Mother's Milk

Corpsman and Medic (formerly)
Juvenile Detention Center Counselor (formerly)

*For the Dynamite version of the character, see Mother's Milk/Comics.*

―Mother's Milk to Billy Butcher[src]

**Marvin T. Milk**, otherwise known as **Mother's Milk**, is one of the three tritagonists (alongside Frenchie and Kimiko Miyashiro) of the Amazon series *The Boys,* serving as a major character in both Seasons 1 and 2, and the tritagonist of Season 3. He is an original member of the black ops and vigilante group The Boys.

"Mother's Milk" or "M.M" forms the heart of the team, and is almost always the only one of them to keep both a cool head and his senses in compromising situations. Stylish and street smart, Milk displays a penchant for classic West Coast Hip Hop shirts.

Possessing vast wisdom of the more traditional kind, when The Boys find themselves in a sticky situation, or acting out of character, Milk bestows this wisdom upon them, either to inspire them, or set them on a better path.

After his grandfather was killed by a Supe, and his father subsequently died of stress trying to seek justice, Milk became determined to bring down Vought and expose the crimes of all superheroes. Though a member of the Boys, Milk worries that Billy Butcher’s win-at-all-cost pursuit of Homelander will put lives at risk—especially the people he cares about. As a result, the two bump heads more than regularly.

## *The Boys* Series

### Background

#### Childhood

Milk had a strong relationship with his late father. Every Sunday after church, he and his father would go to Baskin-Robbins, where his father would order samples of all 31 flavors. Even though he felt embarrassed as a kid, he fondly looks back at this and would "give a year of (his) life" to spend such quality time with his father again.

One night in Harlem, as a young boy, Marvin was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of Soldier Boy confronting a group of youths attempting to steal a Mercedes Benz. Excited over seeing America's hero in action, Milk woke up his grandfather, and the two observed the scene together. However, during the altercation, Soldier Boy picked up the car and flung it into the brownstone building which Milk and his grandfather were observing from. The car missed Milk by mere inches, whereas it crashed directly into his grandfather, killing him. Milk's father, who was a lawyer, tried to sue Vought, but he was one man going against a company that had teams of lawyers and paid-off judges. Despite this, his father kept fighting, writing for hours on his typewriter. Every morning, Milk would wake to the sound of clacking keys, and every night, he would fall asleep to them. Sixteen years ago, Milk awoke and didn't hear the keys typing. He found his father hunched over his typewriter, dead at 55. Milk blamed Vought's corruption for his father's early death and carried on his father's fight in wanting to get justice, for better or worse.

#### Career as a Marine

At some point, Marvin joined the United States Marine Corps as a corpsman and medic. There he would build up his physical and combat skills. Due to his reputation, kind heart and his grudge against Vought, Billy would convince Grace to let him join The Boys in their war against the company.

#### Disbandment of The Boys

After the Lamplighter incident, Grace would disband the team and Milk would leave the CIA. He would eventually get married with Monique and have a daughter. To make a living, he would get a job as a Juvenile Detention Center Counselor.

Marvin would blame Frenchie for the death of Grace's grandchildren at the hands of Lamplighter, since it was Frenchie's duty to watch Lamplighter.

### Season One

#### Rekindling with The Boys

Milk initially left The Boys to live a quiet life with his wife, Monique, and daughter, Janine. However, after Butcher, Frenchie and Hughie Campbell kill Translucent, Milk is persuaded into renewing his membership with the group. He is, at first, angry to find out that Butcher has also recruited Frenchie again, but is able to get past it as the two agree to help bring down Homelander and the rest of The Seven.

Milk's membership with The Boys comes at a cost, however. In *The Self-Preservation Society*, Monique becomes angry after finding out that Milk's involvement with The Boys has put her and Janine on the radar of Black Noir and Homelander. Monique and Milk argue as they are taken into the protection of Susan Raynor and the CIA.

### Season Two

Throughout Season 2, Milk works with The Boys to bring Vought down. He helps infiltrate the Sage Grove Center, retrieve Ryan from Homelander, and in the end, after defeating Stormfront, his criminal charges get cleared. He is able to go back to his family at last.

