Alexander Luthor Jr. is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics .
100-498: Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez , the character made his first appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 (April 1985). He had a prominent role in that series, and appeared 20 years later as one of the two primary antagonists of the sequel Infinite Crisis , alongside Superboy-Prime . Alexander Luthor Jr. is born on Earth-Three , the son of that world's Lex Luthor (known as Alexander Luthor) and Lois Lane-Luthor. Luthor Sr.
200-535: A special preview in DC Comics Presents No. 26 (October 1980). The New Teen Titans added the Wolfman-Pérez creations Raven , Starfire and Cyborg to the old team's Robin , Wonder Girl , Kid Flash , and Beast Boy (renamed Changeling). The series became DC's first new hit in years; Christopher J. Priest called Deathstroke , another new character, "the first modern supervillain". Wolfman wrote
300-533: A blast which apparently drains his power), Alexander is held at gunpoint by Batman for severely injuring Nightwing and causing Superboy's death. Wonder Woman stops him, telling Batman that Alex is not worth it; Alex flees, proclaiming that this does not mean that Wonder Woman is "better". Lex Luthor and the Joker find him hiding in an alley in Gotham City . Alex broods over the failure of his plans (while reflecting that he
400-506: A buzz saw, but Superman's invulnerable skin obliterated the saw into tiny pieces. Reynolds is killed by one of the flying pieces. Ultra's henchmen set fire to the cabin and leave Superman behind to perish. The Ultra-Humanite is carried outside to a waiting aircraft. Superman regains consciousness and deliberately crashes into the plane. The Man of Steel is unable to find the Ultra-Humanite's body. After scores of subway riders are injured in
500-454: A cameo appearance in the crossover finale in an episode of Legends of Tomorrow . In 2021, he and George Perez voiced cartoon versions of themselves on two episodes of Teen Titans GO! . In 2023, Wolfman returned to Marvel Comics for the oneshot What If…? Dark: Tomb of Dracula featuring his character Blade. In April 2024, Wolfman co-wrote the final two pages of the landmark 300th issue of Nightwing alongside Tom Taylor . Wolfman, on
600-887: A character who would later be portrayed by actor Wesley Snipes in a film trilogy . In addition, the editorship of Marvel could not resist the opportunity to assign a writer with such a surname to contribute a few stories to their concurrent monster title, Werewolf by Night , with a playful editor's comment: "At last -- WEREWOLF -- written by a WOLFMAN." Wolfman co-created Bullseye in Daredevil No. 131 (March 1976). He and artist John Buscema created Nova in that character's eponymous first issue. Wolfman and Gil Kane adapted Edgar Rice Burroughs ' Barsoom concepts into comics in Marvel's John Carter, Warlord of Mars series. Wolfman wrote 14 issues of Marvel Two-in-One starting with issue No. 25 (March 1977). The Spider-Woman series
700-496: A credible and official offer. In 1985, Wolfman and Pérez launched Crisis on Infinite Earths , a 12-issue limited series celebrating DC's 50th anniversary. Featuring a cast of thousands and a timeline that ranged from the beginning of the universe to the end of time, it killed scores of characters, integrated a number of heroes from other companies to DC continuity , and re-wrote 50 years of DC universe history to streamline it. After finishing Crisis , Wolfman and Pérez produced
800-469: A cruise line, but again is foiled by Superman even though Ultra uses a hologram of himself to escape capture. A mysterious epidemic sweeps through the city, killing hundreds. A young scientist, Professor Henry Travers, concocts an antidote. Ultra kidnaps Travers, but he is rescued by Superman. Ultra's henchmen fire an unknown ray and knock out Superman. Ultra tries hypnotizing him by placing a helmet on his head, but Superman fakes being controlled, and when he
900-405: A healthy version of his twenty-year-old human self, cured from his degenerative disease. Power Girl attempts to hire him as a scientist for her Starr Labs, and Gerard plays along by showing a fake desire of reformation. When DC rebooted its continuity with The New 52 in 2011, Ultra-Humanite was reintroduced in the pages of Action Comics with a wildly different concept: a fear-feeding alien in
1000-693: A new Secret Society of Super Villains . Afterwards, the Ultra-Humanite regularly appears in DC Comics titles, opposing the All-Star Squadron in the 1940s, and the Justice Society of America and Infinity, Inc. in the decades since World War II . After the 1985-86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , Superman's history was rewritten in The Man of Steel miniseries, and the Earth-Two Superman
1100-446: A new body for the villain, in the form of a rare albino ape from the secret civilization known as Gorilla City . Christening themselves the "Time Stealers", they align themselves with Mister Mind , Rex Hunter, the mysterious Black Beetle , and the villainous father of Booster Gold in an attempt to manipulate time for their own selfish goals. Their conspiracy ultimately unravels at the hands of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle Ted Kord. In
