Swarm (Marvel Comics)

Swarm is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Mainly featured as an enemy of Spider-Man,[3] the character's entire body is composed of bees.[4]

Swarm
Swarm
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceChampions #14 (July 1977)
Created byBill Mantlo
John Byrne
In-story information
Alter egoFritz von Meyer
Team affiliationsNazi Germany
Exterminators[1]
Sinister Six[2]
Hateful Hexad
AbilitiesFlight
Intangibility
Shapeshifting
Ability to mentally manipulate the bees that compose his body

Publication history

Swarm first appeared in Champions #14 (July 1977). He was created by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne.[5]

Fictional character biography

Fritz von Meyer was born in Leipzig, Germany and became one of Adolf Hitler's top scientists specializing in toxicology and melittology. Escaping capture after World War II, he was a beekeeper or apiarist in South America and discovered a colony of mutated bees. Intrigued by their intelligence and passive nature, von Meyer attempted to enslave the queen bee but failed and the bees devoured him, leaving only his skeleton. The bees' unique qualities caused von Meyer's consciousness to be absorbed into them, allowing him to manipulate the hive to do his will while his skeletal remains are inside the swarm itself. His consciousness merged with the hive to the extent that they are one being, calling himself/themselves "Swarm".[6]

Swarm battled the Champions.[7] After being defeated, Swarm resurfaced to battle the original Spider-Man (Peter Parker).[8] In the first of many fights, Spider-Man prevailed against him when the web-slinger's own costume is dosed in a new type of insecticide that hurt the bees if they got too close. Swarm lost his/their skeleton in this battle but returned to fight again (no longer having the skeleton but still possessing von Meyer's consciousness), first teaming with Kraven the Hunter against Iceman and Firestar,[9] then against Spider-Man,[10] but feedback from a weapon fired by the Rhino caused Swarm's bee body to disperse temporarily.

Swarm next appears when a Super-Collider from Rand Industries is activated and called his/their attention.[11] Swarm decides mankind should be exterminated so insects can rule the world. Doctor Druid convinced Swarm that mankind will exterminate themselves and the age of insects can begin.[12] Eventually, Swarm was tired of waiting and returned to New York, after a psychic wave generated by Onslaught disrupted the psychic field that bonded him and the bees together. He forced a group of scientists investigating energy fields to help him not only restore his original field, but expand it to grant him control of every bee on Earth. As New York City is invaded by bees, the second Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) tracked the bees to their destination and — taking advantage of the fact that the swarms' instinctive memory of Peter's use of Raid caused the bees to automatically flinch away from Spider-Man — infiltrated the building to contact the scientists. By claiming that the scientists' equipment is having trouble broadcasting a sufficiently powerful signal through the dome of bees, Spider-Man is able to trick Swarm into allowing a device's construction designed to negate the vibrational frequency that the bees create to allow themselves to fly, presenting it as a means of boosting the existing signal's power. With the bees now grounded, Spider-Man subsequently recovers the queen of Swarm's hive and leaves the authorities' care, reasoning Swarm won't be a future threat without her.[13]

Now back with an internal skeleton, Swarm felt that the criminal organization Pride's fall allowed access to their former territory, specifically Los Angeles. However, he/they are defeated by the Los Angeles' protector Runaways when his/their body of bees' mental link is disrupted by electrical blasts.[14]

Swarm regained control over his colony and joins the Chameleon's Exterminators[1] to kill Spider-Man now that Parker's true identity is revealed. Swarm attacks Mary Jane Watson but Mary Jane sprays Swarm with water while a co-worker smashes Swarm's skeleton, but the bees reformed around the skeleton as Stark Industries' bodyguards take him/them away.

When Alyosha Kravinoff began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, Swarm is in one of the cages.[15] He fought Gargoyle as the Punisher passes them and escaped.

