Queen Bee is the name of six different characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Queen Bee has made limited appearances in media outside comics, with Marina Sirtis voicing the character in Young Justice.
Publication history
editThe Zazzala incarnation of Queen Bee first appeared in Justice League of America #23, and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The first Bialyan Queen Bee first appeared in Justice League International #16, and was created by J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen. The Tazzala incarnation of Queen Bee first appeared in Creature Commandos #1. The Beatriz incarnation of Queen Bee first appeared in JLA: Incarnations #6, and was created by John Ostrander and Val Semeiks.
Fictional character biographies
editQueen Bee (Zazzala)
edit| Queen Bee | |
|---|---|
 Queen Bee (Zazzala) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Justice League of America #23 (November 1963) |
| Created by | Gardner Fox Mike Sekowsky |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Zazzala |
| Place of origin | Korll |
| Team affiliations | Anti-Justice League Injustice Gang Secret Society of Super Villains H.I.V.E. Cabal |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength and speed Venomous darts Ability to release mind-confusing "pollen" powder |
Zazzala is the leader of the hiveworld Korll and lives for the expansion of her species.[1] Zazzala first appeared in Justice League of America #23 (November 1963).[2] She clashed with the original Justice League several times during the 1960s and 1970s, but largely disappeared for several decades.[3]
Zazzala reappears in JLA #34 (October 1999), where she joins Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang. The League ultimately defeats Queen Bee and returns her to Korll.
Later, Zazzala and her drones join Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains. The Queen becomes the leader of H.I.V.E., a multi-national criminal enterprise. In Villains United, the Secret Six attack Queen Bee's base during their battle against the Society. Her forces are defeated, the base's prisoners Firestorm and Gehenna are freed, and Zazzala is badly wounded.
One Year Later, Zazzala appears in JLA #20, fully healed from her injuries, and attempting to steal a matter transportation device that will allow her to transport her troops to earth. She is defeated by Wonder Woman and captured by the Flash.
In the DC Rebirth relaunch, Queen Bee appears as a member of the Cabal, a criminal organization made up of Per Degaton, Doctor Psycho, Amazo, and Hugo Strange.[4]
Queen Bee (Marcia Monroe)
edit| Queen Bee | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Brave and the Bold #64 (March 1966) |
| Created by | Bob Haney Win Mortimer |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Marcia Monroe |
| Team affiliations | CYCLOPS |
Marcia Monroe is a spoiled young woman, daughter of a wealthy man, who enjoys risking her life in absurd and pointless situations. Her playgirl attitude creates trouble for the police, who often try to save her from harm during her stunts. One day, she is rescued by Batman, who publicly spanks her. Shortly after this encounter, Marcia starts following Batman on his crime-busting activities and providing unrequested help.[5] Batman and Marcia later become a couple before she leaves him to join the crime syndicate CYCLOPS under the codename Queen Bee.
Queen Bee of Bialya
edit| Queen Bee | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Justice League International #16 (August 1988) |
| Created by | J.M. DeMatteis Keith Giffen |
An unrelated Queen Bee is introduced in Justice League International #16 (August 1988). She is a human "femme fatale" who gains control of Bialya by allying with its former ruler Rumaan Harjavti, then assassinating him. She solidifies her power by brainwashing the Global Guardians into serving her.[6] During the crossover event Breakdowns, Queen Bee is killed by Rumaan's brother Sumaan.[7]
Queen Bee (Tazzala)
edit| Queen Bee | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Creature Commandos #1 |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tazzala Beatriz |
| Place of origin | Korll |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength and speed Venomous darts Ability to release mind-confusing "pollen" powder |
Tazzala is the original Queen Bee's sister, who joins Simon Magus' Terra Arcana Army to conquer Earth. She is defeated by the Creature Commandos and killed by Magus.[8]
Queen Bee of Bialya (Beatriz)
editBeatriz is the Bialyan Queen Bee's sister, who becomes the new ruler of Bialya. She is later defeated by Captain Atom's Extreme Justice team and overthrown.
| Queen Bee | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | JLA: Incarnations #6 (December 2001) |
| Created by | John Ostrander Val Semeiks |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Beatriz |
| Place of origin | Korll |
H.I.V.E. Queen
editA new incarnation of Queen Bee is introduced in The New 52 continuity reboot. This version is the leader of H.I.V.E. and a member of the Twenty, a group of Metropolis citizens who gain psychic powers from a virus created by Brainiac.[9][10]
Powers and abilities
editThe first Queen Bee, Zazzala, has insect-like superhuman strength and speed, can fire venomous stinger darts from a set of glands on her right wrist, or release mind-confusing "pollen" powder.
