Walking Man

At the advice of the Answer, Pat Mulligan tried to take his own life by trying to jump in front of a speeding subway train. Unfortunately, the Toxin symbiote doesn’t want to die and it saves his life. For a brief moment, he considered what was going on in the minds of all the witnesses on the scene before leaping off the vehicle. When Pat asks Toxin what it was doing, it says that Mulligan’s attempt on his life was nothing more than a cry for help. Changing back to human form and emerging from the subway station, Pat is reminded by Toxin that he promised Spider-Man he would track down and capture Razor-Fist, who is one of the criminals who recently escaped the Raft.[1] Pat dismisses this, saying that some other hero could take his place, but Toxin knows that — at the last moment — Pat decided that he wanted to live. It also points out that Pat also worried what his son or father would think for taking the coward’s way out. When Pat continues to argue with it, the Toxin symbiote says Pat is not showing a whole lot of gratitude after it just saved his life. However, Pat thinks that the symbiote only saved it because it didn’t know what would happen if he died and that perhaps it has become dependant upon him.[2] Toxin denies this, but Pat still find it all very interesting. After this experience, he begins keeping a diary of his thoughts on Toxin, and thinks that he has just learned one of the symbiote’s weaknesses.

Meanwhile, the Wrecker and Piledriver have broken into the New York Museum of Modern Art. They have come to recover one of the Wrecker’s crowbars stashed in the building by his former construction crew. When Piledriver asks why they aren’t stealing any of the works of art, Wrecker explains that to be a successful art thief they need the right connections, which they don’t, so stealing art would be useless.

At that same moment, Paul Meadows — Pat’s former partner on the police force — is leaving his apartment and is once again confronted by Jim Mulligan. Jim wants to know where his son is staying after he abandoned his wife Gina, and son Edward. Paul insists that he cannot divulge that information because he promised Pat he wouldn’t. Jim presses on the issue, saying that if Paul just gives him his address he could set Gina’s mind at ease if he can assure her that he’s seen Pat and that he is okay. Paul continues resisting when the calls comes in about an explosion at the museum. Back at the scene of the crime, Piledriver is getting antsy because he hears sirens on their way, but the Wrecker tells him to hold on as he digs his crowbar out of the rubble.

At that moment, Pat has finished his latest diary entry and has decided that once he finally gets a hang on controlling Toxin he will write to his wife and explain everything. That’s when his father, Jim, comes knocking at his door and demands that Pat let him in. He tells his son that whatever trouble he’s in he can try to help. Pat tells his father to go away, telling him that there is nothing he can do. Jim refuses to accept this and knocks down the door, but dislocates his shoulder in the process. Pat rushes to his father’s aid, telling him that he’s too old to pull stunts like this anymore. When asked how he was able to find him, Jim tells his son that he has his ways. Pat is certain that he does.

At this point, Paul Meadows and other officers in the NYPD have cordoned off the site at the museum. A police helicopter circles the area where the Wrecker and Piledriver The Wrecker tosses his crowbar at the chopper causing it to crash land, exploding on impact. When one the curators pleads with the officers to save the priceless works of art inside the burning museum, Meadows tells him off because his sargeant was killed by a painting on a sheet of metal that was caught in the blast. That’s when Pat Mulligan arrives on the scene and tells Paul to let the curator go. He then tells off his former partner for telling Pat’s father where to find him. Paul tells Pat that this isn’t the time to talk about this, pointing out the situation is dangerous. Pat responds by suddenly transforming into Toxin, frightening Meadows. Toxin tells him to get the officers back as he is going in to deal with the Wrecker and Piledriver. When Paul says he’s going to tell them that Pat Mulligan is dealing with the situation, he insists that he tells them his name is Toxin.

As Pat convinces Toxin that this is a worthy cause to get involved with, the Wrecker and Piledriver begin gathering works of art to hold for ransom to ensure their escape. When they run into Toxin they think he is a statue at first until he starts attacking them. Writing about it later, Pat admits that he took great joy in being able to go toe-to-toe with two members of the Wrecking Crew. The battle quickly ends when Toxin wrests the Wrecker’s crowbar and beats the two crooks into submission with it. Pat then feels elated when his former brothers in the NYPD cheer him for defeating the two supervillains.

This all makes his current situation a little more bearable. The following day, Pat assumes his usual spot in the park to watch Gina walk take Edward out for a walk. This time, Pat wants to interact with them and convinces Toxin to put on their “Larry” disguise. Pat and Gina exchanged a smile and when she took Edward briefly out of his stroller, Pat was delighted to see that his son is starting to walk. Later, after Patrick enters this all in his diary, the symbiote notes that its host is happy. That’s when Toxin says that since it helped Pat spend time with his family, he owes it a favor. Knowing that he will do anything to see his family again in the future, Patrick Mulligan has no other choice but to agree to the symbiote’s terms.

Recurring Characters

Toxin, Wrecker, Piledriver, Paul Meadows, Jim Mulligan, Gina Mulligan, Edward Mulligan

Continuity Notes

1. That breakout took place in New Avengers #1.

2. A homeless man is holding a sign that reads “Doop Lives”. This is in reference to Doop, the camera man for the group known as X-Statix. At the time of this story, Doop and most of his other teammates were seemingly killed on a mission in X-Statix #26. Doop will turn up alive again in Nation X #4 (and despite what certain other, poorly research websites claim, he is not the same character as Daap who appeared in X-Men (vol. 2) #180)