Overdrive (comics)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Overdrive (James Beverley) is a
fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...
villain, appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
.


Publication history

Created by Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez, Overdrive first appeared in ''Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift'' (May 2007), a Free Comic Book Day issue set after the events of the '' Spider-Man: One More Day'' storyline. Something of a throwaway joke character, Overdrive made a few inconsequential appearances throughout Dan Slott's run on '' The Amazing Spider-Man''. As part of Marvel NOW! and the ''
Superior Spider-Man Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...
'' relaunch, Overdrive joined the Sinister Six and featured as one of the main characters in ''
Superior Foes of Spider-Man ''The Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' was an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in July 2013. The series was written by Nick Spencer with artwork by Steve Lieber. It debuted as part of ''Superior Spider-Month'' which ...
''.


Fictional character biography

James Beverley is a race car driver who had dreams of being a superhero. When every attempt failed and he ended up in an accident, he gained the assistance of
Power Broker In political science, a power broker is a person who influences people to vote towards a particular client (i.e. elected official or referendum) in exchange for political and financial benefits. Power brokers can also negotiate deals with other p ...
.
Mister Negative Mister Negative is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, the Punisher, and Cloak & Dagger. The character was created by Dan Slott and Phil Jime ...
approached him and offered him a job in his criminal organization.''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 5 #39. Marvel Comics. Overdrive was hired by Mister Negative to steal an artifact from a museum, but was unable to deliver it because of interference from
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
. Overdrive led Spider-Man on a high-speed chase through the streets of Manhattan. When Spider-Man smashed the windshield of Overdrive's car, it revealed dozens of pieces of Spider-Man-related merchandise such as bobble-heads, air-fresheners, and action figures. Overdrive declared that he was Spider-Man's "biggest fan", even asking for an autograph as Spider-Man was trying to stop him. The chase finally culminated in a car-wreck that had Overdrive and his vehicle hanging from a bridge in New York by Spider-Man's webbing with Spider-Man's trademark note, "Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man". Overdrive asked the police who were on the scene to arrest him if he could keep the note. Overdrive was then sent by Mister Negative to steal the Sonic Pulse Generator from a laboratory but he failed again when he met Spider-Man once again. Mister Negative told his men to dispose of Overdrive and they put him in the trunk of Mister Negative's limo and Overdrive was able to escape them by converting the limo into one of his "tricked out" cars. Ever since Lily Hollister's baby was stolen by the
Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...
, Spider-Man had been going on a rampage against any villains involved. The police recovered a web ball containing Overdrive,
Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...
, and Diablo. Peter Parker later sees Overdrive kidnapping Terri Hilman, the daughter of a powerful socialite. Since his costume is dirty after the battle with Doctor Octopus, Peter is forced to use a Halloween Spider-Man costume. Overdrive transforms the limousine he is driving into a copy of the Spider-Mobile. He then shoots Peter with webs pinning him into a wall. However, Peter manages to take Overdrive out from the car and leave him hanging for the police. While working for
Kingpin Kingpin or king pin may refer to: Vehicular part * Kingpin (automotive part), the pivot in the steering mechanism ** The central bolt of a skateboard, axle assembly ("truck"), around which the rest of the mechanism can flex, allowing the rider ...
, Overdrive fought
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
. As part of the " Marvel NOW!," Overdrive was hired by Boomerang to be a part of his version of the Sinister Six. Overdrive stole the original Big Wheel vehicle and upgraded it through his powers. However, the
Superior Spider-Man Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...
(Doctor Octopus' mind in Peter Parker's body) defeated Overdrive and the rest of the Sinister Six using a power dampening field that caused Overdrive's nano-bacteria to shut down. Overdrive features as one of the main characters in ''
Superior Foes of Spider-Man ''The Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' was an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in July 2013. The series was written by Nick Spencer with artwork by Steve Lieber. It debuted as part of ''Superior Spider-Month'' which ...
''. He secretly admitted that he only became a villain to gain a reputation, then planned to convert to the good side like Hawkeye. The new Hijacker that fought Ant-Man and
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
in Miami claimed that his superpowers were derived from nanites that he acquired in New York from "some washout called Overdrive." Overdrive later worked for Mister Negative again and became a getaway driver for his henchmen. Following a bank heist, Overdrive drove the Inner Demons away from the police. When one of the Inner Demons activated a weapon in Overdrive's car to use on the police, Overdrive continued to drive to the safehouse. While in their safehouse, the Inner Demons were attacked by a revived Sin-Eater. Overdrive took his car and drove away wishing that his attacker was Punisher. Overdrive raced for three days trying to avoid Sin-Eater. On the day where Spider-Man's dream predicted his death, Overdrive found Spider-Man and asked for his protection only to be shot by Sin-Eater. Carlie Cooper examined his body in the morgue when Overdrive somehow returned to life and found no bodily damages on him. Due to Sin-Eater having taken away his powers, Overdrive was placed on life support as Carlie keeps an eye on him. Following a fight with the Lethal Legion at Empire State University, Spider-Man wonders how Overdrive can be in critical condition while everyone else that Sin-Eater "cleansed" were sent to Ravencroft. James explained to Carly what happened to him and began to feel sorrow for the actions that he caused. Some police officers later checked on James and nearly beat him to death only for Carlie to stop them. James was put on life support as Carlie informs Spider-Man on what happened to James. Following Sin-Eater's suicide which caused those that he purged of their sins to regain them, James Beverley recovered and encountered Carlie Cooper while working as a taxi driver. When he invites Carlie to dinner, James revealed that he made bad choices in his life when he wanted to be a good guy. James drives her to the nearest coffeehouse.


Powers and abilities

Overdrive scatters nanites by touch which can transform a vehicle to his will such as improving a car's speed or design. These changes will revert if Overdrive is away from the vehicle for too long, and his powers don't work of he gets too "excited". In one case he was able to turn a vehicle into a copy of the spider-mobile.


In other media

* Overdrive appears in the ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' episode "Bring on the Bad Guys" Pt. 1, voiced by Ryan Blaney. * A female Marvel 2099-inspired incarnation of Overdrive appears in the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
version of '' Spider-Man: Edge of Time'', voiced by Kari Wahlgren. She wears a nanite-based costume and is more competent than her mainstream counterpart, claiming she only commits crimes for the speed.


References


External links


Overdrive
at Marvel Wiki
Overdrive
at Comic Vine * {{Sinister Six Characters created by Dan Slott Comics characters introduced in 2007 Fictional drivers Fictional henchmen Fictional racing drivers Spider-Man characters