Parasite (comics)
Parasite | |
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Superman (vol. 3) #23.4 (September 2013) | |
Created by |
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In-story information | |
Alter ego |
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Species | Metahuman |
Team affiliations | |
Abilities | (All):
(Jones):
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Parasite is the name of several
The Rudy Jones incarnation of the Parasite has been substantially adapted from the comics into multiple forms of media, most notably in the
Publication history
The Raymond Maxwell Jenson version of the Parasite first appeared in Action Comics #340 (August 1966) and was created by Jim Shooter.[4] Shooter, who began working for DC at age 13, says that his inspiration for the villain was learning about parasites in his ninth-grade biology class.[5]
The Rudy Jones version of the Parasite first appeared in Firestorm (vol. 2) #58 and was created by John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski.
The Alex and Andrea Allston versions of the Parasite first appeared in
The Joshua Allen version of the New 52 Parasite first appeared in
Fictional character biography
Raymond Jensen
In the Pre-Crisis, Raymond Maxwell Jensen was a lowlife who got a job as a plant worker for a research center.[6] Wrongly believing that the company payrolls were hidden in storage containers, Jensen opened one and was bombarded with energies from biohazard materials (which was actually waste collected by Superman when he traveled into outer space), which transformed him into a purple-skinned, parasitic entity, and thus he became the Parasite.[7] Any time he touched someone, he could absorb their physical and mental properties. Touching Superman would instantly absorb a sizable fraction of his superhuman powers (it was established early on that he is not capable of acquiring the whole of Superman's powers).[8] On one occasion, while attempting to absorb a greater portion of his adversary's powers than previously, his body disintegrated for a period of time due to the pressure in his cells. Despite these abilities, the Parasite became depressed because he could no longer embrace his wife and children.[9] The Parasite made a number of reappearances before the Crisis, yet he never successfully found a means to permanently defeat Superman.[10] Despite this, he had knowledge of his foe's alter ego and often used this to attack Clark Kent. Gaining sizable intellect from his multiple encounters with Superman, the Parasite devised the means to reanimate dormant plant remains left behind from the Earth-Two supervillain Solomon Grundy, creating a newer and stronger version of the creature to plague his adversary. On another occasion, the Parasite devised the means to transfer the powers of the hero Air Wave to the young hero's adversary Casey Jones temporarily.[11]
The eventual fate of the Pre-Crisis version of the Parasite is briefly mentioned in the beginning of Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, where Lois Lane talks about the fates of the various Superman villains. The Parasite is dead, having died while fighting his occasional partner-in-crime Terra-Man in what Lane refers to a "clash of egos". Terra-Man is killed in the battle as well.
Rudy Jones
Originally a menial slacker in the Post-Crisis, Rudolph "Rudy" Jones was transformed into the Parasite while working as a
During one of his stints at Belle Reve Prison, doctors attempted to make him human again. Despite their intentions, the doctors only managed to change his skin color to the more familiar purple and also inadvertently increased his absorption power, enabling him to feed on other forms of energy, such as electricity and heat.
