King Kosmos (Earth-One)

King Kosmos was a petty despot on a future Earth, which rebelled against him before he destroyed the planet to launch himself into the past, to a time period where Kosmos thought his advanced technology would make him superior. His plot brought him into conflict several times with Superman, though fate always seemed to be against Kosmos.

History

Overthrown on a future Earth, King Kosmos loaded his Exit Craft with advanced technology and destroyed the planet in petty revenge; launching himself through a dimensional warp. His destination was one that seemed more amenable to conquest - the 20th century. Kosmos first appeared in the orbit of Saturn, headed for the Earth, which prompted 29^th Century scholar Kristin Wells to unknowingly aid Superman; because in future hindsight, she knew that King Kosmos had the power to defeat the Man of Steel.

Kosmos appeared in the sky over Metropolis, blasting the city and demanding subservience, when he was attacked by Superman. Kosmos displaced Superman in time, back to the 6^th century as a warning; while knowing that Superman had the power to break the Time Barrier and return; as Kosmos had a device for detecting superpowers and their capability.

It was only the intervention of Superwoman and her superior future technology that countered King Kosmos' attack, and left him lost in the Timestream.

From within the timestream, King Kosmos had seen glimpses of the future and had planned his next attack accordingly; returning to Earth as a nerve bolt and possessing Oswald Mandias in orbit. Now that he was a being of pure energy, he no longer needed his technology, and changed Superman's essence with a thought so that he would fall to Earth and presumably die, but for the intervention of the Sword of Superman, which Kosmos had not foreseen.

Kosmos further re-molded the consciousness of every intelligent being on Earth; and made them see Superman as a monster — even in his guise as Clark Kent. It was an illusion only dispelled by Superman's Sword.

King Kosmos enhanced the body of Oswald Mandias to a point where he could physically challenge Superman, though ultimately the Sword bestowed enough power on Superman that he removed the tyrant from Mandias' body and dispersed King Kosmos' essence, and he has not returned.

Motivation

King Kosmos demanded attention more than anything else, taking over the airwaves repeatedly to gloat about his superior power, while not killing anyone, even though he seemed to have the power to. But despite his access to advanced technology, his attacks were minor - blasting a building under construction, and dropping a satellite from orbit. When confronted by Superwoman with a superior level of technology, the Kirbyesque bully fled and travelled back in time again to 1863 where he again made his ultimatum to a country in chaos after Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Illusion Casting: Kosmos created the illusion of a huge atomic blast over Metropolis.
Energy Projection
Energy Transference: As an energy being, King Kosmos could alter the physical make-up of others; weakening Superman, or strengthening Oswald Mandias such that he could battle head-to-head with Superman.
Flight
Mind Control: King Kosmos remolded the consciousnesses of every intelligent being on Earth; such that they all feared Superman.

Weaknesses

Technological Reliability: Most of King Kosmos' initial powers relied on his Exit Craft and his hand-held navigation device.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Superpower Detector: King Kosmos could detect, locate and analyse metahuman beings.

Transportation

Exit Ship: Most of King Kosmos' early powers stemmed from the embedded technology on his Exit Ship, which had a number of advanced weapons and capabilities.

Weapons

Nerve Bolt: Energy that could be broadcast to disable the nervous system of any number of foes simultaneously.
Search Bolt: A navigation field that would find a foe for the Nerve Bolt.
Dimensional Warp: Kosmos had the ability to send a foe back in time or into another realm.

Notes

This version of King Kosmos, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Trivia

King Kosmos' appearance (and name) was modelled on the art of Jack "King" Kirby. The co-creator of King Kosmos, Keith Pollard, has created a number of homage covers to Jack Kirby, at Marvel Comics.