Greg Mallory: What We "Know"

[Hot_Ch0c0]

And here is my shot at trying to "uncover" the member of The Boys that we have barely seen… :p

Lt. Col. Greg Mallory was the mysterious original leader and the creator of the group of covert CIA operatives known as The Boys. Currently he is officially “retired”. Mallory has not been active since the incident when the Lamplighter (an original member of The Seven) murdered his granddaughters in an attempt to kill him. His last known activity with The Boys was to arrange a “truce” with the Seven. The Boys would no longer attempt to blackmail or otherwise harass the Seven and the Seven would not attack members of the Boys. As a part of this agreement Mallory got retribution for his granddaughter’s death by having The Frenchman and The Female beat Lamplighter to a pulp and then Mallory himself put a bullet through Lamplighter’s skull.

What We “Know” and What We Don’t “Know":

WWK Superpowers: Mallory is reported to have had the same Compound V shot as Butcher, Frenchman and Wee Hughie. This means he has enhanced strength, reflexes and durability. At some point in the past, Mallory was reported to have personally acquired the CIA’s supply of Compound V directly from a Vought American facility.

WWDK: Since Mallory has not yet been shown in action (even in the “flashbacks”), we don’t know the extent of his powers or any other special abilities he may have.

WWK: Family: Mallory had two granddaughters who were burned to death by the Lamplighter. This would imply that he also has (or had) a wife or significant other and at least one child.

WWDK: Does Mallory have any living relatives? Since Compound V changes a person on a genetic level, could Mallory’s child(ren) or other living grand children (if any) have superpowers? Is he staying in hiding to protect them?

WWK: Motivations: The Legend stated that Mallory was involved in a 1944 mission during WWII in which VAC convinced “Ike” (General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, at the time) to try supes in combat. The Legend implied that the mission involving supes did not go well… Mallory apparently kept some contacts or connections within VA, at least enough to have access to VA information (He knew the factory where MM’s mother worked was used to process Compound V before it was converted to produce pet food) and items (the stolen batch of Compound V). Whatever happened in 1944 must have convinced him of the dangers of superpowers in the wrong hands and/or the danger of Vought American and their agenda to put supes in the military.

Mallory also apparently has/had powerful connections within the law enforcement and intelligence community (Mallory was the one who actually pulled the strings with the DEA to get MM’s daughter released) Mallory appears to have been tracking the activities of VA and working to undermine their agenda for many years. After September 11th, the president trusted Mallory enough that he was the one chosen to recruit a team (the Boys) specifically to monitor those with superpowers, and the CIA provided him the means to do so. Mallory must have been motivated by his experiences since 1944 to stop supes from being integrated into the military. Recently, the assumption is that the death of his granddaughters was emotionally devastating enough that it led to Mallory’s retirement. But, we’ve yet to see if his desires and/or efforts to undermine VA were truly abandoned.

WWDK: Mallory appeared to be affiliated with the CIA or some part of the intelligence community prior to his involvement with The Boys. We don’t know how long he worked for the CIA and in what capacity he worked for them prior to recruiting The Boys. Butcher appears to not want any contact with Mallory. However, according to the Legend, MM is still in contact with Mallory, for what purpose, we don’t know. We also don’t know whether Mallory’s “retirement” was some sort of tactical decision that would allow him to work without so much attention being focused on him, or just an attempt to protect the remainder of his family.


WWK: Experience: Greg Mallory has been around as an operative since (at least) 1944 and would have had military combat training, possibly special forces or specialized training of some sort. It hasn’t been revealed when he began working for the CIA. But, MM commented that Mallory was known and respected within the intelligence community. He was an officer in the military and probably led covert operations prior to recruiting The Boys. He was capable of dealing with oversight committees and the other government administrative tasks of leading the original version of the team (Mallory did the things Butcher complained about, and is happy not to deal with under the current set up)


WWDK: Mallory’s true background…. Mallory may have even been the original “Soldier Boy” or something similar. My guess is that the picture of the man with the star on his mask in the classified Boys folder from the cover of issue#2 (Seen Here http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/9116/1030809-2_super.jpg ) is actually Greg Mallory in costume, back in 1944... (Butcher seemed to take great offense to the current Soldier Boy trying to “represent” the real soldiers in WWII, like Mallory. Although Mallory’s name was never mentioned explicitly, we know he was fighting for the US in 1944)

Anyway, I hope more about Mallory comes to light as the story unfolds…

[Chrisnuttall]

And here is my shot at trying to "uncover" the member of The Boys that we have barely seen… :p

Lt. Col. Greg Mallory was the mysterious original leader and the creator of the group of covert CIA operatives known as The Boys. Currently he is officially “retired”. Mallory has not been active since the incident when the Lamplighter (an original member of The Seven) murdered his granddaughters in an attempt to kill him. His last known activity with The Boys was to arrange a “truce” with the Seven. The Boys would no longer attempt to blackmail or otherwise harass the Seven and the Seven would not attack members of the Boys. As a part of this agreement Mallory got retribution for his granddaughter’s death by having The Frenchman and The Female beat Lamplighter to a pulp and then Mallory himself put a bullet through Lamplighter’s skull.

