REAL NAME

HISTORY: Dr. Fredrick Animus was a geneticist employed by a university to conduct medical research. Instead, Animus concertrated on research concerning mutation. Animus falsified reports on the efficacy of certain medicines, presumably because he had not done the necessary work involved. When some of these medicines proved to be lethal to patients, Animus's work was checked, with the result that he was sent to prison.

It was there that Cameron Hodge, commander of the anti-mutant organization known as the Right, found Animus. Hodge hired Animus to conduct research into a means of stopping the process of mutation. The Right supplied Animus with animals to use as subjects for his experiments, which Animus conducted on an otherwise deserted North Atlantic island he named "Paradise."

However, once again Animus defied his employers instruction. Through genetic manipulation ("gene-splicing") and selective breeding. Animus created the creatures he called his "Ani-Mate," who combined the characteristics of human beings and other animals. Animus called himself, as their creator, the Ani-Mator. Animus intended the Ani-Mates to be a slave race that would serve humanity, and designed different Ani-Mates to fulfill different tasks.

However, although at least some of the Ani-Mates possess human-level intelligence, Animus refused to treat them as human beings and claimed they were less than human because, according to him, they did not understand the concept of evil.

Animus would place his Ani-Mates within a dangerous maze as a test to see which of them would survive. One of the Ani-Mates, Bird-Brain, afraid of the test, escaped from the Ani-Mator's island and was befriended by the New Mutants. Bird-Brain later returned to island with the New Mutants to save other Ani-Mates from dying in the maze. The Ani-Mator had a number of his Ani-Mates capture the New Mutants and Bird-Brain. Animus intended to kill Bird-Brain and others Ani-Mates who had rebelled against him. Animus also intended to find a way to give Ani-Mates the powers of one of the captive New Mutants, Wolfsbane.

But the New Mutants regained their freedom, only to be recaptured by Hodge and members of the Right, who arrived on the island. Bird-Brain and other Ani-Mates rescued the New Mutants and battles the Right. In the melee Animusaimed a gun at Wolfsbane, intending to kill her rather than let the Right take her. Another New Mutant, Douglas Ramsey, alias Cypher, knocked Wolfsbane aside to save her life, but was himself fatally shot by Animus in the process. Bird-Brain overcame Animus, and another New Mutant, Magik infuriated by Cypher's death, exiled Asnimus to the dimension she calls Limbo. Animus's subsequentfate has yet to be revealed.

HEIGHT: 5 ft. 6 in.
WEIGHT: 127lbs.
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Nearly bald

STRENGTH LEVEL: The Ani-Mator possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in no regular exercise.

KNOWN SUPERHUMAN POWERS: None

OTHER ABILITIES: The Ani-Mator has knowledge of genetics beyond that of most other scientists, enabling him to create new species of life with various humanoid characteristics through the genetic manipulation of animals.