Beverly Switzler

Beverly Switzler
Howard the Duck #1 (Jan. 1976), with Beverly in background. Cover art by Frank Brunner.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Howard the Duck #1 (January 1976)
Created by	Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner
In-story information
Partnerships	Howard the Duck
Notable aliases	Rhonda Martina
Abilities	None

Beverly Switzler is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. She is mostly a companion and sometime girlfriend to Howard the Duck. She was portrayed by Lea Thompson in the 1986 film Howard the Duck.

Switzler first appeared in Howard the Duck #1 (Jan. 1976), before going on to appear alongside Howard in most of his appearances, although she did not make very many appearances in comics throughout the eighties.

Switzler originally worked as a nude model, until she was hired and subsequently kidnapped by the villain Pro-Rata, and was then rescued by Howard the Duck, prompting her to allow him to live with her. The pair soon embarked on a road trip to New York City, where a series of events lead Howard to suffer a mental breakdown and flee from Beverly in a bus. However, he is later imprisoned in a mental asylum, causing Beverly and her artist friend Paul Same to rescue him and return him to Cleveland. Howard and Beverly later embarked on a cruise ship, where they encountered Beverly's former college classmate Lester Verde, now super villain Doctor Bong, who reveals that he has had a crush on her since college and says that she must marry him otherwise he would kill Howard. She agreed, and they were married by a passing ship captain. Beverly did not enjoy being married to him as he was not interested in her and instead was only interested in the Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Bells". During her forced marriage, she used the resources available in Bong's castle to create five infant clones of Bong, called the Bong Quintuplets, and threatened to reveal that he was a negligent father unless he set her free, which he did.

The two later spend Thanksgiving at Charles Xavier's Massachusetts Academy, where they encounter the mutants Artie Maddicks, Leech, and Franklin Richards. The kids invite them to their treehouse, where the alien Tana Nile is hiding. They join with the Man-Thing, who assists them from fleeing the murderous Black Tom Cassidy. As a result, the entire group go through many adventures together.