What We “Know” and What We Don’t “Know":

WWK Superpowers: Mallory is reported to have had the same Compound V shot as Butcher, Frenchman and Wee Hughie. This means he has enhanced strength, reflexes and durability. At some point in the past, Mallory was reported to have personally acquired the CIA’s supply of Compound V directly from a Vought American facility.

WWDK: Since Mallory has not yet been shown in action (even in the “flashbacks”), we don’t know the extent of his powers or any other special abilities he may have.

WWK: Family: Mallory had two granddaughters who were burned to death by the Lamplighter. This would imply that he also has (or had) a wife or significant other and at least one child.

WWDK: Does Mallory have any living relatives? Since Compound V changes a person on a genetic level, could Mallory’s child(ren) or other living grand children (if any) have superpowers? Is he staying in hiding to protect them?

WWK: Motivations: The Legend stated that Mallory was involved in a 1944 mission during WWII in which VAC convinced “Ike” (General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, at the time) to try supes in combat. The Legend implied that the mission involving supes did not go well… Mallory apparently kept some contacts or connections within VA, at least enough to have access to VA information (He knew the factory where MM’s mother worked was used to process Compound V before it was converted to produce pet food) and items (the stolen batch of Compound V). Whatever happened in 1944 must have convinced him of the dangers of superpowers in the wrong hands and/or the danger of Vought American and their agenda to put supes in the military.

Mallory also apparently has/had powerful connections within the law enforcement and intelligence community (Mallory was the one who actually pulled the strings with the DEA to get MM’s daughter released) Mallory appears to have been tracking the activities of VA and working to undermine their agenda for many years. After September 11th, the president trusted Mallory enough that he was the one chosen to recruit a team (the Boys) specifically to monitor those with superpowers, and the CIA provided him the means to do so. Mallory must have been motivated by his experiences since 1944 to stop supes from being integrated into the military. Recently, the assumption is that the death of his granddaughters was emotionally devastating enough that it led to Mallory’s retirement. But, we’ve yet to see if his desires and/or efforts to undermine VA were truly abandoned.

WWDK: Mallory appeared to be affiliated with the CIA or some part of the intelligence community prior to his involvement with The Boys. We don’t know how long he worked for the CIA and in what capacity he worked for them prior to recruiting The Boys. Butcher appears to not want any contact with Mallory. However, according to the Legend, MM is still in contact with Mallory, for what purpose, we don’t know. We also don’t know whether Mallory’s “retirement” was some sort of tactical decision that would allow him to work without so much attention being focused on him, or just an attempt to protect the remainder of his family.


WWK: Experience: Greg Mallory has been around as an operative since (at least) 1944 and would have had military combat training, possibly special forces or specialized training of some sort. It hasn’t been revealed when he began working for the CIA. But, MM commented that Mallory was known and respected within the intelligence community. He was an officer in the military and probably led covert operations prior to recruiting The Boys. He was capable of dealing with oversight committees and the other government administrative tasks of leading the original version of the team (Mallory did the things Butcher complained about, and is happy not to deal with under the current set up)


WWDK: Mallory’s true background…. Mallory may have even been the original “Soldier Boy” or something similar. My guess is that the picture of the man with the star on his mask in the classified Boys folder from the cover of issue#2 (Seen Here http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/9116/1030809-2_super.jpg ) is actually Greg Mallory in costume, back in 1944... (Butcher seemed to take great offense to the current Soldier Boy trying to “represent” the real soldiers in WWII, like Mallory. Although Mallory’s name was never mentioned explicitly, we know he was fighting for the US in 1944)

Anyway, I hope more about Mallory comes to light as the story unfolds…

Excellent piece of work.

A few minor thoughts. Mallory must be extremely old. If he was an adult (or a teen, if we buy your Soldier Boy theory) in 1944, he is presumably around 90 years old as of ‘now.’ That’s a very long time to be involved in the intel community. Compound V might actually slow a person’s aging and Mallory might not look as old as he is. Even so, he’d be too old for fighting supes.

