Forager is a character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. Created by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, he first appeared in ''

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

'' #9 (August 1972). Forager is depicted as an insectoid alien from New Genesis who is subjected to prejudice from the planet's other inhabitants, the

. He was killed during the '' Cosmic Odyssey'' event in 1988, but resurrected years later in ''Bug! The Adventures of Forager'', which was published as part of the " DC's Young Animal" imprint in 2017. Forager has appeared in various media outside comics. He made a guest appearance in ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'', voiced by Corey Burton, and appeared as a recurring character in '' Young Justice'', voiced by

Jason Spisak Jason Spisak () is an American actor, producer, and computer programmer. He is also the co-leader of the Symphony OS Project and the designer of Symphony's unique Mezzo desktop environment and wrote the Laws of Interface Design, to which the proje ...

Publication history

The original Forager first appeared in ''

'' #9 (August 1972) and was created by

. A female version of the character debuted in ''New Gods'' (vol. 3) #2 (March 1989).

Fictional character biography

Original Forager

Forager is a member of a humanoid insect species from New Genesis. Considered to be below the New Gods, the bugs form a lower class on New Genesis and are sometimes the target of prejudice. Despite this, Forager becomes an ally of the New Gods and helps them battle

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...

. In '' Cosmic Odyssey'', he is killed saving

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

and preventing the Anti-Life Equation from destroying Earth. Forager appears in the 2017 miniseries ''Bug! The Adventures of Forager'', published as part of DC's Young Animal imprint.

Female Forager

A female Bug is chosen to succeed Forager following his death. In ''

Countdown to Final Crisis ''Countdown'', also known as ''Countdown to Final Crisis'' for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of ...

'', Forager works with Jimmy Olsen in an attempt to stop Infinity-Man from killing the New Gods. In the final issue, she joins forces with Donna Troy,

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

, and Kyle Rayner to protect the

multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...

Powers and abilities

Forager possesses similar abilities to the New Gods, including superhuman strength, endurance, speed and reflexes. Forager's incredible strength allows him to face much bigger enemies, jumping several meters high easily and running to great speed without fatigue. Forager is extremely long-lived and immune to diseases. Also, he is an accomplished fighter, hardened by the bugs' harsh life of hunting and survival. In addition to his natural abilities, Forager carries a variety of tools including a shield, adhesive pads on his gloves and boots that allow him to stick or climb walls and surfaces, and acidic pods.

In other media

Television

* The original Forager makes a cameo appearance in the '' Superman: The Animated Series'' episode "Apokolips...Now!". * The original Forager appears in the ''

'' episode "Twilight", voiced by Corey Burton. This version is modest and reveres the Supertown Gods. While aiding

and

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

in stopping Darkseid's attack on New Genesis, Forager uses his hive to provide shelter for Supertown's inhabitants after the New Gods abandon them. Following this, Highfather promotes Forager to a higher rank. * Forager appears in '' Young Justice'', voiced by

. 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. This version possesses a more insect-like appearance with four arms, can roll up into a ball, and displays an odd connection to sentient technology. Additionally, he does not use pronouns due to his race's unique sense of self. Introduced in the third season, '' Young Justice: Outsiders'', Forager contacts the

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

to help stop a war between the Bugs and New Gods, only to be banished from his hive by Mantis and earn the wrath of Ma'alefa'ak, who orchestrated the conflict. As it is no longer safe for him on New Genesis, the Team takes Forager with them to Earth, where he joins them in fighting the

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

and takes on the human identity Fred Bugg via a glamour charm to attend Happy Harbor High School. He later reveals his true identity to his classmates, to their enjoyment. As of the fourth season, Forager has become class valedictorian, graduated from Happy Harbor High, and enters a relationship with a female purple Forager (voiced by Nika Futterman), 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. who later becomes a

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

after Lor-Zod kills Tomar-Re. * The original Forager makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

'' episode "Inner (Para) Demons".

Video games

Forager appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

External links

DCU Guide: Forager I

DCU Guide: Forager II

References

{{Jack Kirby Characters created by Jack Kirby Comics characters introduced in 1972 Comics characters introduced in 1989 DC Comics aliens DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics deities DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes DC Comics female superheroes Fictional insects New Gods of New Genesis