Drummer (comics)

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caption=The Drummer, from "Planetary" #1, art by John Cassaday.
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=Drummer
real_name=Unknown
publisher=Wildstorm
debut="Planetary" #1
creators=Warren Ellis
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
status=Active
alliances=Planetary
previous_alliances=
aliases= "Little Drummer Boy"
relatives=
powers=Direct psychic communication with all information systems.|The Drummer is a fictional character from the comic book, "Planetary" by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday.

Fictional character biography

It has often been commentedFact|date=April 2008 that The Drummer is insane. His erratic behaviour and history seem to support this.

The Drummer (sometimes called "Drums" for short) was one of several children who showed natural talent with computer systems and who were orphaned and kidnapped by The Four in an attempt to influence the early formation of the internet. When Elijah Snow, Jakita Wagner and Ambrose Chase attempted to rescue the children, a booby trap was set off, detonating explosive collars worn by the children. Despite her immense speed, Jakita was only able to remove the collar from one child: The Drummer (who identified himself as "Little Drummer Boy" at the time). John Stone later reveals the Drummer was the most gifted of all the gathered children. In return, The Drummer used his skills to irreparably destroy The Four's computer systems and left to join the Planetary Field Team.

Aside from these facts, almost nothing is known about The Drummer. He gets his name from the drumsticks he carries, which he habitually taps on surrounding surfaces, especially while accessing computer systems. It is uncertain whether this is related to his powers. As he has been a member of the Planetary field team since he was a child, his insulting and crazed nature seems to hide a deep understanding, respect and perhaps love for Elijah Snow.

He is the only field operative who seems to understand Snow, and his motives, seeing as how he tries to justify them to Jakita often enough. He's also noted as having realized Jakita's lineage before she did.

Powers and abilities

The Drummer possesses superhuman abilities that relate to computer systems and information in general. He can read and manipulate information without a conventional computer interface and apparently has a physiological connection to surrounding information sources (such as radio waves, electronic signals, hard drives, etc.) He also acts as a living anti-surveillance device; cameras and recording devices fail to operate when in proximity to his person.Drums can also read and manipulate magic, comparing it to cheat codes in video games by saying that magic is 'the cheat codes for the world'. In the series' final few issues, it was shown that Drums could 'see' an even broader spectrum of information, ranging from small things like temperature to, perhaps most notably, genetic information.

Bibliography

#Planetary #1-26, Planetary Preview, Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta, Planetary/Batman: Night On Earth, Planetary/The Authority: Ruling The World.

References

*gcdb|type=character|search=The+Drummer|title=The Drummer
*comicbookdb|type=character|id=1631|title=The Drummer
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/d/drummer.htm International Catalogue of Superheroes profile]

External links

* [http://home.earthlink.net/~rkkman/frames/index.html Planetary Comic Appreciation]