Swarm (Fritz von Meyer) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The character's entire body is composed of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

s, and is mainly featured as an enemy of

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

Publication history

Swarm first appeared in ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'' #14 (July 1977). He was created by

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...

and John Byrne.

Fictional character biography

Fritz von Meyer was born in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and became one of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's top scientists specializing in

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

and

melittology Melittology (from Greek , ''melitta'', "bee"; and ''-logia'') is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of bees. It can also be called apiology or apicology. Melittology covers the species found in the clade Anthophila within ...

. Escaping capture after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was a

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping. The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees in beehives, boxes, or other receptacles. The beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper ow ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and discovered a colony of mutated bees. Intrigued by their intelligence and passive nature, von Meyer attempted to enslave the queen bee but failed and the bees devoured him, leaving only his skeleton. Von Meyer's consciousness was absorbed into the bees, allowing him to manipulate the hive to do his will while his skeletal remains are inside the swarm itself. Swarm becomes a recurring enemy of Spider-Man as well as the Champions and

Mighty Avengers ''The Mighty Avengers'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics. Originally written by Brian Michael Bendis, also the writer of ''New Avengers'', the title first featured an officially sanctioned Avengers team of registered s ...

, and joins the Sinister Six and the Hateful Hexad.

Powers and abilities

Fritz von Meyer is a composite being of thousand bees driven by his human intelligence. He is also technically intangible, as his body is an aggregate of tiny forms. As Swarm, he can fly, assume any shape or size at will, and mentally influence other bees. Additionally, Swarm possesses expertise in beekeeping,

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

, and toxicology.

Other versions

''Marvel Fairy Tales''

An alternate universe variant of Swarm from Earth-7082 appears in '' Spider-Man: Fairy Tales'' #2.

''Marvel Adventures''

An alternate universe variant of Swarm from Earth-20051 appears in '' Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man'' #38.

Ultimate Marvel

An original incarnation of Swarm from Earth-1610 appears in the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

universe. This version is Petra Laskov, a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

who is also known as the Insect Queen and Red Wasp.'' Ultimate Comics: Avengers'' #3 (October 2009)''Ultimate Comics: Avengers'' #5 (April 2010)

Marvel Noir

An original incarnation of Swarm from Earth-90214 appears in the

Marvel Noir Marvel Noir is a 2009–2010 Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces superpowers with driven, noir-flavored characterization. ...

universe. This version is Madame Sturm, a female scientist whose powers are derived from a Spider-God totem.

In other media

Television

* An original incarnation of Swarm appears in a self-titled episode of ''

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' is a 1981–1983 American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 ''Spider-Man'' series. The show stars already-established Marve ...

'', voiced by Al Fann. This version is a beehive irradiated by a fallen meteorite's energy, gaining sentience as well as the ability to increase other bees' size and mutate humans into insect hybrid drones. Swarm attempts to spread its hive mind throughout the universe until

, Firestar, and Iceman intervene and launch the meteorite into space to reverse Swarm's effects. * An original incarnation of Swarm, Michael Tan, appears in ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'', voiced by

Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian voice actor based in the United States. He is mostly known for voicing several ''Looney Tunes'' characters, for which he won three Emmy Awards for his performances in '' Looney Tunes Cartoons'' (20 ...

in his self-titled episode and

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

in "Sandman Returns". A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is a disgruntled employee of

Stark Industries Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional multi-national conglomerate appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Frans Robe ...

whose body is made of self-replicating nanobots. * Swarm appears in ''

Marvel Super Hero Adventures ''Marvel Super Hero Adventures'' is an American short-form animated series based on characters created by Marvel Comics. Aimed at a preschool audience, the shorts first air on Disney Channel's Disney Junior block, followed by the Disney Junior c ...

'', voiced by

Ian James Corlett Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of the animated series '' Being Ian'' and '' Yvon of the Yukon'' with Studio B Productions, with notable voice roles including Mega Man ...

. * An original incarnation of Swarm,

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, appears in ''

'', voiced by

Alex Désert Alex Désert is an American actor and musician, known for his roles in the TV series ''The Flash'', '' The Heights'' with Jamie Walters, ''Becker'' with Ted Danson, and Mr. Williams on ''Boy Meets World'', as well as the voice of Nick Fury for '' ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version utilizes purple nanotech bees that grant him a solid form and have mind-controlling stingers. * An original, female incarnation of Swarm will appear in '' Iron Man and His Awesome Friends'', voiced by

Vanessa Bayer Vanessa Bayer (born November 14, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2017, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. She co-created, co-executive pr ...

Video games

Swarm appears as an unlockable playable character in ''

Marvel Strike Force ''Marvel Strike Force'' is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext (later acquired by Scopely) for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. Pre ...

''. This version is a member of the Sinister Six. While not appearing directly in the game, Swarm is indirectly mentioned in 2018's

, where "Nazis made of bees" are listed among the types of villains in the game's universe.

Miscellaneous

* Swarm appears in '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', portrayed by Gerald Avery. This version was originally an

Oscorp Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...

scientist before he was manipulated into becoming Swarm by the

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...

and joining the Sinister Six. * The Symbiotic Warfare Anthophila Restraining Model (S.W.A.R.M.) appears in '' Spider-Man: City at War''.

Reception

In August 2009, ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' listed Swarm as one of the "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters". Swarm was ranked #29 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters in 2015.

References

External links

*
Swarm
at Marvel.com {{Sinister Six Characters created by Bill Mantlo Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Comics characters introduced in 1977 Fictional bees Fictional characters from Saxony Fictional characters who can change size Fictional characters who can turn intangible Fictional collective consciousnesses Fictional entomologists Fictional Nazi fugitives Fictional roboticists Fictional superorganisms Fictional toxicologists Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics Nazis Marvel Comics shapeshifters Marvel Comics scientists Spider-Man characters