The trailer for the latest episode of Supergirl teases a new version of the Parasite - the classic Superman villain who has the power to absorb the abilities of any metahuman or alien he touches. What makes this reveal so interesting is how this version of the Parasite was created and how Supergirl has already used this concept once before.
First appearing in Action Comics #340 in August 1966, the first Parasite was a petty crook named Raymond Maxwell Jensen, who got a job working at a scientific research center so that he could case and rob the facility. Wrongly believing that the center's payroll was hidden inside one of the containers used for storing hazardous materials, Maxwell accidentally exposed himself to strange energies. This transformed him into a monstrous being who could absorb the knowledge and physical properties of anyone he touched. A similar accident at STAR Labs' facility in Pittsburgh in Firestorm Vol. 2 #58 would transform janitor Rudy Jones into the second Parasite.
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Related: Supergirl Takes First Step Toward Introducing Darkseid
The trailer for the upcoming episode 'Parasite Lost,' which can be viewed below, reveals the new version of the Parasite that will be plaguing Supergirl. This time the Parasite is Agent Jensen - a rogue DEO agent, who betrayed the agency by helping anti-alien terrorists Mercy and Otis Graves escape custody. Agent Jensen was also responsible for stealing the DEO technology the Graves siblings later used to seed the atmosphere with Kryptonite in the episode 'Fallout.'
Jensen's apparent transformation into the new Parasite occurred at the end of the most recent episode, 'Ahimsa.' It was here that the Graves siblings, their ally Agent Liberty and Jensen attempted to stage a series of alien rampages, using an abducted alien empath named Fiona, a pair of violent convicted alien criminals, some old LexCorp technology and a parasitic alien worm. Though Supergirl and the DEO were able to thwart the scheme, Agent Jensen was able to get away with the alien worm. The episode concluded with Agent Liberty inserting the worm into Jensen's ear canal, assuring him that he was about to 'make something of himself' for their cause.
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This alien worm seems to be identical to the one that created the first version of the Parasite in the Arrowverse, which appeared in the season 2 episode 'Changing.' It was here that climatology professor Dr. Rudy Jones became infected by some manner of alien worm, which had been hibernating inside of a wolf's body for thousands of years after becoming trapped in the ice. Much like the symbiote in Venom, the alien repressed Dr. Jones' self-control even as it gave him the ability to drain the life force from other creatures with a touch. Dr. Jones was ultimately transformed into a giant purple monster, similar to the Parasite from the comics, after he attempted to drain the powers from Supergirl and Martian Manhunter at the same time, apparently taking too much power and becoming stuck in a new shape while reflexively mimicking Martian Manhunter's shapeshifting powers.
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It remains to be seen if Agent Jensen will undergo a similar metamorphosis in the upcoming episode 'Parasite Lost.' However, the reintroduction of the Parasite suggests that the showrunners of Supergirl realize they made a mistake in killing off the Rudy Jones version of the Parasite after only one outing. Whatever the reason for the return, the battle between Supergirl and this new Parasite is sure to be a memorable one.
More: Supergirl Season 4: Cast & Guest Star Guide
Supergirl season 4 continues Sunday, November 11, on The CW.
Source: The CW
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Parasyte (Japanese: å¯çç£Hepburn: KiseijÅ«, lit. 'Parasitic Beasts') is a science fictionhorrormanga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki and published in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine from 1988 to 1995. The manga was published in North America by first Tokyopop, then Del Rey, and finally Kodansha Comics. The manga has been adapted into two live-action films in Japan in 2014 and 2015. An anime television series adaptation by Madhouse, titled Parasyte -the maxim- (å¯çç£ ã»ã¤ã®æ ¼çKiseijÅ« Sei no Kakuritsu), aired in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015.[4] The English-language dub aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block in America between October 2015 and April 2016.
Plot[edit]
A manga panel showing a Parasite getting ready to attack a human being.
