Bertram Larvan (New Earth)

Bug-Eyed Bandit
Mainstream Universe‎‎, 1950s-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Bertram Larvan
Main Alias	Bug-Eyed Bandit
Relatives	Bug-Eyed Bandit II (son)
Base Of Operations	Ivy Town, Connecticut
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Inventor
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 1"
Weight	187 lbs (85 kg)
Eyes	Black
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	Earth-One · New Earth
Creators	Gardner Fox · Gil Kane
First Appearance	The Atom #26 (August, 1966)
Appearance of Death	Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March, 1986)

Bertram Larvan is the Bug-Eyed Bandit, a thief and inventor who uses mechanical bugs to commit crimes in Ivy Town. He is an enemy of the city's resident superhero, the Atom.

History

Bertram Larvan was an inventor who designed a mechanical insect to control insect pests. Unfortunately, he had no financial backing to support his invention. He resolved to steal money he needed for his invention. He later used his invention to steal more. Soon, he had an army of mechanical insects and took the name of the Bug-Eyed Bandit. In his earliest known adventure, he encountered the Atom and discovered his secret identity of Ray Palmer. The Atom fought the Bandit and Bertram tried to use a special amnesiac gas from one of his robot insects against him. However, he accidentally used it on himself, forgetting the Atom's real identity. Larvan was sent to prison. As he had no memory of being a criminal, he turned out to be a model prisoner. However, Bertram was struck in head during an accident at the prison and regained his memories. He broke out of jail and set upon avenging himself against the Atom. He sent one of his robot bugs out to kill him, and he believed that he had succeeded. The Atom survived however and the two came to blows once again. He managed to capture him and tried to learn the secrets of Ray Palmer's size control powers. The Bandit accidentally released the Atom from captivity however, and Palmer was able to defeat him. An electrical short caused the Bug-Eyed Bandit to lose his memories once again.

During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Bug-Eyed Bandit was one of the people killed by the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Entomology: The Bug-Eyed Bandit was an expert in the study of insects.
• Robotic Engineering: The Bug-Eyed Bandit was proficient in the field of robotics and micro-circuitry and used this talent to create a horde of small robotic insects.

Notes

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Related

• 16 Appearances of Bertram Larvan (New Earth)
• 12 Images featuring Bertram Larvan (New Earth)
• Quotations by or about Bertram Larvan (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Bertram Larvan (New Earth)

Footnotes

Atom Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of one or more of the heroes called the Atom. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Atom Villains category."