GLOB HERMAN

BIOGRAPHY page 1

Robert Herman grew up somewhere in America as part of a deeply bigoted household. His father hated mutants with a passion, believing them to be a threat to him and his way of life. While his mother paid the bills and supported the family, Robert's father crusaded against mutant rights, attending rallies and protests and teaching his son to hate mutants as much as he did. When Robert's mutation manifested itself so blatantly, his father gained a convenient target for his hatred. Despite his best efforts, Robert could not avoid his father at home and was repeatedly abused by his dad just for existing. Eventually, Robert's mother snuck him out of the house in the middle of the night and drove her son to Xavier's School, which had recently gone public. She kissed her son good-bye and left him on the X-Men's doorstep, with instructions to never contact his parents again. [New Mutants (4th series) #12]

Robert "Glob" Herman manifested his mutant abilities during a massive up-tick in mutants worldwide. Millions of mutants developing powers came with the discovery of the Extinction Gene, a natural senescence for the human race that would eliminate them within a few generations. It was in the wake of these developments that Professor Xavier and the X-Men finally went public, revealing Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters as a private academy for mutants. Glob Herman was one of more than a hundred neo-mutants recruited to Xavier's School for training and sanctuary in the span of a few months. [New X-Men (1st series) #117]

Glob needed more care than most mutants. Not particularly bright and having an overly obvious mutation with few applications, Glob was hardly a standout student. He became friends with Quentin Quire, the socially isolated top student in their class. When Quentin learned he was adopted and began experiencing a secondary mutation, it pushed the young telepath into acting out against Xavier's rules and structures. Quire became Kid Omega, and he recruited Glob and other rebellious students into his Omega Gang. Quentin's telepathic charisma influenced Glob Herman and the others' decision to join him, in addition to the power-boosting high they received from the street drug called Kick.

Under Quentin's influence, the Omega Gang decided to protest the Open Day celebration, an open house where Professor Xavier had invited human media and authorities to interact with the mutant students. Glob and the Gang took Xavier hostage and instigated a riot during the festivities. Glob learned the first aggressive use of his waxy body, setting it on fire to lob viscous fireballs at the guests from the balcony. High on Kick and calling himself the “Inhuman Torch,” Glob fled the riots on foot heading for Salem Center. He was eventually brought down and smothered by Beast and Xorn. Quentin's secondary mutation consumed his body, effectively killing him as he ascended to a higher plane. Meanwhile, Glob and the other Omega Gang members were sent to prison to face judgment by human law for their actions. [New X-Men (1st series) #134-139]

Glob Herman's time in prison eventually ended. He came to join the X-Men as they relocated to San Francisco after the Decimation. When Simon Trask's Humanity Now! movement marched to drum up support for their anti-mutant agenda, Glob and several other mutants staged a counter-protest opposing their bigotry. [Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1] Glob was one of the few young mutants in residence on Utopia when the Hellfire Club's suitcase Sentinel attacked the island. In the divide that followed between Cyclops and Wolverine, though, Glob decided to leave Utopia and become a student at the newly reopened Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. [X-Men Schism #5, X-Men: Regenesis]

Glob was still a follower at heart, and was often seen causing trouble while buddying up to Julian Keller, Hellion, another troublemaker at the school. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #1] He picked a fight with the Avengers when they came to occupy the Jean Grey School during the Phoenix Force incident. Glob relied on his old trick of having Match light him on fire before charging the non-mutant heroes. She-Hulk's aggressive response striking down the teenaged Glob provoked Rogue into entering the fray. [X-Men Legacy (1st series) #266-267]

Being easily led as he was, Glob sold out to Kade Kilgore's Hellfire Club and became an informant for those prepubescent terrors trying to cash in on mutant fear and hatred. He tried to lure the reincarnated Quentin Quire to the side of Hellfire, but his old friend was actually enjoying his time at the Jean Grey School more than he let on. Glob and Kid Omega got into a fight before Glob could fully expose his activities to Quentin, driving a wedge between them. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #18] Glob's increasingly defiant and lackluster performance at the school led to him being expelled. He was added to one final field trip to the Savage Land by Wolverine, and told he had 24 hours to earn his way back into the school. Instead, Glob Herman abandoned his classmates to save himself. He was picked up by Sauron and added to the inaugural class of the Hellfire Academy. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #25-28]

