Beverly Switzler

Last updated
Beverly Switzler
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Howard the Duck #1 (Jan. 1976)
Created by Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner
In-story information
Species Human
Partnerships Howard the Duck
Notable aliasesRhonda Martina
AbilitiesFlight

Beverly Switzler is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is mostly a companion and sometimes girlfriend to Howard the Duck.

Contents

Beverly Switzler was portrayed by Lea Thompson in the 1986 film Howard the Duck .

Publication history

Switzler first appeared in Howard the Duck #1 (Jan. 1976), [1] before going on to appear alongside Howard in most of his appearances. She did not make very many appearances in comics during the 1980s.

Fictional character biography

Switzler originally worked as a nude model, until she was hired and subsequently kidnapped by the villain Pro-Rata, and was then rescued by Howard the Duck, prompting her to allow him to live with her. [2] The pair soon embarked on a road trip to New York City, [3] where a series of events lead Howard to suffer a mental breakdown and flee from Beverly in a bus. [4] However, he is later imprisoned in a mental asylum, causing Beverly and her artist friend Paul Same to rescue him and return him to Cleveland. [5] Howard and Beverly later embarked on a cruise ship, where they encountered Beverly's former college classmate Lester Verde, now the supervillain Doctor Bong, who reveals that he has had a crush on her since college and says that she must marry him, otherwise he would kill Howard. She agreed, and they were married by a passing ship captain. [6] Beverly did not enjoy being married to him as he was not interested in her and instead was only interested in the Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Bells". During her forced marriage, she used the resources available in Bong's castle to create five infant clones of Bong, called the Bong Quintuplets, and threatened to reveal that he was a negligent father unless he set her free, which he did. [7]

The two later spend Thanksgiving at Charles Xavier's Massachusetts Academy, where they encounter the mutants Artie Maddicks, Leech, and Franklin Richards. The kids invite them to their treehouse, where the alien Tana Nile is hiding. They join with the Man-Thing, who assists them from fleeing the murderous Black Tom Cassidy. As a result, the entire group go through many adventures together. [8]

Beverly, who was working as a video store clerk in Cleveland at this time, gets Howard a job as a department store Santa. [9]

Out of work

Later Howard and Beverly find themselves unemployed and living in a shack in the middle of a garbage dump. Beverly decides to look for work and is hired by a company called Globally Branded Content to be a supervisor for a boy-band singer. She is surprised, however, to learn that her salary will be an unusually high $125,000 a year. She eventually learns that this is because the head of the company is Doctor Bong, who reveals that he still has feelings towards her. Howard also learns that Bong is the head of the company and attempts to rescue Beverly, only for Bong to throw him into a vat of chemicals, with the intention of killing him. Howard survives however, but his DNA is altered causing him to transform into a series of animals. Howard and Beverly then go home, only for Bong to repeatedly phone them and ask Beverly to continue her romantic affair with him. Upon learning that Beverly feels nothing towards him but hate, he tries to have her killed by informing the US Military Howard is an Al Quida terrorist by the name of Osama el-Braka, and that Beverly is his accomplice. The military then destroy their home and were going to kill Howard and Beverly, but since Howard was a mouse and not a duck at the time, they decide they must have gone to the wrong address. Seeing as they are now homeless, Howard, Beverly and their pet pit bull terrier try to search for a hotel to stay in, but are rejected by most because they have no ID, no address, and because the hotels does not allow dogs or rodents. They were then arrested by police officers and Beverly's former classmate, Suzi Pazuzu, for disturbing the peace. When interrogating them, she does believe either of their accounts, although they both manage to escape from police custody. Meanwhile, Doctor Bong hires an assassin to kill Howard and Beverly, but the assassin only agrees if Bong will bring him a bracelet which contains the power of the doucheblade, which will grant a female wearer superpowers. Although the assassin is male, he states that he is undergoing hormone treatment so that he can become a woman and wield the doucheblade. Bong learns that the doucheblade is in possession of detective Pazuzu, so he and the assassin's son travel there to kill her and steal the doucheblade, although Beverly and Howard also learn this and travel to her home to protect her. A confrontation then ensures which ends with the bracelet landing in Howard's wrist, causing him to transform into a woman and possess the doucheblade's powers. He then kills the assassin's son and was preparing to kill Bong when Beverly intervenes and tells Howard to stop, but tells Bong that if he ever interferes with her life again she will kill him. Bong accepts that the two no longer have feelings for one another and he leaves. Beverly and Doctor Bong have not encountered each other since. Howard and Beverly then leave Pazuzu with the body of the assassin's son in her home, so that she can be framed for killing him, in order to get revenge on her for arresting them. [10]

