Rudy Jones, alias the Parasite, has the power to drain the life energy and powers from others. He is a human leech who has faced Superman many times.
History
Original Origin
Rudy Jones was a janitor at the Pittsburgh branch of S.T.A.R. Labs, who was transformed by an accident. Unknown to anyone at the scene, Darkseid, the lord of Apokolips, remembered the original Parasite who had existed prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths (Raymond Maxwell Jensen) and manipulated events in order to turn Jones into a new version. Under Darkseid's influence, Jones opened a waste container believing that it contained something of value that he could steal, and was exposed to a strange form of radiation which changed him into the bald, green-skinned Parasite. Jones now had the ability to absorb the life energy of others, leaving behind a smoldering skeleton. This power was necessary for his survival, as his own body is in a constant state of hunger for energy that it cannot sustain on its own.
Revised Origin
Main article: Superman: Secret Origin Vol 1
After a crisis in the timeline, Superman's origin - which now coincided with the Parasite's own - was rewritten.
Rudy before the accident
Around Superman's first appearance in Metropolis, Rudy Jones worked as a janitor at the Daily Planet and met Clark Kent when he was first hired. [1]
Rudy's life would change, though, when he won the "LexCorp Lottery" - a daily prize that Lex Luthor would bestow every morning on someone outside his building that guaranteed a life-changing tour of his headquarters. Rudy, a short-sighted man, tried to exchange his winning experience for a cash prize instead.
Unfortunately, while on the tour, Rudy ducked out to eat a box of donuts that had been accidentally placed nearby some hazardous waste. Upon ingesting the goop, Jones was transformed into a green-skinned mutant with an insatiable hunger for the life energy of others.
With his new powers, Rudy immediately went after Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, who had an interview scheduled at LexCorp that day, but was captured by the new hero in town, Superman. [2]
Firestorm
During this time, Martin Stein, one half of the Firestorm Matrix (Ronnie Raymond being the other half) learned that he was slowly dying, and decided to destroy all the nuclear weapons in the world. This did not sit well with Earth's governments, particularly the United States, who sent the Suicide Squad to Times Square, where Firestorm was holding a press conference.
Things quickly got out of control as the Squad and the Justice League, both intent on subduing Firestorm, fought one another, and the Parasite (who was brought on the mission despite the protests of both Amanda Waller and Colonel Rick Flag Jr.) was released. He went on a rampage and apparently killed Multiplex, and was brought under control by both teams. Later, he attacked the new Firestorm, who easily subdued him and left him near death.
During a period of incarceration at Belle Reve, doctors attempted to cure the Parasite of his condition, but succeeded only in changing his skin color from green to purple and increasing his absorption power, enabling him to feed on other forms of energy, such as electricity and heat.
History With Superman
After a number of years, the Parasite became involved in the plot to save Superman from overloading on solar energy. Rudy and Superman battled on the Moon, where Superman uncontrollably unleashed an immense blast of heat vision that the Parasite absorbed, causing him to mutate even further into a huge, hulking monster with teeth resembling a leech's.[3] This mutation (the Parasite 2.0) again increased Rudy's draining abilities, allowing him to absorb fast-moving objects' inertia; it also made him impervious to telepathic attacks to an unknown extent, since he could now drain energy through a mental link (as he displayed when Dubbilex telepathically attacked him). His extra size and power did have a downside, however; he needed to absorb more energy more frequently in order to stay alive.
Torval Freeman
Unfortunately for a scientist that was tending Rudy during one of his terms of imprisonment, he was tricked by and somehow absorbed into the Parasite. This joining was different from Rudy's others; he actually retained the mind of the scientist, Dr. Torval Freeman, as a part of his own mind. This combined intelligence made the Parasite even more menacing.[4]
Because the Parasite could absorb Superman's energy, he was a formidable foe. The Parasite was recruited by Morgan Edge to be part of the second Superman Revenge Squad. Failure followed every one of his encounters with the Man of Steel. After Superman's powers were converted into electricity-based ones, the Parasite returned to see what he could absorb from the Man of Steel. However, at this point in time, Superman was not in full control of what was happening with his powers and nearly killed the Parasite.[5] Later the Parasite returned once again, looking to make trouble for Superman but finding himself facing off against Supergirl instead.
At one point, Rudy was contracted to help drain off a being named Strange Visitor's excess electromagnetic energy, as she could not fully control it. This exposure to Strange Visitor's power caused the Parasite to mutate again, giving him the ability to fully and permanently retain the intellects of all of his victims, and also allowed him to maintain any stolen energy for up to 24 hours.[6] Like Torval Freeman, Rudy also absorbed an unknown shapeshifter into his biology, granting him the permanent power to mimic the exact genetic makeup and appearance of his victims (the Parasite 2.5).
Apparent Death
After he later escaped from S.T.A.R. Labs in the early 2000s, the Parasite began to form a plan to get back at Superman. He began stalking Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen in an attempt to get to those closest to Superman. The Parasite had taken the form of one of his previous victims, an old man, and was run down in the pandemonium that evening when Lois came to his aid. Not realizing that she was actually in contact with the Parasite, a simple touch was all Rudy needed to get the lowdown on Superman. Rudy was surprised to learn Superman's secret identity, and devised a new plan when he realized how close Superman actually was to Lois; the Parasite decided to take her place and tear him down emotionally by pretending to be a scorned Lois Lane.
