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Batgirl in "Fruit Pies For Magpies" (Hostess Ads #83)

On a site dedicated to making a wiki history of all things comics, comics ads should not be forgotten. Especially the ads for Hostess Fruit Pies, Twinkies, and other snacks. Starting in 1975, Marvel and DC heroes (and the Harvey,Archie, and Gold Key/Whitman characters as well!) spent seven years throwing Hostess snacks at a bizarre line of villains to stop their crimes. Although many of the villains were completely silly, they were created specifically for these ads, and in many cases, not even the names have been used again, since the ads stopped in mid-1982.

So I thought I'd show an ad here, and make a list of the comics I find it in, as I run across them. This list features: Batgirl in "Fruit Pies For Magpies." As noted on the Hostess Superhero Advertisements page:

A group of pickpockets, the Magpies has disguised themselves as the real Magpies variety act with intentions of robbing the patrons. Batgirl set out a cart of Hostess Fruit Pies as a trap - which proved to be an attractive downfall for the fake showgirls.

With all the bird names to pop up in the Bat-verse over the years, Magpie first appeared in November 1986's Batman #401, only five years after this ad. It's worth pointing out the obvious here, that the ad Magpies were fighting Batgirl, so someone was thinking about adding this bird name to the Bat-nest all along.

I've always fondly referred to Magpie as "the last of the theme villains." Whether that's true or not, that's what it felt like to me. She was introduced in the first crossover chapter of the Legends story arc, and she was the insane epitome of "Oo, shiny!" Her whole shtick was to steal shiny, valuable gems, and replace them with lethal duplicates. Personally, I loved her- I thought she would make a great addition to the Batman rogues gallery, but like any new Bat-villain since 1987, some short sighted creator killed her off. She's returned as a Black Lantern during Blackest Night, but that's not the same thing. I really wish DC would expand the Bat-rogues in the New 52, and make Magpie part of that expansion. She has seen new life on the latest Batman cartoon, but she was completely redesigned. Her fighting skills improved, but her look is highly forgettable, which I can only assume was the point.