LEILA DAVIS

Real Name: Leila Davis

Identity/Class: Human technology user

Occupation: Criminal, turned government agent

Group Membership: Redeemers (Charcoal, Citizen V, Fixer, Jolt, Meteorite (Barnhardt), Scream, Smuggler), agent of SHIELD II, Sinister Syndicate (Beetle (Jenkins), Hydro-Man, Rhino, Speed Demon), unnamed team (Boomerang, Rhino, Shocker)

Affiliations: (Beetle): Captain America (Rogers), Dr. Doom, Commission on Superhuman Activities, Rebel O'Reilly of Counter-Earth (Franklin), Scourge (Jack Monroe), S.H.I.E.L.D., Thunderbolts (Charcoal, Hawkeye, Jolt, Mach-II (Jenkins), Moonstone (Sofen), Songbird), V-Battalion;
(Hardshell): Vulture, Rhino (both in variation of the Syndicate?);
former ally of Ringer/Strikeback;
formerly posed as lover of Boomerang (used him as a pawn)

Enemies: Beetle (Abner Jenkins), Destructon, Graviton, Henry Peter Gyrich, Humus Sapien, Bucky (Rikki Barnes), Toro (the latter two of Counter-Earth (Franklin) ), Spider-Man, Stegron

Known Relatives: Anthony "Tony" Davis (husband, aka Ringer, deceased)

Aliases: "Ringer" (didn't use the name, only the weapons), Hardshell, Beetle

Base of Operations: New York City

First Appearance:
(Leila): Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#1 (May, 1991)
(Hardshell): Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#1 (September, 1993)
(Beetle): Thunderbolts I#48 (February, 2001)

Powers/Abilities: Leila showed excellent driving capabilities, and was very manipulative. She had great leadership abilities and was also very innovative, as she helped her late husband design his Ringer weapons.
In the Hardshell and Beetle armors, she had the powers of flight, superhuman strength and durability, and was capable of firing blasts of concussive force.

Weaknesses: Leila had a pathological hatred of Abner Jenkins, aka The Beetle, whom she blamed for the death of her husband. Later she overcame her hatred when she learned that her husband had been resurrected by A.I.M.

Height: 5' 6" Weight: 115 lbs.

History: (Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#1 (fb) - BTS) - Married to Anthony Davis, Leila helped him design the Ringer weapons. When she learned that her husband was one of the victims at "The Bar With No Name" massacre (see Scourge), she blamed the Beetle for her husband's death (The Beetle had humiliated the Ringer and sent him to fight against Spider-Man not too long before his death), and decided to try to kill him to get revenge. She began to date Fred Myers, aka Boomerang, one of the members of the Beetle's former team, the Sinister Syndicate.

(Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#1) - Leila stood outside the Sinister Syndicate's secret headquarters, wondering why they wouldn't let her in on their plans since she was the driver and would take as much of a fall as the rest of them. She was almost knocked down by Speed Demon when he came running to the meeting. After the meeting, the Sinister Syndicate members went outside, and Boomerang introduced Leila to the rest of the team; she kissed him and told the Beetle she woudn't let them down. On their way to the bank, Leila almost ran down an innocent man walking across the street. The man barely escaped without getting hit. Unknown to Leila and the Sinister Syndicate, the innocent man was Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. After the Sinister Syndicate robbed the bank and fought Spider-Man, the group escaped -- but without Boomerang. Beetle commanded Leila to drive without Boomerang, and to persuade her even further, threatened her with a gun. Later, in the Sinister Syndicate's secret hideout, she was introduced to Beetle's lawyer Steve Partridge. Beetle told Leila that they needed to free Boomerang through the law instead of breaking him free because the authorities expected them to attempt a jailbreak. Leila said, "A-all right, Mr. Jenkins, if you say so...!" After the meeting with the lawyer, Speed Demon took good care of Leila. Later, Leila insisted on seeing just how heavily guarded Boomerang was, and the Beetle went with her. Suddenly Spider-Man appeared and recognized the van which almost ran him over earlier that same day.

(Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#2) - Stopping the Beetle from using his special gun to shoot Spider-Man, Leila grabbed hold of Beetle's gun so that the shot hit the prison instead of Spider-Man. Leila said that although she hated Spider-Man as much as the Beetle did, Beetle had promised Rhino that he wouldn't kill Spider-Man. When the special police taskforce Code: Blue arrived, Beetle ordered Leila to drive as fast as she could. As they drove away, the Beetle said that he was sorry that he let his emotions get away from him, but Leila said it was okay, and thought to herself: "But it won't happen to me, Abner. I won't let my hate for you get out of control!" Later, in the Sinister Syndicate's hideout, Speed Demon continued to "take good care" of Leila. Leila went to see the Kingpin, making plans outside the Sinister Syndicate. Back at the Sinister Syndicate's hideout, she spoke with Speed Demon, faked her being sad to win him over, and thought to herself: "If Boomerang ends up stuck in jail, perhaps this fool, Speed Demon, will be able to help me achieve my true goal.". When she visited Boomerang in jail and told him about her meetings, Leila said that she needed to leave again, and thought to herself that she may have more feelings for the guy than she thought. In the hideout, Leila thought to herself that she knew the Kingpin would lie, and wondered if she could trust any of the Sinister Syndicate to help her achieve her true goal.

(Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#3) - While the rest of the Sinister Syndicate had another meeting, Leila waited outside. When Speed Demon and Hydro-Man came out, they invited her to have a beer with them. As they left, Leila thought that if she couldn't use Speed Demon, she would make him pay for the way he was treating her. Then she overheard a conversation between Beetle and Steve Partridge, the lawyer who screwed up Boomerang's case. The next day, she helped break Boomerang out of the jail and told him that she had been using him as a pawn, just as Beetle and the Kingpin had been using him as a pawn. Leila said that she was the widow of the super-villain known as The Ringer, who was killed by Scourge at the "Bar With No Name" massacre, and she blamed Beetle for her husbands death. After learning where the Rhino was, Leila took the Shocker and Boomerang out to get Rhino to join them in their fight against Beetle. When Shocker decided to leave them, Leila understood and was sad that her late husband Anthony didn't have the same kind of sense to leave the super-villain business. At an abandoned linotype house, alongside Rhino and Boomerang, Leila prepared for their upcoming battle against Beetle. Suddenly Beetle, Speed Demon and Hydro-Man attacked Leila and her team.

(Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#4) - Leila managed to use her Ringer equipment to defeat Speed Demon. Speed Demon was surprised to be defeated by the weapons of a loser like the Ringer, but Leila said, "They're good enough to stop an arrogant clod like you!". When Rhino had taken down Beetle, Leila came with one of her rings, asking if Beetle recognized it -- he did, and Leila told him that the weapons used to be her late husband's, whom Beetle made feel like a failure, and that was why she would now kill him. The Beetle managed to break free before Leila could put a ring around his neck. Leila decided to go for another chance by taking her gun and shooting the Beetle in the head, but Spider-Man got the gun out of her hands. She rushed to her bag and took the Ringer weapons to try to defeat Beetle and Spider-Man. When Spider-Man was attacked by Rhino, Leila could concentrate on Beetle, whom she used a lot of rings on, and finally put a ring around Beetle's neck, but before the Beetle was strangled, Spider-Man came to his rescue and broke Leila's ring. The villains were defeated and both Beetle and Leila were taken in by the police.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#1 (fb) - BTS) - Leila spent her jail sentence at Ryker's Island prison.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#1) - Released from jail, Leila told prison guard Maggie that she wouldn't come back to prison ever again. Later, Leila met with three super-villains -- her former partners Rhino and Boomerang, and new ally Vulture. Leila wanted their help in achieving her goal -- revenge against Beetle. After the three super-villains had left Leila, she looked through some old photos and newspaper clippings, remembering her past with her husband. Alongside her new team in her new costume and identity as Hardshell, she attacked the U.S. Atomic Research Company. When Spider-Man arrived, she fought him and escaped with the weapon they wanted. When the three villains began to fight among each other, Leila made them stop.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#2) - In her secret hideout, Leila once again stopped the three villains in-fighting. That same evening, the four villains had a vote on what to do with the weapon. The Vulture wanted to keep the weapon, while the rest of the team wanted to sell it to A.I.M. for a billion dollars. Suddenly their hideout was under attack from the Beetle and Stegron.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#3) - When Boomerang decided to attack Beetle, Leila got angry at her teammate and shot at him, but he evaded the shot, which hit Stegron instead. They all began to fight each other, but Beetle managed to escape with the special gun. Leila, not wanting to lose a billion dollars, decided to go after the Beetle once more. Her team managed to capture Beetle and Leila got her hands on the gun. When Stegron lashed out at Leila, he was shot by a man calling himself Strikeback, whom Leila seemed to recognize.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#4) - Leila watched as Strikeback fought Swarm, thinking to herself that if Strikeback was who she believed him to be, she knew which side to stand by in the fight.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#4/Thunderbolts I#56 (fb) ) - Leila hit the Beetle with a beam.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#4) - Leila asked Strikeback if he really was her late husband, and Strikeback answered yes. Strikeback told his wife that A.I.M "resurrected" him as a cyborg, and when she was about to give Beetle the killing blow, he stopped her, saying that they should leave the super-villain business and begin a new life together.

(Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#4/Thunderbolts I#56 (fb) ) - Leila didn't know what to do, but in the end she decided to leave with her husband, leaving the other villains for the police.

(Thunderbolts I#56 (fb) ) - Leila was at her husband's side as he died again when his cybernetic systems broke down.

(Thunderbolts I#48) - In a government facility in Virginia, wearing the Beetle armor, Leila fought alongside Smuggler against Citizen V in a test fight. Leila was then introduced to the newest member of the squad -- Valerie Barnhardt, aka Meteorite.

(Thunderbolts I#49) - Still at the government facility in Virginia and wearing the Beetle armor, Leila fought alongside Meteorite against Citizen V, Smuggler and Scream. Beetle asked Citizen V why the CSA had offered them pardons if they put on the costumes.

(Thunderbolts I#50) - Alongside the Redeemers, Leila went on a mission to the administrative offices of the Commission of Superhuman Activities to locate the Omega-32 Chamber. They were attacked by the robot Destruction, but they managed to defeat it. The control of their bodies was taken over by Henry Peter Gyrich through airborne nano-probes. Meteorite revealed Beetle's name as Leila. Under the control of the nano-probes, Leila was sent alongside the rest of the Redeemers against the Thunderbolts, and fought MACH-2 and Charcoal. Regaining consciousness, Leila watched as Valerie Cooper made a deal with Hawkeye. Later at the Thunderbolts old headquarters at Mt. Charteris, Leila officially joined the SHIELD/CSA joint operation team still called the Redeemers. Leila was introduced to the team's new temporary field leader, Captain America.

(Thunderbolts I#51) - In Burton Canyon, alongside Scream, Leila helped some construction workers. Later at Mt. Charteris alongside the rest of the Redeemers, they fought Captain America as part of a training session, but they were defeated by him. Alongside the rest of the team on their way to eastern Europe, Leila was briefed on their next assignment: To find Dallas Riordan, who was in Latveria at the moment. In Latveria, the team was attacked by the person known as Rebel.

(Thunderbolts I#52) - Alongside the Redeemers, Leila fought Doctor Doom's machines and saved Meteorite from one of the machines by destroying it. With the rest of the team, Leila fought Bucky and Toro of Counter-Earth.