At an archipelago made of living Krakoa volcanoes, the Hellfire Academy was designed to produce the next generation of mutant super-villains. Glob Herman was one of several recruits being tutored in evil by headmistress Mystique and other villains. Even Oya and Broo from the Jean Grey School had come over to the Academy, and Quentin Quire followed them as well. Glob soon found he wasn't much happier with the Hellions than with the X-Men, but the punishments for breaking school rules here were infinitely scarier. The time came when Academy instructors ordered Glob and the other loyal Hellions to kill the rebellious Quire. Afraid of what would happen to him if he refused to comply, Glob telepathically expressed his regrets to Quentin while preparing to smother him with wax. Fortunately for Glob's conscience, the X-Men attacked the Academy and the Hellfire Club was disabled. Glob Herman and the Hellions escaped the X-Men's dragnet afterwards with the help of Sabretooth and Mystique. [Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #31-35]

Glob Herman eventually returned to the Jean Grey School and was (perhaps hesitantly) accepted back into the curriculum. [Wolverine and the X-Men (2nd series) #1] Just before he died, Wolverine discovered that one of the students was working as a mole for a villain off-site. Expecting his time would be up soon, Logan left instructions for Spider-Man to serve as an outside observer and investigate the potential threat. To cover the investigation, Spider-Man was named as guidance instructor for a special class of troubled students Wolverine had identified as possible suspects, including Glob, Hellion, Rockslide, Eye Boy, Shark Girl, Ernst and No-Girl. Glob Herman was no longer as defiant and troublesome as he had been in the past, but his self-image and body issues still rocked his confidence. Over the course of several adventures, the web-slinger imparted a sense of responsibility on his students and trained them to work together as a team. [Spider-Man and the X-Men #1-6]

In time, the mutant population suffered another crisis when it was discovered the Terrigen Mists were toxic and potentially lethal to mutantkind. Two clouds of Terrigen were drifting over the planet, and Cyclops died destroying one cloud and nearly starting a war with the Inhumans as a result. For protection, Storm and Magik relocated the Jean Grey School to Limbo, forming an X-Haven away from the mists where all mutants could be safe. With the X-Men scattered by the crisis, Glob Herman became one of the senior students at X-Haven assisting the adult X-Men's efforts, alongside Anole, Ernst and No-Girl. When the defenses holding out Limbo's natural demon hordes failed, Glob and his friends earned a battlefield promotion to full X-Men. [Extraordinary X-Men #1-5]

Colossus took an active interest in the young X-Men, and began training them in earnest in the Danger Room to get them ready for active duty missions. Glob enjoyed the respect and attention, but was really hoping to catch the interest of the time-displaced teenaged Jean Grey, who was working with Storm's senior team. Glob's crush was encouraged by his friend Anole and sternly judged by Old Man Logan, but he held out hope for finding the right time to tell Jean how he felt. [Extraordinary X-Men #6-7]

Glob Herman's X-Men team got their first mission when Cerebra detected a sudden surge of hundreds of new mutant signatures in Tokyo. Colossus brought the student team to investigate, and discovered the mad geneticist Sugarman had engineered new mutant embryos in contradiction to the sterilizing effects of the Terrigen Mists on mutantkind. Sugarman intended to launch his "ark" orb containing the embryos into the future where M-Pox was hopefully no longer an issue, and Glob and the X-Men were caught in the time travel effect. In the 32nd century, Earth had fallen in the Apocalypse Wars. All that was left was a few space habitats linked together as Omega World, each containing a different species Apocalypse had deemed fit enough to survive. Mutants were not among them.

Glob and his team were confronted by the Horsemen in the Apocalypse habitat, and Colossus stayed behind to cover their retreat with the ark. For months, Glob, Anole, Ernst and No-Girl wandered Omega World, trying to find some form of safe haven. When Storm and the alpha team eventually followed after them, mere minutes had passed in the present, but Glob and the students had been surviving for a full year on Omega World. Colossus' sacrifice led to him being transformed into the Horseman of War. The united X-Men took the fight to Apocalypse, but were unable to defeat their friend. Apocalypse got a hold of the ark and destroyed it, making all of Glob's efforts for the past year for naught. In the end, the X-Men could only abandon Omega World, bringing Apocalypse and Colossus back to the present as prisoners, hoping Apocalypse could be made to reverse the Horseman's transformation. [Extraordinary X-Men #8-13]

Colossus escaped from X-Haven, forcing the X-Men to hunt him down. Glob Herman and his team worked to prove themselves by defeating the man who had been their chief instructor as X-Men. The team would face increasing threats such as the mystical World-Eater that challenged Limbo, and the resolution of the M-Pox crisis with an all-out war against the Inhumans. Although he became more confident in the field, Glob couldn't quite bring himself to act on his feelings for Jean Grey, despite Anole's support. He made several attempts to express himself and ask her out, but the X-Men's harrowing life style kept interrupting. Unfortunately, Jean eventually went back to her original team of X-Men before Glob made his move. [Extraordinary X-Men #14-20]

