Bug-Eyed Bandit is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. A female version of the Bug-Eyed Bandit appeared in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

shows '' The Flash'' and '' Arrow'', played by

Emily Kinney Emily Rebecca Kinney is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for her role as Beth Greene on AMC's horror drama television series '' The Walking Dead'' (2011–2015, 2018). Kinney has also appeared on several other televisi ...

Publication history

The Bertram Larvan version of Bug-Eyed Bandit first appeared in ''

The Atom The Atom is a name shared by five superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Golden Age of comic books, Golden Age Atom, Atom (Al Pratt), Al Pratt, was created by writer Bill O'Connor and artist Ben Flin ...

'' #26 (August-September 1966) and was created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

. The second version of Bug-Eyed Bandit first appeared in ''Justice League America'' #43 and was created by

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography ...

, J.M. DeMatteis, and

Adam Hughes Adam Hughes (born May 5, 1967) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as ''Wonder Woman'' and ''Catwoman''. H ...

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 Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, ...

. Later, he accidentally discovered the 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 "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...

'', millions of Shadow Demons, servants of the Anti-Monitor, attack the Earth. Bertram is one of the many casualties. 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

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the g ...

. In Grant Morrison's '' Animal Man'' storyline "Deus Ex Machina",

Psycho-Pirate The Psycho-Pirate is the name of two supervillains appearin in American comic books published by DC Comics. Bob Frazer portrayed the character for his live action debut during The CW's 2018 Arrowverse crossover "Elseworlds (Arrowverse), Elseworld ...

, 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. 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.

Son of the Bug-Eyed Bandit

The second Bug-Eyed Bandit is first presented as such in '' Adventures of Superman''. 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. Bug-Eyed Bandit recently reappeared in ''

Villains United ''Villains United'' is a six-issue 2005 comic book limited series, published by DC Comics, written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Dale Eaglesham and Wade Von Grawbadger, and later by Val Semeiks and Prentis Rollins. Publication history ''Vil ...

'' and ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' as a member of Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s

Society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

. His current whereabouts are unknown.

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 Bug-Eyed Bandit appears in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...

. This version is able to shrink down to the size of an insect. * A female version of the Bug-Eyed Bandit named Brie Larvan appears in TV series set in the

, portrayed by

. She is a scientist armed with robotic bees loaded with apitoxin that she can control remotely. Introduced in '' The Flash'' episode "All Star Team Up", Larvan is fired from her job at Mercury Labs for weaponizing her robotic bees instead of using them for agricultural purposes and kills two of her former coworkers with them. She almost kills her employer,

Tina McGee Tina McGee is a fictional character appearing in The Flash comic book series published by DC Comics. She first appeared in ''The Flash'' (vol. 2) #3. Tina McGee is a nutritionist and researcher for STAR Labs. Tina McGee made her live action de ...

, but Larvan is defeated by the combined efforts of Ray Palmer, the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

, and

Felicity Smoak Felicity Smoak is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. Her first appearance was in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Rafael Kayanan. She was originally the manager of ...

. Larvan later appears in the '' Arrow'' episode "Beacon of Hope". Imprisoned in

Iron Heights Iron Heights Penitentiary is a fictional setting in the , a maximum-security prison which houses the many Flash rogues and superhuman criminals of Keystone City and Central City when captured. Iron Heights first appeared in ''Flash: Iron Heights ...

following the events of "All Star Team Up", Brie uses her court-sanctioned computer time to change her prison release date so she can get out early. Having been diagnosed with a spinal tumor that will render her paraplegic once it is removed, she takes Palmer Technologies' board members hostage using upgraded robotic bees to force Smoak to give her schematics for the prototype microchip that allowed the formerly paralyzed Smoak to walk. Green Arrow and his team try to rescue the hostages, but one of the drones lodges itself inside his body and begins replicating, threatening to release dozens more. Palmer Tech employee Curtis Holt helps Team Arrow successfully destroy the mini-swarm before devising a method to hack Larvan's remaining bees, commanding them to sting her. The overdose of apitoxin leaves Larvan in a coma as she is taken by the police and put in Starling General Hospital to be treated. As of the ''Flash'' episode "Gone Rogue", Larvan came out of her coma, receives Spencer Young's meta-tech cellphone to control her robotic bees, and joins forces with Rag Doll, the Weather Witch, and XS for a heist at McCulloch Technologies. While Larvan and Weather Witch betray XS, they are apprehended by the Flash.

References

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 {{Gardner Fox Characters created by Gardner Fox Characters created by Gil Kane DC Comics scientists DC Comics supervillains Comics characters introduced in 1966 Comics characters introduced in 1990 Characters created by Keith Giffen Characters created by J. M. DeMatteis Fictional roboticists Fictional entomologists