| Baby Wildebeest | |
|---|---|
 Baby Wildebeest as depicted inWho's Who in the DC Universe #14 (November 1991). Art byTom Grummett (penciller), Al Vey (inker), and Anthony Tollin (colorist). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | New Titans #85 (April 1992) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman Tom Grummett |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | New Teen Titans Wildebeest Society Black Lantern Corps |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, durability, and stamina Size alteration |
Baby Wildebeest is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. He is a member of theTeen Titans who is themed after hisnamesake and possesses superhuman strength and durability. His default form is that of a small anthropomorphic wildebeest, but he is capable of transforming into a larger form. Baby Wildebeest was killed bySuperboy-Prime during the 2005 eventInfinite Crisis and has made limited appearances since.
Elements of Baby Wildebeest are incorporated into the version ofWildebeest who appears inTeen Titans (2003), voiced byDee Bradley Baker. He is depicted as a human child who can transform into a wildebeest hybrid.
Baby Wildebeest first appeared inNew Teen Titans vol. 2 #85 (April 1992), and was created byMarv Wolfman andTom Grummett.
In a 2001 interview with Bill Walko, editor Jonathan Peterson stated that Baby Wildebeest and theWildebeest Society were conceptualized viareverse engineering after it was decided thatJericho would be the group's leader. Peterson intended Baby Wildebeest to be the New Titans' "super strength guy", possessing immense strength but low intelligence due to being an infant.[1]
Baby Wildebeest's death inInfinite Crisis underwent several revisions. Initially, writerGeoff Johns intendedArgent to die, but editorEddie Berganza objected to the idea, as he was fond of the character and had plans for her.Terra andRed Star were also considered to die before Baby Wildebeest,Pantha, andBushido were chosen in their place.[1]
After being possessed by the spirits ofAzarath, Jericho becomes the leader of the Wildebeest Society, which experiments with creating genetically-created host bodies for the spirits to possess. Baby Wildebeest is the Society's only successful experiment before the organization is dismantled by the Teen Titans.[2] The Titans adopt Baby Wildebeest, who regardsPantha as his mother.[3][4][5][6] Although the size of a human toddler, Baby Wildebeest possesses disproportionate strength. After theTeam Titans threaten Pantha, he demonstrates the ability to gain adult form to protect her.[7] Pantha originally does not like Wildebeest, often talking about various ways he could die. Her attitude softens as Wildebeest stays with the team.[7]
After the New Titans disband, Pantha takes Baby Wildebeest with her. They and former TitanRed Star move in Science City inRussia, where Pantha and Red Star raise Baby Wildebeest as their son.[8][9][2]
During the 2005 eventInfinite Crisis, Baby Wildebeest and Pantha are among the Titans who confrontSuperboy-Prime outsideKeystone City. They are both killed by Prime, with Red Star surviving the battle and being left to mourn his family.[10][2] Baby Wildebeest has remained dead since, but was temporarily resurrected as aBlack Lantern in theBlackest Night crossover event.[11]
Baby Wildebeest possesses immense strength, stamina, and durability. When provoked, he becomes a twelve-foot powerhouse, strong enough to take blows fromSuperman.[7][12]
Elements of Baby Wildebeest are incorporated intoTeen Titans' incarnation of Wildebeest.
Writing forComic Book Resources (CBR), Timothy Blake Donohoo stated that Baby Wildebeest's death was not as impactful as it could have been, since the character had not been prominently featured in any stories for years. Donohoo believed that Baby Wildebeest was killed off purely for shock value, serving ascannon fodder for Superboy-Prime. Donohoo also compared Baby Wildebeest's death to the apparent death ofBeast Boy inDark Crisis, stating that Beast Boy's death was more impactful due to him being a high-profile member of the Teen Titans.[13]
Writing forScreen Rant, Samantha King stated that Baby Wildebeest had little depth as a character; being tied to the Teen Titans and the Wildebeest Society, the character had little potential for appearances outside theTeen Titans comics.[14]
Writing for CBR, Paul DiSalvo stated that Baby Wildebeest's death was underwhelming, ranking the character sixth in his list of the ten most underwhelming superhero deaths. DiSalvo stated that Baby Wildebeest had the most underwhelming death of the heroes killed by Superboy-Prime, dying to a single blast of heat vision.[15]
As shocking and gory as this is, none of these heroes had acquired any relevance in about a decade by the time of Infinite Crisis. Their deaths meant nothing from a narrative standpoint, and though they would be memorialized at Titans Tower via statues, they were basically just cannon fodder for Superboy-Prime. That's not the case with the shocking death of Beast Boy in Dark Crisis.
[Baby Wildebeest] has little depth as a hero: a genetic experiment conducted by the Wildebeest Society, his existence is intrinsically tied to his presence on the Titans. Despite this, he isn't frequently counted as a long-term staple member by most fans.
In the midst of Superboy Prime's destructive rampage in 2005's Infinite Crisis, Superboy Prime takes the lives of numerous fashion, killing Heroes such as Pantha in brutal yet memorable fashion. Unfortunately for Wildebeest, he suffers easily the least memorable and must [sic] underwhelming of these kills, simply perishing to a blast of heat vision.
