James Distefano, also known as Deadline, was a criminal working for Intergang who had the power to walk through walls.
History
Distefano developed lymphoma in prison, which eventually progressed to the terminal Stage 4. The prison doctor Aleister Hook, who was secretly working for Intergang, recommended him for compassionate release. Hook's boss Bruno Mannheim coerced a judge into releasing Distefano and he joined up with Intergang. Mannheim had him injected with a serum made from X-Kryptonite and Superman's blood which put his cancer into remission, and gave him the power to phase through solid matter.
Mannheim sent Deadline to break into the Department of Defence and discover the locations of all their secret facilities. Deadline's phasing abilities allowed him to easily walk into the DoD and kidnap a general, using her retinal scan to get into the secret database. Superman responded but Deadline was able to put up a significant fight against him, as his powers made him almost impossible to hit and he was armed with a Kryptonite knife. Superman eventually defeated Distefano, leaving him half phased into a wall, but before he was caught he managed to broadcast the location of all the DoD's secret facilities back to Mannheim.
Distefano was imprisoned by the DoD. Without the serum his cancer swiftly returned and a little over a month later he was on the brink of death. He begged Superman to take him to Mannheim, but when he did Mannheim refused to help him and coldly told Superman to take Distefano to a hospital. He died shortly afterwards.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Dependency: Distefano required regular infusions of serum to fuel his powers.
- Illness: Distefano had Stage 4 Lymphoma and required regular infusions of a serum made from Superman's blood and X-Kryptonite to survive.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Serum: The serum which kept Deadline's cancer in check also gave him his phasing abilities.
Weapons
Notes
- This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the Arrowverse and is an adaptation of Deadline. The original character was created by Roger Stern and Tom Lyle and first appeared in Starman #15.
Related
- Appearances of James Distefano (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Images featuring James Distefano (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Quotations by or about James Distefano (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
- Character Gallery: James Distefano (Arrowverse: Superman & Lois)
Footnotes
  This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |