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Gwen Wu[3] is the secondary antagonist and a young Honeybee Scout who is Portia's best friend,[4] and mainly acts as Portia's "second-in-command" whenever the duo gang up on Bessie.[5]
Quoting her Nicktoons profile: "She's got more than enough attitude for the both of them, twice as much energy, and all the brain power." However, a later episode shows she can tolerate Bessie more than Portia. She plays a prominent role in three episodes: "Bee My Baby," "Apoxalypse Now" and "Children of the Unicorn."
Gwen is primarily interested in music and fashion; she is a skilled guitarist and is shown to be a capable disc jockey (DJ). She is seen with a large family, but none of their names are known. Gwen is voiced by Jessica DiCicco.[6]
Personality
Gwen is mainly seen at Portia's side, working as a lieutenant. She’s always equipped with a “witty” comeback, which usually entails calling Bessie names, such as mocking her name as "Messie Stinkenbottom."[7] Other times, she will insult Bessie or back Portia up, finishing off with an "ooh!"
She and Portia have a close friendship, with Gwen remaining loyal to her and refusing to tell Bessie Portia's secret in "Woodward and Beesting." The girls are shown to have "Best Friends Forever" lockets that connect together ("Bee Plus One").
Gwen's also been shown to assist Portia in her schemes to mess with Bessie, such as tricking Bessie into believing there was a babysitting badge in "Bee My Baby," trying to scare her away in "Bee Afraid,"[8] teaching her improper etiquette in "To Bee or Not To Bee" and even guiding her into a piranha tank when Bessie lost her glasses ("Blindsided").
Her interests include cheerleading, music (hip-hop especially) and fashion.[9] Gwen plans on "dominating" the fashion and music worlds within 10 years.[9] It should be noted that Gwen's love of fashion is rarely seen in the show itself, and her "ten year plan" is only known through her character description on the Nicktoons website.
When bored, Gwen will often listen to music with her headphones. She is the co-captain as one of the Pretty Pretty Princesses in the episode “We Got the Bee,” playing guitar in the band. She has a head for business and is very clever.[10] "Children of the Unicorn" reveals that Gwen believes in unicorns, having encountered one in the past.
She can be a bit of a bully (especially when it comes to Millie, as seen in “Ten Little Honeybees”), and she’s come to believe that hanging out with dorks like Bessie would ruin her reputation ("Woodward and Beesting"); however, a rarely seen side of her is shown in "Children of the Unicorn," where she partners up with Bessie to prove unicorns really do exist. This episode shows Gwen can be nice when she feels like it or at least has more tolerance towards Bessie's actions and is less antagonistic to her compared to Portia.
Her parents did not appear in the show (with the possible exception of Mr. Wu, who is speculated by some to be her father), but in "Bee My Baby" she was shown babysitting her five younger brothers.[11] Her Nicktoons profile states she does this on a regular basis, implying her parents are too busy most of the time to look after them. Gwen does not enjoy this responsibility, claiming babysitting has "sucked the best years right out of me" ("Bee My Baby"). An indirect comment made by Bessie in "Dang It Feels Good to Be a Gamester" implies Gwen's mother is around.
Physical appearance
Gwen is a 10-year old Chinese-American girl.[12] She has fair skin, blue eyes, and short black hair. She wears a white short-sleeved shirt with a light red collar, a red sash, a white skirt and pants the same color as her collar with white stripes on the side of them, and black sneakers.
Relationships
Gwen's Brothers
Gwen loves her brothers, though she finds the responsibility of babysitting them regularly to be a pain ("Bee My Baby"). She is later seen playing with them in "Woodward and Beesting" and expresses frustration when she finds out they have the chicken pox at the same time she does ("Apoxalypse Now"). They don't believe Gwen when she tells them she saw a unicorn in "Children of the Unicorn."
Portia Gibbons
She and Portia are best friends, even having necklaces boasting this fact in "Bee Plus One." The two are usually more than happy to mess with Bessie on a regular basis, whether it be making her believe she's a robot ("Bess-E") or playing upon her supposed weakness of zucchini in "Super Secret Weakness." Gwen and Portia share a lot of the same interests: shopping, fashion and often going to the nail salon. They are shown to both enjoy eating gelato together in "Bee My Baby." With Penny, they compose the band of The Pretty Pretty Princesses.
However, there have been signs of friction in the two's friendship. The girls were more than willing to put their friendship at stake if it meant being Bessie's plus one in "Bee Plus One," when Portia takes Gwen's half of their necklace and declaring Bessie as her new best friend. Gwen and Portia's friendship is restored when Bessie surrenders both tickets. Later, Portia disagrees with Gwen's belief in unicorns, going so far as to express disappointment in Gwen for trying to prove they exist ("Children of the Unicorn").
Penny Lefkowitz
As Penny is often seen hanging with her and Portia, it can be assumed Gwen and Penny get along well. Gwen expresses annoyance whenever Penny makes a dumb comment, but recognizes Penny's talent at the triangle, telling her to start playing in "We Got the Bee," though Penny faints soon after. In "Thanksgiving Beenactment," while at Colonial Farms, Gwen and Penny are in charge of taking care of the turkey. Penny thinks they're measuring him because a suit is being made for the bird, with Gwen not having the heart to tell Penny of the turkey's planned fate.