Unfortunately for a scientist who was tending to Rudy during one of his terms of imprisonment, he was tricked by
At one point, Rudy was contracted to help drain off a being named the
After he later escaped from S.T.A.R. Labs in the early 2000s, the Parasite began to form a plan to get back at Superman. He began stalking Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen in an attempt to get to those closest to Superman. The Parasite had taken the form of one of his previous victims, an old man, and was run down in the pandemonium that evening when Lois came to his aid. Not realizing that she was actually in contact with the Parasite, a simple touch was all Rudy needed to get her knowledge of Superman. Rudy was surprised to learn from Lois Superman's secret identity. A new plan formed when he realized how close Superman actually was to Lois; the Parasite decided to take her place and tear him down emotionally by pretending to be a scorned Lois Lane, apparently even having an affair with Luthor in the process. When Clark attempted to confront Lois about her recent distance from him, in a fit of rage uncharacteristic of Lois Lane, Rudy punched Clark out of their apartment and into the streets of Metropolis. Shortly after this display, Superman got the Parasite to reveal himself in the guise of Lois Lane. Rudy could not handle the fact that anyone other than himself as the Parasite took down the Man of Steel. Just as the Parasite was about to lay the final blow to an exhausted Superman, Rudy drops, completely crippled by kryptonite poisoning he had drained from Superman, unbeknownst to either Rudy or Clark. Superman finally realized the reason he has felt so weak recently was because he was being constantly drained by the Parasite and also the victim of the mysterious kryptonite poisoning. When he asked Rudy how long he had pretended to be Lois, the Parasite related his story to the Man of Steel. In his final moments, he tells Superman that he still needed to have contact with Lois once every 24 hours to maintain his charade, confirming that she is still alive. He also told him that Lois loves him more deeply than he could ever know, and loves him in a way that nobody ever loved the Parasite. The Parasite died before he could tell Superman where Lois was imprisoned (Superman (vol. 2) #157). Although Superman initially tried to investigate himself, his efforts were hampered by a bout of kryptonite poisoning, and Steel was forced to contact Batman to help in the investigation. Accompanied by Superman, Batman tracked a spree of recent disappearances to the Parasite's hiding place, during which Superman gained a new insight into Batman's methods and actions, and Lois was soon found alive by the two heroes. Lex Luthor, with whom it is implied the Parasite had engaged in amorous, "extramarital" activity while in Lois' form,[18] was infuriated when he learned of the Parasite's schemes. As such, Luthor went to great efforts to obtain the Parasite's remains.
In
In
He can be seen as a member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains.
In the
The 2009-10 miniseries Superman: Secret Origin redefines the Parasite's origin. In this version, Rudy Jones is a janitor at the Daily Planet. One day, Lex Luthor chooses Rudy as part of a daily "LexCorp Lottery" in which he selects one person from the crowd formed outside the LexCorp building to provide them with a new life. Inside LexCorp, Rudy eats a donut which had been accidentally spilled with a purple toxic material (revealed in issue #5 to have been produced by extracting the radiation from kryptonite). This transforms him into the Parasite, subsequently going on a rampage in Metropolis until he is stopped by Superman. He was last seen in issue #5 to be in a holding cell in LexCorp tower, having been seen by both Lex and Lois Lane's father, General Sam Lane.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Parasite was seen sucking electricity from the power station until Superman arrives. Not wanting Superman's help, Parasite loses his power after the power station explodes and gets away. Parasite later tries to drain the energy from the hospital generators. Superman was able to subdue Parasite on the Moon.[21]
Parasite was shown to have befriended Metallo at some point.[22]
During the "Dark Nights: Death Metal" storyline, Parasite was with the other Superman villains when they witnessed the rampage of a version of Superman called Last Sun. Metallo asks Parasite if he would suck the powers out of Last Son. He turned down that suggestion claiming that Last Sun's powers would be too dangerous for him.[23]
Jimmy Olsen once recaps to Lois about the time when Superman took on Parasite, Lex Luthor, Mongul, Silver Banshee, Bizarro, and Metallo while protecting innocent bystanders.[24]
Parasite later appears as a member of the Suicide Squad.[25]
Dawn of DC
Rudy on top on School bus tryed to drain the life of children, teacher and driver until Superman arrived saved them to safe location after saved by Parasite he come back for him Rudy wanting for lunch he want to draining life every on him someone testing on him, hurting him and worse made him even hungry then before he get punched though he tree bushes Superman want to help he responds by it wasn't Luthor it someone else before finish his word multiple Parasites attack Superman now spreading over the city. Now swam of Parasites people get infected by them even Superman. Then he helped Superman by asking him to rid of clones. Rudy being to be eating every the last one of them until clones went to him cause his belly to bloated, he happy his belly is full give Lex chance injection him to knock him out and take to star lab for his treatments.
He reformed himself hire by Mercy Gravers give him started fresh started for now working In Supercorp. He assisted Superman to get rid of Kryptonite cloud by absorb the Green Kryptonite to clear the sky.
He feed his Pet until Skull arrived in Metropolis run by Brainiac send Brainiac Probe and Czarnians invader the city then he abduction by Brainiac .