Zazzala's sister, Tazzala, presumably had similar abilities.
The Queen Bee of Bialya had no superhuman powers or abilities, aside from her beauty and cunning. Her sister Beatriz was also an ordinary human, but was nowhere as resourceful as her sister.
The sixth Queen has great psionic powers including telepathy, mind control, empathy, illusion generation, telekinesis, and energy manipulation. She also displayed some sort of healing factor, being able to reconstruct her entire body from scratch after she was blasted to pieces by the Psycho Pirate. After being infected with Brainiac's psionic virus, she temporarily gains twelfth-level intellect similar to his.
Other characters named Queen Bee
editAction Comics
editLisa Raven appears in Action Comics #42 (November 1941). She is the daughter of a psychologist and was temporarily made evil after his invention malfunctioned.[11]
Quality Universe
editAn alternate Queen Bee appears in Blackhawk #38 (March 1951). Queen Bee was the leader of an organization called "The Golden Swarm". They poisoned prominent townspeople and swayed public opinion in their favor partly by their comely appearance. The Blackhawks defeat the Queen and her henchgirls by scaring them with mice.[12]
Melissa, aka Queen Bee, is a bee-like sorceress and the founder of the Thriae Society sorority at Mystik University. She grows a large following of brainwashed thralls by giving them cocktails that transform them into worker-bee like subjects.
Other versions
edit- An unidentified incarnation of Queen Bee appears in JLA/Avengers #4 as a brainwashed minion of Krona.
- An alternate universe variant of Queen Bee appears in Flashpoint. This version is a member of a resistance against the Amazons before being killed in battle with them.[13]
In other media
editTelevision
edit- The Zazzala incarnation of Queen Bee makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.[14]
- Queen Bee was intended to appear in the teaser for the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Mask of Matches Malone!", but due to issues with runtime, the segment was shortened and rewritten to feature Poison Ivy instead. Nonetheless, a draft of the original short featuring Queen Bee was made available on writer Gail Simone's message board.[15]
- The first Bialyan Queen Bee appears in Young Justice, voiced by Marina Sirtis.[14][16][17] This version possesses the power of persuasion over most men and some women and is a leading member of the Light.
Film
editThe moniker of H.I.V.E. Queen is used by Rose Wilson in Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons: The Movie.
Video games
edit- An unidentified incarnation of Queen Bee appears as a boss in Justice League Heroes, voiced by Abby Craden.
- An unidentified incarnation of Queen Bee appears as a boss in DC Universe Online, voiced by Cyndi Williams.[14]
- An unidentified incarnation of Queen Bee appears as a playable character in DC Unchained.
- The Zazzala incarnation of Queen Bee appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[18]
Miscellaneous
edit- The Zazzala incarnation of Queen Bee appears in the Super Friends tie-in comics.
- The Justice League Unlimited incarnation of Zazzala / Queen Bee appears in issue #6 of Justice League Adventures and issue #29 of the Justice League Unlimited tie-in comic book.[19][20]
- The Zazzala incarnation of Queen Bee appears in the DC Super Friends tie-in comics.[21]
References
edit- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 285–286. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ Wells, John (2015). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 125. ISBN 978-1605490458.
- ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
- ^ Plastic Man (vol. 5) #4. DC Comics.
- ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 301–302. ISBN 9780345501066.
- ^ (Justice League of America #53-54 • Justice League Europe #29-30)
- ^ Justice League America #55 (October 1991)
- ^ Creature Commandos #8 (December 2000)
- ^ Superman (vol. 3) #21 (August 2013)
- ^ Teen Titans (vol. 4) #23
- ^ Action Comics #42. DC Comics.
- ^ Blackhawk #38. Quality Comics.
- ^ Flashpoint: The Canterbury Cricket one-shot (June 2011)
- ^ a b c "Queen Bee Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 30, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Simone, Gail (September 28, 2010). "WAY Too Long Brave And The Bold Excerpt". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Marina Sirtis will be playing Queen Bee in Young Justice for Cartoon Network on YouTube
- ^ Weisman, Greg. "Search Ask Greg : Gargoyles : Station Eight". www.s8.org.
- ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Justice League Adventures #6
- ^ Justice League Unlimited #29
- ^ "Super Friends #23 - Mystery in Space (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
External links
edit- Queen Bee (Zazzala) at DC Comics Wiki