Beetle (comics)
| Beetle | |
|---|---|
 Spider-Man: Web of Doom #3 featuring the second Beetle armor and the version most associated with the name Art by Shawn McManus |
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Strange Tales #123 (August 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Carl Burgos |
| Characters | Abner Jenkins Leila Davis |
The Beetle is the name used by multiple comic book characters owned by Marvel Comics. It is also the name of the three versions of high tech armor used by five separate characters.
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Publication history [edit]
The first version of the Beetle armor debuted in the "Human Torch" segment of Strange Tales #123 (August 1964) as the creation of Abner Jenkins. This version was beaten by the Thing and Torch. This version would only be used for a few years before the character switched to the second version, which is the armor most associated with the name. This version would be in use until Thunderbolts #1 (April 1997) when Abe Jenkins alter ego was changed to MACH-1.
A new version of the Beetle armor debuted in Thunderbolts #35 (February 2000). This version resembled a walking tank and would be used by Jenkins and Leila Davis, the second person to use the Beetle identity. This version was crushed by Graviton, killing Davis, who was still inside at the time.
After Leila Davis' death the Beetle armor would go unused until Thunderbolts #103 (August 2006) when all three versions were stolen and used by three college students. How, why and exactly when the third version of the armor was rebuilt was not made clear. The individual names of these characters were not revealed.
Fictional character biography [edit]
Abner Jenkins [edit]
An ex-master mechanic, Abe Jenkins left his career to pursue life as an adventurer seeking wealth and fame under the name, the Beetle. A defeat at the hands of the Fantastic Four sent him into the direction of a life of crime. Years later he joined a group named the Thunderbolts, a choice that eventually took him on a more heroic pathway in life.
Leila Davis [edit]
The widow of the minor supervillain the Ringer, Leila began her criminal career as a driver for the super villain team the Sinister Syndicate. After the Ringer's death Leila would go on to have her own costumed career, first as Hardshell, and finally as the Beetle. She was killed when Graviton crushed the Beetle armor with her still inside.
The three Beetles [edit]
Three college students stole the previous incarnations of the Beetle armor during Marvel's Civil War event.[1] The individual piloting the first version was called Joaquim and the person in the second version was revealed to be female. No other information was revealed about them in their subsequent appearances in Thunderbolts.[2]
In those issues which made up a storyline named the "Guardian Protocols", they defend the city of Dallas against a plot by the Grandmaster as members of an enlarged Thunderbolts team recruited by Baron Zemo and consisting of numerous supervillains.[volume & issue needed] When the Overmind lets the full power of the Wellspring (the source of power the Grandmaster is using) loose when he attempts to revive Baron Zemo, the defenders of Sydney and Dallas are overrun, with the three Beetles presumably among them.[volume & issue needed]
In 2007, the three Beetles were identified among the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative #1.[3]
"The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update" #5 revealed that the three college students that wear the three Beetle armors are named Joaquim Robichaux, Elizabeth Vaughn, and Gary Quinn.[4]
Janice [edit]
A new female Beetle attacks Captain America and Black Widow.[5] The two managed to defeat her and remand her to The Raft.[6]
As part of the Marvel NOW! event, the female Beetle appears as a member of the latest incarnation of the Sinister Six. In this appearance, her first name is revealed to be Janice.[7]
Other versions [edit]
Marvel UK [edit]
The name Beetle was used by an armored S.T.R.I.K.E. superhuman restraint squad in the Jaspers' Warp story arc[8] published by the Marvel UK imprint.
Ultimate Marvel [edit]
The Ultimate Marvel version of Beetle debuts in Ultimate Spider-Man #124. Spider-Man first finds him robbing a sample of the Venom symbiote from the Roxxon company. After the brief confrontation, Nick Fury tells Peter Parker not to get involved with the S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation. Beetle breaks into the building that Venom is held in and Venom chases after him. Upon cornering Beetle, Venom is attacked by Spider-Man. When Venom seizes Beetle with his tentacles, Spider-Man saves Beetle who escapes. After Eddie Brock becomes Venom again, Beetle captures him and ships him to Latveria.[9]
The Beetle's suit was later seen being repaired by Elijah Stern when the Sinister Six arrives looking for weapons to kill Spider-Man.[10]
In other media [edit]
The Beetle has made numerous appearances outside of comic books. Most of these happened when Abner Jenkins was the only character using the name and it is assumed that he is the character in the armor.