Parasyte centers on a male 17-year-old high school student named Shinichi Izumi, who lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan. One night, strange worm-like creatures with drills as a 'head' called Parasytes appear on Earth, taking over the brains of human hosts by entering through their ears or noses. One Parasite attempts to crawl into Shinichi's nose while he sleeps, but fails as Shinichi wakes up, and enters his body by burrowing into his arm instead. In the Japanese version, it takes over his right hand and is named Migi (ãã®ã¼), after the Japanese word for 'right'; Tokyopop's 1990s English version, in which the images are flipped horizontally, has the Parasite take over Shinichi's left hand and it is named Lefty.
Because Shinichi was able to prevent Migi from travelling further up into his brain, both beings retain their separate intellect and personality. As the duo encounter other Parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive. This gives them an edge in battling other Parasites who frequently attack the pair upon realization that Shinichi's human brain is still intact. Shinichi feels compelled to fight other Parasites, who devour humans as food, while enlisting Migi's help.
Characters[edit]Main characters[edit]
Humans[edit]
Parasites[edit]
The antagonists of the series. The Parasites are creatures of unknown origin which start off as worm-like creatures that instinctively enter the body of the nearest life form and travel to the brain to completely assimilate it while destroying the host's identity in the process. From there, using the vital organs of the host bodies to survive, the Parasites would be driven with a need to kill humans and Parasites with failed host bodies. After assimilating their host, Parasites exhibit a variety of abilities that make them dangerous adversaries: the immediate area around their entry site (typically the head) is morphed into a versatile 'parasite tissue' which can take a variety of offensive and defensive forms, and a parasite that successfully takes over a host's brain can then maximize the physical potential of that host. In general, Parasite intelligence is comparable to humans, though their thought process is strictly rational and cold, with very little emotion. They are also capable of learning extremely quickly depending on their environment - Migi, for example, mastered Japanese after one night of reading books on the subject. While most Parasites initially acted alone, causing a chain of multiple grisly deaths coined the 'mincemeat murders', they eventually form groups for safety in numbers. By the time of the final chapter, Shinichi speculating that they might have been created as an evolutionary countermeasure to humans, the surviving Parasites are assumed to have gone into hiding and adopt themselves further into human society to keep their activities to a minimum.
Names in Tokyopop publication[edit]
In the Tokyopop publication the main character's name was Shin and his hand was called 'Lefty', as the image had been flipped to read left to right.[10] Satomi Murano is Sara. Jaw, Uda's Parasite, is referred to as Jaws, in reference to the film Jaws by Steven Spielberg. Reiko is known as Tamara Rockford in the Tokyopop version.[11] GotÅ's name was written without a macron.
Development[edit]
Iwaaki chose a high school setting due to a scene he had thought of. When considering a scene where Migi turns his shape into a penis in front of Satomi Murano, Iwaaki believed that the scene would work best in a high school setting, so Iwaaki gave Parasyte a high school setting.[12]
Media[edit]Manga[edit]
Parasyte was originally serialized in Japan in the Morning Open ZÅkan[13] from 1988 and switched to Afternoon after a few issues in 1990.[13] It was collected into ten tankÅbon volumes by Kodansha, and was later republished in eight kanzenban volumes. It was originally licensed for English translation and North American distribution by Tokyopop, which published the series over 12 volumes. The Tokyopop version ran in Mixxzine.[citation needed] Daily pages from the Tokyopop version ran in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users of America Online.[14] The Tokyopop English-language manga went out of print on May 2, 2005.[15]Del Rey Manga later acquired the rights to the series,[16] and published eight volumes following the kanzenban release. Kodansha Comics later republished the volumes in North America between 2011 and 2012. Two tribute manga volumes (Neo Parasyte m and Neo Parasyte f) collecting short stories by various authors vere published in 2015 and 2016 (2016 and 2017 in English).
