Grinning Man (Prime Earth)

Spencer was originally a wannabe supervillain known as the "Disguise Master". His first attempt at a crime, disguising himself as Superman and asking to be let into a bank vault to foil the "evil" inside, was a miserable failure and he was swiftly arrested. Neron came to him in his cell and offered him superpowers in exchange for his soul. Spencer asked for strength, flight and to be a real master of disguise, saying that would really put a smile on his face. Neron gave him the powers he asked for and made him a shapeshifter able to perfectly impersonate anyone, but also made his default form a blank silhouette with a huge smile as his only feature.^[1]

The Grinning Man used his new powers to replace the King of Vlatava and enjoy a life of wealth and luxury while preying on helpless citizens by night. Neron later came to him again and offered to extend his time on Earth before Neron dragged him to Hell; in exchange for the Grinning Man bringing him Olivia Desmond. Olivia's father Blockbuster had sold her soul to Neron in exchange for greater intelligence, but she had been rescued by Nightwing and was being hidden from Neron by Raven.

The Grinning Man placed the real King of Vlatava's body under the rubble of Titans Academy, and when Nightwing came to investigate, the Grinning Man knocked him unconscious and stuffed him into a morgue fridge. He assumed Nightwing's form, joined up with Raven and Starfire and followed them back to Olivia's location.^[2]

Nightwing regained consciousness and broke free. He chased the Grinning Man to the house where Olivia was staying and alerted the Titans about what was happening. The Grinning Man tried to sneak away with Olivia disguised as Nightwing, but the real Nightwing confronted him and was able to prove he was the real one by telling Olivia the name of his dog. The Grinning Man tried to just grab Olivia and flee but the Titans easily overpowered him. They interrogated him with the Lasso of Persuasion and he told them that that Neron was determined to get Olivia's soul no matter what.^[1]

The Grinning Man was imprisoned in Iron Heights, but Neron freed him once again and sent him, along with Gorilla Grodd and Doctor Polaris; to retrieve Olivia from Themyscira.^[3] They were initially able to overpower the Titans, who were protecting Olivia, largely thanks to Grodd's telepathic assault. However Nightwing, temporarily granted powers by Neron himself, pulled Grodd away from the island, allowing the Titans to quickly overpower Spencer and Polaris. He was presumably returned to prison.^[4]