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#17328951184051200-486: A new version of the Electrocutioner , and writing an anniversary adaptation of the first ever Batman story, which was printed along with two other adaptations and the original. He continued as The New Titans writer and revitalized the series with artist Tom Grummett . Wolfman wrote the series until the title's last issue. Wolfman's writing for comics decreased as he turned to animation and television, though he wrote
1300-500: A novel based on Crisis on Infinite Earths , but rather than following the original plot, he created a new story starring the Barry Allen Flash that takes place during the original Crisis story. Wolfman wrote the novelization of the film Superman Returns , and worked on a direct-to-video animated film, The Condor , for Stan Lee 's Pow Entertainment. In 2006, Wolfman was editorial director of Impact Comics (no relation to
1400-543: A novelization of the videogame Batman: Arkham Knight . And in 2016 he published the novelization of the Suicide Squad film through Titan Books. He received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. That year also marked Wolfman's first work for Marvel since 1998: a backup story for Bullseye #1, starring the titular character that he had co-created in 1976. In 2019, he wrote
1500-590: A number of Golden Age Superman villains of which the Ultra-Humanite is the most prominent. In the annual JLA/ JSA teamup in Justice League of America #195-197 (1981), the Ultra-Humanite transfers his consciousness to an albino gorilla body and becomes a major super-villain on Earth-Two. In one instance, he recruited Brain Wave , Monocle , Rag Doll , Psycho-Pirate , Mist , and four villains from Earth-1 ( Plant Master , Signalman , Cheetah , and Killer Frost ) into
1600-516: A place in the Post-Crisis universe, retreat to a "paradise dimension" (which Alexander accesses with the last of his dimensional powers). Infinite Crisis Secret Files reveals how the four survivors spent the years since the Crisis. The survivors have power over the dimension, and it reacts to their thoughts and emotions. Alexander (who has rapidly aged to his mid-30s) becomes colder and more detached from
1700-595: A proposed ratings system, which led to his being relieved of his editorial duties by the company. DC offered to reinstate Wolfman as an editor provided he apologize for making his criticism of the ratings system public, rather than keeping them internal to the company, but he declined to do so. Wolfman returned to the Dark Knight for another brief run on Batman and Detective Comics , writing "Batman: Year Three", creating Robin III Tim Drake as well as Abattoir and
1800-490: A racketeer named Jackie Reynolds, which is attempting to seize control of the city's lucrative taxi trade. Reynolds' union, financed by the Ultra-Humanite, intimidates other cab drivers through violence and threats against passengers. Apprehended by Superman, Reynolds is convicted and sentenced to Sing Sing penitentiary. Reynolds escapes by using a cigarette that emits "a mysterious gas" that renders his guards unconscious. Superman tracks Reynolds to his secluded cabin hideout and
1900-407: A rip in space. As Alexander attempts to combine Earth-Two and Earth-Three (an act which would have killed Superman and Wonder Woman ), Firestorm converts all the energy the heroes are firing at the rip into raw positive matter (which destroys Alexander's right index finger). Immediately after, Nightwing , Wonder Girl and Superboy arrive at the tower and free the captives. Superboy-Prime enters
2000-610: A second series of The New Teen Titans was launched by Wolfman and Pérez. Other projects by Wolfman for DC during the early 1980s included collaborating with artist Gil Kane on a run on the Superman feature in Action Comics ; a revival of Dial H for Hero with Carmine Infantino ; launching Night Force , a supernatural series drawn by Gene Colan; and a nearly two-year run on Green Lantern with Joe Staton . During their collaboration on that series, Wolfman and Staton created
2100-538: A series of New Teen Titans drug awareness comic books which were published in cooperation with The President's Drug Awareness Campaign in 1983–1984. The first was pencilled by Pérez and sponsored by the Keebler Company , the second was illustrated by Ross Andru and underwritten by the American Soft Drink Industry , and the third was drawn by Adrian Gonzales and financed by IBM . In August 1984,
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#17328951184052200-556: A storyline called Superman Reborn . The original Ultra-Humanite subsequently appeared again, depicted as an evil genius who placed his brain into an albino gorilla. He is a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains. In Superman and the Authority , Ultra-Humanite's canonical status as Superman's first villain returns as Brainiac supplies him with a method of Brain cloning that allows him to be in multiple places at once. Superman