Infection ComicsLive-action films[edit]
Hollywood's New Line Cinema had acquired the film rights to Parasyte in 2005,[17] and a film adaptation was reported to be in the works, with Jim Henson Studios and Don Murphy allegedly in charge of production.[18] New Line Cinema's option expired in 2013, prompting a bidding war in Japan. Film studio and distributor Toho won the rights, and decided to adapt the manga into a two-part live-action film series directed by Takashi Yamazaki. The first part, Parasyte: Part 1, was released in November 2014 and the second part, Parasyte: Part 2, was released in April 2015.[19]
Anime[edit]
An anime television series adaptation by Madhouse titled Parasyte -the maxim- (å¯çç£ ã»ã¤ã®æ ¼çKiseijÅ« Sei no Kakuritsu) aired in Japan on NTV between October 9, 2014 and March 26, 2015.[20] The series follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school boy whose right hand becomes possessed by an alien Parasite named Migi, finding himself in a battle against other Parasites who feast on other humans. The series was simulcast by Crunchyroll outside of Asia and by Animax Asia in Southeast Asia and South Asia.[21][22][23]Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime for North America, South America, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand release.[24] UK Distributor Animatsu Entertainment will release the series in the UK.[25] In Australia and New Zealand, Hanabee has acquired the series and will release it within the region.[26] The opening theme song is 'Let Me Hear' performed by Fear, and loathing in Las Vegas. The ending theme is 'It's the Right Time' performed by Daichi Miura. At Anime Expo 2015, Sentai Filmworks announced that the anime would run on Adult Swim's Toonami block on October 3, 2015.[27][28] The English dub, provided and distributed by Sentai Filmworks, has been released on DVD and Blu-ray in two parts, with Part 1 (Episodes 1â12) on April 5, 2016 and Part 2 (Episodes 13â24) on July 5, 2016.
Reception[edit]
The series won the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 1993. It also won the Seiun Award for being the best manga of the year in 1996.[29] The live action film Parasyte: Part 1 had grossed around ¥800 million at the Japanese box office after two weeks.[30]
China ban[edit]
On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Parasyte among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China.[31]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parasyte&oldid=897108277'
The Parasite is the name of several supervillains appearing in Americancomic books published by DC Comics. Each version of the character has the ability to temporarily absorb the life-energy, superpowers, and knowledge of their victim.
The most recurring and well-known incarnation is Rudolph 'Rudy' Jones, who is a main adversary of Superman and belongs to the collective of enemies that make up his rogues gallery. In 2009, Parasite was ranked as IGN's 61st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[2] The Rudy Jones version of the Parasite has been substantially adapted from the comics into multiple forms of media, most notably in the DCAU's Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League. He has been portrayed on live-action television by Brendan Fletcher in Smallville and William Mapother in Supergirl as Rudy Jones. Anthony Konechny took over the role of Parasite in the fourth season of Supergirl playing Raymond Jensen.
Publication history[edit]
The Raymond Maxwell Jenson version of Parasite first appeared in Action Comics #340 and was created by Jim Shooter.
The Rudy Jones version of Parasite first appeared in Firestorm Norton ghost 11. vol. 2 #58 and was created by John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski.
The Alex and Andrea Allston versions of Parasite first appeared in Adventures of Superman #633 and were created by Greg Rucka, Matthew Clark, and Andrew Lanning.
The Joshua Allen version of the New 52 Parasite debuted in Superman #23.4 and was created by Aaron Kuder.
Fictional character biography[edit]Pre-Crisis[edit]Parasite Dc Wiki
Cover to Action Comics #340. Art by Curt Swan.
Raymond Maxwell Jensen was a lowlife who got a job as a plant worker for a research center.[3] 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. 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). 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.[4] The Parasite made a number of reappearances before the Crisis, yet he never successfully found a means to permanently defeat Superman.[5] 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, 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, Parasite devised the means to transfer the powers of the hero Air Wave to the young hero's adversary Casey Jones temporarily.[6]
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. 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.