Television [edit]
- The Beetle appeared in the 1980s Saturday morning animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends voiced by Christopher Collins. The Beetle stole a crime-detection computer and the Power Booster invented by Tony Stark to increase his power. He was the first villain that the Spider-Friends faced together in that origin episode.
- The Beetle made a brief appearance in the Iron Man episode "Armor Wars" Pt. 1 voiced by John Reilly with a Liverpudlian accent that evokes the similarly named band. Beetle was attacked by Iron Man and had his armor (based on stolen Stark designs) deactivated.
- The Ultimate Marvel version of Beetle (as well as the three armors of his mainstream version) appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Beetle Mania" voiced by Steven Blum. Beetle is depicted as a highly capable criminal mercenary with a penchant for holding grudges, chiefly against Spider-Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson. A notable trademark of this version of the character is the unusually large amount of fold-out rocket launchers hidden all over the surface of his armor. In the episode "The Sinister Six," Beetle appeared as a member of the Sinister Six.
Video games [edit]
- Beetle appears in both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis games based on the animated series.
- The Beetle was the first boss in the 1995 Super Nintendo game Spider-Man: Lethal Foes, a game only released in Japan.
- The Beetle played a minor role in the sequel to the Spider-Man game for the PlayStation, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, voiced by Daran Norris. He only appeared in cut-scenes and did not appear as a boss character.
- In the Ultimate Spider-Man video game the Beetle (voiced by Tucker Smallwood) makes his Ultimate continuity debut, acting as an agent for the Latverians, collecting genetic information from superhumans to allow them to genetically engineer super-soldiers. The notable actions he took in the game were stealing a vial of sand (which it is implied the Ultimate Sandman has a connection) and freeing Norman Osborn (also known as the Green Goblin). He also battled Spider-Man shortly after freeing the Green Goblin, but escaped by ducking into the nearby Latverian Embassy. Concept art in the special edition of the game shows Beetle giving the Sandman vial to Doctor Doom. Beetle is later sent to capture a sample of the Venom symbiote. Venom eventually chases and defeats the Beetle.
References [edit]
- ^ Fabian Nicieza (w), Tom Grummett (p), Gary Erskine (i). "Taking Civil Liberties" Thunderbolts 103 (August 2006), Marvel Comics
- ^ These appearances were in:
- Fabian Nicieza (w), Tom Grummett (p), Gary Erskine (i). "Taking Civil Liberties" Thunderbolts 104 (September 2006)
- Fabian Nicieza (w), Tom Grummett (p), Gary Erskine (i). "Power Full" Thunderbolts 107 (December 2006)
- Fabian Nicieza (w), Tom Grummett (p), Gary Erskine (i). "Power Full" Thunderbolts 108 (January 2007)
- ^ "''Avengers: The Initiative'' #1 Character Map". Marvel.com. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #5
- ^ Ed Brubaker (w), Mitch Breitweiser (p), Mitch Breitweiser (i). "No Escape Part 2" Captain America v6, 607 (August 2010), Marvel Comics
- ^ Ed Brubaker (w), Butch Guice (p), Rick Magyar (i). "No Escape Part 3" Captain America v6, 608 (September 2010)
- ^ The Superior Spider-Man #1
- ^ Alan Moore (w), Alan Davis (a). "Among Those Dark Satanic Mills (or Madwar)" The Mighty World Of Marvel 9 (February 1984), Marvel UK
- ^ Brian Michael Bendis (w), Stuart Immonen (p), Wade Von Grawbadger (i). Ultimate Spider-Man 128 (January 2009), Marvel Comics
- ^ Ultimate Spider-Man #158
External links [edit]
- Beetle (disambiguation) at the Marvel Universe
- Beetle at the Marvel Database Project
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