We’re assuming, of course, that Mallory was Wee Hughie’s predecessor, but it is possible that he was more of a figure behind the scenes, with Butcher serving as field team leader?

There’s also the issue of just what happened during the first clash with the 7. The CIA Lady clearly states, all the way back in Issue One, that Butcher got Mallory’s grandchildren murdered. The Legend states that the Lamplighter just flew off the handle and killed them. Just what happened then? Perhaps Mallory recruited Butcher as just another person with a grudge against Supes (like Hughie and MM) and discovered, too late, that Butcher wasn't interested in just keeping supes in line.

Chris

[Kamakazi]

Either V slows down the aging process in some (if not all) Supes, or Ennis has come down with "Mark Millar Disease": an extreme lack of concern over the apparent ages of fictional characters. :)

For instance, Stormfront had to be as old/older than Mallory, given that he was "hand-trained" by Hitler. Stormfront certainly didn't appear to be much older than 40. Also, Super Duper are supposed to be "eternal teenagers from the Future", a story that wouldn't hold up very long if their members were aging normally.

[Boris]

Either V slows down the aging process in some (if not all) Supes, or Ennis has come down with "Mark Millar Disease": an extreme lack of concern over the apparent ages of fictional characters. :)

For instance, Stormfront had to be as old/older than Mallory, given that he was "hand-trained" by Hitler. Stormfront certainly didn't appear to be much older than 40. Also, Super Duper are supposed to be "eternal teenagers from the Future", a story that wouldn't hold up very long if their members were aging normally.


Well, Homelander was 18 in the sixties, so he should be at least 60 years old, not mentioning the others in the Seven.

Also, the Female appears as a teenager since the 9/11 affair (and since the Boys found her), so by now she should be at least in her early 20s.

Maybe V-stuff has some age-retarding effects (which is the most obvious conclusion, since we're talking about the Ennis conception of Super Soldier Serum), and maybe it can stop growth in children as a collateral effect. Or something like that.

[Boris]

In MM's origin story, we "see" Mallory and Butcher discussing of rescuing MM's daughter, with Mallory finally giving his authorization.
Also, his firmness in treating the Female like a human being sounds more like a direct order than a consideration. And Frenchie volunteers to train her by asking permission to him.

Then, it's Butcher that tells Hughie he would be a replacement for Mallory, so he is tricked to think it was Butcher that pulled the strings (and we are fooled, too). Butcher also fears the Legend may have "gone sentimental and told Hughie too much about Mallory" (and he seems to actually threaten the Legend in some way).

I think Mallory was not only the creator and leader of the Boys, but also that he wanted to keep some level of decency (maybe the "management only" policy with the supes is his idea), which included keeping Butcher in line.

My bet is that Butcher had some involvement in the grandchildren affair (provoking Lamplighter, or luring him into Mallory's house), or maybe he just exploited the accident; either way, his goal was to take the Boys in his bloodier hands by getting rid of Mallory, or making him resign.

[Kamakazi]

Excellent observations, Boris.

BTW, Props to Hot_Ch0c0 for these "What We Know" threads! Good work man, they're phenomenal.

[Hot_Ch0c0]

I think Mallory was not only the creator and leader of the Boys, but also that he wanted to keep some level of decency (maybe the "management only" policy with the supes is his idea), which included keeping Butcher in line.

My bet is that Butcher had some involvement in the grandchildren affair (provoking Lamplighter, or luring him into Mallory's house), or maybe he just exploited the accident; either way, his goal was to take the Boys in his bloodier hands by getting rid of Mallory, or making him resign.

Those are very interesting thoughts, Boris. Even when Butcher went with MM to get Janine back, there were some manipulative and self-serving motives (MM was an emotional wreck and couldn’t “do the job”). I think MM suspects Butcher didn’t do what he did just because he cared about his emotional situation and family. In addition to returning MM to being a fully functional operative, Butcher made a play to get MM’s undying gratitude and loyalty… And was successful, to a point… Throughout the series MM has been dropping hints to Hughie not to buy into everything Butcher has been feeding him…

Even Frenchman has started to question Butcher’s motives and character when he compared how Butcher spoke about The Female to how Mallory did…

Now, I don’t think that Butcher has NO affection and NO positive feelings towards his teammates. I just think Butcher uses those feelings and the life situations of his associates to manipulate them into doing what he wants them to do. Being kind towards MM and Hughie (while also lying to them), abusing “Monkey” (to the point he’s terrified of Butcher), having angry sex with Rayner (so she viewed him as a horny brute) are all ultimately ways Butcher gets closer to his personal goal…