Post-Crisis[edit]Rudy Jones[edit]
Originally a menial slacker, Rudolph 'Rudy' Jones was transformed into the Parasite while working as a janitor at a PittsburghS.T.A.R. Labs facility. Unknown to anyone at the scene, the Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, remembered the Pre-Crisis Parasite and manipulated Jones to become the modern version. He made Rudy think that a waste container might have held something valuable. He opened it and was exposed to strange radiation that changed his body into the bald, green-skinned villain. Jones now had the ability to absorb the life energy of other people, leaving behind smoldering skeletons. This power was necessary for his survival as his own body is in a constant state of hunger for energy that it cannot sustain on its own. During this time, Martin Stein, one half of the Firestorm matrix (Ronnie Raymond being the other half) learned he was dying and decided to destroy all the nuclear weapons in the world. This did not sit well with Earth's governments, particularly the United States, who sent the Suicide Squad to Times Square where Firestorm was holding a press conference. Things quickly got out of control as the Squad and the Justice League, both intent on subduing Firestorm, fought one another, and the Parasite (who was brought on the mission against the protests of both Amanda Waller and Colonel Rick Flag Jr.) is released. He goes on a rampage and apparently kills Multiplex, only being brought under control by the cooperation of both teams. Later, he attacked the new Firestorm who easily subdued him and left him near death.
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. After a number of years, the Parasite became involved in the plot to save Superman from overloading on solar energy. Rudy and Superman battled on the moon where Superman uncontrollably unleashed an immense blast of heat vision that the Parasite absorbed, causing him to mutate even further into a huge, hulking monster with teeth resembling a leech's. This mutation again increased Rudy's draining abilities, allowing him to absorb fast-moving objects' inertia, as well as making him impervious to telepathic attack to an unknown extent, since he could now drain energy through a mental link as he displayed when Dubbilex telepathically attacked him. His extra size and power did have a downside, however; he needed to absorb more energy more frequently in order to stay alive.
Cover to Action Comics#715. Art by Kieron Dwyer.
Unfortunately for a scientist that was tending to Rudy during one of his terms of imprisonment, he was tricked by Lex Luthor and somehow absorbed into the Parasite. This joining was different from Rudy's others as, apparently due to unspecified modifications to Rudy's physiology during this stint at S.T.A.R. Labs (although some sources speculate that the scientist's strength of character contributed to his 'survival'), he actually retained the scientist, Dr. Torval Freeman, as a part of his own mind. This combined intelligence made the Parasite even more menacing, given Freeman's superior intellect; however, just as the Parasite was about to finish off Superman (who he had drained almost to death), Superman was taken by the Tribunal and Dr. Freeman's wife intervened, convincing the Dr. Freeman persona to leave the Parasite (along with Dr. Freeman's body); after this, Rudy Jones' personality was back in control.[7] He is later recruited by Morgan Edge to be part of the second Superman Revenge Squad. After Superman's powers were converted into energy-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.[8] Later, Parasite returned once again to make trouble for Superman, but found himself facing off against Supergirl instead, absorbing some of her new angelic powers and nearly killing himself due to the 'divine judgment' of Supergirl's new 'wings'.
At one point, Rudy was contracted to help drain off a being named Strange Visitor's excess electromagnetic energy as she could not fully control it. This exposure to Strange Visitor's power caused the Parasite to mutate again, giving him the ability to fully and permanently retain the intellects of all of his victims and also allowed him to maintain any stolen energy for up to twenty-four hours. Like Torval Freeman, Rudy also absorbed an unknown shapeshifter into his biology, granting him the permanent power to mimic the exact genetic makeup and appearance of his victims.
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 twenty-four 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 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,[citation needed] was infuriated when he learned of the Parasite's schemes. As such, Luthor went to great efforts to obtain the Parasite's remains.
In Justice League of America (vol. 2) #2, the Parasite is found to be holed up in St. Roch, Louisiana, where he uses his power-absorbing abilities to temporarily neutralize the powers of villains for a fee so they might evade detection during the course of criminal efforts.