### Season Three

Milk is trying to turn over a new leaf and be a better man. He distances himself from The Boys and tries to take good care of his daughter, Janine. He and Monique separated and she has a new boyfriend named Todd but she and Milk still have a good relationship. Milk becomes increasingly concerned with Todd’s obsession with superheroes (Homelander in particular) , due to knowing from first-hand experience about the disturbing behind-the-scenes behavior of most supes, and he doesn’t want his daughter to glorify or worship them. When Butcher tells Milk he has an opportunity to take down Soldier Boy, the Supe who killed his family, he resists so that he can be a good father to his daughter. However, when Monique sees that this is still eating him up inside she tells him to go back to The Boys.

M.M goes with The Boys to capture Soldier Boy, but Butcher tricks him and ends up making a deal with Soldier Boy instead of capturing him. MM is furious and separates from Butcher and Hughie, intent on taking down Soldier Boy on his own. MM and Annie end up working together because Annie also wants Soldier Boy dead.

Finally, M.M and The Boys manage to take down Soldier Boy with the help of Queen Maeve.

Marvin finally opens up to Janine about his past and the truth about superheroes. He tells her about his complex past starting from the night his grandfather died from Soldier Boy, and her grandfather who spent his life fighting for justice. Janine tells MM he’s her hero.

## Personality

―Grace Mallory and Mother's Milk[src]

Out of all the Boys members with vendettas, Milk is the one who has most kept his compassion. Though his father worked himself to death to try and sue Vought and Milk wants to avenge him, Milk is still polite, supportive, and protective over his family and friends. Similar to Frenchie, Milk looks after the people he cares for. After The Boys become wanted fugitives, Milk still expresses great concern for his daughter and his wife, even if he can't see them. When Hughie is frozen in shock after Butcher rams through a whale, Butcher opts to leave Hughie behind. Milk argues that Butcher needs his "Canary" and is the only one to go back and wait alongside Hughie until Hughie recovers.

Conversely, Milk can be as vindictive as other members of The Boys. He repeatedly criticizes Frenchie for freeing Kimiko and blames him for all the people she killed after she escaped her cage. When The Boys are reunited, Milk repeatedly brings up the incident of Mallory's grandchildren being burned, holding Frenchie solely responsible for the event. Milk believes it was Frenchie's duty to watch Lamplighter but letting Lamplighter get away led to Mallory's grandchildren getting burned. However, Milk also shows the ability to change and be insightful: he apologizes to Frenchie once he learns the truth about why Lamplighter got away.

He also likens his vengeance to a disease, one his father passed down to him and which he will pass down to his daughter if he's not careful. In Get Some, when Butcher arrives at the detention center where he works, Milk tries to explain that he's moved on and doesn't want vengeance like Butcher or Hughie. But even if he's not willing to admit it, Milk still has that "disease" inside of him, and he knows the only cure will be victory or death.

By his own admission, Mother's Milk suffers from OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Traumatized by the death of his grandfather, who was killed when Soldier Boy threw a Mercedes-Benz through his family's home, Milk still checks the stove's burners three times a night, believing that if he doesn't, Soldier Boy will return and kill the rest of his family.

He is also has an obsessive desire to kill Soldier Boy. His monomania toward this end is so great, he attempts things that he knows (or should know) are futile, such as attacking Soldier Boy bare handed.

His hatred of Soldier Boy extends to Supes in general, with notable exceptions such as Starlight and Kimiko, with the first one having developed a sincere friendship and partnership. He cannot contain his disgust for Butcher and Hughie's use of Compound V24.

## Abilities

According to Butcher, M.M is a natural-born leader. This trait would make him the second in command and the moral support of The Boys. As a former marine and corpsman, he also has very good combat and medical skills making him a valuable asset to the rest of the team.

―Billy Butcher to Mother's Milk[src]

* **Gifted Intelligence**: Mother's Milk is highly intelligent, and has been stated by Butcher to be a multi-talented man. He called the fire department for a false gas leak as an improvised audience so that Black Noir could not approach Butcher while they prepared traps for the assassin.
	+ **Expert Investigator**: Mother's Milk is a skilled detective; he located A-Train's stash of Compound V after discerning that Popclaw also used the serum. Billy entrusted him to locate the source of the V being covertly run by A-Train. He used his network of contacts to help The Boys track down Kimiko Miyashiro. He is very observant, as he got a detailed description of Kenji Miyashiro from a video.