The M-Pox was dealt with and the X-Mansion moved back to Earth, becoming the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach located in Central Park. The X-Men switched back to a scholastic attitude after the doomsday scenario of living in Limbo, making the younger members into students again. Glob became even more self-conscious than usual about his looks after he stopped wearing contacts, inviting the rather silly image of him wearing corrective glasses over his wax. [Generation X (2nd series) #1] Still, it didn't seem to hurt his chances for love. Glob was seen holding hands with the newer student Jia Jing, Sprite, and the two of them may have quietly become a couple. In fact, she seemed to like his glasses. [Generation X (2nd series) #5,8, (1st series) #85]

The relationship apparently didn't last, however, as Glob Herman started to look for love on the dating site, Mutant Mingle. He matched with a girl named Sasha who, despite her pink skin and opaque eyes, was quite conventionally attractive. Glob doubted himself when Sasha asked to meet in person, but his friends like Rockslide and Anole encouraged him to have more faith in himself. Glob psyched himself up for the date and arrived at Sasha's house with a rose, only to find the anti-mutant terrorists the Purifiers had taken Sasha hostage. They threatened to kill her if Glob didn't wear a suicide bomber's vest and use it to destroy the Xavier Institute.

Terrified over what might happen to Sasha, Glob returned to the mansion in Central Park wearing the explosives. Despite his concern for Sasha, Glob couldn't go through with setting off the bomb in the security center. Instead, he discharged the explosives in the empty lobby where no one would get hurt. Old Man Logan and Glob's friends found him right after, and he explained just as the Purifiers followed up with a direct attack on the mansion themselves. Glob and the X-Men defended the mansion against the Purifiers, but Glob stopped short when he saw a safe and completely non-mutant Sasha among the attackers. Sasha revealed she used an image inducer to lure Glob into the trap, and was utterly disgusted by the idea of touching him, much less loving him. The Purifiers were beaten, but afterwards Logan coached Glob about looking for love and acceptance among his friends until he could find real love one day. [Old Man Logan (2nd series) #39-40]

Glob Herman began training as part of an active reserve team of X-Men students under Armor. Despite their relative years of experience in mutant conflicts, however, the student team remained children in the eyes of the adult, resurrected Jean Grey and the X-Men's other senior leaders. A crisis was brewing with a conflict between two Omega-class mutants, X-Man and Legion. Legion came to the X-Men for help, but proved too erratic to make much sense, prompting Jean Grey to leave Armor and Glob's team behind at the mansion on guard duty while the adult X-Men pursued X-Man and his Horsemen of Salvation.

Hisako chaffed at being sidelined, and so she and Glob got Rockslide and Pixie to agree to work with Legion instead of keeping him locked up. They arrived at Quadra Island to back-up the X-Men, sending Legion into battle with X-Man. Legion decided to remove X-Man from the playing field altogether, displacing X-Man, Glob and his team into a recreation of the Age of Apocalypse. Months of isolation and danger in the harsh landscape gave Glob time to develop his powers, increasing in size and strength while keeping his wax constantly burning for intimidation and use. Another rift came between the students, where Glob and Armor wanted to find a way back home, while Pixie and Rockslide believed the greater good commanded them to kill the now-powerless X-Man and remain in the Age. Glob and Hisako tried to keep X-Man safe while pursuing the M'Kraan Crystal shard as their means of escape.

All their trials and efforts were basically invalidated when Bishop of the X-Men emerged in their reality and revealed they had only been gone for five minutes of real time, not the relative months they had experienced. The X-Man realized they were only in a constructed landscape inside Legion's mind, and reasserted his powers to take control. By doing so, he returned Glob and the others to reality while fusing his powers to Legion's. Glob was crestfallen to see all his improvements and growth disappear back in the real world, leaving him as just a big glob again. Herman's team continued to work on proving their worth to the X-Men, with Armor swallowing up the Horsemen in her psionic exoskeleton so that Glob and Rockslide could keep them busy. This allowed Jean Grey and Pixie to work together and summon nearly the entire living roster of the X-Men to oppose Nate Grey. It all proved ineffective, though, as Grey used the power of the Lifeseed to build his own pocket reality, drawing the X-Men in with him. [Uncanny X-Men (5th series) #1-10]

This new reality had a different history than the real world, one where an event called the Resolution made every person on Earth into a mutant, inviting an era of total peace and acceptance. Young mutants trained at the Summers Institute for Higher Learning, named for Hope who gave her life to make the Resolution happen. With the world at peace, students prepared for the future in different fields of study. Glob Herman was part of the agricultural division, his friends Armor and Pixie in civil management, Anole in the medical theater and Rockslide in the history department. They studied hard to eventually graduate and become the very best mutants that society had to offer.