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Cover to Adventures of Superman#635 by J.H. Williams III.
In Action Comics Annual #10, a headshot of the Parasite was seen as part of 'Superman's Top 10 Most Wanted' that bore a resemblance to the version seen in Justice. This version of the Parasite later appeared in Action Comics #751 wearing the Superman: The Animated Series-inspired costume Parasite wore circa 2000, and is later seen as a member of the new Injustice League. It has not yet been revealed if this Parasite is the same that appeared in Justice League of America (vol. 2) #2, but he has been revealed to be a resurrected Rudy Jones by Lex Luthor in Superman: Last Son.
He can seen as a member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains.
In the New Krypton storyline where 100,000 Kryptionian refugees are freed from the bottle city of Kandor, the Kandorians decide to take it upon themselves to eliminate Superman's enemies. A group of Kandorians break the Parasite out of prison, killing several prison guards in the process and imprison the Parasite in the Phantom Zone.[9] Superman freed Parasite so he could be taken to Belle Reve, but Parasite escaped.[10]
Superman: Secret Origin[edit]
The 2009-10 miniseries Superman: Secret Origin redefines Parasite's origin. In this version, Rudy Jones is a janitor of 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.
Alex and Alexandra Allston[edit]
After the villain Ruin (who was secretly Professor Hamilton) performed some experiments, two new Parasites debuted, one purple, the other green.[11] 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. 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).[12] She is later one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from the Secret Six.
The New 52[edit]
In The New 52, a reboot of the DC Comics universe that began in 2011, Joshua Michael Allen was a delivery boy who hated his life and Metropolis 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.[13][14]
During the 'Forever Evil' storyline, Allen escaped and joined the Crime Syndicate of America's version of the Secret Society of Super Villains.[15] Parasite is defeated by an overload of energy.[16]
Allen was later forced into the Suicide Squad.[17]
Powers and abilities[edit]
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 super-powered individuals, he gains their abilities for a limited period of time until he 'runs out of life-energy' and must seek a new prey 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.[18] 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 Parasite's grip. Following an encounter with the Strange Visitor, however, Parasite's powers were enhanced and enable him to retain the energy he takes for longer as well as granting Jones the ability to shape-shift; 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; when he absorbed both Superman and Livewire's powers, he retained the latter's vulnerability to water despite possessing the former's near-invulnerability.
Other versions[edit]All-Star Superman[edit]
An alternate version of Parasite appeared in DC Comics' All-Star Superman #5 as an antagonist in the main subplot. He passes by Clark Kent who is interviewing Lex Luthor, a prisoner on Death Row at the 'Stryker's Island' prison. Clark is surprised to see the Parasite, and the entity feeds on Superman's ambient energy. This provides enough power for the Parasite to go on a murderous rampage. The sheer amount of energy causes the Parasite to evolve into little more than a body and a mouth. Clark uses subterfuge and his strength to ultimately defeat the creature. Lex believes his attempts actually helped.[19]
Crossovers[edit]
Parasite was one of the main characters in the second Marvel/DC crossover between Spider-Man and Superman (Marvel Treasury Edition #28). In this story, he was recruited by Doctor Doom as an agent in Doom's latest plan to conquer the world by wiping out all power sources but his own fusion reactor. Doom claimed that he needed the Parasite to function as an invincible bodyguard, capturing the Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman and giving the Parasite a harness that would allow him to retain their powers for prolonged periods. However, Doom's true intention was to kill the Parasite by allowing him to absorb so much power that his cells would burst, causing Parasite to, according to Doom's calculations, transform into a crystalline mass that would allow Doom to perfect the reactor by using its energy-manipulation abilities to control the reactor's power output. This plan was thwarted when the Parasite briefly absorbed Spider-Man's powers, causing his borrowed spider-sense to alert him to Doom's treachery and turn on Doom, although he was subsequently defeated by Superman using a gauntlet of Doom's that prevented the Parasite from absorbing his energy when he was attacked.
