History

Origin

Mark Diering had the love for the outdoors and would graduate from college with a degree in forestry. He became a park ranger in the state of Washington and for three years he became one of the Ranger Corps. A few months later he learned about ten thousand acres of virgin timberland which was going to be sold to a private developer thanks to some bad federal legislation. He tried to fight it through legal channels to save some Redwoods older than the United States, but was laughed out of court. He was so enraged that those redwood trees were getting axed that he began a one man campaign to sabotage the developer's operation. Diering would put sand in their gas tanks, wreck access roads, spike trees and any ecoterrorist technique in the book to stop these developers. After a few weeks, he had cost the developers several hundred thousands of dollars in damages. One day he got caught by some loggers and was beaten to death. They dumped his body in a ditch and buried him. A vision appeared to him as he layed underground. The goddess of the Earth appeared to him and told Diering that he could not die because there was still work to be done. The goddess appointed Diering as nature's guardian warrior and endowed him with the ability to put all of the natural forces at his command. He called himself Brother Nature and would declare total war on everybody who would rape his land.

Brother Nature caught the attention of Steve Rogers when a news report stated that he was wanted in the state of Washington for ecological saboteur. Rogers was a normal civilian at the time and no longer had his shield or costume. Rogers was in Washington at a local diner when that news report appeared. The local loggers were enraged and wanted to start their own watchdog committee to catch Brother Nature. They were going to target park rangers and head down to a ranger station to let them know they mean business. Rogers stopped the unruly mob and left in his van. During his travel, the road before him began to split open and his van crashed into the open crevice. Rogers managed to escape on his bike and decided to investigate the local quake. Brother Nature would appear and told Rogers that he meant no harm to anyone and that he was protecting the local trees. Rogers quickly figured out that he was the one responsible for causing certain ecological catastrophes and confronted Brother Nature. A powerful wind gust struck Rogers off his feet and Brother Nature fled the scene. Rogers quickly recovered and began to search for Brother Nature in the woods. Rogers finds Brother Nature behind a herd of deer and tells him that he is wanted and that his actions were endangering lives. Brother Nature told Rogers to go away and that nature is full of fury cause of what men do to her. Suddenly the bucks charged towards Rogers but he managed to avoid getting trampled and finds Brother Nature again. Nature's guardian can't believe that this man is still chasing him so he sends numerous animals to attack Rogers. Rogers manages to escape the animal attack and finds Brother Nature once again. He attacks Rogers with lightning bolts and causes the ground beneath him to open up. However both men fall into the trench and Brother Nature breaks his ankle during the fall. Sometime later Brother Nature wakes up and Rogers tells him that he is not the enemy and that they are not going anywhere until he relaxes. Rogers reveals to Diering that he used to be called Captain America. Diering told Rogers that he could relate to his situation and reveals his origin to him. Rogers carries Brother Nature out of the trench and he sees the local devastation he had caused. He is upset at himself for doing the thing he was trying to prevent and would take responsibility for his actions.

Creation

Brother Nature was created by Mark Gruenwald and Tom Morgan in 1987 and first appeared in Captain America # 336.

Story Arcs

Years later, Brother Nature is confronted in the forest by the Thunderbolts for not registering under the Superhuman Registration Act. Brother Nature puts up a fight and strikes Radioactive Man with a lightning bolt. The bolt destroyed his containment suit and Radioactive Man tells Brother Nature that he will reach critical mass very soon. Songbird talks to Brother Nature and tells him that his forest is endangered if he continues to fight. Brother Nature surrendered and agrees to register under the Superhuman Registration Act.

Powers & Abilities

Brother Nature has the ability to place all of the natural forces under his command. He can control any natural element or animal within his vicinity. He can cause earthquakes, make powerful wind gusts, strike with lightning bolts and have animals attack anyone who would harm his land.