Boarding house

Again homeless, Beverly discovers a flyer advertising a shelter called the Boarding House of Mystery which will accept pit bulls. They go to the shelter and are surprised to be told by its owner, Cain, that they do not have to pay and that fate had made them find the flyer. While staying in the shelter they encounter a journalist who offers to let them be his two new assistants and attempts to get them to guest star on the television series Iprah (a parody of Oprah ). However, this ends with a demon attacking the studio and attempting to kill Howard and Beverly, before Howard manages to kill it with a magic cigar. [11]

Civil War

During the Civil War event, Howard and Beverly attempt to register under the Superhuman Registration Act, with Howard posing as a superhero and Beverly as his sidekick, because Beverly states that they could use the money paid to registered heroes. However, they are unable to register due to Howard's disruptive nature; S.H.I.E.L.D. created a policy that he does not legally exist, as it saves "time and money". [12] After the Civil War, Beverly helped Howard to stop the villain M.O.D.O.T.'s scheme to control the public through mass media. [13]

Beverly appeared in a one-panel cameo in The New Avengers #7 (cover date Feb. 2011). She was one of the many applicants for nanny to Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' daughter, Danielle.

Howard the Duck (vol. 6)

Beverly would leave Howard again as she feared for his life. She moved to Maine where she began studying to be a veterinarian. Suddenly, Howard showed up on her doorstep and the two had a bittersweet reunion. She revealed that she was willing to return to him as soon as she finished her studies. [14] Thanks to the Sparkitects, Howard had them slightly alter reality in Beverly's favor so that when she graduated she could successfully open her own veterinary clinic, Scales & Tales. [15]

Powers and abilities

Switzler initially possessed no superhuman abilities, although Howard does jokingly say that she can turn men into ducks to prevent people flirting with her, and that another of her powers is that she can make her breasts move in opposite directions, although she must be drunk in order to do this.

In Howard the Duck vol. 6 #8, Switzler is revealed to have gained the ability to fly after having been coated in some unknown pink residue from an earlier adventure. It's unknown to what extent she can fly or what other powers she possesses as she refrains from using them in order to live a normal life.

In other media

Beverly Switzler appears in Howard the Duck (1986), portrayed by Lea Thompson. [16] [17] This version is a singer and member of the band Cherry Bomb.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwen Stacy</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George and Helen Stacy, she is the first romantic interest for Peter following his high school graduation before she is murdered by the Green Goblin. Her death has haunted Peter ever since, and stories published long afterwards indicate she still holds a special place in his heart. Gwen is posthumously subjected to numerous cloning experiments by her former professor Miles Warren, Peter's clone Ben Reilly, and an A.I. of Harry Osborn, the latter resulting in the creation of the Kindreds, and Ben briefly resurrecting Gwen in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people had unique souls of their own. In the alternate realities of Ultimate Marvel and Spider-Gwen, a still-living Gwen respectively becomes their universe's versions of Carnage and Spider-Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squadron Supreme</span> Group of fictional characters by Marvel Comics

The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previously created supervillain team Squadron Sinister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elektra (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Elektra Natchios is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in supporting roles featuring the superhero Matt Murdock / Daredevil, to whom Elektra has functioned as a villainous adversary, love interest, and later, a heroic ally. Created by Frank Miller, the character first appeared in Daredevil #168. In the various storylines in which the character has appeared since her debut, her violent nature and mercenary lifestyle has served as a divisive point of conflict between her and Daredevil, which in 2022, culminated in her becoming the second Daredevil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard the Duck</span> Marvel Comics character

Howard the Duck is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered anthropomorphic animal trapped on a human-dominated Earth. Echoing this, the most common tagline of his comics reads 'Trapped In a World He Never Made!'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arcade (Marvel Comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Arcade is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in 1978's Marvel Team-Up #65, the creation of writer Chris Claremont and writer/artist John Byrne. The character is a combination of an evil genius and a hitman who carries out his assassinations via various elaborate traps, often referred to as Murderworld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man-Thing</span> Marvel Comics character

The Man-Thing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1, and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including Adventure into Fear. Steve Gerber's 39-issue run on the series is considered to be a cult classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojo (comics)</span> Fictional character in Marvel Comics

Mojo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those featuring the X-Men family of characters. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Arthur Adams, Mojo first appeared in Longshot #3, as the titular hero's archenemy, and subsequently a villain to the X-Men and their various sub-groups as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider-Man 2099</span> Comic book superhero

Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for the Marvel 2099 comic book line, and he is a futuristic re-imagining of the original Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. His true identity is Miguel O'Hara, an Irish-Mexican geneticist living in Nueva York in the year 2099 who attempts to re-create the abilities of the original Spider-Man in other people and later suffers a related accident that causes half of his DNA to be rewritten with a spider's genetic code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hand (comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional group

The Hand is a supervillain organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Hand first appeared in Daredevil #174 and was created by writer/artist Frank Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippolyta (Marvel Comics)</span> Comics character

Hippolyta is a fictional Amazon character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Thor #127. Hippolyta is the daughter of Ares, the God of War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Bong</span> Fictional character appearing in American comic books

Doctor Bong is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character possesses an advanced knowledge of genetic engineering, and his bell-shaped helmet can be struck to create a number of effects. Intended as a parody of Doctor Moreau, he is an archenemy of Howard the Duck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hood</span> Marvel Comics fictional comic book supervillain

The Hood is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan, and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell, the character was introduced in his own self-titled limited series, which started with Hood #1. Robbins was originally a petty criminal, until an encounter with a Nisanti demon, which he defeated and robbed of its hood and boots, gaining superpowers in the process, such as levitation and invisibility. As "the Hood", he became a well-known figure in the New York City criminal underworld, and eventually formed his own crime syndicate.

