B'wana Beast (Michael Payson Maxwell) is a superhero appearing in

American comic books 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 ...

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 their f ...

Publication history

Created by

Bob Haney Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons. ...

and

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' ''Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' during ...

, B'wana Beast made his first appearance in ''

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

'' #66 (January 1967).''Showcase'' #66

Fictional character biography

After graduating from college with highest honors, Michael Payson "Mike" Maxwell declined his millionaire father's offer to join the family business and instead decided to join his college roommate, Rupert Kenboya, in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and become a

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

in the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

nation's new animal preserves. When the private aircraft carrying Maxwell and Kenboya to Zambezi was struck by a lightning and crashed at the top of

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

, the two injured men took refuge in the cavern home of a mutant red ape. While drinking rainwater that had been filtered through the cavern's mineral laden walls, Maxwell suddenly found he was growing larger, stronger and more ferocious, and was able to subdue the attacking red ape with ease. Acknowledging Maxwell as its master, the red ape retrieved an ancient

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

styled helmet from the depths of the cave and placed it on Maxwell's head. Through the helmet, Maxwell was able to read the ape's mind and discovered its name was Djuba. He also discovered that the helmet enabled him to control the actions of all other animals. Agreeing that these new powers must be used for the good of all Africa, Maxwell created the identity of "B'wana Beast", and became the Dark Continent's super troubleshooter.

''Animal Man''

In the initial story arc of ''

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" th ...

'', written by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for the ...

, B'wana Beast journeys to America to rescue Djuba, who has been captured by scientists and infected with an experimental form of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...

. He fails to save Djuba and is himself infected with the disease, but he is cured by

, who mimics B'wana Beast's powers to merge his white blood cells into forms capable of fighting off the disease. In ''Animal Man'' #13 (July 1989), also written by Morrison, Maxwell decides to retire and performs a ceremony to find a successor. He passes the helmet and elixir on to a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

n activist named Dominic Mndawe, who assumes the name

Freedom Beast Freedom Beast is the alias of Dominic Mndawe, a fictional comic book character in the DC Universe. Fictional character biography Freedom Beast was born Dominic Mndawe in South Africa. His first appearance was in ''Animal Man'' #13 which occurs d ...

. Mike Maxwell returns in ''Animal Man'' #47 (May 1992) written by

Tom Veitch Tom Veitch (September 26, 1941 – February 14, 2022) was an American writer, known for his work in the comic book industry. He was also a novelist and a poet. He was the brother of comics writer and artist Rick Veitch. Early life Veitch wa ...

, after a long period of absence, in which after hearing the call of the destructive force called the Antagon, he is corrupted and possessed, and transformed into the evil Shining Man. With his new identity, Maxwell wreaked havoc on Earth until he was killed in a fight with Metaman.

The New 52

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

(a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), B'wana Beast was considered as a possible new member for the

Justice League International Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

head of intelligence Andre Briggs. They decide he is not right as a candidate for the team at that time, and he is not invited to join.

Infinite Frontier

Powers and abilities

B'wana Beast drinks an elixir that gives him great strength, speed, hunting and

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

abilities. He also wears an ancient helmet that allows him to communicate with animals, and to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the com ...

up to four animals together to form a

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

. For the most part, once these animals are merged, B'wana is able to acquire their aid in situations of need. Whether this is due to his ability to communicate with them or an instinct on their part is not known.

In other media

Television

* B'wana Beast appeared in

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and p ...

's DC Comics cartoon hour. * B'wana Beast appears in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 United States, American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. ...

'', voiced by

Peter Onorati Peter Onorati (born May 16, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his TV roles as Charlie Howell on '' Civil Wars'' (1991–1993), Mr. Scotto on '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), Stanley Pearson on ''This Is Us'' (2017–2022), and Jeff Mumfor ...

