| Janice Lincoln | |
|---|---|
 Janice Lincoln / Beetle. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America #607 (August 2010) |
| Created by | Ed Brubaker Jackson Guice |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Janice Lincoln |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Syndicate Sinister Six |
| Notable aliases | Lady Beetle Beetle |
| Abilities |
|
Janice Lincoln is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerEd Brubaker and artistJackson Guice, the characterfirst appeared inCaptain America #607 (August 2010).[1] Janice Lincoln is the daughter ofsupervillainTombstone.[2][3][4] She is a recurringantagonist of thesuperheroSpider-Man. The character has also been known asBeetle andLady Beetle at various points in her history.[5]
Janice Lincoln debuted inCaptain America #607 (August 2010),[6] created by writerEd Brubaker and artistJackson Guice. She appeared in the 2013The Superior Foes of Spider-Man series.[7][8] She appeared in the 2018The Amazing Spider-Man series.[9][10][11]
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Janice Lincoln is the daughter of the supervillainTombstone.[12][13] Her mother was an ex-girlfriend of Tombstone during his early days in organized crime. Janice grew up with her father showing up sporadically, usually to help out with bills and schooling. Janice idolized her father and his criminal activities,[14] however, she was forbidden to take part in them.[15][5]
After building a successful career as a defense attorney,[16] Janice is appointed to defendHelmut Zemo, at which point she volunteered to work for him as the new Beetle. Janice's armor was also revealed to have been built by theFixer.[14] Zemo and Fixer provided Janice with the Beetle armor and a nano-virus as part of their plan to destroyCaptain America (Bucky Barnes).[14] She emerges from the rubble of an explosion she causes to confront Captain America andBlack Widow.[17] The new Beetle fights Bucky and Black Widow in a short battle and is defeated. Bucky unmasks her, and realizes she is culpable in using the nano-virus on him. She is imprisoned inThe Raft, where she reveals that she knows Captain America and Bucky are one and the same. While Janice resists Bucky and the Widow's attempts to interrogate her for the identity of her employer, Fixer asks Zemo whether they should punish her for her failure. Zemo is merciful, saying that she knows no information that would hurt them. Janice is left to her own devices, and the heroes deduce Zemo's identity. However, Zemo still exposes Captain America's identity to the public.[18]
As part of theMarvel NOW! event, she is now a member ofBoomerang'sSinister Six.[19] After being defeated bySuperior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius's mind inPeter Parker's body), Boomerang is secretly contracted by the Chameleon to recover the head of formerMaggia leaderSilvermane from theOwl. To this end, Boomerang deceives the team into agreeing to help him. However, after the original Beetle, the reformed Abe Jenkins, is assigned to be Boomerang's parole officer, the team vote him out and Janice as their new team leader.Speed Demon's vote is motivated by his unrequited attraction for her. The others note that the Beetle becomes more despotic as team leader, but attribute this as a reaction to the pressure to succeed and avoid incarceration. Boomerang secretly notifies Power Man and Iron Fist of the Sinister Six's whereabouts. Janice and her associates are arrested, but Boomerang frees them in transit to jail and decides to reclaim his leadership role.[20]
Janice appears atStark Industries after the events ofThe Superior Foes of Spider-Man, claiming to have reformed, and applying for the open Head of Security position alongsideProdigy,Victor Mancha, andScott Lang. After seducingIron Man, Janice tries to assassinate him at the behest of an unidentified client, but she is disarmed by Lang, and pursued and presumably apprehended by Iron Man.[21]
In the "Hunted" storyline, Beetle is among the animal-themed characters captured byTaskmaster andBlack Ant forKraven the Hunter's upcoming Great Hunt.[22] When she tries to flee the Hunter-Bots, Beetle hits the forcefield surrounding Central Park.[23]
Janice Lincoln meetsElectro (Francine Frye) where she states that she is offering her membership. Janice learned how Francine got her powers as Janice tells her that she is Tombstone's daughter. Janice states that they are building an organization that values and respects the female contributions to the side of evil. Janice introduces Francine to the rest of theSinister Syndicate, consisting ofLady Octopus,Scorpia,Trapstr, andWhite Rabbit.[24]
During the "Gang War" storyline, Beetle and the Sinister Syndicate battle the other gangs of New York for control of territory afterShotgun shoots Tombstone. FollowingMadame Masque's defeat, Beetle leaves New York City.[25][26]
Janice Lincoln possesses a Beetle suit that grants her superhuman strength, durability, and the ability to fly and stick to walls.[27] Her armor seems to be loosely based on the armor designed by theTinkerer for Abe Jenkins after his original Beetle armor was destroyed by Iron Man. However, the Zemo/Fixer costume does not seem to have the electro-byte offensive capability or the internal battle computer of Jenkins' suit. In her initial appearance, she uses military-grade weaponry to ambush Bucky and the Black Widow.[28]
Brandon Zachary ofComic Book Resources included Janice Lincoln in their "Spider-Man: The Best New Villains of the Century" list, saying, "A surprisingly pragmatic but ambitious character, Beetle is the most charming new Spider-Man villain in years."[29] Seth Rector ofScreen Rant asserted, "Beetle has developed a fanbase that was spawned by the seriesSuperior Foes of Spider-Man. Though she doesn't yet have a motivation to turn good, she certainly has the charisma and resolve that it takes to make it in the superhero community."[30]
Screen Rant included Janice Lincoln in their "Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains" list,[31] and in their "10 Best Marvel Legacy Villains Who Lived Up To Their Predecessor" list.[16]Comic Book Resources ranked Janice Lincoln 2nd in their "Marvel: 10 Famous Villains From The 2000s To Bring Back" list,[32] 5th in their "10 Greatest Gender-Flipped Marvel Villains" list,[33] 7th in their "10 Most Powerful Members of the Sinister Syndicate" list,[27] 8th in their "10 Most Powerful Lawyers In Marvel Comics" list.[34]
Janice Lincoln / Beetle appears as a boss inMarvel: Avengers Alliance.[35]
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