Origin
Born to a physicist who was exposed to radiation from a nuclear reactor. Due to his freakish appearance his father drove him into the desert and abandoned him at the tender age of ten. While wondering the desert, Jerome would come across Nekra. She was born from a cleaning lady who was exposed by the same radiation accident as his father.
These two would travel together and commit crimes to survive. Now older both would now commit crimes for just the thrill of it. Both of them consider themselves to be brother and sister.
Creation
Mandrill was created by Steve Gerber and Ross Andru in 1973 and first appeared in Shanna the She-Devil # 4.
Major Story Arcs
Jerome and Nekra fought Shanna, the She-Devil after making the mistake of kidnapping her father. He then formed a cult filled with black women called Black Spector. This group was made to overthrow the American Government, but was stopped by the Thing and Daredevil. Jerome and Nekra used the Black Spector to attack the Empire State Building. He was confronted and stopped by once again Daredevil, Black Widow and Shanna.
Mandrill then formed an army of woman calling themselves Fem-Force. The Fem-Force along with Mutant Force ( Now known as the Resistants) tried to over-power a Air Force Base at Colorado. Thier plan was to take over the United States. Yet it was cut short due to the intervention of the Defenders. Jerome then confronted the Grim Reaper whom absorbed Nekra’s life energy and apparently was slain too. Later we see Jerome and other villains attempt to escape the “Big House” prison but was interrupted by She-Hulk.
Breakout
Mandrill would be sent to the Raft super prison but manages to escape along with numerous super criminals during Electro’s mass breakout. Crossfire and his crew of mind controlling buddies that include Mandrill, Corruptor, Mr. Fear and Controller would have a feud with the U-Foes.
Mandrill would be captured by Spider Man and be left hanging upside down a street lamp post so the wall-crawler asked his monkey foe what are some good presents he can give to his wife Mary Jane for Valentine’s Day while they wait for SHIELD to arrive. Mandrill recommended lingerie and a music cd but Spider Man just made fun of his ideas and that his winning personality and sense of fashion impresses the ladies. Mandrill tell Spidey that he doesn’t have to woo any woman because of the powerful pheromones he emits. The banter between them is quite hilarious especially when Spider Man states that women may have some lofty expectations of someone that calls himself “Mandrill”.
Hunter/Hunted
Mandrill would be a captive of Al Kraven, the son of Kraven the Hunter when he began to collect super-humans with animal themed powers and abilities. Kraven would release all his drug induced captives and let them run amok. Man-Bull gets into a fight with Grizzly and his left horn is snapped off. The Punisher would use Man Bull’s horn to knock Mandrill’s left eye out from its socket.
Civil War/Secret Invasion/Dark Reign
Jerome would join the Hood’s Gang after the Civil War and fought along with the heroes during the Secret Invasion as a member. He is still a member of the Hood’s Gang through the Dark Reign and Siege story arcs, although he has been shown as apprehended and imprisoned in The Raft in a post-Seige issue of Avengers Academy.
X-Men: To Serve & Protect
He briefly appears in a spa where Emma Frost is getting a massage, causing havoc around him and trying to pick up the multitude of women there. Emma Frost scares him by turning into a female version of Mandrill, causing him to panic and run away.
Powers & Abilities
Mandrill possesses the chemically-based ability to attract and enslave most adult women to his will. Like many animals (including humans to a small extent). Mandrill continually emits pheromones (natural, airborne hormones secreted primarily through-sweat glands which communicate and stimulate behavior) of great potency and volume. Once the Mandrill’s pheromone emissions, released into the atmosphere, reach the olfactory centers of a woman, her hormonal balance is altered, causing her to feel extreme physical attraction. The Mandrill’s mutant pheromones are released at a rate of 2,000 parts per million, several thousand times that of a normal human. Consequently, any woman within range (about 250 feet downwind, or in the direct path of the emission) is severely affected. Within seconds of exposure to the Mandrill, most women become submissive and open to manipulation by Mandrill, as if hypnotized.
The mutagenically-altered structure of Mandrill’s sex pheromones is practically addictive. Initial contact with Mandrill and subsequent reinforcement over a period of a few months is sufficient to keep most women in his power almost permanently. If, however, the woman is removed from his presence after the initial contact, she will go through a mild period of “withdrawal” and be free after a period of a few months.
Some women, notably Shanna the She-Devil and the Black Widow, have been able to resist Mandrill’s power, by some unknown, natural means, perhaps solely through will power. Certain mild, electrical stimulation can also deaden the pheromone-affected nerve centers of the female brain. Most male endocrine systems are biologically unable to perceive the Mandrill’s pheromone emissions.