. This version is a member of the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

who has a thick New York accent, displays a blue collar personality to match, and possesses animalistic feats of agility and the ability to communicate with animals. Additionally, according to the DVD commentary for the episode "This Little Piggy", a seductive growl that B'wana Beast directs at

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in '' Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a stage magician with ...

was actually provided by producer/character designer James Tucker as Onorati was unable to do so. * B'wana Beast appears in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', voiced by

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in '' Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

. This version was an American wrestler in Africa with low self-esteem who lost a local wrestling match to the masked ape, Djuba. Later, after washing his face with water contaminated by radioactive waste, he develops powers and wins a rematch against Djuba, earning his mask and title. In the episode "Gorillas in Our Midst!", B'wana Beast helps

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve s ...

stop

Killer Moth Killer Moth (Drury Walker) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary and dedicated original Foil (narrative), foil personality of Batman (prior to the creations of Wrath (comics), Wrath, Prometheus ...

and his henchmen from robbing an armored car while Batman was away. Vixen later asks B'wana Beast to marry her. In the two-part episode "The Siege of Starro!", B'wana Beast assists Batman,

Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in '' Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League ...

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been us ...

, and Captain Marvel stop the

Faceless Hunter The Faceless Hunters are a race of alien supervillains in the DC Comics universe that first appeared in ''Strange Adventures'' #124 (January 1961). They were created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The Faceless Hunters hail from Klaramar (the wor ...

and

Starro Starro (also known as Starro the Conqueror) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (February–March 1960). It was created by Gardner Fox and Mike ...

, but the former captures him and uses his powers to fuse the Starro parasites into one giant monster. While Batman defeats the Faceless Hunter, B'wana Beast sacrifices himself to destroy Starro, after which Earth's remaining heroes erect a statue for him in his memory. In the series finale "Mitefall!", B'wana Beast attends the series' wrap party, where he reunites with Vixen. ** Additionally, an unnamed alternate universe version of B'wana Beast appears in a flashback depicted in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!" as part of the Injustice Syndicate. * B'wana Beast makes non-speaking appearances in ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013 and is based on the DC Comics fictional superhero team. The series was announced f ...

''. * A variation of B'wana Beast appears in the ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klem ...

'' episode "Freakshow", portrayed by Jason William Day. This version is an unnamed strongman working for

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He wa ...

's traveling circus.

Film

B'wana Beast makes a cameo appearance in ''

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies'' is a 2018 American animated superhero comedy film based on the television series ''Teen Titans Go!'', which is based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. This film is directed by Peter Rida Mi ...

''.

Miscellaneous

B'wana Beast appears in issue #29 of the ''Justice League Unlimited'' tie-in comic book series.''Justice League Unlimited'' #29

Toys

* Four B'wana Beast action figures were produced by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

. The first was released as part of the company's ''

'' line as part of a six-figure boxed set along with Superman,

Crimson Fox Crimson Fox is a codename for two fictional characters, both superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history The first two holders of the Crimson Fox moniker first appeared in ''Justice League Europe ...

, Deadman,

Commander Steel Commander Steel (also known as Captain Steel, Citizen Steel and Sergeant Steel) is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics by the American publisher DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in ''Steel, The ...

, and

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

. * Two figures of B'wana Beast from the ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' TV series were produced, one in the five-inch scale and another in a two-pack with Batman as part of the smaller Action League series. * A six-inch scale

DC Universe Classics DC Universe Classics was an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on the fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was sculpted by the Four Horsem ...

figure of B'wana Beast was released in the "Justice in the Jungle" two-pack with Animal Man in December 2009 as a MattyCollector.com internet exclusive.

References

{{Reflist
Unofficial Guide to DC Comics entry

DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters who have mental powers DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics telepaths DC Comics superheroes DC Comics martial artists DC Comics fantasy characters Comics characters introduced in 1967 Characters created by Bob Haney Characters created by Mike Sekowsky Jungle superheroes Jungle men Fictional empaths Fictional characters with superhuman senses