Publisher DC Comics Alter ego Roderick Rose Notable aliases Robert Dobson Affiliation Intergang | Created by Bob Haney, Neal Adams Team affiliations Intergang Creators Bob Haney, Neal Adams | |
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Abilities Superhuman strength
Ability to leap long distances
Secretion of adhesives
Durable exoskeleton
Can turn others into "larvae" of himself First appearance The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #80 (November 1968) Similar Reactron, Vartox, Livewire, Francine Langstrom, Lady Vic | ||
Hellgrammite (Roderick Rose) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an enemy of Superman.
Contents
Publication history
Hellgrammite made his debut in The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #80 (November 1968) created by Bob Haney and Neal Adams.
Pre-Crisis
An entomologist named Roderick Rose, the Hellgrammite subjects himself to a mutagenic process that transforms him into a grasshopper-like insectoid. He possesses superhuman strength and leaping abilities, the power to secrete adhesives and weave transformative or imprisoning cocoons, and a durable exoskeleton. A number of his schemes revolve around transforming others into weaker, subordinate versions of himself, leading to clashes with Batman and The Creeper in Brave and the Bold #80, and with Green Arrow and the Black Canary in World's Finest Comics #248-249.
Post-Crisis
In the Post-Crisis DC Universe, the Hellgrammite returns as a recurring foe for Superman, first encountering the Man of Steel after being hired (by then LexCorp board member George Markham) to kill Lex Luthor. During the Underworld Unleashed crossover, he makes a deal with Neron, trading his soul in return for increased physical powers and an improved ability to transform others into his drones. In a crossover special, Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear #1, it was stated that he had once used the alias Robert Dobson.
Although there were rumors of Hellgrammite's death as a member of the Suicide Squad during the Imperiex crisis, it was instead a similar villain named Larvanaut who died. He has been seen alive One Year Later, still a member of Superman's rogues' gallery, acting as an assassin for Intergang.
Following the destruction of Star City at the hands of Prometheus, the new Batman leads a newly formed Justice League in a hunt to track down the various villains who helped Prometheus in his plot. The team finds Hellgrammite and several other villains attempting to flee the country, and a battle ensues. Hellgrammite is ultimately defeated after Donna Troy ties up a villainess named Harpi with her lasso, and then swings her into the villain, knocking both of them out.
Powers and abilities
Hellgrammite is capable of super-strength, improved jumping and producing cocoons to imprison his foes or transform them into drone versions of himself.