Parasite (comics)

For the scientific use of the term "parasite," see: Parasite.

The Parasite is a fictional character and supervillain who appears in Superman stories published by DC Comics. The Parasite first appeared in Action Comics #340 (August 1966).

Originally a janitor, the Parasite's alter ego has been identified with two different people. In the original Silver Age comics, his alter ego was Maxwell Jensen; after the 1986 Superman origin revamp by John Byrne, his alter ego became Rudy Jones.

In either version, the Parasite posseses the power to temporarily absorb the energy and knowledge of whoever he touches, usually leaving his victims in a weakened state. Given this ability, the Parasite often desires to absorb the Man of Steel's powers for himself.

Versions

Modern Age Parasite

Originally a menial slacker, Rudy Jones was transformed into the Parasite while working as a janitor at a Pittsburgh S.T.A.R. Labs facility. Thinking a waste container might have held something valuable, he opened it and was exposed to strange radiation that changed his body. Jones now had the ability to absorb the life energy of other people leaving withered corpses. When not feeding on life energy, he can feed on other forms of power, such as electricity.

Unfortunately for the scientist that was tending Rudy, he was tricked and ultimately absorbed into the Parasite. This joining was different than Rudy's others, he actually retained the scientist, Dr. Torval Freeman, as a part of his own mind. This combined intelligence made the Parasite even more menacing.

Because the Parasite can absorb Superman's energy, he is a formidable foe. The Parasite was recruited by Morgan Edge to be part of the second Superman Revenge Squad. Failure followed every one of his encounters with the Man of Steel. After Superman's powers were converted into electrical based ones, the Parasite returned to see what he could absorb from the Man of Steel. However, at this point in time, Superman was not in full control of what was happening with his powers and nearly killed the Parasite (as seen in Adventures of Superman #552). Later, Parasite returned once again, looking to make trouble for Superman but finding himself facing off against Supergirl instead.

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 aide. Not realizing that she was actually in contact with the Parasite, the simple touch was all Rudy needed to get the lowdown on 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.

Parasite's ruse would probably have worked if he had not had enough of Clark's constant apologies and attempts to get to the bottom of his and Lois' relationship problems. 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 couldn't handle the fact that anyone other than himself as the Parasite took down the Man of Steel. After this, the Parasite's powers ebbed, and Superman succeeds in taking him down. Superman finally realized the reason he has felt so weakened recently was because he was being constantly drained by the Parasite. 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 twenty-four hours to maintain his charade, confirming that she is still alive. He also tells him that Lois loves him more deeply than he could ever know. The Parasite died before he could tell Superman where Lois was imprisoned. Lois was soon found alive by Superman and Batman inside a cave the Parasite had used as a hideout.

After the villain Ruin (who was secretly Pete Ross) performed some experiments, two new Parasites debuted, one purple, the other green. The two new Parasites were teenagers named Alex and Alexandra, who wanted to seek vengeance on the people who made their lives difficult; they were soon subdued by Superman after a battle. Their final fate remains unsealed.

In other media

The Parasite appeared in the 1990s television series Superman: The Animated Series, where he was voiced by the late Brion James, The origin for the animated Parasite is fairly consistent with his modern origin. Rudy Jones, janitor at S.T.A.R. Labs, was caught mid-robbery with a crook named Lebeau. They were trying to steal a chemical stored in barrels with unknown properties. When Lebeau and Rudy made their getaway in a pickup truck, Lebeau's anger at Rudy led him to make Rudy ride in the back with the ill-closed barrels. The barrels soon opened, spilling their contents all over Rudy, transforming him into the Parasite; Rudy soon used his new powers to go after Superman. The Parasite discovered Superman's true identity a couple of times, but on each occurrence, Superman managed to harm Rudy enough to damage his memory (having him suck the "power" out of some kryptonite, having Rudy doused by a shower system while the Parasite possessed Livewire's electrical powers, etc.) so that he forgets the knowledge.

File:Parasitedc.jpg

The Parasite, as seen in the television series Justice League Unlimited.

Parasite later made subsequent appearances in the 2000s series Justice League where he was voiced by Brian George. Gorilla Grodd recruited him into the Secret Society to defeat the Justice League. In Justice League Unlimited, he defeated Elongated Man and Metamorpho before being taken down by the appearance of Captain Marvel. He was later seen as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Legion of Doom. A future version of Parasite was one of the enemies of the future Justice League. The Future Parasite was played by Marc Warden.

External links

• Supermanica entry on the pre-Crisis Parasite