Between that new baby smell and their little toothless smiles, most people can’t resist the cuteness of a precious rugrat. But what happens when that small tot has been mutated and enhanced with deadly powers? Fans of DC Comics are all too familiar with the terror of Baby Boom, are you?
Created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Todd McFarlane, the character made her debut appearance in Infinity Inc. #17 in 1985. Known alternatively as Babe or Baby Boom, she is one of the six genetically mutated children that formed the Helix. The discredited Dr. Amos Love experimented on fetuses in an effort to prove if superhumans could be created while in the womb. Love’s tinkering was successful and Baby Boom gained the ability to cause explosions with the power of her mind through a form of telekinesis. Unfortunately, in messing with her genetic makeup, Love caused her to physically stop aging. Although she is chronologically a young woman, Baby Boom still looks like a five-year-old child.
Ironically, despite being raised by a man named Love, neither Baby Boom or any child within Helix has ever known true parental love. Growing up without real parents, the Helix children harbored great resentment and bitterness that has led to their antisocial behavior. Since they were never taught right from wrong, the children were all unaware their criminal actions were incorrect. As part of Helix, Baby Boom often battled against the members of Infinity Inc. Eventually, Baby Boom took over leadership of Helix and began going by Babe. Around this time she also transformed her look from a Shirley Temple-esque appearance to a punk rocker look.
After briefly being imprisoned and serving out their various sentences, the members of Helix remained more or less in hiding. Later on, Babe and the other female members worked alongside the sorceress Circe in a plot against Wonder Woman. For a time, the whereabouts and activities about Babe were unknown. Until now. The Prime Earth version of the character recently made an appearance in Suicide Squad Annual Vol. 5 #1. While her cameo ends in a bang, it remains to be seen if Baby Boom will make anymore appearances. This is the comic universe after all.
