What's This? A busy, buzzy secret organization.
The facts: It stands for Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination! The villainous organization (which specialized in high-level contract assassinations and mercenary acts of terrorism) was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez for The New Teen Titans #2 (December 1980). It had dozens of appearances, mostly in Titans, Superman and Birds of Prey comics. The New52 had its own version, clocking another three dozen appearances or so.
How you could have heard of it: H.I.V.E. appeared on the Teen Titans animated series and was a big deal in the fourth season of Arrow.
Example story: Tales of the Teen Titans #46 (September 1984) "Showdown!" by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez and Mike DeCarlo
The Titans are submarining their way to H.I.V.E.'s underwater base (because when I think of bees, I think of the bottom of the Atlantic) to stop "Operation Waterworks", whatever that may be, but the organization knows. This makes its secret masters (every org worth its salt has them) antsy (insect joke), but their queen bee (might as well call herself that), is somehow happy about it.
Guys, she is WEIRD.
I think the "squadron leaders" hitched their honey wagon to the wrong person. She's flighty, absent-minded, patronizing, has "headaches", and talks about her "beautiful men". Also, kills the people who fail her, but that's Supervillain HR 101. She plans to lay a computer-assisted trap for the teenage heroes, and orders "Number 13", a member of her "inner circle" (present, not just in a Zoom call) to punch it in. I could do with a more bee-themed structure, honestly. So anyway, they shoot missiles at the Titans' sub, take out its shields or are destroyed by Aqualad and Aquagirl (oh, the indignity!). Then they send in the frogmen...
...but I've been trying to tell H.I.V.E, bees don't do well in water! If it's not killer whales, it's the Titans' concussion torpedoes. Tula infiltrates the base, and she does not give two seals (this is a rude French pun) whether you were a hood or a wetsuit. You're going down!
Seems everyone has a big grudge against H.I.V.E. - they killed Starfire's groom at the altar, they poisoned Atlantis... - and at the bottom of this page, they zap Tula with some kind of energy weapon. Raven hears her telepathic cry and teleports in.
Is this issue just about H.I.V.E. getting their asses handed to them? The mistress's reaction is rather aloof and jaded.
She calls for the "Council of Seven" (the guys on the Zoom call, I presume) to meet her at the Waterworks Chamber as she springs her final trap on the Titans. As the guy who Jericho possesses will be killed with them, she makes a note to contact his family and pay them benefits (so they're unionized, nice to see). And then she punches a button that sends an entire room out of the base like a missile and...
Her late husband would be proud indeed. If we believed the Titans hadn't escaped the room before her languid finger touched the button.
Ultimately, I don't know how fearsome H.I.V.E. is, but their mistress is kind of terrifying!
Who's Next? A modern priest in an old-time religion.
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