The Red Bee

It’s hard to suppress a laugh when reading some of the Red Bee’s adventures. But consider: he was preceded by the “Green Hornet,” and “Blue Beetle,” both successes. Blame it on the trained bee. Regardless, the character is immortalized as much for its absurdity as it is for having been featured on the cover of Hit Comics #1, 5 and 7—elegantly drawn by Lou Fine. Fine drew the Red Bee on the cover of Hit Comics #1, but did not draw the first adventure, which looks like it was drawn in the Iger studio. The art is poor, and resembles the work of Charles Nicholas (Wojtkoski), but it was always signed with the pen name “B. H. Apiary” (an apiary is a collection of beehives). Later appearances (beginning with Hit #10) are clearly the work of Witmer Williams (who sometimes signed his work “by Clark Williams”). Williams’ characters in the “Eagle Evans” feature in Police Comics are dead ringers for the forms seen in his “Red Bee.” Williams was also known to be an Iger studio employee at this time. (Alter Ego #21)

Still, this feature was neither one of “quality” nor a “hit.” His fancy sheer shirt preceded Firebrand’s by a year and his pants lost their stripes in Hit #4. 

Rick Raleigh, the assistant District Attorney Hawkes of Superior City, decided to expedite the process of law and order by becoming a mystery man—the Red Bee! He dared to fight crime with naught but his own two fists and a trained bee named Michael. In his first case, he brought about the conviction of Boss Storm, head of a corrupt political machine. (Hit Comics #1)

Most of his time was spent in the efforts of homeland security. When American ships were raided at the Panama Canal, the Red Bee did his part to show that war was not necessary for the United States. (#9)

His adventures were largely fast and forgettable, but he boasted a few exotic foes like Dr. Marah (#4) and Shanghai Joe. (#10)

His final adventures were an embarrassing mess. In Hit #19, Raleigh met the young spitfire Valerie Ransome, who came into the D.A.’s office seeking help with a stolen car she’d bought. Rick didn’t hesitate to involve her in the case. She held her own, swinging away at the crooks. Successive adventures usually featured a brunette similar to Valerie but the character was never named as such. She ostensibly became “Nancy” in Hit #20, a character named on the splash page but then never seen in the story. 

DC

The Red Bee’s DC and Quality histories mix seamlessly, especially because his original adventures were so few.

After the U.S. entrance into World War II, the Red Bee decided to enlist his services with the All-Star Squadron. At his first meeting, he met Uncle Sam and joined his splinter group, the Freedom Fighters. They moved to stop Baron Blitzkrieg’s invasion of Santa Barbara, California. There the Red Bee sacrificed his life in the effort; he was murdered by Blitzkrieg, who broke Raleigh’s body on a jagged outcropping. (All-Star Squadron #31-35)

Decades later, in the afterlife, the Red Bee befriended the son of the original Starman, David Knight (Starman VI). To this netherworld, David sometimes brought his brother, Jack (Starman VII). David and Jack dined with the spectres of several other deceased mystery men. In this state, the Red Bee expressed some resentment towards other heroes, many of whom thought of him as a joke. But he had great respect for the original Starman because he had treated him as an equal. (Starman vol. 2 #37)

Powers

The Red Bee had a lone trained bee named Michael. Stored in his belt, Michael could be unleashed on opponents. (Michael was not a honey bee, because he did not die after releasing his stinger.) Raleigh was also a superb fighter.

 

Rick Raleigh is succeeded by the granddaughter of one of his siblings, Jenna Raleigh (Red Bee II), who joined Uncle Sam’s new Freedom Fighters.

Jenna was among several heroes kept in reserve by Uncle Sam and called to action when the Presidency was infiltrated by the alien called Gonzo. (Uncle Sam & the FF #5) She had received Rick Raleigh’s old equipment from Uncle Sam and fashioned it into formidable mechanical weapons, including a suit that enabled her to fly, and robot bees that delivered a powerful “sting.” (#6) When Gonzo was defeated, Jenna remained full-time with the Freedom Fighters, now again an official American security force. 

The Fighters’s next mission brought great change to the new Bee, who underwent serious metamorphosis after being captured by insectoid aliens. Jenna was able to learn their language and drove off their queen. (Uncle Sam & the FF vol. 2 #1) But the new powers didn’t stop there; Jenna’s body fashioned a new cocoon from which she emerged with red skin and antennae. (#2) Tests revealed that she’d also gained super-stength. (#3)

Jenna was the first to discover that the Freedom Fighters’ aide, Director Robbins, was up to no good. But in the effort to take him down, Robbins messed with Jenna’s mind (#4) driving her mad. The Red Bee attempted to “breed” with the Human Bomb and enslaved her teammates. (#5) When they restored her sanity, Jenna sensed that the alien queen was returning with an armada. (#7) Her powers were instrumental in helping kill the queen aboard her ship but afterwards Jenna’s relationship with the team was left strained. (#8) After Jenna was dispossessed of the alien, her physical features reverted to normal.

Since then, Jenna has returned to research. (Freedom Fighters vol. 2 #8)

Powers

Jenna uses a formidable array of advanced weaponry that enables her to fly, and emit stinging blasts from her wrists. Temporarily, she was empowered by an insectoid alien race which gave her mental control over humans and transformed her body. Her red skin and antenna receded once she was cleared of this “infection,” but she did maintain some empathic link with that race. She may still have some residual communicative ability with insects.