B'wana Beast

Created by Bob Haney and Mike Sekowsky, B'wana Beast made his first appearance in Showcase #66 (January 1967).Showcase #66

The character was an attempt to capitalize on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan, borrowing the African jungle setting and "Tarzan yell" which was created in the Johnny Weissmuller incarnation of Tarzan.{{cite book |last1=Eury |first1=Michael |title=Hero-a-go-go! : campy comic books, crimefighters & culture of the swinging sixties |date=2017 |publisher=TwoMorrrows |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-60549-073-1 |page=67 |url=https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1273}}

Michael Maxwell is a ranger in Zambezi's nature preserves who crashes on Mount Kilimanjaro after his plane is struck by lightning. He and his companions take refuge in the cavern home of Djuba, a mutant red gorilla. After drinking the cavern's mineral-rich water, Maxwell gains superhuman strength and defeats Djuba.

Acknowledging Maxwell as its master, Djuba gives him a mystical helmet that enables him to communicate with and fuse animals.{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Jon |title=The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half Baked Heroes from Comic Book History |date=2015 |publisher=Quirk Books |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-1-59474-763-2 |pages=134–135}} Later, S.T.A.R. Labs scientists infect B'wana Beast and Djuba with anthrax.Animal Man #3 (November 1988) Djuba dies, but Animal Man cures B'wana Beast by enhancing his immune system.Animal Man #4 (December 1988) In Animal Man #13 (July 1989), Maxwell retires and gives his helmet and elixir to South African activist Dominic Mndawe, who becomes Freedom Beast.Animal Man #13 (July 1989)

Mike Maxwell returns in Animal Man #47 (May 1992), where the Antagon entity possesses him and transforms him into Shining Man. He wreaks havoc on Earth before being killed in a fight with Metaman.Animal Man #47-50 (May-August 1992)

In The New 52 continuity reboot, B'wana Beast is a rejected Justice League International applicant whose abilities are derived from the Red, a mystical force connecting animal life.Justice League International (vol. 3) #1 (November 2011)

B'wana Beast drinks an elixir that gives him superhuman strength, speed, hunting and tracking abilities. He also wears an ancient helmet that allows him to communicate with animals and merge them to form Chimeras.{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=McAvennie |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-8578-6 |page=123}}Showcase #67 (March 1967)

• B'wana Beast appears in The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. Additionally, the studio considered making a standalone B'wana Beast series, but it did not come to fruition.{{cite journal|url=http://www.aquamanshrine.net/2008/05/aquaman-meets-blackhawks.html?m=1|journal=Back Issue!|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|title=The 1968 DC Filmation Pilots|first=Darren |last=McNeil|issue=5|date=July 2004|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130220727/http://www.aquamanshrine.net/2008/05/aquaman-meets-blackhawks.html?m=1|archive-date=January 30, 2014}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20140130220727/http://www.aquamanshrine.net/2008/05/aquaman-meets-blackhawks.html?m=1 The Aquaman Shrine: Aquaman Meets The Blackhawks?]
• B'wana Beast appears in Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Peter Onorati.{{cite web |title=B'wana Beast Voices (DC Universe) |url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/DC-Universe/Bwana-Beast/ |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors |postscript=. 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 member of the Justice League who has a thick New York accent and blue collar personality. Additionally, according to the DVD commentary for the episode "This Little Piggy", a seductive growl that B'wana Beast directs at Zatanna was provided by producer James Tucker as Onorati was unable to do so.
• B'wana Beast appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version is the love interest of Vixen and a former wrestler who gained his abilities from exposure to contaminated radioactive water. In the two-part episode "The Siege of Starro!", B'wana Beast sacrifices himself to destroy Starro. However, he returns in the series finale "Mitefall!" to attend the series' wrap party.
• Additionally, an unnamed alternate universe incarnation of B'wana Beast makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in a flashback in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!" as a member of the Injustice Syndicate.
• B'wana Beast makes non-speaking appearances in Teen Titans Go!.
• B'wana Beast appears in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Freakshow", portrayed by Jason William Day.{{cite web |author=Anderson |first=Jenna |date=July 23, 2017 |title=First Look at B'wana Beast on Legends of Tomorrow |url=http://comicbook.com/dc/2017/07/23/legends-of-tomorrow-season-3-trailer-bwana-beast/ |accessdate=July 28, 2017 |website=Comic Book}} This version is an unnamed strongman working for P. T. Barnum's traveling circus.

B'wana Beast makes a cameo appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

B'wana Beast appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=October 4, 2013 |title=DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/scribblenauts-unmasked/DC_Characters_and_Objects |access-date=May 30, 2024 |website=IGN}}

B'wana Beast appears in Justice League Unlimited #29.{{Cite web |title=Justice League Unlimited #29 - Untamed (Issue) |url=https://comicvine.gamespot.com/justice-league-unlimited-29-untamed/4000-112023/ |access-date=May 30, 2024 |website=Comic Vine |language=en}}

• Four B'wana Beast action figures were produced by Mattel. The first was released as part of the company's Justice League Unlimited line as part of a six-figure boxed set along with Superman, Crimson Fox, Deadman, Commander Steel, and Vibe.
• Two figures of B'wana Beast from Batman: The Brave and the Bold were produced, one in the five-inch scale and another in a two-pack with Batman as part of the smaller Action League series.
• A six-inch scale DC Universe Classics figure of B'wana Beast was released in the "Justice in the Jungle" two-pack with Animal Man in December 2009 as a MattyCollector.com internet exclusive.

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050904043916/http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=BWANABEAST Unofficial Guide to DC Comics entry]
• [http://www.lethargiclad.com/gorilla/showcase66.html B'wana Beast entry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195207/http://www.lethargiclad.com/gorilla/showcase66.html |date=2016-03-03 }}

Category:Characters created by Bob Haney

Category:Characters created by Mike Sekowsky

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1967

Category:DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds

Category:DC Comics psychics

Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability

Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman senses

Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman strength

Category:DC Comics telepaths

Category:DC Comics superheroes

Category:DC Comics martial artists

Category:DC Comics fantasy characters

Category:Fictional characters who can communicate with animals

Category:Fictional characters who can control animals

Category:Fictional empaths

Category:Jungle men

Category:Jungle superheroes