2300-529: A subsequent attack on Nightwing) he was left apparently as vulnerable as a normal human, clearly terrified when Batman appeared to be about to shoot him, and eventually being killed by the Joker. Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics 's The Tomb of Dracula , for which he and artist Gene Colan created
2400-620: Is Earth-Three's only hero, fighting the Crime Syndicate (an evil version of the Justice League of America ). In the 1985 DC Comics 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , a being known as the Anti-Monitor destroys innumerable universes (including Earth-Three) with an anti-matter wave. To save their son, the Luthors place him in an experimental device which carries the infant to
2500-415: Is about to take him into custody when his attention is called to a second figure in the cabin, a "paralyzed cripple" whose "fiery eyes... burn with a terrible hatred and sinister intelligence": the Ultra-Humanite. Ultra deals Superman electricity sufficient "to kill five hundred men", and Superman lapses into unconsciousness. With Superman now helpless, Reynolds and the Ultra-Humanite attempt to kill him with
2600-531: Is already coming up with another plan to achieve his goal), when he is distracted by a noise from further down the alley. The Joker mutilates Alex's face with his acid-flower (and lethal) joy-buzzer and Lex taunts his imposter for his mistakes, including underestimating Lex and excluding the Joker from the Society (the Joker was the only major villain not offered membership in the Society, due to his highly unpredictable nature). The Joker then shoots Alexander point-blank in
2700-552: Is forced to leave Earth with the Authority while the Ultra-Humanite, unconcerned with implications of Clark's journey, prepares to continue his villainous career as the arch-nemesis of Jon Kent . The Ultra-Humanite possesses a super-genius intelligence, thus making him twice as smart as Luthor. He has the medical knowledge necessary to surgically transfer his brain into another body without transplant rejection, even when using variously different species. His most frequently revisited form
2800-449: Is married to Noel Watkins . Wolfman was previously married to Michele Wolfman , for many years a colorist in the comics industry. They have a daughter, Jessica Morgan. (series head writer denoted in bold) Ultra-Humanite Ultra-Humanite is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . He first appeared as a recurring adversary of Superman , and
2900-434: Is never given, but he has been known as the Ultra-Humanite (Ultra, for short) ever since "a scientific experiment resulted in [his] possessing the most agile and learned brain on Earth!" "--Unfortunately for mankind", proclaims the villain, "I prefer to use this great intellect for crime. My goal? DOMINATION OF THE WORLD!!" Superman sets out to smash the so-called Cab Protective League, an underworld organization headed by
3000-431: Is not his ultimate one (which is to gather elements from every Earth to create one single, perfect Earth). With the parallel Earths restored Alexander combines various Earths, randomly bringing them together to observe the result (despite the billions of lives he destroys) and destroying the result if unsuitable. At the center of the universe, Donna Troy and her team see gigantic representations of Alexander's hands creating
3100-509: Is revealed that the Humanite had his brain placed in the body of his lackey Lex Luthor and posed as Luthor for the intervening time. He then attempts to swap bodies with a then-powerless Superman, but is killed when Superman, attempting to escape, throws a metal spear into Humanite's computer, causing it to electrocute the villain. A different Ultra-Humanite appears as the main villain of the "One Nation" arc of Earth 2: Society #12-16, where he
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3200-513: Is taken to spread the plague with a henchman, he destroys the "fantastic airship of Ultra's creation" that was spreading "cargo of Purple Death". Superman returns to Ultra's stronghold where the villain tries to blast him, but Superman places the Ultra-Humanite in front of the gun, killing him. In the next issue, Superman learns that Ultra's assistant temporarily revived him "via adrenalin ". Ultra orders his henchmen to kidnap actress Dolores Winters and transplant his brain into her body. As Dolores,
3300-520: Is that of a mutated albino gorilla with immense physical attributes and psychic powers. He invented numerous advanced weapons, vehicles, and other arcane technology. In the New 52, Ultra-Humanite is portrayed as an alien who feeds on a person's emotions. To help him do this, he can send out small tentacled creatures that overshadows his victim, as well as draining the fears out of him or her. An alternate Ultra-Humanite appears in issues three and four of