Swarm next turns up in Denver, Colorado, having amassed enough bees to become giant-sized. The Thunderbolts face him/them unsuccessfully until Venom is dispatched, devouring Swarm's bones. Norman Osborn speculated this was (by now) a minor inconvenience that shouldn't prevent Swarm's return.[16]

Swarm next turns up in Buenos Aires, having his intelligence again. He fought the Mighty Avengers by creating 'avatars' made of bees. Notably, the Avengers' roster included Hank Pym, Stature and Amadeus Cho. Stature placed an inhibitor collar on the queen bees which caused Swarm's intelligence to somehow disperse.[17]

He was briefly seen trying to launch an attack of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning only to be almost instantly thwarted by the X-Men's Krakoa, the Bamfs, and Doop.[18]

Swarm later formed his own incarnation of the Sinister Six with 8-Ball, Delilah, Killer Shrike, Melter and Squid. They attack Spider-Man and the students of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Swarm gets dispersed by Hellion which caused the other members to surrender.[2]

Swarm later attacked New York but was defeated by Squirrel Girl and her ally Koi Boi covering him with water and turning bags full of his constituent bees in to the police.[19]

Swarm later appeared as a member of the Hateful Hexad alongside Bearboarguy, Gibbon, Ox, Squid and White Rabbit. During the disastrous battle against Spider-Man and Deadpool, the battle is crashed by Itsy Bitsy.[20] Swarm relocates to Florida, where he encounters Macrothrax and his minions, like him sentient insect colonies in humanoid form, accidentally created by the invention which created him. He ends up joining forces with Ant-Man and taking a liking to him.[21]

Powers and abilities

Swarm is a composite being of hundreds of thousands of bees driven by a human intelligence. He is technically intangible, as his body is merely an aggregate of tiny forms. He can fly through the air and assume any shape and size he desires. He can mentally influence the actions of other bees, the full range of which may extend over hundreds of yards in radius. With the aid of a team of scientists, Swarm was briefly able to enhance his power to the point where he could have theoretically taken control of every bee on Earth, but this plan was averted by Spider-Man. At first, Swarm seemed capable of only controlling other bees, but he has exhibited the ability to communicate/control other insects as well. Fritz von Meyer's skeleton, the focal point of his consciousness, remained behind as his only remains until being devoured by Venom.[16]

Other versions

Marvel Fairy Tales

In the second issue of the Spider-Man line of Marvel Fairy Tales (an adaptation of the legend of Anansi), an alternate version of Swarm appears as the stories' main villain, the Bee Spirit.[22]

Marvel Adventures

Swarm recently appeared and fought Spider-Man in Marvel Adventures. He/they supposedly wanted to take over the world (or at least kill a few jocks), but it looked like he/they just wanted some ice cream.[23]

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel equivalent of Swarm is Petra Laskov, a Syrian female mutant who initially appears as the supervillainess Insect Queen,[24] but is later renamed the superheroine Red-Wasp.[25] Laskov was the wife of Georgian activist Nikolai Laskov. The couple's child is held at gunpoint, forcing Laskov to kill her husband to save her own child. She does so, only for Laskov's child to be killed anyway, and then Laskov was raped by thugs.[24] Years later, she is a member of the supervillain Liberators group that invades the United States to kill many in order to put a stop to perceived American aggression. During a showdown with the Ultimates, Swarm is apparently killed after being stomped by the giant-sized Wasp.[26] However, she is later rebuilt as the Red-Wasp.[25] When the Avengers fight the Red Skull, Red-Wasp is tormented until Captain America and Hawkeye save the team. Afterwards, she (disguised as a nurse) shoots her family's executioner in the head in a hospital.[27] Her abilities as the inhuman-esque Swarm are to control insects (albeit fully corporeal) with Margali Szardos's similar features of grey skin and horns while her abilities as the human-looking Red-Wasp is an aggressive variation of the Wasp.

Marvel Noir

The Marvel Noir universe's equivalent is Madame Sturm, a Nazi scientist. She finds the same Spider-God totem behind Peter Parker's powers which she uses to mutate herself into a bee god and calls herself Madame Swarm. She is defeated when Spider-Man Noir lures her towards a Nazi blimp that Miles Morales blows up with the Venom sting.[28]

In other media

Television
  • A variation of Swarm appeared in a self-titled episode of the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated series, voiced by Al Fann.[29] This version was originally a beehive irradiated by a fallen meteorite's energy, gaining sentience as well as the ability to increase other bees' size and mutate humans into insect hybrid drones. It attempts to spread its hive mind throughout the universe until Spider-Man, Firestar, and Iceman intervene and launch the meteorite back into space to reverse Swarm's effects.
  • An adapted iteration of Swarm named Michael Tan appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series,[30] voiced by Eric Bauza (in "Swarm"),[31][29] and Drake Bell (in "Sandman Returns").[32][29] This version utilizes a swarm of self-replicating nanobots. Debuting in the episode "Swarm", Tan started out as a disgruntled and immature employee of Stark Industries who worked on a device to control technology, only to be fired by Iron Man. He activates the device in retaliation, which fuses his molecules with Spider-Man's spider-tracer and activates when the web-slinger attempted to use it on the Juggernaut. Taking the name Swarm, he attempts to assimilate Iron Man's technology, but Spider-Man and Iron Man are able to defeat him by using the former's spider-tracer and the latter's arc reactor to amplify a nullifying frequency. With Swarm neutralized, Iron Man confiscates his nanobots in an attempt to reconfigure him. In "Sandman Returns", Swarm attempts to assimilate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology, but is defeated by Spider-Man and Sandman. In "HYDRA Attacks" Pt. 1, Swarm is a prisoner on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Tri-Carrier before Doctor Octopus's miniature Octobot combined with Swarm's nanobots to convert the headquarters into Arnim Zola's HYDRA Island.
  • The Fritz von Meyer incarnation of Swarm appears in the Marvel Super Hero Adventures animated series, voiced by Ian James Corlett.[29]
  • The Swarm identity appears in the Spider-Man: Maximum Venom animated series as the alter-ego of Jefferson Davis (voiced by Alex Desert).[33] This version utilizes purple nanotech bees that grant him a solid form and can use their stingers to mind control humans.

Novels

The Symbiotic Warfare Anthophila Restraining Model (S.W.A.R.M.) appears in the comic book adaptation of the 2018 Spider-Man video game, Spider-Man: City at War.[34]

Toys

An action figure of the Fritz von Meyer incarnation of Swarm was released in 1997 as part of the Spider-Man: Spider Force toy line. It was molded in a translucent yellow plastic and featured a removable cape and hood as well as snap-on bee armor which could also be assembled to create a "giant" bee accessory.

Theatre

The Fritz von Meyer incarnation of Swarm appears in the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, played by Gerald Avery. He appears as a member of the Sinister Six.

Reception

In August 2009, TIME listed Swarm as one of the "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters".[35]

Swarm was ranked #29 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters in 2015.[36]

References
  1. Exterminators (Spider-Man foes)
  2. Spider-Man and the X-Men #4
  3. Morris, Jon (2017). The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History. Quirk Books. p. 249. ISBN 978-1594749322.
  4. Cowsill, Alan; Manning, Matthew K. (2012). Spider-Man Chronicle: Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. DK Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 978-0756692360.
  5. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 366. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  6. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 334. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  7. Champions #14–15 (1977)
  8. Spectacular Spider-Man #36–37
  9. Spider-Man Family Amazing Friends #1
  10. Lethal Foes of Spider-Man #3–4
  11. Secret Defenders #18
  12. Secret Defenders #19
  13. Sensational Spider-Man #9–10
  14. Runaways vol. 2 #7
  15. The Punisher War Journal vol. 2 #15
  16. Thunderbolts #122
  17. Mighty Avengers #24
  18. Wolverine and the X-Men #18
  19. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7
  20. Spider-Man/Deadpool #9
  21. Ant-Man #1-#2 (February & March 2020)
  22. C. B. Cebulski (w), Niko Hendrichon (p), Niko Hendrichon (i). "Once Upon A Time..." Marvel Fairy Tales 2 (August 2007), Marvel Comics
  23. Marvel Adventures #38
  24. Ultimate Avengers #5
  25. Ultimate Comics: Avengers #3
  26. Ultimates 2 #12
  27. Ultimate Avengers #6
  28. Spider-Verse Vol. 3 #5
  29. https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Spider-Man/Swarm/
  30. Goldman, Eric (20 April 2012). "Ultimate Spider-Man: Make Way for Iron Man!". IGN.com. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  31. "Swarm". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 2. Episode 11. June 9, 2013. Disney XD.
  32. "Sandman Returns". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 2. Episode 24. October 27, 2013. Disney XD.
  33. "Spider-Man Unmasked". Spider-Man. Season 3. Episode 4. August 16, 2020. Disney XD.
  34. Spider-Man: City At War #2
  35. "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters". Time. August 31, 2009.
  36. Buxton, Marc (October 30, 2015). "Marvel's 31 Best Monsters". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Swarm is a very obscure villain who made his debut in the pages of The Champions of all places. So why is he on our list? Because he's a freakin' Nazi Scientist- MADE OF EVIL BEES!
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