| Big Bertha | |
|---|---|
Art by Paul Pelletier, Rick Magyar and Will Quintana |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 (July, 1989) |
| Created by | John Byrne (writer and artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ashley Crawford |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | Great Lakes Champions/GLX-Men/Great Lakes Avengers |
| Abilities | Ability to alter size and mass of body Superhuman strength and endurance |
Big Bertha (Ashley Crawford) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, notably as a member of the Great Lakes Avengers. The character was created by John Byrne and first appeared in West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 (July 1989).
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Not a lot is known of Bertha's life before she responded to Mr. Immortal's advertisement for a hero team, the team would become the Great Lakes Avengers. It was revealed in the G.L.A. mini-series that Ashley is in fact a mutant.
When not using her powers, Ashley is a proverbial 'big fish in a small pond', being the most famous fashion model in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her hometown. Although offers have come her way numerous times for more prospective opportunities, she has declined them all, choosing to stay in Milwaukee with the team she considers family.
Bertha was with the rest of the Great Lakes Avengers when the team first encountered Hawkeye and Mockingbird.[1] With the team, she then assisted Hawkeye and the West Coast Avengers against "That Which Endures."[2] They also assisted Mockingbird in a holding action against Terminus.[3]
She is one of the mutants to retain their powers following the events of the House of M.
All of the Great Lakes Champions have registered with the United States government as required by the Super-human Registration Act, as revealed when the mercenary Deadpool mistakenly attempted to apprehend them for violating the Act, only to be defeated by Squirrel Girl and informed that they had already registered.
Ashley has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative #1.[4]
In an attempt to evict Deadpool from their Initiative-sponsored headquarters, Big Bertha agrees on one date. Confusion reigns as she appears for the date in her slim form. After saving lives in a dockside all-you-can-eat restaurant Bertha realizes that Deadpool was only attracted to her large form. She lectures him, telling of her experiences of only being valued for her looks in her slim form. In response, Deadpool removes his mask revealing his cancer-scarred face. Bertha promptly vomits in the parking lot, much to Deadpool's chagrin. Bertha's colleagues manage to evict Deadpool.[5]
Big Bertha has the ability to make herself super strong and durable (to the point of being bullet-proof) by becoming extraordinarily obese. It is implied that she has greater control of this ability and can distribute her fat content to select areas (i.e. just her breasts or buttocks or other areas), becoming "every man's dream." She can also purge most fat from her body to take on a slimmer appearance. However, the latter ability is not as surreptitious as the former, since she has to regurgitate the collected fat masses in order to retain her normal shape. This is graphically illustrated in GLA #2; a helpful aside from the narrator (fellow GLA member Squirrel Girl's squirrel colleague "Monkey Joe") points out that "bulimia is never funny". Where this mass comes from originally is not addressed.
In addition to her mutant powers, Ashley is also a skilled pilot of conventional jet aircraft.