JSA: The Liberty Files[edit]
In the second JSA: The Liberty Files miniseries entitled JSA: The Unholy Three, Parasite is a former KGB agent working freelance as a contract killer.[20]
Justice[edit]
Justice features the faceless, pre-Crisis version of the Parasite as part of the Legion of Doom. While not identified by name in the story, it is revealed via Batman's computer files[21] that this version of the Parasite is Maxwell Jensen. He first appears in issue four as part of a group of villains sent to kill Superman (alongside Bizarro, Solomon Grundy, and Metallo), draining Superman's powers before Metallo exposes Superman to his Kryptonite heart. The quartet are soon defeated by Captain Marvel, who slams Metallo's heart into Parasite to defeat him. Lex Luthor teleports to the group almost immediately after Marvel and Superman leave to the Batcave, literally scolding the group as he returns Metallo his heart, telling Parasite he also gets Superman's weaknesses as well as his strengths. He is later seen giving Luthor an unconscious Supergirl. When the Justice League attacks the Hall of Doom, Parasite initially attacks Aquaman using some of Supergirl's powers, hoping to take his powers and threatens Mera's life, and is subsequently stabbed by Aquaman. Gold later tries to imprison him in his body, hoping to turn Parasite into gold, but is distracted after Platinum is attacked by Metallo. After escaping he takes Black Adam's powers and Metallo's heart to kill Superman, but he is still unable to beat the Man of Steel and is defeated by the lightning bolt from Black Adam saying Shazam!.
Kingdom Come[edit]
In the DC Kingdom Come alternate timeline, the Parasite is involved in the explosion that destroys Kansas. This incarnation of Parasite is the Raymond Maxwell Jensen version. Besieged by a group of metahumans led by Magog, the weakened Parasite desperately lashes out at Captain Atom, tearing through his outer shell and causing the Captain's nuclear energy to erupt. The ensuing explosion destroys everything within a large radius and annihilates over a million people. With the exception of Magog and the enormous hero Alloy, none of the metahumans involved in the battle, including the Parasite, are shown to survive.[22]
Superman: Earth One[edit]
Parasite is the primary antagonist in Superman: Earth One Volume Two, the sequel to Superman: Earth One.[23] This incarnation of Parasite is the Raymond Maxwell Jensen version. Raymond Jensen was a criminal who would do anything to get what he wanted, including murder. His back story reveals that he has been sociopathic since childhood and delights in killing anyone or anything for pleasure. After an accident at S.T.A.R. Labs, he becomes a serial-killing metahuman with the ability to absorb energy and life force through physical contact and to convert that energy into health and power for himself. This increases his strength, durability, muscle mass, and allows him to project the energy as a weapon. By absorbing Superman's life force, he gains his powers and renders the Man of Steel powerless. Ray has a sister named Theresa Jensen, who believes that her brother is a consultant with a real estate firm, unaware of his status as a murderous criminal until his transformation.
Superman: Family Adventures[edit]
In Art Baltazar's Superman Family Adventures, Otis from the Richard DonnerSuperman 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 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 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.[24]
Superman: Red Son[edit]
In Superman: Red Son, an incarnation of Parasite is one of various enemies of Superman created by Dr. Lex Luthor.[25]
Injustice: Gods Among Us[edit]
The Joshua Michael Allen (modeled after the Rudy Jones version's appearance) version of the Parasite appears in Injustice: Gods Among Us's prequel comic. In Year Five, Parasite is fightning against the Cyborg and Hal Jordan in Coast City until Superman arrive and takes him to the sun, where he throw Parasite, apparently killing him.[26]
In other media[edit]Television[edit]Live-action[edit]
Animation[edit]
DC animated universe[edit]
Parasite as he appears in the DC animated universe.
Rudy Jones/Parasite is featured in the DC animated universe.
Film[edit]
Video games[edit]
See also[edit]References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parasite_(comics)&oldid=897910958'
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