Gnatmare

Gnatmare is a villain introduced in the Darkwing Duck revival comic by Joe Books. Once a regular, insignificant housefly, he entered a F.O.W.L. facility just as the organization was testing a superpower-inducing device. The fly crossed the beam by accident and mutated into a miniature master of might: The Gnatmare. His powers include super-strength and super-speed and in both areas he has yet to be introduced to a rival. All the same, Gnatmare is still the fly from before his mutation and he is effortlessly rocked when dealt a jab at his former strategies of survival. His straight-lined anger makes him vulnerable to trickery.

Character

Background

Gnatmare's name from before his mutation is unknown. It appears that even for a fly, Gnatmare's old self was notably forceless. Between fleeing from the rolled-up newspapers, feet, and fly swatters of large society and being of use to small society as shoe polisher to avoid being eaten, there was limited time left for him to tend to the matters of his health. In trying to get a piece of a deluxe sandwich one day, the fly paid no mind that it belonged to F.O.W.L. and that it was leverage to get their troops to agree to experimentation with a superpower-inducing beam. Steelbeak's rolled-up newspapers would be the last thing the fly ever had to dodge as he got hit by the beam while trying to escape.

The fly, who dubbed himself the Gnatmare, was enhanced with physical improvements that at minimum entail super-strength and super-speed. Gnatmare's strength makes him impervious to most forms of physical violence and few obstacles remain an impediment. Combined with his superspeed, this gives his small form the advantage of bullet or bouncy ball properties. He is still vulnerable to anything that aims for his internal system, like gas and electricity, but he can protect himself against such and in case of electricity a voltage is required that isn't commonly available.

Personality

His pre-superpower life has done a number on Gnatmare's psyche. He likes to act all mighty and malevolent, but this flows from a sudden change of fate away from being at the bottom of the pecking order. The frustration of being powerless is still present and fuels his temperament. Any move to treat him as an ordinary fly is met with rage and immediate retaliation. The chance of murder happening goes up even further in case of a deliberate provocation, which may take the form of mockery of his origins. Gnatmare's choice to be a villain is his revenge on the world, or at least St. Canard, for putting him through what he went through. He's primarily a thief and steals that which adds more comfort to his life, be that jewels or garbage. Gnatmare is still growing to realize what he can lay claim to and has relatively low standards to satisfy.

Appearance

Gnatmare is a light blue fly with a large pink nose. His cheeks droop a little and there's bags under his eyes. Before gaining superpowers, he wore a black vest that sometimes was accessorized with a black cap. He was scrawny and regularly sported signs of injury, notably in his wings. After acquiring superpowers, he became more muscular and exchanged his vest for a green jumpsuit with blue boots, gloves, a belt, and a helmet. His pupils have become permanently encircled in two red rings.

Role in the comics

Shortly before dawn, Gnatmare targets the Jewelry Exchange store. Three police officers are sent his way and despite that this isn't even his first heist they think nothing of the fly carrying the safe and try to stomp it. Gnatmare whacks them through the window and would've done them more bodily harm would Darkwing Duck not have made his entrance. Gnatmare gladly changes bullseyes and flattens the caped crusader with his loot bag. Darkwing recovers with a "Suck gas, evildoer," but a mere handclap by the insect blows the gas right back to its source. Thus defenseless, Gnatmare finishes his round by throwing the emptied safe on top of his enemy. Darkwing tries once more with a net, but Gnatmare is too small to be caught and locks him up in the safe, ending the battle. Darkwing's continuous losses against the bug motivate Gosalyn and Honker to try something of their own. They obtain the helmet of the Bugmaster and take it to the roof of Quackwerks building to find the Gnatmare's lair. Gosalyn gets more than either party bargained for when she falls into Gnatmare's mind and is treated to his backstory. She witnesses his struggling for survival up until the moment he gained his superpowers in a F.O.W.L. facility he'd stumbled into by coincidence. Steelbeak chased him off a sandwich straight in to a superpower-inducing beam and the rest is history. During the mind-link, Gnatmare finds out the children's location and pays them a visit. Darkwing shows up timely once more and Gnatmare defeats him once more. He makes the St. Canard Landfill his next stop, but Darkwing ruins it by swatting him, thereby provoking him to follow into a trap. The crimefighter has arranged for the assistance of Megavolt to create a bug zapper even the Gnatmare can't withstand. After being fried, he's easily arrested.

Notes

• Upon the issue's release, Aaron Sparrow made a tweet that the name "Gnatmare" was not his first choice for the character;s name and invited fans to guess what the name preferably was going to be. The correct answer was not guessed, but "Buzzkill" was revealed to have been another secondary option. Sparrow later revealed on The Old Haunt forum that his original name was Juggergnat, in reference to the Juggernaut from Uncanny X-Men.