The Parasite's ruse would probably have worked if he had not had enough of Clark's constant apologies and attempts to get to the bottom of his and Lois' relationship problems. In a fit of rage uncharacteristic of Lois Lane, Rudy punched Clark out of their apartment and into the streets of Metropolis. Shortly after this display, Superman got the Parasite to reveal himself in the guise of Lois Lane. Rudy could not handle the fact that anyone other than himself (specifically as the Parasite) took down the Man of Steel. Just as the Parasite was about to lay the final blow to an exhausted Superman, ne dropped, completely crippled by Kryptonite poisoning that he had drained from Superman, unbeknownst to either Rudy or Clark. Superman finally realized that the reason that he had felt so weakened recently was because he was being constantly drained by the Parasite, and was also the victim of the mysterious Kryptonite poisoning.
When he asked Rudy how long he had pretended to be Lois, the Parasite related his story to the Man of Steel. In his final moments, he told Superman that he still needed to have contact with Lois once every twenty-four hours to maintain his charade, confirming that she was still alive. He also told him that Lois loved him more deeply than he could ever know. The Parasite died before he could tell Superman where Lois was imprisoned.[7] Fortunately, Lois was soon found alive by Superman and Batman inside a cave that the Parasite had used as a hideout.[8]
Lex Luthor, with whom it is implied the Parasite had engaged in amorous, "extramarital" activity while in Lois' form, was infuriated when he learned of the Parasite's schemes. As such, Luthor went to great efforts to obtain the Parasite's remains.
Reappearance
Recently, the Parasite was holed up in St. Roch, Louisiana, where he used his power-absorbing abilities to temporarily neutralize the powers of villains, for a fee, so that they might evade detection during the course of criminal efforts.[9] It is not explained how Rudy survived his apparent death by Kryptonite poisoning several years earlier, although he has been shown in the past to be capable of regenerating his entire body, even from being burnt down to a skeleton, so he may very well have simply healed from the Kryptonite radiation. How he escaped Lex Luthor's custody, however, is another story entirely.
There is also the possibility that this Parasite may not even be Rudy/Torval at all: his face is lacking the monstrous teeth that the Parasite has had for most of his career, his vocabulary is more sophisticated than what is normally associated with Rudy Jones (although this may be a result of Torval Freeman possibly being the dominant personality currently), and his costume is the one that was worn by the Pre-Crisis Parasite, Raymond Maxwell Jensen, which the Post-Crisis Parasite has never worn before. The only consistent characteristic of this Parasite is his hulking physique.
Convergence
This section of the history takes place during Convergence, a massive crossover event revisiting characters from past eras and realities. The villains Brainiac and Telos plucked them from their own timeline and stored them together, causing them to cross over into each others' reality. Its precise chronological placement and canonicity may be unclear.
There's something missing here. This section of the article is incomplete, and contains information, but requires more before it can be considered complete. You can help DC Database by editing this page, providing additional information to bring this article to a higher standard of quality.
Rudy and Pre-Zero Hour Metropolis were both taken by Brainiac and Telos and he was trapped for a year. He tried to rob a store, but was stopped by Steel and his niece and nephew. After regaining his powers, he fought Gen 13. He was eventually defeated when they both barbecued him and threw a dumpster on top of him.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Unique Physiology
- Energy Absorption: The Parasite is able to absorb the life energy of other beings, leaving withered corpses. He is also able to absorb virtually any other energy form and use it. After contact with Strange Visitor, the Parasite's powers changed, enabling him to keep the energy he took longer. Somewhere, Rudy Jones and his scientist counterpart, Dr. Torval Freeman, gained new powers by absorbing an unknown shapeshifter as well. Now, not only does he sap the life energy out of his victims, he can actually become his victims, right down to their DNA.
- Power Absorption: The Parasite is able to absorb the powers of his victim (also known as "Power-Theft"). He can only sustain a certain amount of powers at a time; otherwise, previous powers will be either temporarily disabled or weakened. This ability can also cause him to go through body changes, power fluctuation, knowledge assumption and more.
- Enhanced Strength
- Enhanced Agility
- Enhanced Stamina
- Energy Absorption: The Parasite is able to absorb the life energy of other beings, leaving withered corpses. He is also able to absorb virtually any other energy form and use it. After contact with Strange Visitor, the Parasite's powers changed, enabling him to keep the energy he took longer. Somewhere, Rudy Jones and his scientist counterpart, Dr. Torval Freeman, gained new powers by absorbing an unknown shapeshifter as well. Now, not only does he sap the life energy out of his victims, he can actually become his victims, right down to their DNA.
Related
- 103 Appearances of Rudolph Jones (New Earth)
- 29 Images featuring Rudolph Jones (New Earth)
- 7 Quotations by or about Rudolph Jones (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Rudolph Jones (New Earth)
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." |
 This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of Firestorm and any of his supporting cast or members of the Firestorm Matrix. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Firestorm Villains category." |
 Injustice League member |
 Secret Society of Super-Villains member |
 Suicide Squad member |
 Daily Planet Staff member |