3400-517: Is that of an impostor from another Earth—the man truly responsible for his crimes. Although Alexander's body had a missing finger and a different genetic makeup from Lex's, 52 editor Stephen Wacker has confirmed that the body found in Gotham is indeed Alex, and Luthor altered it before police had discovered it. The Death of the New Gods mini-series (2008) reveals that Alexander was subtly manipulated by
3500-402: Is what has been causing Lex' recent erratic behavior and interference to his thought processes. Lex is almost killed by Alexander and Superboy-Prime, but escapes by teleporting away. Not only is Alexander masquerading as Lex Luthor, he is also using the Society to construct a massive dimensional "tuning fork" (like those in the original Crisis). The structure incorporates heroes and villains from
3600-577: The History of the DC Universe limited series to summarize the company's new history. Wolfman was involved in the relaunch of the Superman line as well, reinventing nemesis Lex Luthor and initially scripting the Adventures of Superman title with Jerry Ordway as the artist. During this period they introduced Bibbo Bibbowski and Professor Emil Hamilton . Wolfman got into a public dispute with DC over
3700-523: The New Teen Titans: Games graphic novel , which they had begun working on in the late 1980s. Wolfman revived his Night Force series with artist Tom Mandrake in 2012. He served as writing consultant on the video game Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two , which he was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing. In 2015, Wolfman wrote
3800-640: The Tangent : Superman's Reign series. This version is a living weapon created by the Soviets that went out of control. He is allegedly destroyed in battle by the Tangent version of Superman, but is later revealed that he was preserved and reprogrammed to fight for the Tangent's Superman's cause. He is finally destroyed by the combined efforts of the Tangent Batman and New Earth Superman. The first three issues of Legends of
3900-540: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and beset by rebel forces and the military, Satanna transplanted the brain of Gerard into the altered body of an albino gorilla. They shared an intimate relationship for a while, then parted ways for a long time, paving the way for their separate adventures as chronicled pre- OYL . In the 2006-07 Lightning Saga crossover between Justice Society of America and Justice League of America,
4000-626: The Omega Men in Green Lantern No. 141 (June 1981). Wolfman briefly wrote Batman and co-created the Electrocutioner in issue No. 331 (Jan. 1981). Wolfman was one of the contributors to the DC Challenge limited series in 1986. After Pérez left The New Teen Titans in 1985, Wolfman continued for many years with other collaborators – including pencillers José Luis García-López , Eduardo Barreto and Tom Grummett . In December 1986, Wolfman
4100-740: The Phantom Zone who manages to get out and feed on the fear of Superman when he is a child. Young Clark is too strong for him, so he retreats to the Phantom Zone. During the Superman: Doomed storyline, a portal opens in Smallville allowing the Ultra-Humanite to escape. Superman is able to defeat him by filling him up with too many emotions. Later, DC discarded most of its New 52 changes, with an initiative called DC Rebirth . All of Superman's villains and history were restored to pre-New 52 basics in
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4200-734: The Source into recreating the Multiverse. In the 2009–10 Blackest Night storyline, Alexander Luthor has been identified as one of the deceased who is entombed below the Hall of Justice , and his corpse is revived as a Black Lantern during the "Blackest Night" event. Gathering a group of black rings, he sends himself to Earth Prime. Once there he tracks down Superboy Prime (giving him a copy of his old battle suit), and prepares to kill him. Alexander also brings forth those whom Prime had killed during Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis : Legion of 3 Worlds , using
4300-455: The 2002 "Stealing Thunder" story arc from JSA #32-37 where, having taken over the body of an aged Johnny Thunder , he deceives Jakeem Thunder into handing over his magical pen. With Thunderbolt 's power, the Ultra-Humanite restores his body's youth, and then proceeds to take over the world. Under his rule, Earth is transformed into essentially a single mind, with nearly every metahuman becoming an extension of him. A few heroes manage to escape
4400-534: The Americommando. He also arranges to place the brain of his ally Adolf Hitler into the body of Danny Dunbar , while simultaneously arranging to give Hitler (as Dunbar) super-powers. The Ultra-Humanite is the principal villain in the John Byrne limited series Superman & Batman: Generations . He first appears in the 1939 story, but is believed to be killed when his escape rocket explodes. Decades later, it
4500-410: The DC Comics imprint), publisher of educational manga -style comics for high school students. That same year, starting with issue No. 125, Wolfman began writing DC's Nightwing series. Initially scheduled for a four-issue run, Wolfman's run was expanded to 13 issues, and finished with No. 137. During the course of his run, Wolfman introduced a new Vigilante character. Following Wolfman's departure from