Decency and Integrity… That is what Mallory had and what Butcher appears to lack. All of the original Boys (including Butcher) had a lot of respect for Mallory and how he handled things. My guess would be that Mallory probably had to reign in Butcher on more than one occasion (and answer to supervisors and/or oversight sub-committees, because of something Butcher did)… Could Butcher have viewed Mallory as “holding him back” from his revenge? Could Butcher have leaked Mallory’s address or set him up to get him out of the way… I certainly wouldn’t put it past Butcher…

Of course, Butcher wouldn’t have known that the whole Boys program would be scrapped when Mallory left (I guess the CIA Director or someone at the time didn’t trust Butcher to lead the group)… But, Butcher certainly took advantage of the chance to get the team back together…

Thanks for the props, Kamakazi and Chris! :D

[Hot_Ch0c0]

Butcher also fears the Legend may have "gone sentimental and told Hughie too much about Mallory" (and he seems to actually threaten the Legend in some way).


I just re-read the conversation between the Legend and Butcher after the Legend talked to Hughie and thought of something... Butcher threatened the Legend regarding what he told Hughie about Mallory... But, why?!

1. Butcher is paranoid that his leadership of the Boys would be undermined by Hughie knowing Mallory's background (that Mallory created the Boys, etc.)....

and/or

2. The LEGEND was IN ON IT... Maybe Butcher and the Legend set up Mallory... They both have a major REVENGE/Destruction motive, and maybe Mallory was only working for containment... So, they pulled something dirty to get Mallory out of the way....

Hmmm... Makes me wonder just how Butcher and the Legend got so tight...

I also was thinking about the 9/11 story and the Legend's "from the horse's mouth" comment... Is it possible that HOMELANDER himself told the Legend? After all, the Legend personally handled Homelander's image for decades, If Homelander was going to trust anyone with the truth, it would be his #1 PR guy... What if Homelander confessed to the Legend and then cut the Legend's feet off to warn him what would happen if he ever told the story to the press? (It would also explain why the Legend appears to live in hiding)

Hmmmm.... Still some mysteries out there

[Boris]

2. The LEGEND was IN ON IT.


No way, I think. The Legend knows (and tells Hughie) that MM and Mallory still stay in contact (and Butcher doesn't know it), if he was in league with Butcher he would have told him.
And he does reveal to Hughie that Mallory was the man behind the whole Boys thing.

Sure, he didn't tell Hughie too much about Mallory, so we don't know, either.



I also was thinking about the 9/11 story and the Legend's "from the horse's mouth" comment... Is it possible that HOMELANDER himself told the Legend? After all, the Legend personally handled Homelander's image for decades, If Homelander was going to trust anyone with the truth, it would be his #1 PR guy... What if Homelander confessed to the Legend and then cut the Legend's feet off to warn him what would happen if he ever told the story to the press? (It would also explain why the Legend appears to live in hiding)

Hmmmm.... Still some mysteries out there

It's possible but I doubt it (how could Homelander confess to anyone what surely is one of his most monumental fuck-ups?). I still suspect the horse was Maeve (personally or via his most faithful servant).
Another possibility, given that the Legend owns tapes of radio talks between Norad and the pilot disengaging from the hijacked plane (he plays them to Hughie, too), is that the source is someone at the very top of the US government or the VA board (after all, he still claims favors of all kinds from his former employers, right?).

Last but not least, the Legend living under cover may be a measure of protection from someone (CIA, Vought, rogue supes, etc.) that wants him dead (for a specific reason or just because he knows too much). Reyner, for example, is shown really wanting to talk to the man (in the first issue). And don't forget we don't know how he and Butcher got in business together in the first place (there's material for a "The Legend: what we know?" thread :))

[Hot_Ch0c0]

No way, I think. The Legend knows (and tells Hughie) that MM and Mallory still stay in contact (and Butcher doesn't know it), if he was in league with Butcher he would have told him.
And he does reveal to Hughie that Mallory was the man behind the whole Boys thing.

Sure, he didn't tell Hughie too much about Mallory, so we don't know, either.

Hmmm, maybe Legend wasn't in on it at the time it happened... But, just like the great collector of information he is, maybe he found out what happened later... after the fact... (The Legend did say Butcher learned not to go directly after the Seven even though Mallory would have been the one in charge of the Boys at the time) ...... Butcher might have overstepped his role and screwed up (or set up Mallory on purpose?) with the Seven.... That could have led to what happened to Mallory's granddaughters.... and to the bad blood between Mallory and Butcher....