But it was all a lie and Glob Herman, of all people, remembered the truth. Glob was drawn into X-Man's new reality along with all the other X-Men, but his memories were not altered to match the new history. Glob was the only mutant aware of the real world and the history of the Resolution was a total fabrication. Worse, Glob observed reality being continually edited around him. He witnessed his friends lose even new memories made after the reality shake-up, saw students disappear from the school and everyone else forget they had ever been there. Never the most strong-willed or adventurous of mutants, Glob was terrified to make any sort of move that would reveal he knew what was going on, and didn't know whom to trust.

Glob reasoned out that there was a secret police, a thought-police, who brainwashed offenders and dissidents back to being compliant. However, it was a three-strike system, and after the third strike people just disappeared forever. Anole was on his way to his third strike and, for the first time, Armor had noticed how Department X was lying to the students. Glob was desperate for someone to talk to and to save Anole, so he confided in Hisako. Glob thought his wax may have been responsible for his resilience to the memory edits, so he melted some of his wax and covered Armor with it so she wouldn't forget their conversations.

Glob and Armor began unraveling the lies surrounding their world as they tried to stop Anole from getting caught in his third offense. However, their behavior caught Pixie's attention, and she reported them to the Summers Institute faculty as possible users of the drug "Unveil" favored by the radicals. Glob, Armor and Rockslide rescued Anole after he tried to become a martyr by blowing up the Hope Summers Memorial Library. The four of them went on the run together, and Glob hoped they would be able to find something to prove his memories were true by returning to Quadra Island. There was nothing there in this reality, though, and the students were captured by the X-Men. They were sent to the Danger Room prison complex and mind-wiped, leaving Glob alone again as the only one who remembered the truth. [Age of X-Man: NeXt Gen #1-5] Mercifully for Glob, they were eventually released and returned to the world he remembered. [Uncanny X-Men (5th series) #22]

The X-Men soon adopted a radically new stance, founding an island nation on Krakoa for all mutants. They also worked with Krakoa to grow exotic flowers which could be cultured into lucrative pharmaceuticals that cured disease, extended lifespan and improved mental disorders, giving them exports to fund their nation. The living island was an Eden where all mutants were welcome, able to transit there using Krakoan gates (accessible only to mutants) planted around the globe in major cities. A worldwide telepathic announcement by Professor Xavier let all mutants know they had a home where they were welcome. Glob Herman and most of the younger generation of mutants set up the Akademos Habitat, or Sextant, as a cluster of biomes for living in close quarters. Glob is probably a resident of Sigma House, reserved for former students from the Jean Grey School's era. [House of X #6, New Mutants (4th series) #1]

Glob and Armor remained close friends, and they took an interest in making sure all their old friends and classmates made it to Krakoa. Hisako cross-referenced the data and discovered Beak and Angel had never appeared in the transit logs with their kids, so she and Glob decided to visit them and extend a personal invitation. Hisako's research determined Beak's father was very sick, and so she also brought along a Krakoan drug appropriate for relieving his condition. The happy reunion turned sour, however, when mobsters from the Costa Perditan cartel tracked them to Nebraska and took everyone hostage. They hoped to ransom Glob and the other back to Krakoa in exchange for Krakoan drugs which fetched a high price on the black market. [New Mutants (4th series) #3-4] Boom-Boom noticed they were missing after several days and came to the rescue, but the situation turned into a tragedy. The gangsters were dealt with, but not before their leader killed Beak's parents. [New Mutants (4th series) #6]

After hearing about their circumstances, Magik (Great Captain of Krakoa for the Sextant) investigated the situation. She uncovered an anti-mutant website named Dox, intended to track mutants going in and out of the Krakoan gates and reporting their whereabouts online. Dox sightings could be traced back to numerous mutant beatings and deaths. Because of the Nebraska incident, Magik brought Glob and Dani Moonstar with her to confront the Dox offices. They installed a data bomb in Dox's systems which automatically disclosed their names and addresses with any article they posted. The Dox staff were furious and indignant, making empty threats and hiding behind the 1st Amendment. Glob lost his cool and went after the editor when he tried to confront Magik. Glob tossed the man around the room and threatened to come back and kill him if even one more mutant were hurt because of their site, no matter what the consequences.

Back on Krakoa, Glob went back to feeding his chicken when Magik sought him out to talk. Robert opened up for the first time about his home life, and how awful it was for him being a mutant before coming to the X-Men. Seeing those people at Dox just reminded him of his dad, and how much hatred he held towards mutants. Glob acknowledged how troublesome he had been in the past, and how much it had come from the self-hatred imposed on him by his dad. Eventually he made the decision to move past his anger and, while today wasn't a good day, he hoped he would be able to continue embracing peace instead of hatred as Krakoa flourished. [New Mutants (4th series) #12]