Comic book characters are revamped all the time. Usually, those changes are cosmetic, such as when a character changes their costume. However, sometimes those changes might involve a seemingly new character revamping a classic idea.
This is the case with Power Girl #7 by Leah Williams and Marguerite Sauvage, which puts a magical spin on a classic Superman villain.
The previous issue found Power Girl and Supergirl teaming up to investigate a new street drug called Avalon. The drug reportedly made users hallucinate that they were traveling into a magical world. However, the two Kryptonian heroes discovered that was actually the case. Faster than you could say “isekai,” they found themselves in the magical realm of Ferembia, and were caught up on recent events by a friendly bard.
Ferembia was a land in turmoil, thanks to the woman known as Madame Avice. A scientist on Earth, Avice Stanislava left Earth behind after Superman stopped her amoral experiments. These involved replicating the insectoid behaviors of ants and wasps in humans.
In Ferembia, she traded her science for magic, and turned most of the populace into her drones. She also created the Avalon drug to summon more workers, which got Power Girl’s attention. While the name is not applied to her in Power Girl #7, the methods of Madame Avice strongly resemble the modus operandi of the Superman villain called the Insect Queen.
Insect Queen Explained
There have been several DC Comics characters called the Insect Queen. Most of them are connected to Superman’s first love, Lana Lang. Some of them have also fought Supergirl and Power Girl.
The first Insect Queen was the Lana Lang of Earth-1, who was given a ring that let her mimic the abilities of insects once a day. She became a reserve member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The second Insect Queen was a villain. This one was the Lana Lang of Earth-2, who became corrupted by an Egyptian scarab that gave her the power to control and enlarge insects.
A third Insect Queen was introduced into the modern Superman books during Infinite Crisis. This Insect Queen was an alien, who sought to conquer the Earth by transforming the people into her insectoid drones. In a nod to the classic character, she took on a form resembling Lana Lang, but with wings, four arms and antennae.
There are two other Insect Queens who are not connected to Lana Lang. One is Lonna Leing of the planet Xanthu, who is an ally of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The other is the Earth-3 counterpart of the villain Queen Bee.
Power Girl #7 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
