The Man of Steel #2 Has A Surprise Cameo From Ambush Bug

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Man of Steel #2 by Brian Michael Bendis, Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Jason Fabok, Alex Sinclair and Josh Reed, on sale now.

One of the most exciting things about Brian Michael Bendis dipping his toe into the DC Universe is seeing which characters he’s going to gravitate to. During his time at Marvel, he showcased an obvious affection for the likes of Luke Cage, Spider-Woman and The Hood, carrying their stories across multiple titles and volumes.

Two issues in on The Man of Steel, Bendis is slowly expanding his scope. This issue features a Green Lantern cameo and a hint of The Joker, but the most surprising face is a character who may end up being a Bendis favorite, a character who also happens to be one of the pioneers of fourth-wall breaking in modern superhero comics.

It’s An Ambush!

Halfway through The Man of Steel #2, the comic takes a break from following Superman and cuts to the far end of The Vega System where Rogol Zaar is sharing a drink with a friend and learns of the existence of a surviving Kryptonian. However, the character used to initiate the transition from the Superman scenes to the Rogol Zaar scenes is none other than Ambush Bug, one of the wackiest characters in the DC Universe.

Created by Keith Giffen, Ambush Bug first debuted in DC Comics Presents #52 as an antagonist for Superman and the Doom Patrol. He quickly transitioned into a more superheroic persona, though still as annoying and off-the-wall. Ambush Bug was popular with readers and especially popular with editor Julius Schwartz who encouraged Giffen to explore the character in a number of mini-series and one-shots, which established Ambush Bug as a character with some understanding of his role as a fictional character in a comic book, a decade before Deadpool began using the same schtick.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Who%20the%20Heck%20is%20Ambush%20Bug%2C%20Anyway%3F']

Ambush Bug is Irwin Schwab, a mentally ill man who discovered a green skintight costume which granted him the ability to teleport. Supposedly, his costume comes from the planet Schwab, where Brum-El placed his beloved wardrobe in a rocket and sent it away so it would survive the destruction of his world. Only two items of the wardrobe survived; the Ambush Bug suit, and one argyle sock which would go on to be Ambush Bug’s greatest nemesis, Argh!yle!

Ambush Bug began a superheroic career after his attempts to battle Superman and his allies, and like any good superhero he adopted a young ward as his sidekick. Only this young ward was a doll whom he named Cheeks, The Toy Wonder and carried around with him as if it was alive (nb: it may be). Ambush Bug joined the Doom Patrol in its pre-Flashpoint incarnation, joining the team on Oolong Island, and saves the day by breaking the news of the book’s cancellation to their villain along with revealing some secrets of the upcoming universe relaunch.

Since then, Ambush Bug has only ever made appearances in the Channel 52 back-ups which appeared throughout the New 52 line several years. Serving as a field reporter for the channel, he covered recent events in the DC Universe with his own irreverent spin. It’s likely that due to Calender Man’s own role as a reporter for Channel 52 that the strips are non-canonical or at least semi-canonical, but Ambush Bug has a strained relationship with the concept of continuity as it is, so it’s best not to worry about it.

Bug Spray

So what’s Ambush Bug doing singing his heart out in Taffey’s West, a bar in the far end of the Vega System? He may look like an alien, but he is a normal Earthman — or as normal as he can be. There’s a couple of explanations possible; for one, it might not be Irwin Schwab but some alien with an Ambush Bug suit similar to the one cast off by Brum-El. It could be that with all the retcons, relaunches and revivals, Ambush Bug has a new origin in the post-New 52, post DC Rebirth universe. He might be an alien, he might be a fifth dimensional imp, or he might just be visiting.

That’s the thing with Ambush Bug, you don’t need to explain why he’s there, or what he’s up to because his irreverence and unpredictability is part of the appeal of the character. It’s most likely that this is Irwin Schwab who remembers everything from before Crisis on Infinite Earths through to now and probably has a bunch of killer jokes about Brian Michael Bendis’ defection from Marvel to DC. Bendis is known for running jokes in his comics, just look at the police department scenes throughout his time on Ultimate Spider-Man for example. Ambush Bug could be Bendis’ next big in-joke, showing up where you least expect him to steal the scene, crack a joke or in this case, sing a song. The only thing sure about Ambush Bug is nothing’s for sure.

We Get It, You’re Vegan

One last thing we want to highlight about this scene is the importance of the Vega System to DC Comics. As the system is off-limits to Green Lanterns, the Vega System is the lawless west of the DC Universe, where criminals go to hideout and escape justice. Bendis’s use of the system as a refuge for Rogol Zaar is reminiscent of Knowhere, the floating Celestial head and frequent hideout for the Guardians of the Galaxy, whom Bendis wrote for several years before leaving for DC.

The Vega System played a big role in Tom King’s breakout maxiseries The Omega Men, as the titular band of freedom fighters fought to free the system from the control of The Citadel, who were systematically mining worlds for a rare mineral capable of preventing disasters like that which happened to Krypton. Considering that Rogol Zaar is implied to have had a role in the destruction of Krypton, his presence in the Vega System is telling. And as we learn about his links to Krypton’s demise, his contacts within the DC Universe’s most lawless sector may prove incredibly important to the overall mystery.