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As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
The Parasite is an enemy of Superman.
History
Joshua Michael Allen was originally a bike courier from Metropolis, until an alien flu granted him the power to absorb other people's power.
His life changed when he crashed into a green blob and suffered electric shocks, and then he lost consciousness.
He awoke in the hospital, where he was diagnosed as suffering from alien flu. Then he was called into S.T.A.R Labs, where he was checked for a virus. But an explosion killed all the doctors and transformed him into Parasite. As Parasite, he drained the life of people around him, and he wanted to kill himself. However, the Man of Steel came just in time and when he touched Superman, he gained incredible strength. Therefore, leeching metahuman powers became his new obsession.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Unique Physiology: After his incident Joshua has been turned in a hungry monster capable of absorbing other beings powers.
- Power Absorption: The Parasite can absorb energy from other beings in order to strengthen himself.
- Power Replication: By absorbing energy from metahumans the Parasite can copy their powers for a limited time. He doesn't need to be in direct contact with his victims to copy their powers as he was seen able to replicate Mammoth's strength just by touching his saliva.[2]
- Size Alteration
Weaknesses
- Power Limitation: The powers he absorbs are not infinite.[3]
- Monstrous Appearance: The incident that turned Joshua into the Parasite forever scarred his body by giving him a skeletal and hairless body with a bright pink skin.[4]
- Obsession: Parasite is moved by an unending hunger that can only be sated by absorbing energy.
Notes
- Parasite (Raymond Maxwell Jensen) was created by Jim Shooter and Al Plastino, first appearing in Action Comics #340. His first appearance in the New 52 was in Aaron Kuder's Superman (Volume 3) #23.4: Parasite, as part of the Forever Evil event.
Related
- 58 Appearances of Joshua Michael Allen (Prime Earth)
- 26 Images featuring Joshua Michael Allen (Prime Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Joshua Michael Allen (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Joshua Michael Allen (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
Superman Villain(s) 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." |
Secret Society of Super-Villains member |
Suicide Squad member |