Generating Buzz

Beedrill are highly volatile Pokémon that fly quickly and attack using toxic stingers on their legs and tail. They often jab their opponents repeatedly and sometimes appear in swarms. Wild Beedrill are known to bring their incapacitated victims back to their nest for food. This might sound vicious, but I guess it’s no worse that being trapped in a Pokéball and being forced to fight for the purposes of entertainment. Beedrill are extremely territorial and they will attack when angered. They nest in forests and misty wooded areas, but it’s highly advised to keep your distance from them at all times. Although they are sometimes referred to as the poison bee Pokémon, Beedrill actually has a much closer resemblance to Asian giant hornets. Beedrill are among the most vicious Pokémon, and they look even more heinous when they evolve into Mega Beedrill.

When a chemical spill outside of London causes mutated insects to band together in a bid to take over the world, a brave bumblebee named Buck Bumble selflessly volunteers to be implanted with cyborg technology and rises up against the evil herd. The enhancements give Buck the ability to use nearly a dozen weapons, including stun guns, lasers, and guided missile launchers. The vision of the future presented in Buck Bumble might sound scary, but it looks like we’re in the clear since the game was supposedly set in the year 2010. Buck Bumble was overshadowed by other similar games on the Nintendo 64, but most will concede that the game’s opening theme song was the stuff of legend. It ranks alongside the infamous DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64 as one of the most unforgettable themes in gaming history.

The venomous D’Vorah is a relatively new addition to the Mortal Kombat series, but she’s one of the most brutal fighters in the entire franchise. Her extra limbs and pincers prove useful in battle, and she’s one of the few Mortal Kombat characters that has the ability to fly. She can attack her opponents with her stinger or surprise them with powerful streams of resin, but D’Vorah is perhaps best known for her ability to control various types of large bugs and winged insects. A member of an usual species known as the Kytinn, D’Vorah’s humanoid body acts as a shell for colonial insects that live inside. These insects are used in a variety of ways and are directly involved in a number of gruesome fatality maneuvers. They can bore holes into foreheads, melt flesh off faces, and burst out of chests after injecting themselves into an opponent.

Like most Robot Masters in the Mega Man series Hornet Man was not originally intended to be used in a plot to take over the world. In his case, Hornet Man was actually designed to manage a flower park and was tasked with pollinating flowers. After being decommissioned, he was predictably reprogrammed and used as one of Dr. Wily’s pawns. Hornet Man attacks by releasing swarms of robotic hornets from the honeycomb in his chest. At the same time, his ability to fly can make him a hard target to hit. Defeating Hornet Man earns Mega Man the Hornet Chaser, which shoots out robotic hornet drones to sting enemies or to retrieve items. Blast Hornet from Mega Man X3 was also considered for this list and has a similar attack pattern, but I ultimately preferred the simplicity of Hornet Man’s old school design.

Charmy Bee made his first appearance in Knuckles’ Chaotix on the ill-fated 32X way back in 1994. He wouldn’t be seen again until Sonic Heroes was released in 2003, and his return was met with exactly as much enthusiasm as you would expect. At six-years-old, Chamry’s the youngest male character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. With his unrivaled flying abilities and signature sting attack, Charmy is able to contribute a lot to his team despite his inexperience. He’s even able to mimic Sonic’s trademark spin dash. Like most card-carrying members of the “Sonic’s Shitty Friends” club, Charmy is hyperactive, immature, and annoying. I’ll cut him some slack since he’s still a kid and has an excuse for behaving the way he does. Besides, it seems strange to be insulting someone on a list that’s supposed to be honoring them.

Yars’ Revenge is noteworthy for being the best-selling game designed specifically for the Atari 2600. The game has been given numerous sequels and remakes, but none have captured the imagination of gamers like the original did. The game revolves around mutated insects called Yar who seek vengeance against the alien overlord who destroyed their home planet. Video games in 1982 tended to be very light on storyline, and the concept of mutated houseflies in space was apparently too important to be contained to a single medium. Yars’ Revenge was packaged with a comic book explaining the plot, and Atari also released an album that featured a theme song and a dramatic reading of the story. In 1983, a Yar was featured as a hidden Easter egg in Atari’s E.T., but they’d probably like us all to forget about that.

Princess What’s-Her-Name caused quite a commotion when she was born in the underground catacombs of the planet Insectica. Her cute smile and adorable personality were in sharp contrast to what her people were accustomed to, and she was considered ugly by Insectican standards. She was quickly hidden away in disgrace before she was even given a proper name. After being locked up for many years, the princess escaped and staged a rebellion against her tyrannical twin sister, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. One could argue that Princess What’s-Her-Name is overrated on this list. After all, she spends most of her life as a damsel in distress and doesn’t appear to do much with her insect abilities. I think it’s admirable how she remained so optimistic despite spending most of her life being referred to as “the ugly one.”

Mindy is the youngest of the Magus Sisters. The trio first appeared in Final Fantasy IV and have since become recurring characters in the series. The sisters typically fight together and are perhaps best-known for their notorious “delta attack,” but each one has their own unique set of skills. Her sisters Cindy and Sandy resemble a lady bug and a praying mantis respectively, but Mindy has a wasp-like form and is the most dangerous of the three. She possesses high level magic (including powerful Flare and Ultima spells) and is generally the primary target when the sisters attack. Her “Passado” maneuver is one of the most lethal moves in the series and can hit enemies 15 times in a single turn! Mindy looks relatively harmless and is a lot cuter than either of her sisters, but it just goes to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Most of Mario’s enemies can be defeated by jumping on them, but this only serves to enrage Wigglers. They are normally easygoing, but they become red with anger if they are jumped on and will aggressively chase the responsible parties. I don’t know why you’d want to pick a fight with Wiggler in the first place. The flowers on their head and the tiny boots on their feet are absolutely adorable. Although they’re typically used as enemy characters, Wigglers have also made playable appearances in a handful of games. Wiggler was also the subject of one of the most mind blowing plot twists in gaming history. After being defeated in Super Mario 64, Wiggler clearly refers to Mario as his uncle. Assuming that Mario doesn’t have any other siblings that we’re not aware of, this can only be taken to mean that Wiggler is Luigi’s son!

Q-Bee (you can call her Queen Bee) is the leader of the Soul Bees. The demonic species survives by feasting on anything and everything, but they appear to have an especially large appetite for human souls. Nearly every aspect of Q-Bee’s appearance is meant to deceive others. For example, the two large ornaments on her head are her real eyes, and the small ones on her face merely act as decoys. Her entire face is actually part of a giant mouth that sometimes opens up during her attacks. Her very body is artificial too, and merely acts as a shell for a smaller regular-sized bee that resides inside. Q-Bee is one of the most versatile fighters in the Darkstalkers series. She has the ability to fly, she can release swarms of smaller bees to attack her opponents, and she can produce large amounts of sticky honey to immobilize her prey.