Karen Duncan, née Beecher, is the Teen Titan Bumblebee.
History
Scientist Karen Beecher was the girlfriend of Teen Titans member the Herald (a.k.a. Mal Duncan). In order to help make Herald look good in front of the team, Beecher secretly made herself a bumblebee-themed super-suit and attacked the Teen Titans. She escaped without this ruse being revealed.
When she later explained to Mal and the Titans what she had done, they were impressed enough to offer her membership, which she accepted. She and Mal subsequently moved to the new Titans West team, having relocated to San Francisco. When the Titans team dissolved for a time, Karen and Mal married and 'retired' from super-heroics. Karen took a job with S.T.A.R. Labs, where she designs non-lethal weaponry.
They have returned to crime-fighting from time to time to assist the team, most notably during a short-lived revival of Titans West and the JLA/Titans event, which reunited everyone involved with the team. A fight broke out over the fate of Victor Stone, Cyborg. Bumblebee personally fought Zauriel, a member of the Justice League. Despite the assistance of the current Supergirl, Bumblebee was swiftly defeated.
Following this, Mal and Karen briefly joined the latest incarnation of Titans West (now called Titans L.A.), but this incarnation of the team never really got off the ground.
Infinite Crisis
Bumblebee and her husband are among the heroes recruited by Donna Troy to help avert a coming crisis that threatened the existence of the universe. After a battle in space, most of the heroes were trapped by a Zeta-Beam Ray that Adam Strange was hoping to use for teleporting away the heroes from the rift in space. Due to the ray interactions with the rift itself, the Zeta-Ray altered Bumblebee's physiology, apparently transferring her body mass to Hawkgirl. This left Bumblebee approximately six inches in height and Hawkgirl some 25 feet tall.[1][2]
One Year Later
Bumblebee is shown to have joined the Doom Patrol sometime in the past year along with her husband (now known as Vox) and Beast Boy. She must now take medicine developed by Doom Patrol leader Niles Caulder to prevent her heart from going into cardiac arrest, due to her tiny form.
Karen is presently a member of the Doom Patrol. Due to medicinal efforts from Dr. Caulder, she has grown to a height of eight inches, and she can live in a dollhouse.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Genius Level Intellect
- Science: Karen is a research engineer, though she's never stated which field she specializes in she has a general overall knowledge of scientific matters.
Weaknesses
- Power Instability: Formerly she used her suit to shrink however after an accident with a Zeta Beam she couldn't stop shrinking and this is causing her heart to seize. Without the medicine from the Chief she wouldn't survive.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Cybernetic Helmet: A safety cybernetic helmet that has an attachment to Karen's mind and spine. The antennae on the helmet allow for electricity through solar power.
- Eyepieces: Quartz prisms attached to the goggles in her helmet emit an electrical "bee" sting that has a short to long range.
- Exoskeleton: Enables flight through rapid movement on her wings that are attached to her costume, faster movement and a vibration application allow her sonic disruption. It also acts like a body armor that enhances her strength.
- Flight
- Sonic Disruption
- Disintegration (Formerly): Pre-Crisis, Bumblebee claimed that she could buzz her wings at a frequency that would cause Captain Calamity's weapons to disintegrate.[3] There has been no indication that she could accomplish this feat since Crisis on Infinite Earths altered her history and suit's functions.
- Superhuman Strength: Equipment provided superhuman strength.
- Superhuman Durability: Equipment provided superhuman durability.
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.
Trivia
- Karen--along with numerous other DCU heroines--was contacted by Oracle (Barbara Gordon) and asked to join the expanded roster of the latter's team, the Birds of Prey. However, the team disbanded before she participated in any missions.
Related
- 91 Appearances of Karen Beecher (New Earth)
- 18 Images featuring Karen Beecher (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Karen Beecher (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Karen Beecher (New Earth)
Footnotes
Doom Patrol member |
Teen Titans member This character is or was primarily a member of the younger superhero team known as the Teen Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Teen Titans members" category. |
Titans West member This character is or was a member of the Titans West in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans West members" category. |