Mother's Milk, or simply M.M., is a fictional character appearing in the comic book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. He is a member of The Boys, a group of CIA-sponsored black ops agents led by Billy Butcher who observe, record, and sometimes liquidate "Supes" (i.e. super-powered individuals who often masquerade as superheroes) artificially created by the mega-conglomerate Vought.
M.M.'s mother was exposed to the superpower-inducing Compound V while she was pregnant, the result of which was her eventually mutating into a Cthulhu-like creature, and him becoming the first naturally-born Supe. To stay alive, Mother's Milk requires continued consumption of his mother's Compound V-enhancing "mother's milk" on a regular basis, leading to him taking the term as a sobriquet and boxing ring name. He later rises to become heavyweight champion of the world following his military career, before being recruited to the Boys after accidentally killing his opponent in the ring, becoming Butcher's second-in-command/best friend over years of missions and befriending Hugh "Wee Hughie" Campbell on his own recruitment. After helping Butcher finally get his revenge on Black Noir, M.M. learns that Butcher plans on killing all Supes and potential Supes (i.e. every person ever exposed to Compound V), including him and his daughter. After confronting Butcher over this (and for having already killed Frenchie, the Female, and M.M's abusive ex-wife), M.M. is killed by Butcher to prevent him from interfering with his plan. M.M.'s mother then gives milk to Hughie, who confronts and kills Butcher.
The character is primarily portrayed by Laz Alonso in the Amazon Prime Video streaming adaptation while Elias Leon Leacock portrays a young Marvin in the third season. Unlike the comic series, Marvin T. "Mother's" Milk, primarily known as M.M., is depicted as a regular human (though still a military veteran) with a dislike of Vought and its Supes resulting from a car crash caused by Soldier Boy in M.M.'s youth, which killed his mother, uncle, and grandfather, and led to his father working himself to death as a lawyer unsuccessfully attempting to sue Vought. M.M. joins Butcher and the reformed Boys in exposing the existence of Compound V and taking down Stormfront in the first and second seasons, while in the third season, set two years later, a now-divorced M.M. rejoins the Boys as they attempt to take down Victoria Neuman and the Homelander, coming to odds with Butcher over his use of V-24 and partnership with a still-alive Soldier Boy (Homelander's father). Mother's Milk's lactophiliac tendencies from the comic series are additionally instead adapted to Homelander (portrayed by Antony Starr), while his status as the first naturally-born Supe is adapted to Ryan Butcher (portrayed by Cameron Crovetti).
Contents
Development
Per American artist Darick Robertson: "MM was my first real contribution to THE BOYS when Garth first mentioned him to me back in 2002. I can't say too much or I'll blow the surprises but Garth applied an idea to this character that I had suggested and will eventually reveal. We originally saw him as bald and smooth but when I drew up the final design piece, Garth asked for a beard and tight afro at the last minute." The character was initially conceived as being 200 years old. He is depicted as a large, muscular and bearded African-American man. The character was originally owned by DC Comics for its first volume until the rights were reverted to Dynamite Entertainment.
According to the portrayer of Mother's Milk in the show, Laz Alonso: "Garth [Ennis] had taken this character and molded him after — in theory — after the crack babies, of the '80s, where he was physically infected with an addiction to V. That’s not the case [on the show], so what is he infected with? [Showrunner Eric Kripke] kind of beautifully created this infection with being a fighter of freedom… That's what he's infected with, is risking what he has in the pursuit of justice."
Appearances
Comic book series
Mother Milk is a big, physically imposing and highly patient and methodical African-American man, appearing first in issue #2. Taught by his father to check every possible angle and means of attack in a given situation, he can be somewhat particular and compulsive (getting annoyed whenever anyone does not put a drink coaster under their glasses, or fail to sort out trash properly). He is the only member on the team, aside from the retired Greg Mallory, who is an American citizen by birth. In issue #35, M.M. reveals that he is the only member of the unit to have been exposed to Compound V since conception. His mother worked in a factory that had previously been a Vought-American (VA) laboratory, and had not been sanitized afterwards, leading to her being contaminated with Compound V. As a result, his brother Michael was born with severe mental disability and he himself was born needing regular doses of his mother's breast milk to survive (the actual origin of his nickname). Issue #17 showed him throwing up and feeling disturbed by the constant need. At the same time, he finds the nourishment highly energizing and developing into a breast fetish, adding to his discomfort.
