'Stargirl' Episode 5 makes a quick mention of Red Bee, the weirdest hero from DC legends
'Stargirl' isn't slowing down with its storyline, and is throwing Easter Eggs around like confetti. In the latest episode of the CW show, there was the quick mention of the Red Bee; a hero, who is considered the worst-written DC vigilante.
In the latest episode, a determined Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) is running around trying to recruit members for the Justice Society Of America. She still needs a lesson or two in superheroing, because she can't seem to keep her identity a secret. After convincing Yolanda Montez, Courtney has her eyes set on Rick Tyler (Cameron Gellman), the angsty and wounded offspring of Hourman. Meanwhile, Beth Chapel is determined to force her way into the Justice Society Of America, and Courtney isn't entirely pleased about this.
In the previous episode, Beth Chapel (Anjelika Washington) heard Courtney and Yolanda Montez (Yvette Monreal) talking to each other, and in the latest episode, Beth came across the smart-goggles that once belonged to Dr Mid-Nite, which provided information on everything Beth looked at when she wore it and communicated it to her via artificial intelligence. Beth told Courtney that she discovered who she was after seeing her and Wildcat climbing a building, and she overheard Courtney call Wildcat, Yolanda. The artificial intelligence pointed out that this was a classic rookie superhero mistake and it's what killed Red Bee in 1959.
The Red Bee appeared in Hit Comics #1, back in July 1940. The Red Bee was a lawyer, by the name of Richard "Rick" Raleigh. Rick was an assistant district attorney of Superior City, Oregon. He was disturbed to see his town being systematically destroyed, due to organized crime. Upset that his boss was too helpless to do anything to put away powerful criminals, Rick decided to take matters into his own hands. He took on a costume and had er...power: Bee-keeping. No, you got that right. Rick specially trained a honeybee named Michael, who lived in his belt buckle and was trained to sting on command.
The Red Bee is mocked even till today, as it was a clear sign of how ludicrous some of the superheroes were, as well as the fact that the creators never did any research about bees. Honeybees can only sting once before dying, and that too, only the female bee. Michael was presumable a male. However, there were several efforts to make this character more appealing to the audience and powers were infused into the honeybee. Now the bee could sting many times, hooray. That still didn't take away from the absurdity of the premise, though. All said and done, Rick might have been the weirdest superhero in DC legends, but he still died a hero's death. He died while saving All-Star Squadron members from the Nazi supervillain Baron Blitzkrieg and was posthumously brought into the Freedom Fighters. His niece Jenna Raleigh carried on his legacy, with mechanical bee-drones