Red Bee is the name of two fictional superhero appearing in American comic books. The first Red debuted in Hit Comics #1, published in July 1940 by Quality Comics. The character was obtained by DC Comics in 1956 and has since fallen into public domain. The second, written as the grandniece of the original, first appeared in Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #5. She was written as the granddaughter of the original. Fictional character biography Richard Raleigh The Red Bee's secret identity is Rick Raleigh, assistant district attorney in Superior City, Oregon. His superhero modus operandi is to put on a red and yellow costume and, with his trained bees and "stinger gun", fight Nazis and gangsters. His favorite bee is named Michael and lives inside his belt buckle for use in special circumstances. He has a series of adventures which lasts until issue #24 (Oct 1942). According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "he fights enemies like the evil spiritualist Dr. Marah, the Swordsmen (who use electrified swords), and Yellow Peril hatchet men". The character never became very popular, and was largely forgotten until reappearing in DC Comics' All-Star Squadron. In the 'Squadron', it is learned he was killed by the Nazi supervillain Baron Blitzkrieg while saving the lives of Hourman and other allies. The group Freedom Fighters was formed out of the Squadron and the Red Bee was made an honorary member. Red Bee appears as a ghost in the pages of Starman. The focus of this appearance is a dinner party attended by many deceased heroes. Other heroes in attendance include the original Mr. Terrific and Hourman. The topic discussed is the intense appeal of the superhero life. Other post-Crisis appearances include a cameo in Animal Man in which the character resides in a canceled characters' "limbo", and in Bizarro World, where he and his agent attempt to improve his marketability. He is mentioned by Plastic Man as having been a friend and drinking buddy in an issue of JLA. During the "Dark Nights: Death Metal" storyline, Red Bee is among the superheroes that were revived by Batman using a Black Lantern ring. A panel in "The New Golden Age" one-shot revealed that Red Bee had a sidekick named Ladybug where she gained her size-shifting powers and Ladybug costume from Red Bee after he restored her to normal size during an attack from Professor