4600-480: The DC Universe feature the post-Crisis Superman. Superman is early in his career and battles a scientist named Morgan Wilde who, angered by the death of his wife, swears revenge on Luthor and gains the ability to transfer his "life essence" (called "Under-Light") as the U.L.T.R.A. Humanite . In the Elseworlds miniseries The Golden Age , the Ultra-Humanite places his brain into the body of Tex Thomson , known as
4700-558: The Earths who combined to form the post-Crisis Earth, and the remains of the Anti-Monitor. (This scheme was not new in DC Comics; in Justice League of America #197, Ultra-Humanite banished super-heroes from Earth-1 and Earth-2 to Limbo and the result—already calculated by the villain—was Earth-2's reality, transformed into a world without heroes.) The device requires a vast power source to operate, which Alexander generates by manipulating
4800-705: The Hall of Justice, the Justice League is attacked by the Antimatter Universe's Crime Syndicate of America . They join forces with Doctor Impossible 's team to steal Alexander's corpse, intending to resurrect him in the Chamber of Resurrection. While the other Crime Syndicate members keep the JLA busy, Owlman sneaks off to allow Doctor Impossible access to the resurrection device. At the last moment, Doctor Impossible apparently betrays
4900-467: The Multiverse Tower. The circumstances of his escape from the doomed Earth-Three give him power over matter and anti-matter, which he can use offensively as bursts of energy or to form and control dimensional portals. He also has a form of precognitive abilities, enabling him to foresee the most probable events. Overuse of his power seems to drain him; following his attempt to restore the Multiverse (and
5000-559: The Psycho-Pirate. Alexander programs the tower by granting sentience to the Brother Eye satellite, allowing the system to evolve into a brain capable of directing the tower's energies and mapping the new multiverse to help him find the perfect Earth he seeks. With the device Alexander can divide the universe, re-creating the multiverse . He seems successful in recreating Earth-Two (or a close facsimile); however, he notes that this objective
5100-496: The Spectre into destroying magic (as seen in Day of Vengeance ). With sorcerers dead (and their resulting control over magic extinguished), the result is a raw form of magic that the device can tap into; this is personified by the power commanded by the wizard Shazam after his death. He needs lightning provided by one of Shazam's champions, Black Adam , who says the word due to influence from
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#17328951184055200-659: The Syndicate and substitutes Alexander's corpse for himself to resurrect Darkseid . The plot went awry when the machine instead gave birth to a new villain, known as Omega Man. Alexander is temporarily resurrected by the Tangent Green Lantern later in the story, allowing him to atone for his past misdeeds by helping to defeat the Omega Man and CSA. Alexander's greatest talent is his genius-level intellect which he uses to manipulate other characters, outwit his enemies and engineer
5300-481: The Tower, Superman holds the Tower up long enough to let the spectators escape. Superman destroys the disintegrator and follows the plane to the criminal lair, which is a city inside a volcano, and defeats the robot guards. Inside, the villain threatens to destroy Metropolis if Superman moves closer. In exchange for the release of Curtis, the Ultra-Humanite sends Superman to steal crown jewels, expecting him to be destroyed by
5400-439: The Ultra-Humanite announces her retirement from acting, and throws a retirement party on her yacht, The Sea-Serpent . When the party is in full swing, she moves the yacht out to sea, and holds the guests at gunpoint. Ultra announces via ship's radio that she is holding the celebrities captive for $ 5 million. Dolores places helmets on the heads of the captives, wired to a control board where she can electrocute them. Despite receiving
5500-563: The Ultra-Humanite were retroactively placed on Earth-Two , the Earth of DC's Golden Age characters. The Ultra-Humanite was reintroduced during the Silver Age as a recurring villain in the "Mr. and Mrs. Superman" feature in the Superman Family anthology comic. The feature consists of stories about the early years of the marriage between the Earth-Two Superman and Lois Lane . These stories feature
5600-595: The Ultra-Humanite. After the reserve JSA are able to temporarily short out the Thunderbolt (thanks to advice from the time-displaced original Hourman ), the Ultra-Humanite is seemingly killed by the Crimson Avenger (although the Icicle nearly beats her to it) as revenge for the death of the first Crimson Avenger, who died earlier in an explosion triggered by the Ultra-Humanite. After the events of " Infinite Crisis ", history
