"Deadbug" (real name unpronounceable by humans) was an incarnation of Ash Williams originating from a universe where insects evolved into Earth's dominant life-form. Corrupted by the influence of the Dark Ones and turned into a Deadite, Deadbug would end up going on a series of misadventures with Ashley K. Williams across various points in time and space, eventually finding himself on Earth-818793 and meeting that reality's version of Ash Williams.

Deadbug first appeared in the 2012 comic Army of Darkness (Volume 3) #1.

Biography

Origin

The creature that would come to be known as Deadbug hails from an alternate reality, one in which insects evolved into the world's dominant life-form instead of primates. Much like humanity, the evolved insectoids developed their own arts, culture, and technology for their world over time, with Deadbug finding employment as a janitor in a research lab. It was while he was cleaning one of the laboratories that Deadbug accidentally shattered a mysterious glowing orb of extraterrestrial origin that the researchers were in the process of examining. Though the scientists tried to stop Deadbug from cleaning up the orb's shards, the warning came too late, and the modest janitor became possessed by a Deadite spirit immediately upon touching a fragment of the broken orb, which in turn led to him killing everyone in the room.^[1]

After these events, Deadbug somehow learned of the multiverse, and began to traverse it through means unknown. At some point during his adventures, he encountered a woman named Ashley K. Williams. While never intentional partners, Ashley and Deadbug would cross paths many times in various times and places, with two encounters of note seeing the duo meet Marie Antoinette in France when an angry mob of peasants gathered outside of the palace, while another saw them meeting Amelia Earhart and asking her for directions.^[1][2]

Earth-818793

Eventually Deadbug would find his way to Egypt, circa 30 BC in the reality known as Earth-818793, where he would deliver a poisonous snake to Cleopatra (presenting it as a candy gram from Mark Antony). With guards rushing to the scene, Deadbug, along with Ashley K. Williams (who was in mid-conversation with Cleopatra upon Deadbug's arrival) fled into the desert, towards the great pyramids outside of the city of Giza. As Ashley approached one of the smaller pyramids in the area, she detected a Nexus Point (a junction of mystical energy which allowed one to teleport to various moments in time and space) was inside. Fighting through a hoard of Deadites inside, Ashley and Deadbug arrived at the heart of the tomb where the Nexus Point was, and though Ashley originally wanted to return to her own world, she was drawn to one of the portals featuring the visage of a large chinned man fighting a group of skeletons. Sensing that this man was another "Chosen One" like herself, she jumped into the portal, leaving Deadbug alone.^[1]

What happened to Deadbug immediately following the incident in Egypt remains unknown, though Deadbug later claimed he was simply "randomly wandering the chaotic vortex of time and space." Several months later, he appeared in 21st Century Detroit, Michigan via a magical rift intended to bring Earth-818793's native Ash Williams back to his proper time, and though Ash did appear, Deadbug emerged behind him.^[3] Several months passed, with Deadbug taking residence with Ash Williams, Yuriko Matsuo, and The Wise Man in a modest Detroit apartment.^[4] During an attack on Williams orchestrated by Montezuma, Deadbug used the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis to teleport himself and Ash away from danger, with the two landing in Brazil several months prior. Altering the timestream, Ash, Deadbug, and the Ashley K. Williams of the past were whisked away to Hell itself, summoned by a version of Ashley who realized she had been a pawn of The Dark Ones all along. During Ashley's showdown with herself, Deadbug appeared behind the evil Ashley and used his clawed hand to penetrate her chest, killing her almost instantly.^[2]

It is unknown what happened to Deadbug following the showdown in Hell, as all versions of Ash soon parted ways.

Powers & Abilities

Though Deadbug was corrupted by the influence of The Dark Ones and turned into a Deadite, he never displayed any traditional or common traits shared seen with most Deadites, such as levitation, referring to himself as "we", or a desire to feed on souls. Perhaps the only Deadite-like trait seen in Deadbug was his occasional extremely violent nature, as he claimed to kill everyone around him after his initial possession.

• Multilingual: Deadbug gained the ability to understand human languages following his corruption, with English and Egyptian being the only two known.^[1]
• Necronomicon Connection: After flipping through a copy of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis on Earth-818793, Deadbug claimed that he really didn't need to read it, but that the book psychically "spoke" to him, claiming it to be a "cousin" of his.^[2]
• "Deadite Sense": Deadbug could sense the presence of other Deadites.^[1][2]

Trivia

• According to writer Elliott Serrano, the creation of Deadbug was a request from Dynamite Entertainment's Nick Barrucci, who wanted a character like Deadpool (from Marvel Comics) and Ambush Bug (from DC Comics), with the intent of creating a spin-off starring the character, though those plans never materialized.^[5]
• Both Ashley J. Williams and Ashley K. Williams remain unaware that Deadbug is their alternate universe counterpart.

References