Villain Profile: Graydon Creed

Smarmy SOB.

                Odds are you probably don’t recognize the name Graydon Creed, unless you read the comics or watched the 90s cartoon (I highly recommend both). I’m here to change that. Don’t get me wrong, this Creed is an awful human being, but he’s just so interesting that I’d like to see a little more of him.

                A little bit of background, Graydon Creed is the son of Victor Creed (Sabertooth) and Raven Darkholme (Mystique). He’s a human supremacist and the founder of the Friends of Humanity hate group. “What’s this?” I hear you asking. “How can the child of mutants be a human supremacist?” Well, with folks like Sabertooth and Mystique it’s not that crazy of an idea. Sabertooth had nothing to do with his son, (shocking right?) and Mystique’s parenting techniques end with “put normal child up for adoption.” That’s another thing weird about Graydon, the son of two of the most dangerous mutants in the world is 100% human. Or his mutant power really, really sucks. And doesn’t set off the Sentinel’s Mutant Detectors. It’s unlikely but hey, crazier things have happened.

He makes this face a lot.

                After finding out just who his parents are, Graydon was understandably infuriated. Being abandoned at birth will do that to a guy. He formed the Friends of Humanity to oppose Mutant civil rights, using extremists like Magneto as fodder for his hate speeches. He spent years building up momentum for his cause, using carefully edited footage and twisted words to make everyone see mutants as the horrid monster’s he sees. He eventually ran for president on a no mutant platform, but Creed’s mission of hate was finally ended by the one who started it. A version of Mystique from a possible future traveled back in time to put down Graydon for his crimes against Mutant Kind, and his indirect connection to the death of Trevor Chase, the grandson of her only friend, Destiny. Graydon has made a few trips back from the afterlife, like most villains do, but this marked the end on him as a major threat.

When you consider what these two could have created.
It's probably best their son was the Mutant
equivalent to a Squib

                Graydon has no supernatural powers despite his mutant parents. But while he didn’t get his father’s sharp claws or his mother’s shapeshifting, he inherited Sabertooth’s immense ability to hate, and his mother’s ability to twist and manipulate others. He is a gifted speaker and strategist. And, like dear Daddy Creed, he has rather severe anger management issues.

                Graydon Creed has only ever been a prominent character in the X-men T.V. show of the 90s, where he served as a secondary antagonist for the first season and second season. In it, he is shown staging and filming fights with the X-men and Mutants, intentionally altering footage to make Mutants seem like the aggressors. His strategies work well, but he never won a decisive victory over the X-men or Mutants.Things ultimately come to a head in the episode “Beauty and the Beast,” where the Friends of Humanity kidnap a love interest of the brilliant, blue furred Beast. At the same time Wolverine infiltrates the FoH to finally stop them. Right when it looks like the X-men and the FoH are going to throw down once again, Wolverine hurls a hologram projector into their midst. The machine plays the Villain Profile of Sabertooth (in this series renamed Graydon Creed, Sr. to clear up any confusion.) The FoH abandon their leader in disgust, while Graydon shrieks at the phantom of the mutant he hates most “YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!” over and over again.Side note, if you hate the man so much why did ya keep his surname Graydon? Makes no sense. Back on track.

Throw some fangs on that boy and he's the spitting
image of his pappy.

This is the last we see of Graydon until episode 59 “Bloodlines.” He attempts to reclaim leadership of the FoH only to discover there are more mutants in his family tree then he thought.  For those don’t know, the X-men Nightcrawler and Rogue are his half-brother and step-sister respectively. Big old mutant family. Graydon attempts to purge his family tree, but is ultimately defeated. The FoH, for his failure, drop him off at Daddy’s house as punishment. The ending is ambiguous, but if Sabertooth has any inkling of what is son is or has done, I doubt it was a happy reunion. 

 You're probably wondering why I'm calling attention to this C-list bad guy. Surely there are more prominent X-men baddies I could spend time on. This is true, but Graydon is pretty unique. With the X-men we're use to a few villain types. There are guys like Magneto and his bunch, Mutant extremeists who want to dominated mankind. There are the William Strykers (of the movies), the bigots that hate something that their children become.And the Bolivar Trasks, otherwise brilliant people who hate something they don't understand. We don't often see the child raging against his parents. Whereas a Stryker could renounce his son, Graydon really doesn't have the luxury. How can the 'human' son of Mutants every be considered completely human? Truth is, he can't and that is what infuriates Graydon. He can't belong to either group so he throws one against the other, hoping they will never know the truth.

Not sure if it says much, but at least it looks
like she couldn't watch.

As a matter of fact, Graydon Creed is the only human born of Mutants that I know of. Usually, if one or both parents of a child are Mutants, they beget more Mutants. Cyclopes and Jean Gray’s son, Nathan aka Cable, is an absurdly powerful Mutant as are a number of versions of him from alternate timelines. Professor Xavier’s son David aka Legion is arguably the most powerful Mutant ever. Magneto has had four children, three of them are Mutants, (Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Polaris). Furthermore, his oldest died before the age when Mutant powers manifest so it could very well have been 4 for 4 with old Magneto.

                Graydon is an awful, pathetic human being, the definition of a bully. He hates his parents for what they did to him, but because one is too strong and the other too elusive, he turns his hate on those weaker then him. Worse, he converts others to his belief. All to punish Mom and Dad for never loving him. And perhaps for not giving him power. It’s a thought. The scene where he is practically sobbing while shooting at the projection of Sabertooth is so sad and so pathetic that it can’t help but stick in my mind. He’s the kind of villain I love to hate, and I’d love to see him in a few more things. That’s all I have to say about that. Next time, How does Superman keep his identity secret?

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graydon_Creed

 http://www.comicvine.com/x-men/4060-3173/forums/mutants-are-not-humans-according-to-marvel-647515/

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Sabretooth_and_Mystique_Vol_1_1

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Graydon_Creed,_Jr._%28Earth-92131%29/Gallery

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Graydon_Creed_%28Earth-616%29/Gallery