―Mother's Milk to Billy Butcher[src]

* **Expert Combatant**: As a former Marine, Mother's Milk is a trained hand-to-hand combatant. He was recruited to the Boys after he knocked out his commanding officer with a single punch. He was prepared to go toe-to-toe with Frenchie, who was wielding a knife at the time, and later fought him in the mall. On a phone call with Monique, he mentioned one of his duties is breaking up yard fights due to working as a counselor in a juvenile detention center. He threatened to break Mesmer's other wrist and he was strong enough to punch Hughie's retainer out. He later held Hughie back from attacking Butcher, challenged Butcher himself, and held Frenchie back from Lamplighter. He knocked out several guards when he and the Boys infiltrated a Russian base. Much like with his former commanding officer, Mother's Milk was able to knock out Todd with just one punch.
* **Skilled Marksman**: As a former Marine, Mother's Milk knows how to handle firearms. He was able to shoot Black Noir multiple times with a handgun, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He also used a shotgun against Stormfront, but failed due to her superhuman durability, and he used a machine gun when he and the Boys infiltrated a Russian base.

―Mother's Milk to Kimiko as she is about to break Hughie's arm[src]

* **Expert Physician**: Marvin was trained as a Corpsman when he was in the Marine Corps, as seen when he removed a bullet from a man. He treated Mesmer's broken wrist and Hughie's gash wound, and prepared epinephrine to use against A-Train. He showed Kimiko how to cleanly break Hughie's arm without causing permanent damage.
* **Multilingualism**: Mother's Milk speaks fluent English as his native language, as well as Tagalog (using the language to communicate with a salon worker while on the hunt for Kimiko) and he knows some Russian.
* **Intimidation**: Marvin commands the respect of his inmates. He was able to quickly break up a dispute over ping pong and stopped a fight by threatening to come out of his office.
* **Stealth**: Mother's Milk was able to quietly infiltrate the building holding Kimiko.

## Weaknesses

### Psychological

* **Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder**: Mother's Milk is neat and meticulous due to his OCD. Frenchie noted that he cannot bear things out of order because he is obsessed with order and detail. His OCD was on display when he was trying to finish a dollhouse. Starlight noticed his OCD habits of tapping his steering wheel three times when he changes lanes, stirring his coffee three times, and only using antiseptic wipes. He takes Lexapro for his OCD. In addition to his obsessive compulsions, he gets tics.
* **PTSD**: In season 3, Marvin is shown to be severely traumatized for the murder of his family at the hands of Soldier Boy. After Butcher released him in the lab at Russia, Mother's Milk gets frightened and terrified, remembering the day he witnessed his family being murdered. He started shaking and sweating, losing his composure.

## Relationships

* Father †
* Monique - Ex-Wife
* Janine Milk - Daughter

Allies* The Boys - Colleagues and Friends
	+ Billy Butcher - Leader and Close Friend
	+ Hughie Campbell - Friend
	+ Frenchie - Friend
	+ Kimiko Miyashiro - Friend
	+ Starlight - Close Friend
	+ Grace Mallory - Former Leader
* Susan Raynor † - Former Contact
* Cherie
* Lamplighter † - Former Enemy and Situational Ally
* Becca Butcher †
* Hugh Campbell Sr.
* Monique Milk
* Janine Milk
* Donna January
* Queen Maeve - Former Enemy
* The Legend - Friend

	+ The Seven
		- Homelander
		- Black Noir † - Attempted Killer
		- A-Train
		- The Deep
		- Stormfront †
	+ Sage Grove Center
		- Cindy - Attempted Killer
		- Love Sausage - Former Attempted Killer
* Mesmer †
* Kenji Miyashiro †
* Soldier Boy - Attempted Killer
* Crimson Countess †
* Todd - Rival
* Victoria Neuman

## Trivia

* Mother's Milk's custom ringtone for Monique is Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" and his custom ringtone for Billy Butcher is Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."
* Mother's Milk is Episcopalian.
* Milk is a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan and Outlander.
* He is the only member of The Boys to not have killed anyone (On screen).
* Mother's Milk might have OCD.

## References

1. ↑ *Herogasm*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 *Get Some*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Good for the Soul*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 *Glorious Five Year Plan*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 *We Gotta Go Now*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 *The Female of the Species*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 *The Big Ride*
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 *The Innocents*
9. ↑ *You Found Me*
10. ↑ *Proper Preparation and Planning*
11. ↑ *The Bloody Doors Off*
12. ↑ *Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed*
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 *What I Know*
14. ↑ *Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker*
15. ↑ *Barbary Coast*
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 *Nothing Like It in the World*
17. ↑ *Payback*
18. ↑ *The Only Man in the Sky*