5700-499: The barrier wall of the paradise dimension. This assault on the universe causes "ripples" which alter reality, creating parallel timelines ( Hypertime ), explaining in-story the real-life changes and retcons in DC continuity over the past 20 years. Superboy-Prime's efforts frustrate him; he is not as powerful in the post-Crisis heaven, because he has no yellow sun to power him. Alexander eventually reveals that his own powers are returning, and
5800-466: The body of the current Terra , Atlee, for Gerard's use. After a lengthy fight, Power Girl is able to retrieve Terra's brain (now in the crippled simian form of the Ultra-Humanite) and bring both of them to Strata, Atlee's advanced underground birth society. She does this to get her friend restored to her proper body. Strata's scientists agree to clone a new, fully human body for Gerard Shugel, resembling
5900-693: The character Jonny Double in Showcase No. 78 (November 1968) plotted by Wolfman and scripted by Joe Gill . The two co-wrote "Eye of the Beholder" in Teen Titans No. 18 (Dec. 1968), which would be Wein's first professional comics credit. Neal Adams was called upon to rewrite and redraw a Teen Titans story which had been written by Wein and Wolfman. The story, titled "Titans Fit the Battle of Jericho!", would have introduced DC's first African American superhero, but
6000-443: The collapse of a subway tunnel, Superman discovers that Star, Inc., the firm that built the tunnel, defrauded the city by using substandard materials. Superman pursues some of the criminals who lead him to the Ultra-Humanite. As Superman barges headlong into the shed, the villain freezes him inside a block of crystal. Superman is able to break out and stop the villain's plans. The Ultra-Humanite tries to extort millions of dollars from
6100-479: The control of the Ultra-Humanite: Jakeem Thunder, Captain Marvel , Hourman , the third Crimson Avenger , Power Girl , Sand , and the second Icicle . Wildcat and Hector Hall are also freed—Wildcat as an apparent side effect of his 'nine lives', and Hall so that he could summon the garb of Doctor Fate and thus provide the Ultra-Humanite with access to Nabu's power—but both are held captive by
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#17328951184056200-491: The discovery of an atomic weapon created by physicist Terry Curtis. As Dolores, the villain seduces and kidnaps the scientist. After extended torture, Curtis agrees to help the Ultra-Humanite build an atomic arsenal. The Ultra-Humanite tells the city she wants $ 2 million or she will destroy every building and life in the city. As a demonstration, she promises to destroy the Wentworth Tower that afternoon. When an airship attacks
6300-472: The end, Ultra-Humanite and Despero were sent back into the past after their group was defeated, while other members were returned to their previous places in time. Ultra-Humanite is said to still be alive and well, having stolen a copy of Steve Dayton's Mento helmet. Later, Ultra-Humanite is seen aiding the Reach in their plans to conquer Earth; he is defeated by Blue Beetle and Guy Gardner . Ultra appears in
6400-402: The first arc of Power Girl (vol. 2), using an anti-gravity mechanism to raise New York City into the air, holding the city hostage in exchange for being able to transfer his mind into Power Girl's body. The attempt fails, and Power Girl accidentally scars his whole body with acid burns, maiming his form permanently. Satanna returns to New York, attempting to aid her former lover, stealing
6500-495: The fray; his fight with Conner destroys the tower, and the multiple Earths collapse into a single "New Earth". His plan foiled, Alexander decides that if he cannot create a perfect Earth, he will take this Earth by force and shape it as best he can. To that end, the Society meets in Metropolis to decimate the remaining heroes (with Doomsday as their champion). After losing a battle (during which he seriously injures Nightwing with
6600-441: The guards as she alerts them. Superman is able to battle past the guards and get the jewels. When Superman returns with the jewels, the Ultra-Humanite sends diamond drills at Superman, but Superman breaks past them. Curtis stops Ultra from pulling the lever that will destroy the city. Superman then disintegrates the photoelectric cell connections. Confronted again with her ultimate foe, the Ultra-Humanite dives to her apparent doom in
6700-446: The head with a shotgun, killing him, while Lex mockingly asks "Now who's stupid?". In 52 Week Three, the GCPD find a body in an alley resembling Lex Luthor. John Henry Irons examines the body at S.T.A.R. Labs and notices that contact lenses were inserted post-mortem to make the blue eyes appear green (like Lex's). Lex Luthor barges in with a throng of reporters, claiming that the body
6800-571: The judge ruled that Marvel's later use of the characters was sufficiently different to protect it from Wolfman's claim of copyright ownership. In the late 1990s, Wolfman developed the Transformers TV series Beast Machines , which aired on Fox Kids for two seasons from 1999 to 2000. The program was a direct continuation of the Beast Wars series, which itself was a continuation of the original Generation One Transformers show. Beast Machines
