Wildebeest (character)
Wildebeest is the name of different characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
History
[edit]Wildebeest I
[edit]The first Wildebeest is a poacher and mercenary who was an enemy of Chris King and Vicki Grant.[1]
Wildebeest Society
[edit]The second Wildebeest was a supervillain and founder of the Wildebeest Society, a criminal cartel that conducted various underhanded affairs for financial gain. Although the Society had many members, only one Wildebeest operated publicly, giving the illusion that all of their crimes were being committed by a single individual. The thinking behind this was that there would appear to be one villain, but "his" M.O. would seem to change with each crime, making "his" next move impossible to predict.
In his first encounter with the Teen Titans, Wildebeest had framed Starfire for murder. He used a robot likeness to antagonize Starfire and then swapped it out with a suit containing a dead man.[2] Nightwing found the evidence to prove Starfire's innocence.[3]
Wildebeest's second attempt to destroy the Teen Titans involved him breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs and capturing the pregnant Mother Mayhem whose baby would become the new Brother Blood.[4] Wildebeest later set up a group of second-second string villains consisting of Gizmo, Disruptor, Puppeteer, and Trident, and caused the people to think that a new supervillain group was being formed. While Mother Mayhem gave birth to her child, the villains were defeated, but Wildebeest escaped.[5]
Wildebeest later took control of Cyborg, which caused people to think that the Wildebeest Society had connections at S.T.A.R. Labs, and used him to attack the Teen Titans.[6]
In time, the Wildebeest Society fell under the sway of the former New Titan Jericho (who himself had been possessed by the souls of Azarath). The corrupted Jericho took control of the Wildebeest Society. Under the leadership of Jericho, the Wildebeest Society began conducting experiments to create the perfect host bodies for the evil spirits to possess. All of their experiments failed except for the human/panther hybrid labeled X-24 (who later became Pantha) which escaped and vowed vengeance on the Wildebeest Society. Jericho then staged an elaborate "Titans Hunt" to capture current and former members of the Teen Titans to acquire host bodies and contain the souls of Azarath when their experiments were failing to yield results. The Titans were rescued by Pantha, Arella, Phantasm, Red Star, and Jericho's father Deathstroke. At the conclusion of this affair, the Wildebeest Society was destroyed and Jericho was killed at the hands of Deathstroke when Jericho broke free from the possession and begged his father to kill him. The final experiment by the Wildebeest Society called Baby Wildebeest fell into the Teen Titans' custody.[7]
Baby Wildebeest
[edit]New Wildebeests
[edit]While the Titans were affected by Klarion the Witch Boy's aging spell, the demonic supervillain Goth created upgraded versions of the Wildebeests who resembled human-wildebeest hybrids and attacked JFK International Airport and Grand Central Station before being defeated by the Titans. Beast Boy and Flamebird encountered a separate group and believed them to be hostile, but discover that an elderly gentleman had tamed them to keep the neighborhood safe.[8][9]
Cybernetic Wildebeest
[edit]A separate Wildebeest created by Project M and enhanced with Cyborg's technology later kidnapped Starfire and Tim Drake before being defeated by the Titans.[10][11]
Powers and abilities
[edit]The members of the Wildebeest Society are master tacticians and wear strength-boosting exoskeletons, resembling a monstrous, humanoid version of their namesakes. The New Wildebeests are wildebeest hybrids who possess enhanced strength, while the Cybernetic Wildebeest was cybernetically enhanced.
In other media
[edit]Television
[edit]- Wildebeest appears in Teen Titans, voiced initially by Jim Cummings and subsequently by Dee Bradley Baker.[12] This version is an honorary member of the Teen Titans.
- Wildebeest makes a cameo appearance in the Teen Titans Go! (2013) episode "Campfire Stories".
Video games
[edit]- Wildebeest appears in Teen Titans (2005), voiced again by Dee Bradley Baker.[12]
- Wildebeest appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[13]
Miscellaneous
[edit]The Teen Titans animated series incarnation of Wildebeest, with elements of Baby Wildebeest, appears in Teen Titans Go! (2004), which reveals him to be a metahuman child who transforms into Wildebeest when agitated.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ Action Comics #483. DC Comics.
- ^ The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #36. DC Comics.
- ^ The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #37. DC Comics.
- ^ The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #41. DC Comics.
- ^ The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #42. DC Comics.
- ^ The New Titans #57-59. DC Comics.
- ^ The New Titans #71-84. DC Comics.
- ^ Titans #36. DC Comics.
- ^ Titans #35. DC Comics.
- ^ Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2005. DC Comics.
- ^ DC Special: Cyborg #3. DC Comics.
- ^ a b "Wildebeest Voices (Teen Titans)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 18, 2024. 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 opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ "Teen Titans Go! #16 - Beauty & the Wildebeest (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Wildebeest I at DC Comics Wiki
- Wildebeest Society at DC Comics Wiki
- Wildebeest Society at Comic Vine
- Wildebeest Society at Titans Tower
- New Wildebeests at Titans Tower
- Cybernetic Wildebeest at Titans Tower
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