- "Crazy, perhaps... schizophrenic, definitely. But my associates and I all share one quality in common. We are curious... "
- --Be-One
Be-Three; illustration by Mike Ploog
Be-Three was an enlarged, disembodied mutant brain. He represented one-fifth of a composite cybernetic entity known as the Supreme Gestalt Commander (or Gestalt Mind in some cases). Be-Three and the rest of his collective were part of a vast electronic network located miles below the Earth in a region commonly referred to as the Forbidden Zone. They ran a society of Mutant Drones and a race of primitive hybrid slaves. Be-Three was schizophrenic and was prone for speaking in rhyme. Although the dominating partner entity, Be-One, recognized Be-Three's flaws, it regarded him as a valued aspect of the whole and was known to find wisdom in Be-Three's apparent ramblings. Like his gestalt colleagues, Be-Three loathed any organism that could be classified as non-mutant, and actively sought to exterminate those whose lives were not connected to that of the great machine. In its own backwards way, Be-Three felt that it was rendering humanity a service by destroying them. By taking away their lives, they would also be eliminating the physical discomforts of life.
In the mid-21st century, the human refugee Jason, and his chimpanzee companion, Alexander, ventured into the mutant caverns in search of the simian spiritual leader – the Lawgiver. A society of Mutant Drones called the Inheritors discovered them and brought them before the Gestalt Commander. Upon Be-Three's recommendation, the Gestalt entity consigned Jason and Alex to death. However, the two non-mutants managed to escape confinement and free the Lawgiver.
Some time after finally overcoming their bitter rivals the Makers, the Inheritors were subdued by the mutant Fellowship and forced to serve their needs. Be-One, Be-Three and Be-Eight were rescued by their slaves and taken to the Central Park Zoo, where they plotted their liberation, but Be-Six remained imprisoned. The ape outcast Mungwortt befriended the Inheritors' slaves and led a mutiny in which the carnivorous slaves gorged themselves on the ancient brains, ending Be-Three's existence.
Notes[]
- The concept of the Supreme Gestalt Commander and its collective brain organisms was created by writer Doug Moench and artist Mike Ploog.
- As a disembodied brain, Be-Three is a sexually ambiguous creature. It is unknown whether its personality and biological make-up are intended to represent a man or a woman.
Appearances[]
- Planet of the Apes Magazine: Terror on the Planet of the Apes (first appearance in Planet of the Apes Magazine #3)
- Death of the Planet of the Apes