6900-456: The likable rogue the Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 194 (July 1979). In 1978, Wolfman and artist Alan Kupperberg took over the Howard the Duck syndicated newspaper comic strip . While writing the Fantastic Four (which Wolfman stated to be his favorite comic), Wolfman and John Byrne introduced a new herald for Galactus named Terrax in No. 211 (Oct. 1979). A Godzilla story by Wolfman and Steve Ditko
7000-415: The main story for the DC Primal Age 100-Page Giant . Also in 2019, DC published the oversized, 100-page comic book Man and Superman , Marv Wolfman's retelling of Superman's origin story, to high acclaim. On the occasion of the Crisis on Infinite Earths Arrowverse crossover, Marv Wolfman co-wrote an episode of The CW series Arrow with Marc Guggenheim that aired in January 2020. He also made
7100-496: The merged universes (since Earth-One had become predominant Post-Crisis), which will help Earth-Two's Lois Lane recover from her current illness. Lex Luthor does everything in his power to find his impersonator. Assuming the identity Mockingbird , he organizes the Secret Six . Lex eavesdrops on Alexander's transmissions for months, and finally confronts him in the Arctic. When Lex asks who he is, Alexander replies "I'm you. Only better." Alexander also reveals that his presence on Earth
7200-586: The mid-1990s DC series The Man Called A-X . In the early-1990s, Wolfman worked at Disney Comics . He wrote scripts for a seven part DuckTales story (" Scrooge's Quest "), as well as several others – with the characters from the Mickey Mouse universe – that appeared in Mickey Mouse Adventures . He was editor of the comics section on the Disney Adventures magazine for the early years of
7300-571: The pages of Nightwing , the Vigilante was spun off into his own short-lived title, which Wolfman wrote. He wrote a miniseries starring the Teen Titan Raven , a character he and George Pérez co-created during their run on The New Teen Titans , helping to revamp and update the character. He worked with Pérez on a direct-to-DVD movie adaptation of the popular "Judas Contract" storyline from their tenure on Teen Titans . In 2011, he and Pérez completed
7400-483: The panel "Marvel Comics: The Method and the Madness" at the 1974 New York City Comic Art Convention , told the audience that when he first began working for DC Comics , he received DC's first writing credit on its mystery magazines. Gerry Conway , who wrote the horror-host interstitial pages between stories, wrote in one issue, House of Secrets Vol. 1 Issue 83, that the following story, "The Stuff that Dreams are Made of"
7500-615: The passage of only a few weeks. After the Monitor's death, Alexander helps lead the heroes and villains of the DC Universe against the Anti-Monitor. After defeating the Anti-Monitor (with the help of Kal-L, the Earth-Two Superman and the Earth-Prime Superboy), Alexander reveals that he has saved Kal-L's wife, the Earth-Two Lois Lane , from being erased from existence when the multiverse was destroyed. The foursome, no longer having
7600-453: The publication. In 1997, on the eve of the impending release of the Blade motion picture , Wolfman sued Marvel Characters Inc. over ownership of all characters he had created for Marvel Comics. A ruling in Marvel's favor was handed down on November 6, 2000. Wolfman's stance was that he had not signed work-for-hire contracts when he created characters including Blade and Nova. In a nonjury trial,
7700-426: The ransom money, she still decides to kill the captives. Superman throws a huge stalagmite into the switchboard, breaking the electrical connection, and tries to capture Dolores. She waves a lighted torch in front of the captives and Superman, seeing the mad look in her eyes, realizes she is Ultra. After Superman extinguishes the torch, Dolores dives into the water and escapes. Soon after, the Ultra-Humanite reads of
7800-449: The relative safety of Earth-One . Alexander materializes on the abandoned satellite which was formerly headquarters of the Justice League. The Harbinger takes him in, at the request of the Monitor . His passage through the anti-matter storm grants him power over both matter and anti-matter, dramatically accelerating his aging process. By the end of Crisis , Luthor is a young adult, despite
7900-441: The rings to reanimate them as Black Lanterns to aid him in defeating the insane Boy of Steel. The Black Lanterns overwhelm Superboy Prime, who voluntarily puts on a black ring. The ring reacts to Superboy Prime's mixed emotions (cycling through the emotional spectrum), resulting in a burst of rainbow-colored energy which destroys Alexander and his fellow Black Lanterns. Alexander next appears in Justice League of America in 2011. In
8000-503: The staff." He added, "We used to farm the books out to Harry Chester Studios [sic] and whatever they pasted up, they pasted up. I formed the first production staff, hired the first layout people, paste-up people." Wolfman stepped down as editor-in-chief to spend more time writing. He and artist Gene Colan crafted The Tomb of Dracula , a horror comic that became "one of the most critically-acclaimed horror-themed comic books ever". During their run on this series, they created Blade ,
