Bomb Queen is an American fictional comic book character, created by Jimmie Robinson. She first appeared in Image Comics' Bomb Queen Vol. 1, #1, and has subsequently appeared in seven limited series, four single-issue specials, and a crossover in The Savage Dragon #134. The Queen is a villainess who has eliminated and subsequently banned all superheroes from the fictional city of New Port City. She rules the city as a dictator; the limitations she has placed over the city's criminals have made her a popular leader.
Fictional character biography
Bomb Queen was originally part of a quartet of supervillains called The Four Queens, who reigned over New Port City. When all the super-heroes in town were finally defeated or slain, the Queens turned on Bomb Queen. Bomb Queen emerged as the victor, and took control over the local government. Bomb Queen founded New Port City's "No Heroes" law, which made the town a magnet for criminals across America. This pleased politicians in Washington, D.C., due to the lowered crime rates in other states. However, the government was not happy with the self-elected leadership of Bomb Queen and formed a corrupt organization called the Shadow Government to make numerous attempts to eliminate Bomb Queen. Various smear campaigns having failed to dent her immense public popularity, the government turned to other options. Bomb Queen's rule over the city caused the city to flourish. The city coffers were overflowing with laundered money, which caused New Port City to rival Las Vegas. This also resulted in private local TV stations, Intranet, and regional cable stations being allowed to air unrated content - often of Bomb Queen herself, in pornographic movies filmed from her fortified townhouse. The restriction of the city limits kept Bomb Queen confined in her city of crime, but also present extreme danger if she were to ever leave - where the law is ready and waiting. This was illustrated in the one-shot comic, Bomb Queen vs. Blacklight. Bomb Queen, in disguise, traveled to Las Vegas in search of a weapon prototype at a gun convention and encountered the superheroine Blacklight.
Ashe
Bomb Queen is never seen without her black cat, Ashe. The animal has mysterious origins and is connected to the Maya of Central America. The cat's powers have saved the day in numerous situations, such as the finale of the Bomb Queen vs. Blacklight oneshot. Later on, Ashe is murdered, but in reality, Ashe is the physical manifestation of a demon whose realm nexus is New Port City, and can manipulate the rage of its citizens, notably Bomb Queen.
Publication history
Under Image Comics' ShadowLine banner, Bomb Queen has been printed as seven mini-series and four one-shots. These are denoted by Roman numerals and subtitles instead of the more traditional sequential order. Bomb Queen has also appeared in one issue of The Savage Dragon, part 1 of the World Tour arc, which was issue 134.
Miniseries
Bomb Queen: Royal Flush
Bomb Queen is put on the defensive when a scheming politician introduces a superhero into the community to win back the people's favour. When the hero's efforts prove fruitless, the politician unleashes a chemically-created monster who threatens not only Bomb Queen but the city itself.
Bomb Queen, hard-up for romance, falls head-over-heels for an enigmatic stranger who may prove to be her undoing. The stranger is later revealed to be Ice Queen, who was brutally disfigured by Bomb Queen and was taken in by the government for use as a bio-weapon. However, The Agency did not want a woman and Ice Queen was forced into sexual reassignment surgery, crippling her cryokinetic powers as a result. Ice Queen eventually usurps Bomb Queen's rule over New Port and becomes the Bomb King. In the end, Bomb King is defeated by Bomb Queen after having the mutated powers he possessed as a woman being literally injected into his eyes, causing his body to freeze over. To add insult to injury, Bomb Queen later goes on to make him into a statue as punishment for his coup d'état.
Bomb Queen III: The Good, The Bad and The Lovely
Bomb Queen faces Blacklight, and Rebound. The Agency unleashes Bomb Teen against the Queen, who has a healing factor and the ability to create energy bombs. After her victory, the Teen reveals that Bomb Queen is a clone, and was created to lead New Port City as a trial free zone for villains to be deported. The Teen dies, but is absorbed by the Queen, giving her the Teen's powers.
Bomb Queen IV: Suicide Bomber
After the death of Ashe and gaining of new abilities, Bomb Queen declares war against the Image Universe. She initially makes herself more popular with the people of New Port City, and later goes on to fire WMDs at the cities of New York, Chicago, Tower city, and Baltimore. Shadowhawk, Savage Dragon, Dynamo 5, Invincible all help to look for survivors. She eventually tells the United States Government that New Port City is now an autonomous state in the union, leaving the government forty eight hours to answer. Ashe is revealed to be a demon, and New Port City his sphere of influence. A female Hellspawn challenges Bomb Queen, successfully killing her and sending her to Ashe's realm. However, Bomb Queen conquers Ashe's realm and returns, now armed with supernatural powers. She also cuts off Ashe's ability to manipulate rage, rerouting the energy to herself.
The Story So Far: With New Port City's growing popularity—and population—Bomb Queen's control of her harmful hamlet is slipping. Meanwhile, the writers of capewatch.com--a blog covering hero & villain activity—want the inside scoop on the Queen, and are willing to infiltrate NPC's borders to do it. Their plan: go to Littleville—America's "safest city" and NPC's main supply source—and sneak in via one of the delivery vehicles. But Littleville has its own plans; a serial killer has infiltrated the good town, hoping to commit enough murder to warrant admission to NPC, and the town itself has decided to send THEIR superhero, the White Knight, in to try to control the Queen. It is later revealed that the White Knight is in fact Bomb Queen's twin brother who possessed two personalities: A serial killer who attacked Littleville and an anti-hero parody of himself called Black Knight.
Bomb Queen VI: Oh-BOMB-Ah!
Bomb Queen VII: The End Of Hope
Bomb Queen rises to wreak havoc in a techno-dependent future after being killed by Rebound 100 years prior to Bomb Queen VII, but this utopia is protected by the ultimate hero: Shadowhawk! Will the evil Queen rule the world in this sci-fi thriller or will the hero save humanity from destruction? Join Jimmie Robinson as he breaks the mold in this unpredictable saga.
Oneshots
Bomb Queen vs. Blacklight: Cat Fight
Bomb Queen, in disguise, travels to Las Vegas in search of a weapon prototype at a gun convention and runs into Blacklight, also visiting Las Vegas for a comic convention. Continuity-wise, this story falls in between the first two mini-series.
Bomb Queen Presents: All-Girl Comics #1
Bomb Queen reluctantly teams up with Blacklight, Editor Girl, Tempest, Rebound and Fetish when a strange epidemic renders the world's male populace impotent.
Bomb Queen Versus Hack/Slash Special The demon dog, Pooch, leads Hack/Slash's Cassie and Vlad to the dimension of superheroes where they hunt Bomb Queen's cat, Ashe. Her demon cat has split a dimension between realities, allowing the Queen's twisted and perverted slashers into Cassie's world—along with, worst of all, Bomb Queen herself!