Ultraman (comics)
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- This article is about Ultraman, the DC Comics supervillain. For other uses, see Ultraman (disambiguation).
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Ultraman is a supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. He is the evil criminal counterpart of Superman. Ultraman first appeared in Justice League of America #29 (Aug. 1964).
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[edit] History
A differently spelled Ultra-Man in the DC Universe is a Golden Age of Comics superhero from All-American Publications, source of the original Flash, Green Lantern, and other characters, which merged with National Periodical Publications in 1946. He appeared in modern times in "The Last Earth-Prime Story", Superman #411 (Sept. 1985), in flashback, and in Legionnaires Annual #3 (1996), in which he helped form a 100th-century Legion of Super-Heroes.
[edit] Pre-Crisis Version
Ultraman originally hailed from the parallel Earth called "Earth-Three", and was a member of the criminal organization the Crime Syndicate of America.
Unlike Superman, Ultraman gets stronger every time he is exposed to kryptonite, often developing a completely new superpower each time. In one such encounter, Ultraman acquired the ability to see through dimensional barriers, thus alerting the Crime Syndicate to the existence of alternate Earths in their first appearance. This allowed the Syndicate to attack the Justice League and Justice Society. Ultraman also differed from Superman in that his version of Krypton hadn't exploded. Where the Kryptonite came from is unknown.
In the early 1980s, Ultraman teamed up with the Lex Luthor of Earth-One and Earth-Two in an unsuccessful attempt to eliminate the Supermen of Earths-One and -Two. Later, Ultraman joined the rest of the Crime Syndicate in a teamup with a time-traveling villain named Per Degaton in his attempt to conquer Earth-Two, but this proved unsuccessful as well, and the events were wiped from the timeline afterwards. The original Ultraman was eliminated in the 1985 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths. Following Crisis his previous appearances were retconned by presenting him as coming from the antimatter universe of Qward, his appearance implying that he came from the world of Qward.
[edit] Post-Crisis Version
In 1998, the Qwardian version was modified in the story arc JLA: Earth 2. The Crime Syndicate is revealed for the first time to the Post-Crisis Justice League by Alexander Luthor, the heroic antimatter counterpart to Lex Luthor. In this current continuity the CSA comes from the Antimatter Universe, each member being the antimatter counterpart to a core League member. Qward has also been retconned to be the center of the antimatter universe, not the entire universe itself.
Ultraman was fully rewritten for modern continuity as Lieutenant Clark Kent, a human astronaut from the antimatter Earth. After a fiery space shuttle crash, an unknown alien race reconstructed Kent and in an attempt to repair the damaged astronaut, ended up altering the human both mentally and physically and gave him ultrapowers similar to Superman's superpowers. According to Alexander Luthor, the process also twisted his mind. In contrast to Superman, Ultraman's power relies on his proximity and exposure to a substance called Anti-Kryptonite; the longer and farther he is separated from it the weaker he becomes. This substance has no apparent effect on Superman.
Ultraman is married to his Crime Syndicate teammate Superwoman; at least in the identity of their alter-egos, Clark Kent and Lois Lane. In the early 2000s, the two had a child together. However, Superwoman maintains a periodic affair with another member of the Crime Syndicate, Owlman, much to Ultraman's frustration.
[edit] One Year Later
In One Year Later there are hints that a man controlling Kandor under the name Kal-El could be Ultraman. He has been using the help of a group of followers called the "Praisesingers" and the guidance of the "Holy Mother." Supergirl and Power Girl fought his efforts, causing his cult-like following to falter. The fact that his mother turns out to be Saturn Queen, however, suggests a connection to an alternate Superman described in the pages of "Superman/Batman", rather than to Ultraman, although his rantings included a mention to Owlman and his need for medicines. It has now been revealed that this Kal-El is indeed Ultraman, who was saved from the Crisis and brainwashed by Saturn Queen, one of the masterminds behind The Absolute Power arc in Superman/Batman. Exactly which version of Ultraman (Earth-Three, anti-matter, or another as-yet-unrevealed version) he is has not yet been explained.
[edit] External links
- Supermanica: Ultraman of Earth-3 Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis Ultraman
| Superman | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster |
| Characters: | Superman (Clark Kent) • Lois Lane • Jimmy Olsen • Perry White • Jor-El • Ma Kent • Pa Kent • Lana Lang • Steel • Supergirl • Superboy (Kon-El) • Krypto |
| Villains: | Lex Luthor • Bizarro • Brainiac • Cyborg Superman • Darkseid • Doomsday • Eradicator • General Zod • Metallo • Mongul • Mr. Mxyzptlk • Parasite • Toyman • Ultra-Humanite • Intergang • Phantom Zone villains |
| Locations: |
Daily Planet • Fortress of Solitude • Krypton • Metropolis • Smallville |
| Storylines: | Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane • Alternate versions of Superman • Publications • Superman in popular culture |
| Miscellanea: | Kryptonite • Powers • Symbol |