Alex and Alexandra Allston
After the villain Ruin (who was secretly Professor Hamilton) performed some experiments, two new Parasites debuted, one purple, the other green. The two new Parasites were teenagers named Alex (the green Parasite) and Alexandra (the purple Parasite) who wanted to seek vengeance on the people who made their lives difficult. They were soon subdued by Superman after a battle.[26]
After attempting to escape from a metahuman prison, Alex was killed by an OMAC while his sister Alexandra escaped and joined the Secret Society of Super Villains under Alexander Luthor Jr. (who was posing as Lex Luthor).[27]
She is later one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from the Secret Six.[28]
Joshua Allen
In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC Comics universe. Joshua Michael Allen was a misanthropic delivery boy who was caught in the middle of a battle between Superman and a giant parasite. Allen snapped and attacked the creature, electrocuting it and himself with a live wire. While at Star Labs to check his health from the encounter, their testing transformed him into a creature who constantly feels hunger for energy he obtains from people, leaving their molded skeletons. Tired of this kind of life, he tried to commit suicide and was rescued by Superman, from whom Allen absorbed energy like never before. This eased the pain and hunger he experienced, until his energy was depleted. Allen was imprisoned in Belle Reve.[29][30]
During the "Forever Evil" storyline, Allen escaped and joined the Crime Syndicate of America's version of the Secret Society of Super Villains.[31] The Parasite is defeated by an overload of energy.[32]
Allen was later forced into the Suicide Squad.[33]
Powers and abilities
All incarnations of the Parasite have the ability to temporarily absorb the life energy, superpowers, and knowledge of their victims through physical contact, and are also able to drain virtually any other form of energy and use it as a power source.
In particular, Rudy Jones is granted enhanced strength, intelligence, agility, durability, and reflexes by absorbing the energy of other beings. When Jones drains other superpowered individuals, he gains their abilities for a limited period of time until he "runs out of life-energy" and must seek a new victim to "feed on". He is shown to have a heightened sense of perception that allows him to detect the life force and power within other beings.[34] While drawing the energy of ordinary humans is almost instantaneous, it takes a notably longer time in the case of immensely powerful beings, which gives the victim more time to react and free themselves from the Parasite's grip. Following an encounter with the Strange Visitor, however, the Parasite's powers were enhanced and enable him to retain the energy he takes for longer as well as granting Jones the ability to shapeshift; he can now physically morph into his victims right down to their DNA, being able to access their memories, gain their natural abilities, and mimic their voices. The Parasite's biggest weakness is that he also absorbs the weaknesses of his victims and cannot counter such susceptibilities even when he has other abilities that should do so; when he absorbed both Superman and Livewire's powers, he retained the latter's vulnerability to water despite possessing the former's near-invulnerability. The Parasite also maintains Superman's weaknesses, like kryptonite, even when the Parasite in addition already absorbed the powers of non-Kryptonians.
Other versions
All-Star Superman
An alternate version of the Parasite appeared in DC Comics'
Crossovers
The Parasite was one of the main characters in the second Marvel/DC
JSA: The Liberty Files
In the second JSA: The Liberty Files miniseries entitled JSA: The Unholy Three, the Parasite is a former KGB agent working freelance as a contract killer.[37]
Justice
Kingdom Come
In the DC
Superman: Earth One
The Parasite is the primary antagonist in Superman: Earth One Volume Two, the sequel to
Superman Family Adventures
In Art Baltazar's Superman Family Adventures, Otis from the Richard Donner Superman movies became this universe's Parasite. Lex grabs a purple rock from space that Otis keeps instead of throwing away, which takes over his body and allows him the Parasite's abilities. Rather than commit villainous acts, Otis focuses his efforts on living Superman's life and dubs himself the "Purple Superman" before Lois calls him the Parasite. Superman defeats him by putting oven mitts on his hands while avoiding Otis, causing Otis to eventually lose Superman's powers and tire out.[41]
Superman: Red Son
In Superman: Red Son, an incarnation of the Parasite is one of various enemies of Superman created by Dr. Lex Luthor.[42]
Just Imagine...
