Buck Mitty was the victim of a tightened academic budget at Empire State University, as his Entomology Department was the subject of severe cut-backs. Rather than accept a transfer to another area in the Biological Sciences, Mitty quit. He regretted his decision soon enough, for he was now without the funds necessary to continue his research into our six-legged friends. And so began a life of crime.

His first outing, an attempt to steal several million dollars worth of black pearls, was abortive, as an armed gang of thugs had beaten Humbug to the waterfront. Humbug would have confronted the thieves and taken the pearls if not for the intervention of the hero Spider-Man, whose entrance discouraged Humbug.

The next afternoon, Humbug attempted to steal millions of dollars from an armored car, only to be put down by Spider-Man after an unsurprisingly brief fight. Released by a sympathetic judge, Humbug returned to crime, now intending to rob Empire State University. Again, he encountered Spider-Man, and surrendered after Spider-Man threatened to kill a jar of roaches. Reprimanded to police custody, Mitty served his time and was released.

Once again, however, the University cut funding for the entomology department, prompting Mitty to resume his Humbug identity and attacks on the school, targeting the objects of increased funding. The mercenary Deadpool was hired to take care of the problem, and although Humbug succeeded in evading and even temporarily deafening Deadpool, the mercenary caught up with him. Deadpool coated Mitty with honey and doused him with a sample of fire ants. In his panic, Mitty turned his weapons on the ants and fired upon himself, apparently killing himself.

Humbug reappeared as a member of the new Heroes for Hire because he was trying to redeem himself. During an adventure in the Savage Land, insects there changed him, giving him a mask he wore over his face, along with a new suit, and increased powers. He acted in a totally different manner after this. He killed a bug alien when back in New York during World War Hulk, in order to cover himself and his teammates with the scent, and then led them onto the alien ship. He then abandoned them, going to find the Brood queen, and agreed to be a host for her eggs. When his teammates were to be punished for the death of the bug that only Humbug had killed, he blamed Tarantula, thus sparing the rest, and letting someone he didn't like take the blame for his action. Colleen Wing, knowing he had a crush on her, claimed she did it, thinking he'd save her, but alas, he said nothing, and she ended up being sentenced to death along side Tarantula.

Later, the mask he wore was separated from him, and turned out to be an insect, an agent of Earth's Hive mind. It had been controlling Humbug, using him to get to the brood queen, and also to collect her eggs^[1]. It sterilized the queen, and said that her eggs wouldn't hatch, as Humbug was altered to be an unfit host before being sent to her.

When Shang-Chi went to rescue him, Humbug said he regreted what happened to Colleen, he only wanting to give them the "mean one". Shang-Chi had developed a close relationship with Tarantula, and hearing this, ripped off Humbug's head, apparently killing him.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Uses some audio tapes and a series of amplifiers to broadcast the noises of various insect species, can also communicate with insects.

Following Heroes for Hire #9, Humbug received a massive increase in his powers, as well as an exosuit. He has so far demonstrated superhuman strength, speed, agility, senses, and the ability to communicate with any insectoid in the world and possibly beyond Earth. It remains to be seen if these powers are internal or from the suit, if they are permanent, and what other powers he also possesses.

Power Grid ^[2]

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

Humbug, Mitty's weapons were amplified sounds of particular insects. He carried a collection of cassette tapes which held each sound and, when properly amplified through devices in his gloves, demonstrated various effects, including:

hypersonic pitch emitted as pure force, and whose direction of attack is virtually undetectable (Eye-spotted Bud Moth, Buffalo Tree-hopper, or Meadow Spittle-bug).
magnetic charge that imbues all metal objects in the area to repel each other (Imbricated Snout Beetle).
vibrating hum that induces all victims in an area to chortle uncontrollably (Oblique-banded Leaf Roller).
hypersonic pitch capable of piercing objects as an edged weapon (Wheat-stem Sawfly).
shrieking attack that shatters all glass in a line-of-sight area and shorts out all electronic equipment (Salt-marsh Mosquito).
delicate wheezing that melts electronic equipment in the same area (Saw-toothed Grain Beetle).
roar that can set small fires (Bloodsucking Cone Nose).
Other effects, equally impressive, are possible from such cassettes as the Cow-pea weevil, the Short-nosed Cattle Louse, and the Plaster bag-worm, although the bag-worm's effects are probably non-lethal.