Percival Plazchek (Earth-Two)

Nuclear
Mainstream Universe‎, 1930s-1950s
Gallery
Real Name	Percival Plazchek
Main Alias	Nuclear
Other Aliases	Percy Playboy
Relatives	Father (deceased), Joye Plazchek (sister)
Base Of Operations	coastal Virginia
Status
Alignment	Bad
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Playboy
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Brown
Origin
Universe	Earth-Two
Creators	Robert Kanigher · Harry G. Peter
First Appearance	Wonder Woman #43 (September, 1950)
Appearance of Death	Wonder Woman #43 (September, 1950)

What a genius I am! The magnetic powers of the nuclei of atoms deprived of their electrons in my nuclear metal is irresistable!

— Nuclear

Nuclear, the Magnetic Marauder was an enemy of Wonder Woman and of the All-Star Squadron.

History

High society wastrel and ne'er-do-well Percival Plazchek was once dubbed "Percy Playboy" by a newspaper gossip columnist, and out of sheer spite, he had his family name legally changed to "Playboy." Physically frail but technologically ambitious, he lived with his sister Joye Plazchek in a mansion near a steep cliff-lined part of the Virginia coast. He built a laboratory under the house, accessible from a cliffside cave, and here he developed a suit of powered armor with powerful magnetic devices built in. He adopted a secret criminal identity as "Nuclear, the Magnetic Marauder," and embarked on a career of blackmailing the U.S. military, threatening to destroy warships and other defense infrastructure unless he was paid large sums of money.

In January 1942 he encountered Wonder Woman, then the All-Star Squadron, and briefly defeated both, before they teamed up and defeated him. He was seemingly killed in that encounter, when he fell into his own atomic forge, but reappeared in 1950, again using his incredible electromagnetic powers to blackmail commercial shipping lines, again encountering Wonder Woman, and again being apparently killed, when his miniature submarine was smashed against the rudder of a large steamship.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Electromagnetism

Notes

• This version of Percival Plazchek (Earth-Two), 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

• Nuclear's debut is called "Nuclear's Return"; he is also called Wonder Woman's archnemesis, yet he never appeared before. His origin is only revealed in flashback, and would not be expanded until All-Star Squadron #16, thirty-two years later.

Related

• 4 Appearances of Percival Plazchek (Earth-Two)
• 2 Images featuring Percival Plazchek (Earth-Two)
• 2 Quotations by or about Percival Plazchek (Earth-Two)
• Character Gallery: Percival Plazchek (Earth-Two)

Footnotes

Wonder Woman Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of Wonder Woman and the Amazons in any of her various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Wonder Woman Villains category."