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| Humbug | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Web of Spider-Man #19 (October 1986) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Buck Mitty |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations |
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| Abilities | Superhuman strength, speed, agility and senses Use of some audio tapes and a series of amplifiers Ability to communicate with all insectoids on a planetary scale |
Humbug (Buck Mitty) is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Humbug was originally asupervillain but later became asuperhero and a member of theHeroes for Hire.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(October 2022) |
Humbug first appeared inWeb of Spider-Man #19 (Oct 1986).[1][2]
Buck Mitty was a seniorentomology professor at Empire State University until his funding was cut off.[3] Desperate to prove the value of insects, as well as to gain enough wealth to continue his research, Mitty becomes the criminal Humbug to achieve his goals by whatever means necessary.
Humbug intends to steal a shipment of black pearls, but a group of criminals beat him to the punch, and he flees whenSpider-Man appears. He next targets an armored car carrying money, but is stopped by Spider-Man, who destroys his equipment.[4]
Humbug is imprisoned, but is later released after his sentence is commuted. He renews his criminal activity, now dedicated to punishing ESU for their betrayal.In the one-shot special "Spider-Man: Bug Stops Here", Humbug attacks theNew York Museum of Natural History to finance his research by stealing a rarescarab amulet. Spider-Man confronts Humbug and leads him to a place of the museum that was damaged bytermites, causing him to fall and land on a lower floor.[5]
Discovering that Humbug had renewed his attack on the museum,Deadpool is hired by unknown parties to prevent it. Deadpool catches up with Humbug, but one of Humbug's insect allies warns him of the attack. Humbug fires sonic blasts at Deadpool, rendering him deaf and mute. Enraged, Deadpool attacks Humbug, dousing him with honey before pouring a jar offire ants on him. The ants devour Humbug, who Deadpool believes to have been killed.[6]
While the outer layer of Humbug's skin was eaten by the ants, he made a deal with them that allowed him to live. Rodney, the leader of the ants, stayed with Humbug after this.[7]
Following the events of "Civil War", Humbug reforms and joinsHeroes for Hire.[8] He is apparently eaten by giant insects while on a mission in Antarctica, but survives and gains new powers. His personality changes, however, as he becomes obsessed with serving Earth's insects.[9][10][11] He is advised by the insects that they must return to New York for theHulk and hisWarbound are fast approaching.[10] In theWorld War Hulk series, Humbug turns on Earth's hive and the Heroes for Hire to serve theBrood queen of Hulk's Warbound,No-Name. No-Name uses him as a host for her gestating eggs.[12][13]
It was later revealed that Earth's hive knew that Humbug would turn on them and used him to transport their own agents into the queen's hive. These agents then shot the queen with a beam, claiming to have sterilized her. When the queen gloated that her hivelings were near hatching inside of Humbug, the Earth-hive agents reveal that Humbug had been poisoned beforehand, dooming both him and the queen's eggs. Having been mutated into an insect-like form, Humbug begsShang-Chi to kill him, to which he complies.[14]
Humbug uses some audio tapes and a series of amplifiers to broadcast the noises of various insect species, which can incapacitate others or damage materials. InDeadpool, Humbug is revealed to be able to communicate with insects.
FollowingHeroes for Hire #9, Humbug received a massive increase in his powers, gaining superhuman strength, speed, and senses.
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