In
Superman American Alien
Parasite has made a brief appearance in Superman American Alien #5 by Max Landis. It shows the tragic story of Rudy Jones, how he became an addict and eventually a "guest" of Lex Luthor, who slowly turned him into an energy-hungry monster. After a brief rampage inside Metropolis Mall, he is apprehended by Superman and (mistakenly) returned to Lex Luthor, from whom he escaped in the first place. This serves as an example of "humanizing" the character of Superman, showing that he has flaws and makes mistakes as any other person does.[44]
In other media
Television
Live-action
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in the Green Arrowand taken into police custody.
- Additionally, an unrelated character called Eric Summers appears in the episodes "Leech" and "Asylum",[Belle Reve Sanitarium before joining forces with fellow prisoners Van McNultyand Ian Randall to seek revenge on Kent. He later betrays his partners to use Kryptonite and electrical equipment to temporarily re-steal Kent's powers, only to be defeated by Kent and lose his stolen powers once more.
- Additionally, an unrelated character called Eric Summers appears in the episodes "Leech" and "Asylum",[
- Two incarnations of Parasite appear in Supergirl. Both versions are the result of humans being possessed by an alien parasite called an Angon:
- Dr. Rudy Jones appears in the episode "Changing", portrayed by Martian Manhunter, Jones absorbs Supergirl and Manhunter's powers and transforms into a monster. Rechristening himself "Parasite", he goes on a rampage before Supergirl uses plutonium from a nuclear power plant to overload Jones and kill him. In the episode "Kara", Lex Luthoruses the Allstone Totems to create a copy of Parasite to help him fight the Super Friends before it explodes while fighting Danvers.
- Raymond Jensen appears in the Agent Liberty. Following the Graves' apparent deaths, Jensen volunteers to be exposed to an Angon obtained from the DEO. In the episode "Parasite Lost", Jensen becomes the new Parasite and uses his new energy-absorbing abilities to kill aliens. While targeting an alien medallion to keep his Angon alive and maintain his abilities, Jensen ends up comatose and taken into DEO custody.
- Dr. Rudy Jones appears in the episode "Changing", portrayed by
- A character based on Alexandra Allston named Ally Allston appears in the second season of Superman & Lois, portrayed by Rya Kihlstedt as an adult and by Amber Taylor as a child. This version is a cult leader behind the Inverse Society/Method who took over Bizarro World with help from her Bizarro counterpart (also portrayed by Kihlstedt) and became an enemy of Bizarro as a result. She later merges with her Bizarro counterpart, gaining flight and the ability to drain energy, before setting out to merge Earth with Bizarro World, only to be stopped by Superman.
Animation
- An original incarnation of Parasite named I.C. Harris appears in The New Adventures of Superman episode "The Pernicious Parasite". This version is a balding thief who specializes in stealing radioactive materials and lacks purple skin.
- The Raymond Jensen incarnation of Parasite appears in the Young Justice episode "Performance", voiced by Adam Baldwin.[46]
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in the Justice League Action episode "Power Outage", voiced by Max Mittelman.[46] This version sports a more monstrous appearance and the additional ability to sprout tentacles from his torso.
- An unidentified Parasite makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Harley Quinn as a member of the Legion of Doom.
- An original incarnation of Parasite, Dr. Anthony Ivo, appears in My Adventures with Superman, voiced by Jake Green. This version developed and wears a suit of battle armor called the Parasite 1.0, which is capable of growing larger and more monstrous in appearance as it absorbs energy.[47]
DC Animated Universe
Two incarnations of Parasite appear in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU):
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in Stryker's Island.
- Jones appears in the Justice League two-part episode "Secret Society", voiced by Brian George.[46] Having recovered from his coma, he is recruited into Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society and fights the Justice League, only to be defeated by Wonder Woman.
- Jones makes minor, non-speaking appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of Grodd's expanded Secret Society. Prior to and during the episode "Alive!", Lex Luthor takes command of the Society, but Grodd mounts a mutiny. Jones sides with the latter, only to be frozen by Killer Frost and killed off-screen by Darkseid along with Grodd's other loyalists.
