Graydon Creed

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caption=Graydon Creed.
Art by Joe Madureira.
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Graydon Creed
real_name=Graydon Creed
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Uncanny X-Men" #299
creators=Scott Lobdell
Brandon Peterson
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
status=Deceased
alliances=Purifiers Upstarts Friends of Humanity
aliases=Tribune
powers=|

Graydon Creed is a fictional character created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Brandon Peterson. The character is an enemy of the X-Men and first appeared in "Uncanny X-Men" #299 (April 1993).

Fictional character biography

Posing as German spy Leni Zauber, Mystique seduced freelance assassin Victor Creed while he was in Germany on a mission. Mystique later gave birth to a normal human child - Graydon - whom she gave up for adoption, although she kept an eye on him. When Graydon learns of his heritage, that he was the son of two mutants who had abandoned him as an inconvenience, he grew resentful of all mutants, and that resentment colored his outlook for the rest of his life.

In his adult years, Graydon formed a group called the Friends of Humanity, dedicated to opposing mutant civil rights by committing acts of terrorism against peaceful mutants and mutant sympathizers, and using the acts of violent mutants such as Magneto to rally support for their cause. He was also a member of the Upstarts, a group of well-connected murderous youths who were being manipulated by the telepathic Gamesmaster for his own amusement.

Death

At a rally for Graydon's hopeful presidential candidacy, an assassin shot and killed him ("X-Factor" #130). Several years later, the miniseries "X-Men Forever" revealed that a future version of Mystique had fired the shot, having sworn to kill Graydon for his part in the Friends of Humanity's brutal attack on Trevor Chase, the grandson of her lover Destiny. Scott Lobdell had originally planned for the Askani Sisterhood to be responsible for Creed's assassination, and even hinted that there were members of the Askani infiltrated on Creed's campaign.

Purifiers

The pages of X-Force show a group of Purifiers digging up the corpse of Graydon Greed, his body is then taken back to the purifiers base where it is re-animated by Bastion using the techno-organic virus taken from an "offspring" of Magus. ["X-Force (vol. 3)" #3]

Other Media

Television

Graydon Creed appeared in the "X-Men" animated series voiced by John Stocker. Like in the comics, Graydon Creed's deep resentment towards mutants comes from his parents Sabretooth and Mystique. Graydon wound up in the care of his father Sabretooth who bullied and beat him constantly. Many years later Graydon founded the F.O.H. (the Friends of Humanity) an anti-mutant hate group that did everything in its power to vilify mutants. After the Beast's pardon by the President, Graydon's resentment grew even more and the F.O.H. began targeting the X-Men.

Graydon Creed began looking for new ways to exterminate mutantkind. He hired a scientist to create a virus that would wipe out every mutant on Earth though would be relatively harmless to ordinary humans. Unbeknownst to Creed, this scientist was actually Apocalypse in disguise. Graydon dispatches one of his followers to infect a baseline humans in contact with a number of known mutants and begins making public announcements about the dangerous plague carrying mutants. While giving a speech about the plague's effects, Graydon attempts to infect Beast with the virus though is stopped by Bishop. During the struggle, Graydon accidentally infects himself and retreats back to the lab for medical aid. The X-Men follow him, attack the base and the scientist reveals himself to be Apocalypse. The X-Man Beast helps him get clear of the battle. The X-Men destroy the virus- although Cable comes back from the future to infect Wolverine with it to create antibodies vital for mutant survival, but Wolverine's healing factor stops the plague- and Graydon returns to the Friends of Humanity headquarters.

When Beast began dating his former patient Carly, a human, Graydon Creed was furious. He had Carly kidnapped and began interrogating her. Meanwhile Beast begins searching for the missing Carly and Wolverine infiltrates the F.O.H. pretending to have been beaten by mutants. Graydon gladly accepts him into the fold. Moments later an enraged Beast breaks into the F.O.H. and Wolverine reveals himself and rescues Carly. Before they leave the X-Men outside set up a holoprojector displaying Xavier's profile on the mutant Sabretooth, real name: Graydon Creed, Senior. Discovering that another one of his trusted men was a mutant and seeing Sabretooth's face again, Graydon Creed becomes unstable and begins screaming wildly. Realising that their leader was the son of a mutant, the F.O.H. leave him behind for the authorities.

Graydon spends the next few months in an institution curled up in a ball babbling like a baby. Meantime the F.O.H. does not disband but grows larger and more organised and eventually sets up a council and High Command (The members begin wearing cloaks and hoods much like that of the KKK.)

Fully recovered though still with a strong hatred towards mutants, Graydon returns to the F.O.H. to resume his old role as their leader. The council rules that to lead the F.O.H. once more he has to prove himself. They tell Graydon that Sabretooth is not the only mutant in his family. They hand him a file with information on Mystique his mother, Rogue his foster sister and the demonic Nightcrawler, his own brother. Close to madness he agrees to kill all of the mutants, in return the F.O.H. would let him return to the fold. Creed kidnaps his mother Mystique and forces her to send a letter to Nightcrawler saying she was in danger. Fearing for his mother's life Nightcrawler seeks the help of the X-Men Rogue and Wolverine. They locate the F.O.H.'s dam-base and walk straight into a trap. Graydon attempts to gas all of the mutants to death. They manage to break free and defeat Creed. Mystique slips away though and is thought to have been killed when the dam burst open.

Creed is washed away as the dam breaks down. He later wakes up aboard a helicopter, bound. Three of the council members inform him that he failed for the last time and as a result has been expelled from the order indefinitely. They push him from the chopper and he parachutes "safely"... right in front of the waiting Sabretooth's rural home.

Trivia

Graydon Creed is said to be based on Frank Collin

References