B'wana Beast

B'wana Beast
art by Mike Sekowsky
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Showcase #66 (January 1967)
Created by	Bob Haney (writer) Mike Sekowsky (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Michael Payson Maxwell
Abilities	Mind control, able to fuse two animals into a chimera.

B'wana Beast is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Showcase #66 (January 1967), and was created by Bob Haney and Mike Sekowsky.

Publication history

B'wana Beast appeared in Showcase #66–67. He did not appear again until an issue of DC Challenge, in which he and Djuba teamed up with Congo Bill. His next appearance, around the same time was in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. He then showed up in Swamp Thing Annual #3 in 1987. After that, he appeared in Animal Man #1, 3, 4, and 13 in 1988, subsequently returning as the Shining Man in Animal Man #47–50.

He also makes an appearance in the cartoon tie-in series Justice League Unlimited, in issue #29. There he assists Animal Man in defeating the Queen Bee.

Fictional character biography

In his most well-known incarnation, his given name is Mike Maxwell. Maxwell possesses a helmet and elixir which confer on him his powers. These powers are mind control and the ability to fuse together two living animals to make one powerful entity under B'wana Beast's control.

With the help of his gorilla companion, Djuba, in a secret hideout at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, ranger Mike Maxwell drinks the aforementioned elixir and dons the helmet to become B'wana Beast. In the origin issue, he fights Hamid Ali, "He Who Never Dies."

In the initial story arc of Animal Man, written by Grant Morrison, B'wana Beast journeys to America to rescue Djuba, who has been captured by scientists and infected with an experimental form of anthrax. He fails to save Djuba and is himself infected with the disease, but he is cured by Animal Man, who mimics B'wana Beast's powers in order to merge his white blood cells into forms capable of fighting off the disease.

In Animal Man #13 (July 1989), also written by Grant Morrison, Maxwell decides to retire and performs a ceremony to find a successor. He passes the helmet and elixir on to a South African activist named Dominic Mndawe, who assumes the name Freedom Beast.

Mike Maxwell returns in Animal Man #47 (May 1992), corrupted and possessed by the destructive force called the Antagon and transformed into the evil Shining Man. In the ensuing battle, Maxwell is killed. B'wana Beast is brought back for the DC reboot Justice League International. He is turned down, but it is unknown if he will become a member later on.

Powers and abilities

B'wana Beast has the ability to communicate with animals.

He also has the ability to merge two animals together to form a Chimera or (how he puts it) he merges the best of two different things to create an unstoppable force. He can merge up to four things together which can include a human but it requires great concentration. He can also undo the merge if the need arises. For the most part, once these animals are merged, B'wana is able to acquire their aid in situations of need. Whether this is due to his ability to communicate with them or an underlying urge, telepathic, chemical or what not, is not known.

In other media

Television

B'wana Beast in Justice League Unlimited.

• B'wana Beast was featured in the Justice League Unlimited episode "This Little Piggy" (voiced by Peter Onorati). He was recruited by Batman for his superior tracking skills in the search for Wonder Woman, who had been mystically transformed into a pig by Circe. In this incarnation, B'wana Beast was given a thick New York accent and blue collar personality to match, and his abilities were presented as animalistic feats of agility and the ability to communicate with animals. According to the DVD commentary for the episode, B'wana Beast's seductive growl to Zatanna was actually performed by producer/character designer James Tucker. Peter Onorati could not quite get it, so Tucker stepped in to perform it.

• B'wana Beast appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. Mike Maxwell was an American wrestler in Africa with low self-esteem who lost a local wrestling match to Djuba (In this incarnation, Djuba is a masked ape with, apparently, above average intelligence, but is nothing more than a passing foot note in the story). Later, after wiping his face with water contaminated by radioactive waste, he develops his merging powers and later wins a fight against Djuba earning his mask and title. In "Enter the Outsiders!", he helps Batman in his fight with Black Manta. In his fight with him, B'wana Beast used his powers to merge a policeman's horse and a spider to form a creature to catch up with Black Manta and later merged a pelican and a shark to form a creature to stop Black Manta. B'wana Beast returns in "Gorillas in Our Midst!" helping Vixen stop Killer Moth and his henchmen from robbing an armored car while Batman was away. During that point, he merged a cat and a horse to form a creature to help them as B'wana Beast stated that Vixen likes "kittens and ponies." He created some rat/fly creatures that spotted Gorilla Grodd's army coming. He merges a snake and a bird to help fight Gorilla Grodd's G.A.S.P. (short for Gorillas and Apes Seizing Power) organization. B'wana Beast tried to stop one of the gorilla soldiers by merging it with a caterpillar which did not go as B'wana Beast expected. Both B'wana Beast and Vixen are captured. When Batman and Detective Chimp end up captured, B'wana Beast manages to merge Detective Chimp and a bee in order to claim the keys. During the fight against Gorilla Grodd's ape alliance, B'wana Beast merges an ostrich and an alligator to help fight G.A.S.P. B'wana Beast then concentrates enough to merge Batman, a lion, a hawk, and a lizard to form a Bat-Griffin that defeats Gorilla Grodd. Afterwards, Vixen finishes her talk with him which ends with Vixen asking B'wana Beast to marry her. In "The Siege of Starro! Part One", B'wana Beast assists Batman and heroes Booster Gold, Firestorm, Captain Marvel in stopping Faceless Hunter and the Starro invasion. When assembled by Batman, he had to demonstrate his powers to Firestorm, Captain Marvel, and Booster Gold by merging a pigeon and a rat. He becomes friends with Captain Marvel who, because of his young age, inexperience and floating hero worship, is fascinated with B'wana Beast and his powers. Batman led the heroes to the stadium where the signal to call Starro was occurring with B'wana Beast riding a camel/bird hybrid. He is forced to fight his fiance Vixen as she is under Starro's control, and manages to subdue her and take her to S.T.A.R. Labs for Batman to examine. The Hunter is fascinated by B'wana's seemingly-useless abilities, and kidnaps him when Starro is defeated. In "The Siege of Starro! Part Two", Faceless Hunter uses B'wana Beast's powers to fuse together the Starro parasites into a giant, destructive beast. When Batman defeats Faceless Hunter, B'wana uses all of his power to pull the Starro beast apart, sacrificing himself in the process. A funeral is held in his honor with the grieving Vixen being comforted by other heroes and a statue is also built after him. A voiceover by him declares "I'd do it all over again, in a hummingbird's heartbeat".

Video Game

• B'wana Beast appears in the DC Universe Online.

Toys

Four B'wana Beast action figures have been produced by toy manufacturer Mattel. The first was released as part of the company's Justice League Unlimited line in a six-figure boxed set (along with Crimson Fox, Superman, Deadman, Commander Steel, and Vibe). Two figures of his likeness from the Batman: The Brave and the Bold TV series have been produced, one in the five inch scale (called "Machete B'wana Beast" after his accessories and action feature) and another in a two-pack with Batman as part of the smaller Action League series (similar in size and design to the Marvel Super Hero Squad figures). A six inch scale DC Universe Classics figure of B'wana Beast was released in the "Justice in the Jungle" two-pack with Animal Man in December 2009 as a MattyCollector.com internet exclusive.

References

• Unofficial Guide to DC Comics entry
• B'wana Beast entry