<i>Howard the Duck</i> (film) 1986 American superhero comedy film directed by Willard Huyck

Howard the Duck is a 1986 American superhero comedy film directed by Willard Huyck and starring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, and Tim Robbins. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film was produced by Gloria Katz and written by Huyck and Katz, with George Lucas as executive producer. The screenplay was originally intended to be an animated film, but the film adaptation became live-action because of a contractual obligation. While several TV adaptations of Marvel characters were aired, this was the first theatrical release since the Captain America serial of 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Stark</span> American comic book character by Marvel

Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the founder of Stark Industries. Throughout the character's publication history, he has been featured in several incarnations of comic book series.

Mary Skrenes is a comic book writer and screenwriter. She may be best known as co-creator of Omega the Unknown for Marvel Comics, although she worked on other Marvel characters such as the Defenders and Guardians of the Galaxy. She was the creator of and inspiration for Beverly Switzler, the companion of Howard the Duck. For Omega the Unknown, Skrenes created the supporting characters Amber Grant and Dian Wilkins. She published a number of horror stories for DC under the name Virgil North, and began a long collaboration with Steve Skeates. According to Skeates, a number of his mystery stories were actually co-written with Skrenes, but she insisted on submitting them under Skeates's name alone because of bad blood between her and editor Joe Orlando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MODOK</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

MODOK is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #93. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former employee of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), an arms-dealing organization specializing in futuristic weaponry, who undergoes substantial mutagenic medical experimentation originally designed to increase his intelligence. While successful, the experiments result in him developing a freakishly overdeveloped head and a stunted body, causing the character's signature look and use of a hoverchair for mobility. After the experiments, he kills his creators and takes control of A.I.M. Following Tarleton being changed back to normal, a new independent being created afterward dubs himself MODOK Superior, becoming the enemy of Gwenpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Original Sin (comics)</span> 2014 Marvel comic book series

"Original Sin" is a 2014 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. The story features Nick Fury and the Avengers investigating the murder of Uatu the Watcher, only to suffer trauma from what they see in his eyes. They also come into conflict with a group of misled self-appointed investigators led by Black Panther and Punisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwenpool</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics

Gwenpool is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A girl from the real world transported to the Marvel Universe, her physical design originated as an amalgam of Gwen Stacy and Wade Wilson created by Chris Bachalo for a variant cover of Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2, which was one of twenty such variant covers published due to the popularity of Spider-Gwen from June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kindred (Marvel Comics)</span> Comics character

The Kindreds, or simply Kindred, is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced in 2004 as Gabriel and Sarah, the alleged twin children of Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy, with Gabriel becoming the Grey Goblin and later the second American Son, their true origin is later revealed during the Sinister War story-arc as a series of constantly dying and recreated clones of Peter Parker and Gwen, created by a corrupted A.I. copy of Harry Osborn, that were then transformed into demonic revenants by Mephisto as Kindred.

References

  1. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 366. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ↑ Howard the Duck #1 (Jan. 1976)
  3. ↑ Howard the Duck #6 (Nov. 1976)
  4. ↑ Howard the Duck #9-10 (Feb.-March 1977)
  5. ↑ Howard the Duck #11-14 (April–July 1977)
  6. ↑ Howard the Duck #15-19 (Aug.-Dec. 1977)
  7. ↑ The Sensational She-Hulk #5 (Sept. 1989)
  8. ↑ Generation X #25 (March 1997)
  9. ↑ The Howard the Duck Holiday Special #1 (Feb. 1997)
  10. ↑ Howard the Duck vol. 2 #1-3 (March–May 2002)
  11. ↑ Howard the Duck vol. 2 #4-5 (June–July 2002)
  12. ↑ Civil War: Choosing Sides #1
  13. ↑ Howard the Duck vol. 3 #1-4
  14. ↑ Howard the Duck vol. 6 #8 (Aug. 2016)
  15. ↑ Howard the Duck vol. 6 #11 (Dec. 2016)
  16. ↑ Thomas, Bob (August 13, 1986). "Associated Press critic looks at two new movies". Indiana Gazette . Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  17. ↑ Mithra, Kuljit (December 1997). "Interview With Steve Gerber (December 1997)". ManWithoutFear.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.