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| Patrick Mulligan | |
| Full Name: | Patrick Mulligan |
| First Appearance: | Venom Vs. Carnage #1 (as Patrick) (September, 2004) Venom Vs. Carnage #2 (as Toxin) (October, 2004) |
| Created by: | Peter Milligan; Clayton Crain |
| Home Universe: | Earth-616 |
| Alignment: | Good |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Place of Birth: | New York City |
| Citizenship: | American |
| Base: | New York City |
| Affiliations: | NYPD |
| Powers/Abilities: | Wears Toxin symbiote |
| Height: | 6' 2" |
| Weight: | 215 lbs |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Unique Features: | Monstrous form as Toxin |
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"This is the only way I can make sense of walking out on Gina and Eddie. By USING what I've BECOME. Maybe that starts by bringing in King Cobra." |
Patrick Mulligan (of Earth-616), better known as Toxin, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He was once host to the Toxin symbiote, but has since been killed.
History[]
Early life[]
Patrick was one of New York's finest, though his life was beginning to take its toll. Like many police officers, his job was causing him incredible amounts of stress, which was only compounded by his wife's pregnancy.
Becoming Toxin[]
While on patrol, Patrick came across Carnage. Carnage was birthing a new symbiote, which, once born, was attached to Patrick. Carnage then tries to kill them both, only for Venom to come to his defense. Venom fought Carnage to a standstill, desiring to protect "Toxin", as Venom had dubbed the new symbiote.
Patrick escaped the conflict, confused over the entire ordeal. After the symbiote had matured enough to form a costume and gain a mind of its own, Carnage attacked Patrick's family in their home. It was then that Patrick realized the danger he and his family were now in. He fought Carnage and Venom, making them realize that, in spite of his youth, he was easily as strong as them, they formed a temporary truce to kill him.
Spider-Man stumbled upon the trio during another battle, and allied himself with Toxin. Together, they drove off Carnage and Venom. Spider-Man spoke to him, and convinced him to use the power of the symbiote for good. Patrick left the police force and his family, hoping to one day return.
Trying to be a Hero[]
Not long after, Toxin found himself aiding the Avengers, hunting for several supervillains that had escaped from the Raft, such as King Cobra, the Wrecker, Pile Driver, and Razor Fist. Toxin was able to find King Cobra thanks to Cobra's former partner, Mister Hyde, who gave him a skin sample. This allowed the symbiote to use his tracking skills to corner the villain in a hotel.
After apprehending Cobra, Spider-Man informs him of another Raft escapee, dubbed Razor Fist, and gives him a blood soaked bandage to track him with. The scent instead lead him to a young boy named Anton, who, after a bit of coercion, took him to Razor Fist's hideout. Best Razor Fist was not as easy as the last villain, however, as Toxin, upset by an earlier argument with Patrick, turned him into a small man that Toxin dubbed 'Larry' and refused to change him back until Patrick admitted he needed him. Once Toxin finally changed into his true form, Razor Fist fled, terrified of the monstrous sight. During his escape, he wounded a girl, prompting Patrick to abandon his pursuit to help the girl in spite of Toxin's protests.
Crisis of Faith[]
Later, Toxin turns his attention to Raft escapee The Answer. He locates him quickly, but rather than capture him, he asks him for advice on how to handle his moral problems with his increasingly violent symbiote. The criminal genius suggests killing himself. Driven by his desperation, Patrick throws himself in front of a train, only to be saved by Toxin at the last second. Toxin states that Patrick doesn't really want to die.
Patrick begins keeping a journal, as a way to attempt to sort out his thoughts. While writing in it, he is found by his father, who had been looking for him since he left his wife and son. Patrick figures out that he found him because of his former partner, the only one who knew his location. He confronts him at a crime scene, a blown up museum, only to find Wrecker and Pile-Driver there. He easily defeats the duo and leaves them for the police.
Afterwards, Patrick makes a deal with Toxin. Toxin agrees to change Patrick into 'Larry' again so that he can interact with his wife and son for two hours a day, on the condition that Patrick allow Toxin to run free for two hours a night, so long as Toxin does not commit any crimes.
Operation Razor Fist[]
Just as Patrick is finally beginning to achieve a sort of balance with Toxin, he discovers that Razor Fist has resurfaced. Rather than hunt for him, as he wishes, he is forced to give Toxin his allotted two hours, as Toxin refuses to help him otherwise.
While Toxin is free, he accidentally breaks Patrick's laptop. He attempts to steal one to replace it, but Spider-Man stops him and demands that he get Toxin under control. Patrick dissolves his deal with Toxin and goes after Razor Fist. While he is away, his father comes to his apartment to 'warn' him about 'Larry'. He is attacked by Razor Fist, who has discovered Patrick's identity and location from his former partner. Patrick walks in on the attack, and furiously attacks the villain, knocking him out the window. Rather than pursue him, he tends to his father, who dies from his injuries.
Patrick stops by his father's funeral, and is confronted by his wife. Unable to handle seeing her again, he flees and resolves to stop Razor Fist. He goes to his former partner, who is in the hospital, in a full body cast. He confesses to Patrick that he told Razor Fist everything, and gives him Razor Fist's location.
Toxin easily bests Razor Fist, ripping off his eponymous prostheses. Razor Fist attempts to goad him into killing him by mocking his father's death, but Patrick controls his anger and simply knocks him out, Spider-Man watching all the while.
Death[]
Patrick met his end at the hands of Blackheart, who beat him to death in a gutter to obtain the symbiote. He later bonded it to Eddie Brock.
Powers and Abilities[]
As an ordinary human, Patrick has no powers.
As Toxin[]
Toxin, being the 1,000th symbiote born in Venom's line, has vastly increased attributes in comparison to his "parents", and will grow stronger as he ages.
- Superhuman Strength: Toxin is the strongest symbiote seen yet. He is stronger than Venom and Carnage combined, and was able to defeat Wrecker and Piledriver simultaneously with no apparent difficulty.
- Superhuman Durability: Toxin is much more durable than the symbiotes before him. He is able to withstand machine gun fire, and even take blows from Wrecker, Carnage, and Spider-Man without apparent harm.
- Camouflage: Toxin is able to alter his form to look like anyone.
- Wall-Crawling: Toxin can stick to any surface, even slick ones.
- Webbing: Like his fellow symbiotes, Toxin has virtually unlimited webbing, which takes the appearance of thick red and blue tendrils.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Toxin heals much quicker than normal. He was fully healed from a cut only a short time after his battle with Razor Fist.
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