Maybe the Legend eventually found out what happened.... and he decided to keep Butcher's "secret" because Butcher is the one who he feels is most likely to help him get his personal revenge against Vought American... The Legend definitely doesn't trust the CIA, and stays in hiding from Vought (and who knows who else)... He still maintains phone contact with Victory Comics. But, he apparently has to twist arms to get them to release info/passwords etc.

Legend is quite a manipulator too... He could be witholding the info about MM and Mallory from Butcher just because he knows Butcher would take some sort of action against MM... (which would then weaken the Boys considerably and potentially cause the group to fall apart)... If the Boys fall apart, it becomes unlikely that the Legend will get his revenge...

The Legend and Butcher both know they will go to nearly any lengths to get their vengence, which is probably why the two of them are so close, like kindred spirits... with similar targets for their hatred. Butcher wants to destroy Homelander (and maybe also VA because they created and support him). Legend wants to destroy VA (and would be happy to also destroy VA's "greatest" creation, the Homelander in the process)...

[Kamakazi]

I've posted this elsewhere, but here goes again: It's my belief that Mallory is Nameless Vought Executive. After dropping out of the Boys, Mallory went under cover with Vought. Notice that the only person to cause more death and confusion among the Supes than Butcher is Nameless Vought Guy.

I believe that at some point we're going to see a meeting between Butcher and Vought Guy wherein it's revealed that he's Mallory. The problem with this will be that the art throughout the series has been so spotty and inconsistent that a lot of the impact will be lost. Every time they show Vought-Guy they have to remind us who he is- a problem the book wouldn't face if it were being drawn by someone like Steve Dillon. It's kind of hard to have a Dramatic Reveal when it's impossible to recognize the guy from book to book and panel to panel.

[Boris]

No way, I think. Even if we can't see Mallory's face, it's clear he's grey-haired.

Besides, when Butcher first sees VG at the Seven meetings, and later in Russia, he can't recognize him (and he spends quite a lot of time to point it out ).

[Kamakazi]

No way, I think. Even if we can't see Mallory's face, it's clear he's grey-haired.

Besides, when Butcher first sees VG at the Seven meetings, and later in Russia, he can't recognize him (and he spends quite a lot of time to point it out ).

I agree, even though I'm still going to keep arguing with you in the other thread. :D

[Hot_Ch0c0]

*bump*

In anticipation of Boys #52... Look at that cover!! :eek:

I'd guess: Original Soldier Boy (Mallory), Original Laddio, Original Crimson Countess and maybe Original Mind Droid? (green helmet in the back)... Hmmm and just for fun... Wild guesses at the others: "Eagle Eye" (wings and bow) "BuzzBee" (Swatto from Payback's Daddy), "Steel" (Clanker from SuperDuper's Daddy) lol

I guess whatever happens at the end of Highland Laddie sends Hughie off to make contact with Mallory... About time he caught a clue!

[Boris]

Here's the cover Choco is mentioning:


http://www.dynamiteentertainment.com/images/Boys52Cov.jpg





VERY nice one! :)

[saidestroyer]

Now we know how his grand daughters died. They were twins. Twelve years old.

[Sir Gibby]

FOOK ME RIGID, I gots permissions to post in here! YALLO, ALL!

I wanted to respectfully counter Choco's predictions about that being Clanker's father/predecessor. With what looks like the original Payback (the talks of reinventing a supe franchise that started in '44 were discussed I think way back in issue 19...?), I'd guess that's what WWII tech would have looked on an original Tek Knight.

However! Choco was the one to point out the cover of Issue 2 had an original Soldier Boy in the files (and a turn to Mallory). So arguing with him might not be the wisest choice on my end.

I finally have people to talk to about The Boys! Been looking for years! Splendidio!

[saidestroyer]

Splendildo! Welcome to the forums! :)

[Kamakazi]

FOOK ME RIGID, I gots permissions to post in here! YALLO, ALL!

I finally have people to talk to about The Boys! Been looking for years! Splendidio!

Somehow, The Boys has ended up with the smallest, yet coolest group of fans in the history of comics. :) The even odder thing is that we all feel free to criticize aspects of the book that we don't like or find illogical.

I love us! :)

[saidestroyer]

Somehow, The Boys has ended up with the smallest, yet coolest group of fans in the history of comics. :) The even odder thing is that we all feel free to criticize aspects of the book that we don't like or find illogical.

I love us! :)

It's been a great ride. Truth be told, it's very little what I haven't liked about this series, and I don't want it to end so soon :(

I'm going to miss Boris and Kamakazi's reviews.

[Boris]

hey, hey, don't get sentimental on me.

I bet we'll still be here to argue over this series for a LONG time after its end. :)


Bitching is forever. :D