Bug-Eyed Bandit
| Bug-Eyed Bandit | |
|---|---|
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The Bug-Eyed Bandit's debut, on the cover of Atom #26. Art by Gil Kane. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Atom #26 (August-September 1966) |
| Created by |
Gardner Fox (script) Gil Kane (art) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Bertram Larvan |
| Team affiliations | Black Lantern Corps |
| Abilities | Control of insects |
Bug-Eyed Bandit is the name of two DC Comics supervillains, and two television series supervillains.
Fictional character biography
Bertram Larvan
Bertram Larvan was an inventor who designed a mechanical insect to control insect pests. Unfortunately, he had no financial backing to support his invention. He resolved to steal money he needed for his invention. He later used his invention to steal more. Soon, he had an army of mechanical insects. Two of his many insects were stag beetles who could bite through steel and spiders with webs that could support the weight of a man. Bertram took the name of the Bug-Eyed Bandit. He was thwarted by the Atom.[1]
Later, he accidentally discovers Atom's identity of Ray Palmer and fought him on different occasions. When he was about to use an amnesiac gas he had invented on Atom, he accidentally uses it on himself. He remains in a state of amnesia for years. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, millions of Shadow Demons, servants of the Anti-Monitor, attack the Earth. Bertram is one of the many casualties.[2] Marv Wolfman has gone on record saying that he killed both the original Bug-Eyed Bandit and the Ten-Eyed Man because he “couldn’t be part of a company that would print [them].”
In Grant Morrison's Animal Man storyline "Deus Ex Machina", Psycho-Pirate, while in Arkham Asylum, recreated characters removed from continuity. The Bug-Eyed Bandit (or a Pre-Crisis version of him) was one of them. Presumably, this character vanished from existence when the Psycho-Pirate's episode of madness ended, along with his colleagues.[3]
A flashback concerning his death happens in Batman Villains Secret Files and Origins 2005.
Bertram Larvan has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice. He is revived as a member of the Black Lantern Corps.[4]
Son of the Bug-Eyed Bandit
| Bug-Eyed Bandit | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Justice League America #43 (October 1990) |
| Created by |
Keith Giffen J.M. DeMatteis Adam Hughes |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Abilities | Control of insects |
The second Bug-Eyed Bandit is first presented as such in Adventures of Superman.[5] But his first appearances can be traced as far back as Justice League America #43 (1990), where a Bug-Eyed Bandit appeared even though the original was supposed to be dead at the time. The current one is the son of the original Bug-Eyed Bandit, but not very successful.
He recently reappeared in Villains United and Infinite Crisis as a member of Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Society. His current whereabouts are unknown.[6]
Powers and abilities
The Bug-Eyed Bandit was proficient in the field of robotics and micro-circuitry and used this talent to create a horde of small robotic insects.
In other media
- The Bertram Larvan version of Bug-Eyed Bandit appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. This version possesses the ability to shrink down to the size of an insect. In "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure", he is shown fighting the Atom on Aquaman's windshield in micro-size until Aquaman wipes them off with his windshield wipers. In "The Criss Cross Conspiracy", the shrunken Batman and Atom end up fighting Bug-Eyed Bandit and his robotic ants where the two gain the unlikely help from Aquaman.
- A female version of the Bug-Eyed Bandit appears in The Flash episode "All Star Team Up", portrayed by Emily Kinney.[7] Brie Larvan is a scientist armed with robotic bees that she controls remotely.[8] She was fired from her position at Mercury Labs by Tina McGee when fellow scientists Lindsay Kang and Bill Carlisle discovered that Brie intended to weaponize her project rather than use it for agricultural purposes. Growing bitter at this, Brie planned her revenge on the three of them. She manages to kill Kang and Carlisle with robotic bees with stingers containing apitoxin, and she is nicknamed the "Bug-Eyed Bandit" by Cisco Ramon and Ray Palmer. Brie's attempt to kill Tina McGee are thwarted when Palmer uses his exo-suit to lure the bees over water to disable their circuitry. With help from Felicity Smoak, Flash then tracks Brie to her base and captures her.
- Emily Kinney reprises her role as Brie Larvan in the Arrow episode "Beacon of Hope". Imprisoned in Iron Heights after fighting Flash, Brie uses her court-sanctioned computer time to change her prison release date to March 30th, 2016. She has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on her spine, one which will render her paraplegic once it's removed. She takes Palmer Tech's board members hostage using improved robotic bee drones - ones that can adapt to attacks - to force Felicity Smoak to turn over schematics to the prototype microchip that allows Felicity to walk after being paralyzed herself. Green Arrow and his team try to rescue the hostages, but one of the drones lodges itself inside his body and begins replicating itself, threatening to release dozens more drones. Palmer Tech employee Curtis Holt helps Team Arrow successfully destroy the mini-swarm, then devises a method to hack Larvan's remaining bees, commanding them to sting her. The overdose of apitoxin from the stings leaves Brie in a coma. Although Brie's actions were criminal, it changes Felicity's perspective of how Palmer Tech should be used to change people's lives for the better rather than just being a corporate entity chasing profit.[9]
References
- ↑ Atom #26 (August-September 1966)
- ↑ "Crisis On Infinite Earths" (1985)
- ↑ "Animal Man" #18-26 (1989-1990)
- ↑ "Blackest Night" #4 (2010)
- ↑ Adventures of Superman #608 (November 2002)
- ↑ "Infinite Crisis" (2005)
- ↑ "Emily Kinney Confirmed As The Bug-Eyed Bandit On The Flash". ComicBook.com. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- ↑ "Emily Kinney's Supervillain Will "Wreak Havoc on the World"". The Hollywood Reporter. April 13, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ↑ "'Arrow' recap: Star City is abuzz with a returning threat". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
External links
- Bug-Eyed Bandit (Bertram Larvan) at DC Comics Wiki
- Bug-Eyed Bandit II at DC Comics Wiki
- Bug-Eyed Bandit at Comic Vine
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