Xan (Earth-One)

Amalgamax
Mainstream Universe‎, 1950s-1986
Gallery
Real Name	Xan
Main Alias	Amalgamax
Other Aliases	Composite Superman II
Relatives	Vyl (father, deceased)
Status
Alignment	Bad
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Origin
Universe	Earth-One
Creators	Cary Bates · Curt Swan
First Appearance	World's Finest #168 (August, 1967)
Last Appearance	World's Finest #284 (October, 1982)

Amalgamax was an enemy of Superman and Batman.

History

Xan was, at least in his original form, a human-looking being born on an as-yet-unnamed distant planet. His father, a being named Vyl, was an intergalactic criminal who was apprehended and imprisoned for his crimes following an encounter with the Earth heroes Superman and Batman, and who died while in prison. This so traumatized Xan that he vowed to get revenge on the two heroes, achieving an impressive mastery of various sciences to do so. Using this scientific know-how, he restored the super-abilities of Joe Meach that had once made him the Composite Superman, and set Meach against the two heroes once more; once Meach had brought the heroes to their knees, Xan himself planned to deliver the death blow, but was stopped by Meach himself, and Xan was then sent to prison as his father was.

Some years later, Xan duplicated the process by which Meach had gained the Composite Superman powers and gave them to himself, at which time he briefly assumed the guise of the Composite Superman. He then attacked Superman and Batman again, battling them to a standstill before deciding to rename himself Amalgamax. Ultimately, several time-traveling members of the Legion of Super-Heroes assisted Superman and Batman in defeating Xan, by tricking him into thinking he had inherited the same disease which had killed his father and that his powers were accelerating its effects on his body. This caused Xan to rid himself of the powers, at which time he was arrested and once more imprisoned. He remains incarcerated as of this writing.

As Amalgamax, Xan has the powers of the following members of the Legion of Super-Heroes: Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, Triplicate Girl, Lightning Lad, Sun Boy, Light Lass, Star Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, Invisible Kid, Bouncing Boy, Elastic Lad, Chameleon Boy, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Ultra Boy, Element Lad, Phantom Girl, Mon-El, and Supergirl. He is able to use these powers for a period of between two to three days (accounts vary) before they fade away, and must be recharged by duplicating the procedure again. During the time before such a recharge, Xan has no superhuman powers and is thus more vulnerable to attack.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Power Replication: In terms of abilities and raw power, the Composite Superman was one of the most powerful enemies Superman and Batman ever faced. The Composite Superman possessed numerous special powers, derived from various Legion members:
  • Size Alteration: The ability to grow to giant size (Colossal Boy) and shrink (Shrinking Violet).
  • Bio-Fission: The ability to divide into three people (Triplicate Girl)
  • Electrokinesis The ability to fire lightning bolts (Lightning Lad)
  • Pyrokinesis: The ability to generate heat and light (Sun Boy)
  • Density Control: The ability to make things super-lightweight (Light Lass) and super-heavy (Star Boy).
  • Matter-Digestion: The ability to eat any form of matter (Matter-Eater Lad)
  • Invisibility: The ability to turn invisible (Invisible Kid)
  • Transformation: The ability to inflate into a large ball (Bouncing Boy)
  • Elasticity: The ability to stretch any part of his body (Elastic Lad)
  • Metamorphosis: The ability to shapeshift (Chameleon Boy)
  • Telepathy: (Saturn Girl)
  • Enhanced Intellect: (Brainiac 5)
  • Magnetic Manipulation: (Cosmic Boy)
  • Enhanced Vision: Composite Superman could see through anything, even lead (Ultra Boy)
  • Molecular Reconstruction: The ability to transmute elements (Element Lad)
  • Phasing: The ability to phase through solid matter (Phantom Girl)
  • Superhuman Strength: Strength three times as great as that of Superman (Supergirl, Mon-El, Ultra Boy)
  • Invulnerability: Resistance to harm three times as great as that of Superman (Supergirl, Mon-El, Ultra Boy)

Weaknesses

• Power Limitation: Powers wear off after approximately 48 hours.

Notes

• This version of Xan (Earth-One), 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.

Related

• 4 Appearances of Xan (Earth-One)
• 4 Images featuring Xan (Earth-One)
• 2 Quotations by or about Xan (Earth-One)
• Character Gallery: Xan (Earth-One)

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."

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

Legion of Super-Heroes Villain(s) This character or group of characters is or was primarily an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 31st Century, and may have existed in any of the various Legion continuities, including but not limited to the Original Legion, Reboot Legion, and the Prime Legion. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Legion of Super-Heroes villains" category.