Agent Cody was a government agent investigating cults across the United States.
History
Cody was an agent of an unspecified federal law enforcement agency in the late 1960s. Known for being a cult-buster, Cody fashioned a career for himself by infiltrating various counterculture communities, including the hippie rock band, Fifth World Raga. He befriended the group's lead singer, Snake, and began working as his band manager. Through Snake, Cody met the spiritual nature guide known as Brown Mary.
Not long after, Cody garnered the attention of a secret society known as the Mammonites. The Mammonite leaders recognized that Brown Mary's influence over the youth of America threatened the social stability of the entire nation. They recruited Agent Cody to their cause and instructed him to destabilize Fifth World Raga's cultural influence.
He arranged for Brown Mary and Snake to meet him at a small commune in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He told them that an activist group was establishing a movement there to propagate Native American values, and he felt that they would be interested. When Brown Mary and Snake arrived however, Cody surreptitiously had the trunk of Snake's Thunderbird filled with illegal automatic weapons. He then contacted the FBI and arranged for them to stage a raid on the commune. The raid evolved into a massive firefight and the site erupted into chaos. During the melee, Cody abducted Brown Mary while Snake ran for the hills. Federal agents gunned down everyone else in attendance and set the place to flame.
Cody brought Brown Mary to his home in Laurel Canyon. Recognizing that Mary was responsible for a psychedelic phenomenon known as the Ghostdance, he set out to utterly debase and destroy her spirit. What he didn't know at the time was that Brown Mary was actually the repository for an animal spirit known as White-Buffalo-Woman. Cody continued to abuse her and forced her to become chemically dependent on cocaine. Brown Mary lost all sense of identity and her connection to the spirit world was severed. Cody soon learned however, that Mary had conceived a child (the father of whom remains unknown) during her time with Fifth World Raga. After giving birth, Cody took the infant away from her and delivered him to his Mammonite superiors. The Mammonites named the child, Christopher, and raised him in seclusion at their quarantine in Fort Edgar.
For the next twenty years, Agent Cody continued to serve the Mammonite cause. He kept Brown Mary locked away in his home on Mulholland Drive, where he regularly violated and abused her. He debased her even further by attributing mocking nicknames to her, such as Hemp-Cow and Squaw.
In 1995, Brown Mary's son, Brother Christopher, learned that his mother was still alive. He broke free of his confines at Fort Edgar and set about looking for her. His journey brought him into contact with another animal spirit totem known as Coyote-Old-Man. Coyote-Old-Man and Christopher (now using his birth-name, Snot-Boy) invaded Cody's house and rescued Brown Mary. The spirit of White-Buffalo-Woman awakened within her, and she regained her totem-spirit power.
Cody learned that White-Buffalo-Woman was to reunite with Snake at a Fifth World Raga reunion concert. The concert threatened to unleash the majesty of the spirit world onto the Earth, ushering in a new age of enlightenment commonly referred to as the Fifth World. Seeking to upset these plans, Cody caught up with Snot-Boy. He told him that Snake was the one responsible for making his mother insane and abandoning her twenty years ago. Snot-Boy knew the truth however and rejected Cody's lies. Cody attempted to assassinate Snot-Boy on the concert stage, but Snake intercepted the bullet intended for Snot-Boy and died soon after.
As the era of the Fifth World began to unveil itself, White-Buffalo-Woman caught up with Agent Cody. She pursued him into the middle of the desert where she exacted her revenge upon him for the past twenty years worth of torment. Assuming her true buffalo form, she leapt upon him and trampled Cody to death beneath her cloven hooves.
Powers and Abilities
Weaknesses
Substance abuse issues
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Agent Cody possessed a supply of drug-related paraphernalia.
Transportation
Agent Cody drove a 1965 Ford Thunderbird. The car itself once belonged to a hippie named Fred Kominsky.
Weapons
Agent Cody regularly carried a variety of automatic and semi-automatic firearms.
Notes
- Despite the similarity in names, Agent Cody has nothing in common with the feature film character, Agent Cody Banks. Whether Cody was actually his real name or not, has never been confirmed either.
- It has never been specified which federal agency Cody belonged to, but it was most likely the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). He was frequently seen in the company of individuals collectively referred to as the men-in-black.
Trivia
- The Pine Ridge raid as described in Agent Cody's history was partially inspired by the Ruby Ridge massacre of August 1992.
Related
- 7 Appearances of Cody (Ghostdancing)
- 2 Images featuring Cody (Ghostdancing)
- 1 Quotations by or about Cody (Ghostdancing)
- Character Gallery: Cody (Ghostdancing)
Footnotes
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers.Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.