Origin

Fritz von Meyer was one of Hitler's top scientists, specializing in the field of toxins. After World War Two, he fled Germany to become a beekeeper in South America. In the peaceful jungles, he was able to study the mating habits of killer bees. During his time there, he came across a particular swarm of bees. They were very passive in behavior, and did not exhibit fear like all of the other bee colonies he had studied. Upon further observation, he noticed the bees were extremely intelegent compared to the other bees in the area. He found a near-by meteor that he thought was the cause of the bees mutations. He decided to build a device to control the bees, hoping to get them to do his bidding. After getting the bees agitated, and losing their passiveness, he could not control them. They swarmed around him, tearing him to shreds, and leaving him for dead. As the bees started to go away, Meyer's consciousness was absorbed into the bee swarm, making him the evil villain, Swarm.

Not long after, Interpol tracked him down, and one of it's agents was successful in capturing the queen bee in Swarm's hive. He encased her in amber, and hid her in a briefcase. He fled to the United States, and Swarm followed him. He killed the agent, but lost the briefcase to the Champions. They found out about the murder, and took the bee. He followed them, and confronted them in battle. During the battle, he was able to free the queen. He started a mutation on her, and she grew to a gigantic size. The battle continued until Hercules threw the queen miles away. Swarm's hive followed her, leaving Meyer as a skeleton.

The skeleton was sent for testing at Empire State University. During the radiation tests, a queen bee living in Meyer's skull spontaneously started producing millions of bees, recreating Swarm. He was about to kill the scientist working on him, when Spider-Man, (who had been working as an assistant teacher) swung in, saving the scientist. The two battled, until Spider-Man crashed into some bottles containing some insect repellent, causing Swarm to flee.

He started an attack, and constructed a giant hive on campus for his queen bee to grow in. Spider-Man found the creators of the experimental repellent, and covered himself with it, as well as mixing it into his web fluid. He attacked Swarm, and the bees were in pain from the repellent. They turned against each other, and began to go insane. They disobeyed Meyer's commands, and left the hive, leaving Meyer as a skeleton again.

Swarm survived in the bees, no longer needing his skeleton. He wandered across Texas, until a research project disrupted insect activity. This caused Swarm to attack the research facility, destroying the lab. A government watch group contacted Dr. Druid, who was able to get Giant Man to join a group to attack Swarm. Archangel and Ice Man joined the battle as well. Druid talked sense into Swarm, telling him that if he wanted insects to rule the planet, then he should wait from mankind to destroy itself, instead of risking his life to destroy it. He agreed and fled.

When Onslaught killed most of Earth's heroes, the telepathic energies disrupted Swarm from his bees. He traveled to the Institute of Seismoharmonic Research, to get scientists to restore himself to power. While this happened, swarms of bees attacked New York, attracting Ben Reilly to investigate. The bees recognized the Spider-Man costume, and feared him. They left him alone, in case he would have his repellent on him. He was able to enter the Institute, and devise a plan with the scientists. They used the equipment to reverse the effects of Swarm pulling in bees, to negate the bees' ability to fly. Spider-Man captured the queen bee, keeping Meyer from causing future harm.

He did later manage to come back to Hollywood after an all-city crime spree. He was defeated by the Runaways. He was later seen working with the Chameleon.

Powers

As Swarm, von Meyer has no true body. Instead he is composed of millions of bees. This form allows him to change in shape and size and affords him a limited amount of super strength. Objects that strike Swarm will pass through him as the bees move out of the way of danger, thus making him a difficult foe to beat. Von Meyer also has control over the individual bees in his body, which can be used to attack his enemies.

Alternate Realities

Earth-1610

The Ultimate universes Swarm is a female. She is a mutant and has the power to control bees, but has a normal body.