Although in his first appearance he fought the Human Torch and the Thing of the Fantastic Four, later storylines established Jenkins as a recurring foe of Spider-Man, usually working as a henchman for various criminal organizations opposing the hero.

After abandoning his Beetle persona, Jenkins was recruited into the Thunderbolts—a supervillain team assembled by Helmut Zemo to pose as superheroes to gain access to the technology of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, groups which had both seemingly perished while fighting Onslaught.

The Thunderbolts were introduced in Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997), and although they originally went along with Zemo's plan, later storylines depicted them as disobeying him due to enjoying the attention and adulation they received as heroes.

Seeking redemption, Jenkins was convinced to give himself over to authorities to serve out an outstanding prison sentence in exchange for the Thunderbolts being granted immunity.

Abner Jenkins first appeared as the original incarnation of the Beetle in Strange Tales #123 (August 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Carl Burgos.

In subsequent storylines, all members of the team, including Jenkins, became disillusioned with their leader, Baron Helmut Zemo, and decided to reform and become heroes.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Abner Jenkins was a master mechanic at an aircraft parts factory who became dissatisfied with his boring, low paying job.

Using his considerable mechanical knowledge, Jenkins built an armor-plated, strength-augmenting suit, a pair of gravity-defying wings, suction-fingered gloves, and a cybernetic control helmet.

Believing a victory over half the Fantastic Four would make him an overnight sensation, the Beetle chose to lure the Human Torch and the Thing into battle.

[9] Losing every battle against costumed crime-fighters and failing to accumulate very much wealth, Beetle offered his services to underworld financier Justin Hammer who kept various superhuman criminals on retainers.

Beetle wished to study Spider-Man's fighting style and program it into a computer system so he could anticipate his opponent's moves.

[15][16] When most of Earth's costumed adventurers, including the then-core membership of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, seemingly died battling Onslaught, Baron Helmut Zemo recruited Jenkins and a number of other villains to trick the world into believing they were heroes called the Thunderbolts.

[18] Zemo's plan ultimately failed, but when Jenkins and other members began to enjoy the adulation and personal satisfaction from being heroes, they decided to try making the Thunderbolts a legitimate team.

When Hawkeye took over the group's leadership, he convinced Jenkins to serve out the remainder of his prison term as a show of good faith to the public,[19] but another criminal used the Beetle guise to frame him.

While at Seagate, Jenkins coped with resentment and occasional assaults from other super-criminals and refused a chance to participate in a mass escape organized by his old employer Justin Hammer.

MACH-2 and Songbird turned their equipment over to the authorities and started new civilian lives in the town of Burton Canyon, Colorado as Abe Jenkins and Melissa Gold.

[volume & issue needed] After a failed attempt to escape to the real Earth, the team entered into an uneasy alliance with their original leader, Baron Zemo, in an ongoing effort to save Counter-Earth from the various ills plaguing that alternate world.

[volume & issue needed] On Counter-Earth, Zemo's Thunderbolts had encountered the effects of a white hole spawned from an abandoned spacecraft, as its engine's radiation began eating Earth from the inside.

[volume & issue needed] Following the conclusion to the battle, Abe was finally paroled from jail and made an announcement that he was reforming the Thunderbolts and that any former villains or super-powered individuals who wanted a second chance would be allowed to join.

Things continued to go crazy when the Thunderbolts kept being put into tough situations as Baron Strucker threw new challenges to keep them busy, including adding Speed Demon to the team as a spy and allowing Fathom Five to attack New York City.

As the Beetle, he designed and wore a suit of full body powered armor that granted him superhuman strength and durability and artificial winged flight.

A mini-computer built into the chest-plate feeds data to heads-up displays in the helmet, providing him with constantly updated tactical analysis of his opponent's movements.

Abner Jenkins is a scientist secretly working for the Human Resistance (along with Erik Josten) who is part of an elite sapiens military unit the Howling Commandos and Jim Sanders.

[32] During the "Secret Wars" storyline in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Beetle is recruited by Regent to fill in the membership gaps of the Sinister Six.

[34] The Old Man Logan incarnation of Abner Jenkins appears in the Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye episode "Cards Up", voiced by Ron Canada.