Bessie Higgenbottom
Alongside Portia, Gwen typically plays around with Bessie's obliviousness and takes advantage of this tendency. She often calls Bessie "Stinkenbottom" as opposed to her actual name. In "Apoxalypse Now," Bessie tries in several attempts to get Gwen's chicken pox, which only serves to annoy Gwen and declare Bessie as "sick." The two work together in "Children of the Unicorn" when they try to prove that unicorns do exist and causing the girls to form a slight bond. However, as Gwen pointed out things would return to normal if she and Bessie failed to prove their existence to the others (which happened when Bessie's thumb covered the unicorn's face), Gwen went back to messing with Bessie.
Ben Higgenbottom
Gwen and Ben do not often interact, having spoken to each other for the first time in "Hat Trick." She comments on Ben wearing a dress in "Apoxalypse Now," causing Ben to insist it's a smock. Later, in "Name Shame," she tickles Mr. Pants in an attempt to get Ben to admit what Bessie's middle name is, to no avail. The fact they're not very close is reflected by Gwen calling Ben "kid" in "Dang it Feels Good to Be a Gamester" and instructing him to look for cheat codes so he can have a chance at a turn in the video game Raspberry Shortcake Space Attack V.
Happy Higgenbottom
As with Ben, Happy and Gwen rarely speak to each other. In the pilot episode, "So Happy Together," Gwen quips that Bessie probably found Happy "in a dumpster," which sets the dog off and causes him to storm out of the dog show. The two have been shown to work together in order to secure reservation at the Recreation Center in "Dragonflies."
Hilary Higgenbottom
Gwen and Hilary only speak to each other once in the entire series: "Name Shame." In that episode, Gwen, Penny and Portia ask Hilary for Bessie's middle name, who happily tells the girls it's Kajolica. Gwen calls Hilary both "hippie mommy" and "Mrs. Stinkenbottom."
Mary Frances Gibbons
Despite being her daughter's best friend, Mary Frances doesn't seem to hold Gwen in much regard, as in "Apoxalypse Now" she dropped off Gwen and seconds later floored her car. She later expresses disappointment in her and the other Honeybees when The Beavers decimate them in the Bee-athlon ("Dang it Feels Good to Be a Gamester").
Appearances
- Main article: Gwen Wu/Appearances
Gallery
- Main article: Gwen Wu/Gallery
Trivia
- Her surname is never stated within the series, but was confirmed through Nickelodeon's website of the show.
- Although never specified, her last name indicates she is Chinese.
- Gwen is jealous of Portia's reputation, and this is likely why she is friends with her, so she can be respected as well.
- Gwen sometimes likes to tease Millie as Portia does, best exemplified in "Ten Little Honeybees."
- "We Got the Bee" shows she knows how to play the guitar. Gwen's musical ability is later explored in "Hive Jacked," where she is a talented disc jockey (DJ).
- According to "Ten Little Honeybees," she likes lockets, as Millie points out Gwen keeps one in her copy of the Honeybee Handbook. Thus, Gwen was a suspect when Portia's was lost.
- She was the last member of Honeybee Troop 828 who got the chicken pox.
- Gwen's house number is shown in "Apoxalypse Now": 6704.
- Is a fan of the Sugar Boys ("Bee Plus One").
- "Children of the Unicorn" reveals the following about Gwen:
- She has freckles.
- Owns a Joan Jett poster, which is on the wall in her room.
- Gwen and Bessie have known each other for five years.
- Her opening quote from the now defunct website for the series: "Great. Glam. Gandhi. Ain't no G as fierce as me."
- It has been theorized by some Mighty B! fans that Mr. Wu and Gwen are father and daughter, respectively. However, this is not stated within the show and has not been confirmed by the crew.
- Gwen's original design in the pilot episode had a hair flip, though this was later changed to give her short bangs.[13]
- The show press kit reveals Gwen is a first-generation American, as her parents are immigrants.[2]
References
- ↑ Portia states in "Toot Toot" all members of Troop 828 are 10 except for Bessie, meaning Gwen is 10 years old.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Squeaky Fondue (March 10, 2024). The Mighty B! Press Kit. The Mighty B - Press Kit and Production Documents. Archive.org. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ↑ Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Page 391. Rowman & Littlefield. International standard book number 9781538103746.
- ↑ Paige, Nathan (March 2, 2009). New on DVD: Loads of laughs with 'The Mighty B!'. Cleveland. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ↑ Liu, Ed (March 4, 2009). "The Mighty B! We Got the Bee" is More Admired than Loved. Anime Super Hero. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (June 8, 2009). The Year in Television, 2008: A Catalog of New and Continuing Series, Miniseries, Specials and TV Movies. Page 84. McFarland & Company. International standard book number 9780786453368.
- ↑ Rizzo, Francis (March 7, 2009). The Mighty B!: We Got the Bee. DVD Talk. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ↑ Moody, Annemarie (February 23, 2009). Akira, Samurai 7 on Blu-ray, Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder & The Mighty B. Animation World Network. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Mighty B! TV Show Facts. April 15, 2016. Kidzworld. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ↑ Bynum, Aaron H. (April 8, 2008). The Mighty B!. Animation Insider. Retrieved May 4, 2020. Archived via the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ PR Newswire (April 8, 2008). Bee Prepared To Catch the Buzz When The Mighty B! Flies to Nickelodeon Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT). Business Insider. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ↑ Perlmutter, David (March 13, 2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. Page 328. McFarland & Company. International standard book number 9781476614885.
- ↑ Arnett, Bryan (September 7, 2022). Super Scout pilot designs. Instagram. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
External links
- Gwen's profile on Nicktoons.com, archived via the Wayback Machine
See also
- Wu residence, where Gwen lives
- Category:Episodes focused on Gwen, episodes featuring Gwen in a major role