Fall Before The Saw-Toothed Grain Beetle!

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

If Buck Mitty had to choose a name for himself as a new criminal, and decides on a name that's synonymous with a sham or a hoax--a name that's hardly going to get him taken seriously as a threat--you'd probably agree that the man's grip on sanity is questionable. But that's probably a given if an entomologist, whose source of research funding has dried up, decides to harness the sounds of insects as a new weapon and embarks on a criminal career--which leads to the birth of, believe it or not, Humbug.

Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Marc Silvestri in 1986, Humbug had to keep his recorded insect sounds at hand via audio cassettes he wore in packs on his (you'll excuse the word) costume. Audio CDs came on the market in 1982, but, unfortunately for Mitty, portable CD players wouldn't become popular until the 1990s; also, since Mitty was watching his budget, a cassette player was likely more within his price range.  Though this method of employing his power did have its drawbacks.

His first time out, Humbug's planned heist of valuable black pearls was a bust, with Spider-Man arriving to foil other robbers after the same shipment. But it seems the web-spinner is everywhere, as Mitty's second heist is also interrupted--though it seems appropriate that Mitty's activities as a criminal would draw the attention of a man dressed as one of the insects for which he has such a sense of respect and dedication.  But Spider-Man has no such scruples when it comes to taking down a menace like Humbug.

The short time he spent in the judicial system doesn't seem to have given Mitty a new outlook on life, since upon his release he seems ready to pick up right where he left off--securing the funding for his research. Only this time, he's intent on establishing himself as a bona fide criminal who attacks for revenge as well as profit--and so he targets his former place of employment which terminated his funding and inadvertently put him on the road to a life of crime.

As we can see, Humbug's pre-heist planning still needs a little fine-tuning--but it's easy to cut some slack to a budding criminal who conducts his crime sprees in a pair of Keds.

Shifting his sights to the theft of other valuable objects at E.S.U., Humbug again makes his move; unfortunately, his methods draw the attention of an old nemesis, leading once more to a clash of titans! (Not really!)

Despite the level of foolishness we've witnessed in this man, Humbug would go on to become involved in a few more stories in other titles--including coming into contact with Deadpool, which should tell you all you need to know about the potential of Humbug for greater things.