Bumblebee
No, we’re not talking about the yellow Transformer that does more spin kicks than Jean-Claude Van Damme; this is about Teen Titan member Karen Beecher, better known as Bumblebee. While she’s recognized as DC’s first African-American female superhero, her character’s look and feel was taken from another heroine at Marvel: Wasp.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Janet van Dyne’s Wasp first appeared in June 1963 in Tales to Astonish #44. Since then, she’s gone on to play a pivotal part in Ant-Man’s arc and became an Avenger as well. In the MCU, Janet will form a part of 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, played by Michelle Pfeiffer.
The character Karen Beecher first appeared in Teen Titans #45 in 1976 and then as Bumblebee in Teen Titans #48 in 1977. She’s been in and out of the Titans – and also a member of the Doom Patrol – but she’s back in action in Rebirth, appearing in Dan Abnett’s Titans. Even now, she remains a deadstinger for Wasp.
Bullseye
A deadly marksman is hardly a novel concept and no comic book company can really claim they came up with that idea. That said, you cannot deny the similarities between Bullseye and Deadshot.
While they may look nothing alike, both are renowned for their expert-level marksmanship and being hired thugs: Deadshot is a master of guns and Bullseye can turn anything around him into a weapon. It’s the latter’s ability to turn anything into a lethal projectile, however, which makes him arguably the better villain since he could kill you with a pencil if necessary. Although, we’re sure that Suicide Squad fans will have something to say about this assertion.
Regardless, we can’t ignore the fact that Floyd Lawton was created before Bullseye. The character’s origins can be traced back to 1950, while Marvel’s assassin first appeared 26 years later in 1976. In this case, he’s still the imitation.