(Thunderbolts I#53) - The Redeemers arrived at the area where Charcoal has just fought off the Imperial Army.

(Thunderbolts I#54) - In the Redeemers headquarters, Beetle was talking with Valerie Barnhart and revealed to be none other than Leila Davis (It had been hinted at, but this was the first time her true identity was revealed). Captain America left the team to Citizen V, saying his goodbyes to the them. His final words to Leila were: "May you find the closure you seek for the loss of your husband." Leila was taken by surprise when HS-1 (aka Humus Sapien) was released from his imprisonment(Thunderbolts I#55) - The Redeemers fought Humus Sapien. While flying, Leila's armor suddenly disappeared, but she was saved by Meteorite. She watched as Humus Sapien and Ogre left Earth, only to learn that Graviton had arrived to fight the Redeemers.

(Thunderbolts I#56) - Leila listened to Graviton's threat of how he would show them mercy and kill them quickly. She asked Citizen V what they should do, and the Redeemers began to attack Graviton while Leila thought of what to do. She watched as her friend Valerie was send off Earth by Graviton and decided to call for her costume, but knew it would take some time to arrive, and in the meantime she thought about the past. When the armor arrived, she got inside and got ready for her battle with Graviton. She confronted Graviton, ready to fight the villain, but Graviton used his powers to crush the Beetle armor with Leila Davis inside, killing her....

Comments: Created by Danny Fingeroth, Al Milgrom and Kerry Gammill, further developed by Fabian Niceiza.

Thanks to the image assists from Nick the Squid (Hardhell pic), and Danny Wall of the UOHotMU (Beetle pic)!

The Beetle armor Leila wore as a member of the Redeemers was first seen in Thunderbolts I#33. It was originally used by Abner Jenkins when he briefly worked for the Commission on Superhuman Activities. The main image in this profile is from this time period, but it doesn't make any difference because the armor looked the same when Leila wore it.
--Markus Raymond

Profile by: The Beetle

CLARIFICATIONS:
Leila Davis is the wife of:

• Anthony Davis, aka Ringer, @Defenders I#51
  but has no known relations to:

• Davis, of the Mercy Corporation, @ Super Soldiers#8
• Abby Davis, @Rampaging Hulk II#5
• Carol Davis, former campaign manager for Sam Wilson (the Falcon), @ Captain America I#275
• Fred Davis, of the V Battalion, formerly Bucky, @ Marvel Premiere#29
• Martin Davis, a student at Ferreden Boys School, @X-Factor I#4
• Rick Davis, pre-Marvel character, @ Spy Thriller#4
• Samuel Davis, abandoned own troops during the Revolutionary War, cursed with immortality, @ Spider-Woman I#8
• Principal Davis, @Amazing Spider-Man I#4
• Rachel Davis, a socialite, @Falcon#2

Beetle (Leila), aka Hardshell, is not to be confused with

• Beetle, (Abner) aka M.A.C.H-1, M.A.C.H-2, M.A.C.H-3, M.A.C.H-4, M.A.C.H-5, @Strange Tales I#123
• Beetles - name for warped reality security agents of STRIKE used by Mad Jim Jaspers of Earth-616
  --Mighty World of Marvel#7
• other "Hard" or "Shell" characters

Citizen V's Redeemers have no relations to

• Redeemers of Earth-S, @Squadron Supreme#7

• REDEEMERS of Earth-Deathlok - former agents of Nth command, organized by Godwulf--Captain America I#288

• Redeemer (Craig Saunders, jr.*) -agent of Leader--Incredible Hulk II#342, 343

• REDEEMER - see ROSS, "THUNDERBOLT". wore armor of Saunders while body reanimated by soul man
  —Incredible Hulk II#397

• DARKHOLD REDEEMERS --Darkhold#1

images: (without ads)
Thunderbolts#35, Cover (Beetle armor)
Deadly Foes of Spider-Man#1, p19, pan4 (Leila Davis)