- A monstrous, unidentified incarnation of Parasite appears in the episode "Epilogue", voiced by Marc Worden.[46] This version is a member of a future version of the Society called the Iniquity Collective.
Film
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite makes a cameo appearance in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
- An unidentified Parasite appears in Stryker's Island.
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, voiced by Tom Kenny.
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in S.T.A.R. Labs biological weapon designed to absorb energy from anything it touches, which transforms him into a decaying energy vampire. Over the course of the film, he slowly transforms into a massive, near-mindless beast as he continues to absorb energy until Superman eventually appeals to Jones' humanity and the latter sacrifices himself to protect Metropolisfrom an exploding energy plant.
Video games
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears as a boss in Superman: Shadow of Apokolips, voiced again by Brian George.
- An unidentified Parasite appears as a boss in Superman 64. This version is a member of the Superman Revenge Squad.
- An unidentified Parasite appears as a boss in the Nintendo DS version of Superman Returns.
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Robert Faires.[46] In the villain campaign, he and Lex Luthor join forces to capture Power Girl so the former can drain her energy while the latter gets her DNA. To further their plan, Luthor arranges for Parasite clones to attack Metropolis University and tasks the player with using mutagen he developed to turn metahuman students into weaker versions of Parasite called Leeches to help the original Parasite defeat Power Girl.
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite makes a cameo appearance in Stryker's Islandstage.
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Travis Willingham.
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Eric Bauza.
Miscellaneous
- A hybridized incarnation of Parasite appears in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five #3. This version is identified as Joshua Michael Allen while his monstrous form resembles that of Rudy Jones. He battles Cyborg and Yellow Lantern until Superman arrives and throws Parasite into the sun.[48]
- The Rudy Jones incarnation of Parasite appears in DC Super Hero Girls.
See also
References
- ^ "Traci Adell, the WWF, Fatale on TV, and the Web of the Snyder – Part 2". Jim Shooter's Blog. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- ^ Parasite is number 61 Archived 2009-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, IGN.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ISBN 9781893905610.
- ^ Action Comics #340. DC Comics.
- ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
- ISBN 978-1605490557.
- ^ Superman #286. DC Comics.
- ^ Action Comics #555. DC Comics.
- ^ Action Comics #361. DC Comics.
- ^ Adventures of Superman #481, DC Comics.
- ^ Adventures of Superman #512, DC Comics.
- ^ Superboy (vol. 4) #6, DC Comics.
- ^ "The Trial of Superman!"
- The Adventures of Superman#552. DC Comics.
- ^ Superman (vol. 2) #157, DC Comics.
- ^ Superman (vol. 2) #156, DC Comics.
- ^ Superman #682
- ^ Superman #684
- ^ Superman Giant (vol. 2) #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Superman: Man of Tomorrow #14. DC Comics.
- ^ Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Secret Origin #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Superman Red and Blue #5. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 7) #8. DC Comics.
- ^ The Adventures of Superman #633. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Adventures of Superman #641. DC Comics.
- ^ Secret Six (vol. 3) #5. DC Comics.
- ^ DC Comics Encyclopedia: All-New Edition. DC Comics.
- ^ Superman (vol. 3) #23.4: Parasite. DC Comics.
- ^ Forever Evil #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #6. DC Comics.
- ^ New Suicide Squad #9. DC Comics.
- ^ All-Star Superman #5
- ^ All-Star Superman #5. DC Comics.
- ^ Marvel Treasury Edition #28. DC Comics.
- ^ JSA: The Liberty Files #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Kingdom Come #1. DC Comics.
- ^ "CBR Community". Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ Superman Family Adventures #5. DC Comics.
- ^ Superman: Red Son #3. DC Comics.
- ^ Just Imagine..." JLA #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Superman American Alien #5
- ^ Al Septien, Turi Meyer (writers) and Tom Welling (director) (2009-05-07). "Injustice". Smallville. Season 8. Episode 21. The CW.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Voice of Parasite". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved December 15, 2019. Check marks indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Nelson, Samantha (2023-06-26). "My Adventures With Superman Review". IGN. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #3. DC Comics.
External links
- Parasite at Comic Vine