His father worked tirelessly to sue VA over his children's special needs and eventually succeeded, but the experience took a large mental and physical toll on him. M.M. became aware that Vought's lawyers were shrugging the loss off, but never told his father. His brother Michael died soon after, killed by the manifestation of his superpowers; and their father died from the stress of trying to sue VA over and over again. His mother was left broken and unwilling to fight anymore and became morbidly obese; her own powers expressed themselves due to her overwhelming despair. She now lives in M.M.'s basement, completely unaware of her surroundings.
To support his mother and his new wife and daughter, he joined the U.S. Army, volunteered for the Rangers, and became an army heavyweight boxer. In a championship match, M.M.'s powers suddenly manifested and he accidentally killed his opponent in the ring by punching his head off. He was released from the military and was recruited by Butcher and Mallory for the first incarnation of The Boys.
After Mother's Milk had been with The Boys for a year, Butcher accompanied him to rescue M.M.'s infant daughter Janine, whose mother, a drug addict, was incapable of raising her properly. The pair rescued Janine from her mother's then-residence, a drug house whose addicts smoked crack cut with Compound V. Butcher suffered a savage beating from the addicts in the process. M.M. was later present at the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge (caused by the Seven's attempt to prevent 9/11), where he attempted to help a woman from a falling car. Although he maintained his hold on her, she could not get free of her seat belt and was torn in half, dying in M.M.'s arms. The experience would haunt M.M. and serve as additional motivation for continuing the fight against Vought-American.
Television series
In the streaming television series adaptation, Laz Alonso portrays the character, first appearing in "Get Some". Unlike the comic series, M.M. is not a Supe, is Episcopalian and his real name is Marvin T. Milk, with his "Mother's Milk" nickname originating from his surname and "mothering" nature as a battlefield medic, and his father's campaign against Vought originating from Soldier Boy throwing a Mercedes-Benz into the Milk family household when M.M. was a child, killing his grandfather, which Vought had then covered up by claiming Soldier Boy's actions were caused by apprehending car thieves. His father died while seeking justice. M.M. serves as the Boys' second-in-command, holding Billy Butcher back from his darker impulses. Elias Leon Leacock portrays young M.M. His lactophilic tendencies were adapted to Homelander (portrayed by Antony Starr), while his status as the first naturally-born Supe was adapted to Homelander and Becca Butcher's son, Ryan Butcher (portrayed by Cameron Crovetti). In the third season. M.M.'s mother's prehensile breast tentacle attack against Wee Hughie in the comic series is also adapted as a penis tentacle attack from Love Sausage against M.M. in the second season. His obsessive-compulsive disorder was personally inspired by Alonso.
In the finale, Mother's Milk remarries Monique and adopts Ryan.
In the 2020 Amazon Prime Video-sponsored The Boys promotional episodes of Death Battle!, the "ruthless" Mother's Milk is depicted via archive footage of Laz Alonso from the series' first season as Death Battle! hosts Wiz & Boomstick discuss the Boys and the Seven with Black Noir, prior to the Seven's simulated battle royale.
Powers and abilities
In the comics, he is one of the few naturally-born Supes and the only member of The Boys to be born as such, resulting from his mother being exposed to large quantities of the enhancement drug Compound V, granting him superhuman strength, durability, stamina, agility, toxin immunity, and a regenerative healing factor. Mother's Milk requires regular consumption of his mother's Compound V-infused breast milk— from which he took his sobriquet — to survive and preserve his powers.
In the television series, Mother's Milk is instead depicted as a regular human, opposed to Butcher's use of the temporary superpower-inducing V-24 in the third season. Despite lacking superpowers, he is a skilled tactician.
Reception
Alonso's depiction of Mother's Milk / M.M. in the television adaptation has been positively received by reviewers, and his interpersonal relationship with Billy Butcher (portrayed by Karl Urban) has been praised by Alonso. For ComicBook.com, "Mother's Milk was a much more fleshed-out and thought-through character in the comic series". Per Collider: "The Boys diverges from the comic source material, evolving characters into more enjoyable versions for audiences. Mother's Milk's backstory in the comic includes disturbing elements like his need for his mother's breast milk to survive. The Boys wisely alters MM's backstory, preserving his best qualities while avoiding the unnecessary shock value of the comics". According to Game Rant: "Both versions have a tragic backstory involving their dad suing Vought. Both versions have a challenging relationship with their romantic partner and young daughter. The difference is that Marvin Milk is a grounded, reasonable character without any of the messy garbage that drags him down".