Hellgrammite (comics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
The tense of this article or section is not suitable for an encyclopedia. Please consider copy editing to past tense if historic, present tense if not time-based (e.g. fiction), or future tense if upcoming. |
| Hellgrammite | |
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Brave and the Bold #80 (October-November, 1968) |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Roderick Rose |
| Team affiliations | Intergang |
| Notable aliases | Robert Dobson |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength Ability to leap long distances Secretion of adhesives Durable exoskeleton Can turn others into "larvae" of himself |
Hellgrammite is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in DC Comics. He first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #80 (October-November, 1968).
[edit] Fictional character biography
An entomologist named Roderick Rose, the Hellgrammite subjected himself to a mutagenic process that transformed him into a grasshopper-like humanoid insect possessing superhuman strength and leaping abilities, the power to secrete adhesives and weave transformative or imprisoning coccoons, and a durable exoskeleton. (Curiously, he does not resemble an actual hellgrammite, the larval form of the dobson fly.) A number of his schemes revolved around transforming others into weaker, subordinate versions of himself, leading to clashes with Batman and the Creeper in Brave and the Bold #80, and with Green Arrow and the Black Canary in World's Finest Comics #248-9.
In the Post-Crisis DC Universe, the Hellgrammite returned as a recurring foe for Superman, first encountering the Man of Steel after being hired (by then LexCorp board member George Markham)[1] to kill Lex Luthor. During the Underworld Unleashed crossover, he made a deal with Neron, trading his soul in return for increased physical powers and an improved ability to transform others into his larvae. In a crossover special, Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear, it was stated that he had once used the alias Robert Dobson. The special also confirmed that his Pre-Crisis history was largely intact.
Although there were rumors of Hellgrammite's death as a member of the Suicide Squad during the Imperiex crisis, it was instead a similar villain named Larvanaut who died. He has recently been seen alive One Year Later, still a member of Superman's rogues' gallery, acting as an assassin for Intergang.
[edit] Other media
In Justice League Unlimited, Hellgrammite was a member of Roulette's Meta-Brawl, and later appeared as a member of the Secret Society until he and several other villains were frozen by Killer Frost in the series finale.
The animated Hellgrammite was also featured in an issue of The New Batman Adventures, which loosely adapted Brave and the Bold #80.
