The Boys and Herogasm (2006–2012)
A large, highly patient and methodical African-American man, Mother's Milk first appears in issue #2. Taught by his father to check every possible angle and means of attack, can be somewhat particular (getting annoyed whenever anyone doesn't put a drink coaster under their glasses). He is the only member on the team, aside from the retired Greg Mallory, who is an American citizen by birth. His nickname apparently came about because he is the "purest", i.e. most goodhearted, member of the team. In issue #35, M.M. reveals that he is the only member of the unit to have been exposed to Compound V since conception. His mother worked in a factory that had previously been a Vought-American (VA) laboratory, and hadn't been sanitized afterwards, leading to her being contaminated with Compound V. As a result, his brother Michael was born with severe mental disability and he himself was born needing regular doses of his mother's breast milk to survive. Issue #17 showed him throwing up and feeling disturbed by the constant need. At the same time, he finds the nourishment highly energizing and developing into a breast fetish, adding to his discomfort.[3]
His father worked tirelessly to sue VA over his children's special needs and eventually succeeded, but the experience took a large mental and physical toll on him. M.M. was aware that Vought's lawyers were shrugging the loss off, but never told him. Michael died soon after, killed by the manifestation of his superpowers, and their father died from the stress of trying to sue VA over and over again; his mother was left broken and unwilling to fight anymore, and become morbidly obese; her own powers then expressed themselves thanks to her overwhelming despair, and she now lives in M.M.'s basement, completely unaware of her surroundings. To support his mother and his new wife and daughter, he joined the U.S. Army, volunteered for the Rangers, and became an army heavyweight boxer. In a championship match, M.M.'s powers suddenly manifested and he accidentally killed an opponent in the ring by punching his head off. He was released from the military and was recruited by Butcher and Mallory for the first incarnation of The Boys.[4][5]
After Mother's Milk had been with The Boys for a year, Butcher accompanied him to rescue M.M.'s infant daughter Janine, whose mother, a drug addict, was incapable of raising her properly. The pair rescued Janine from her mother's then-residence, a drug house whose addicts smoked crack cut with Compound V; Butcher suffered a savage beating from the addicts in the process. M.M. was later present at the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge (caused by the Seven's attempt to prevent 9/11), where he attempted to help a woman from a falling car. Although he maintained his hold on her, she could not get free of her seat belt and was torn in half, dying in M.M.'s arms. The experience would haunt M.M., and serve as additional motivation for continuing the fight against Vought-American.
After the disbanding of the unit, M.M. would go on to perform community work and raise his increasingly rebellious daughter, now a teenager (and as a result of Compound V, matured early – although she appears 16–17, she's only 12 chronologically); Janine shows M.M. great disrespect but regards Butcher with affection, calling him "Uncle Billy." M.M. has now returned to the team, where he acts as Butcher's second-in-command, possibly (in part) so that he can restrain Butcher from going off the rails in pursuit of their goals. He is one of the few people who receives any consistent level of civility (at least to his face) from the pathologically rude Butcher, who thinks very highly of him. He is also the only member of the Boys (other than Hughie, the new recruit) who thinks that at least a few superheroes might be acting out of genuine altruism (as mentioned in issue #6).[6]
M.M. is the only member of the group that is still in contact with Mallory. He has a great deal of affection for Hughie, which is the principal reason why M.M. ended up at odds with Butcher after discovering that Butcher had been manipulating Hughie into dangerous situations and not informing the rest of the team (#43). This would result in M.M. putting Hughie in contact with Mallory after Hughie's sabbatical.[7]
Later, Mother's Milk discovers that his abusive ex-wife and daughter were in a pornographic film together. He is furious at this revelation, and leaves to deal with this family issue. He told his mother about it, and it is implied she did not take the news well, as she is screaming, locked up in a basement. M.M. then gets a call from his daughter. She tells him that she was not in her right mind, and has run away from her mother. Mother's Milk attempts to get her location, but she states that she wants to be left alone, and when she's well, she will call him back to let him know. He tracks her down easily, and she reveals that Butcher murdered the producers and cast of the adult film, including brutally murdering Janine's mother in front of her. His final words, meant both as a warning and as a threat, were for Janine to leave M.M. alone.
Mother's Milk finished having a meeting with The Boys on stopping Butcher from using a weaponized version of the "V" compound on the rest of the Supes and the innocents that were affected. Butcher walks in on Mother's Milk, questioning why he wasn't trying to fix his issues with his daughter, thinking that would get him out of the picture for good. M.M. questions if Butcher is really going through with the plan. Butcher responds with a yes and states that he did not think he was going to survive the fight with Homelander and Black Noir. Butcher offers him a chance to walk away, but instead they fight each other. Butcher reveals to him that he thought of killing his mother as well. Despite being enraged, Mother's Milk stated he never wanted it to go down like this. Butcher replies that he knows and that he was a best mate that he could ever know, and did not deserve to know him. Before Mother's Milk can land a decisive blow, Butcher pulls out a grenade and stuffs it into Mother's Milk's mouth as it explodes. Left in a critical condition, his face blown off, Mother's Milk deliriously attempts to call out for his mother as Butcher suffocates and kills him, while stating that he has "no mates".[8]
After Hughie realizes what Butcher is doing, he pays a visit to M.M.'s mother after his death, discovering she has grown into an enormous Cthulhu-like blob creature; her breasts have elongated to tentacles (explaining why M.M. displays nausea when snakes are described by a nature show in an earlier issue) and she seems only able to say "MY BOY..." when she spots Hughie, apparently not realizing he is not her son. When she grabs him with one tentacle and presents another with a distended nipple at the end, Hughie consents to drink, possibly hoping the milk will strengthen him (he is unable to keep it down, however), and manages to stop Butcher from enacting his plan, killing him before toasting to the memory of M.M. and the fallen Boys.[9]