Once a year, the city of San Diego is overrun by costumed superheroes – from Batman and Spider-Man to Harley Quinn and Ms. Marvel. They engulf the famed Gaslamp Quarter each July and parade through the nearby convention center as part of the annual ritual known as San Diego Comic-Con. Then, after four brief days, their invasion of the city ends. In 2017, however, writer Mark Waid and artist Humberto Ramos created a superhero intent on performing their sworn duties in San Diego for a full 365 days a year. Her name is the Red Locust.
The character first appeared in issue nine of Champions, a Marvel comic book featuring a team of superhero youths that included Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) and Miles Morales (Spider-Man). After a confrontation with a group of similarly-aged supervillains called the Freelancers, Viv Vision – the synthezoid daughter of the Vision and member of the Champions – travels to San Diego to uncover more information about them. Her cab ride from the airport is cut short when someone leaps onto the taxi’s hood and off again, causing considerable damage and sending the narrative in a different direction.
Viv Vision promises the cab driver that she will find the culprit, who has by now leaped her way into an alley and is confronting a Hispanic teen. “I’m just here to tell you that your mother misses you and wants you to come home,” the red-and-gold-clad superhero explains. When the boy asks who she is, the girl replies, “I am the Red Locust! Proud inheritor of a heroic legacy that stretches back centuries. The Red Locust is the protector of the lost, the wandering, the… the…. Hang on, I wrote it down.”
The teen uses the distraction to attempt an escape but runs into Viv Vision, who has just arrived on the scene. Although the Red Locust is excited about meeting Viv, she is more intent on finishing her monologue. “I am required by tradition to recite the promise of the Red Locust my first time out,” she explains to the boy. “You interrupted.” She then attempts to finish the final sentence with the words, “The nomadic vagabonds who are vulnerable to men of perfidy who would….”
The teen again interrupts, explaining that someone sent him to fetch supplies and if he doesn’t return soon, that person will blow his leg off. “I’m chipped!” he then shouts. “We’re all chipped!”
Viv Vision tells the youth to remain in the alley while she and the Red Locust go to investigate, and the two superheroes end up at a warehouse. “Inside is the man we are looking for,” Viv says after a brief reconnaissance. “As well as his hostages. He appears to be in contact with a criminal my team has dealt with previously. I would recommend we infiltrate with caution.” When she adds that the hostages consist of two dozen teenage runaways, however, the Red Locust crashes through the window and immediately confronts the villain.
Her body armor deflects the bullets fired at her until Viv joins the fray and provides further protection. The villain-in-charge has no idea who the Red Locust is but recognizes Viv Vision. Knowing that she would never let any harm come to the hostages, he threatens to blow up the warehouse, killing everyone inside – including himself – unless he is allowed to escape. The Red Locust sees through his bluff and punches him in the face, bringing an end to the conflict.
When the police arrive, the Red Locust announces that she has discovered two suitcases filled with cash inside the warehouse. She then leaves the scene instead of giving a statement to the police, intent on finding the taxi driver whose cab she had earlier damaged. “I came to apologize,” the Red Locust says while handing him a wad of cash. “Will this cover the damage to your car? Any left over, even a dime, you donate to a runaway’s organization. Promise me.”
The man agrees and the Red Locust turns to leave, only to be confronted by Viv Vision. “I saw you take that money from the crime scene,” Viv tells her. “I am not sure that what you did is 100 percent ethical. But I do believe it is advisable for me to purchase lunch for us while I hear your story.” The Red Locust counters that lunch is on her and takes Viv to her house, where she makes a traditional Mexican meal that goes back to the time of the Aztecs.
She also reveals that her real name is Fernanda Rodriguez and eagerly recites her story. “Goes back to the days before this area was claimed by the United States,” she begins. “The Locust Brotherhood protected nomad tribes and vulnerable travelers. The Brotherhood was made up of skilled trackers. Some say they could even control insects, which papa says is ridiculo, but I dunno. About two hundred years ago, the Brotherhood built this armor as a symbol of their cause. So much has been replaced over the years, so much has been improved, that there’s probably nothing left of the original.”
Fernanda Rodriguez’s ancestors were the founders of the Locust Brotherhood, and the armor has been passed down to the firstborn son of each new generation. Her mother died before giving birth to a male offspring, however, so Fernanda claimed the mantel of the Red Locust for herself. “The Brotherhood was not thrilled to pass the armor along to a girl,” she says. “But it was either that or retire it. So, gritting their teeth, they gave me a chance.”
Viv Vision asks if the Brotherhood’s original mission of looking after nomads was still relevant in the twenty-first century. “We adapt,” Fernanda Rodriguez replies. “For most of the last hundred years, we’ve been about finding and saving runaways. The locals who need help know how to contact the Red Locust through the church downtown. That is tradition.”
Viv Vision is not only impressed by Fernanda Rodriguez but adds that she will recommend the Red Locust if the Champions ever decide to expand their roster. Fernanda is thrilled about the possibility and the two agree to stay in touch. Viv then heads home, secure in the knowledge that the city of San Diego has a true protector – as well as champion – in the Red Locust.
Anthony Letizia