikingtown Sound". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 2. Episode 7. Freeform.
  19. Borsiczky, Jessica (director); Kate Rorick & Joy Kecken (writer) (May 16, 2019). "Two Player". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 2. Episode 8. Freeform.
  20. Philip John (director); Joe Pokaski (writer) (May 23, 2019). "Level Up". Marvel's Cloak & Dagger. Season 2. Episode 10. Freeform.
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