8100-489: The super-criminal known as the Ultra-Humanite are shrouded in mystery. Even he claims not to remember his true name or appearance and attributes his vast intellect and mental prowess to scientific experiments of an unknown nature. In other media, Ultra-Humanite has appeared in Justice League , voiced by Ian Buchanan , as well as the third and final season of The CW network television series Stargirl . Ultra-Humanite first appeared in Action Comics #13 (June 1939) and
8200-581: The two combine forces to break through the barrier wall. Together, they set into motion the events that culminate in Infinite Crisis : Alexander watches the events on the post-Crisis Earth for several years with his companions, and eventually convinces a pessimistic Kal-L to break the walls of their paradise to intervene on post-Crisis Earth. Alexander tells Kal-L and his cousin Power Girl that they can help him bring aspects of Earth-Two into predominance over
8300-483: The untold story of how Ultra-Humanite transitioned from Delores Winter's body to his albino ape form was revealed: Per Degaton , the villainous time traveler, and a young version of Despero rescued the Delores Winters-version of Ultra-Humanite from a hospital in the year 1948. It is revealed that the Ultra-Humanite was stricken with terminal cancer and in exchange for his loyalty, Per Degaton agreed to provide
8400-481: The vampire-slayer Blade , and DC Comics 's The New Teen Titans and the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series with George Pérez . Among the many characters Wolfman created or co-created are Cyborg , Raven , Starfire , Deathstroke , Tim Drake , Rose Wilson , Nova , Black Cat , Phobia , Bullseye , Vigilante (Adrian Chase) , the Omega Men , and the Nightwing identity of Dick Grayson . Marv Wolfman
8500-487: The volcano's crater. The Ultra-Humanite made his last Superman appearance in Action Comics #21 (1940), where he apparently dies, and made no further comic book appearances for several decades. He was subsequently replaced as Superman's archvillan by Lex Luthor who would be introduced in Action Comics #23 (1940). With the introduction of DC's multiverse system, the continuity of Golden Age Superman stories and
8600-521: The well-being of the universe's living beings, progressively becomes as corrupt as his father's villainous counterparts. Superboy-Prime is frustrated, and Alexander uses this opportunity to convince him to help fix reality. Playing on his anger, Alexander only shows him negative aspects of the new reality to convince him that it is inferior; for example, Superboy-Prime appears to be unaware that Hal Jordan and Parallax are separate entities. Furiously trying to escape, Superboy-Prime unsuccessfully pounds on
8700-426: The work of Neil Gaiman . In 1972, Wolfman moved to Marvel Comics as a protégé of then-editor Roy Thomas . When Thomas stepped down, Wolfman eventually took over as editor, initially in charge of the publisher's black-and-white magazines , then finally the color line of comics. Wolfman said in 1981 that, "Marvel never gave [its] full commitment to" the black-and-white line. "No one wanted to commit themselves to
8800-407: The world's greatest minds and a degenerative disease that was slowly eating away at him. He used his intellect to find ways to keep the disease at bay, while trying to find a way to transplant his brain into a healthy body. Working with a reckless and young Satanna, a fellow college researcher, they worked together at their brain/transplant and animal hybridization technologies. Forced to relocate in
8900-427: Was altered to bring Dolores Winters (now called Delores Winters ) back to life via the reveal that her brain was placed in a new body after Ultra-Humanite stole her body for his own use. The Ultra-Humanite's secret origin is revised, shedding more light on his past life as genius youth Gerard Shugel (a name derived from Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel). He was born with both an intellect that surpassed
9000-405: Was among the first villains faced by him. He was designed to be the polar opposite of Superman; while Superman is a hero with superhuman strength, Ultra-Humanite is a criminal mastermind who has a crippled body but a highly advanced intellect. The Ultra-Humanite served as Superman's nemesis until Alexei Luthor and his Silver Age counterpart Lex Luthor were introduced in the comics. The origins of
9100-705: Was born in Brooklyn , New York City, the son of police officer Abe and housewife Fay. He has a sister, Harriet, 12 years older. When Wolfman was 13, his family moved to Flushing, Queens , in New York City, where he attended junior high school. He went on to New York's High School of Art and Design , in Manhattan , hoping to become a cartoonist. Wolfman is Jewish . Marvin Wolfman was active in fandom before he began his professional comics career at DC Comics in 1968. Wolfman
9200-573: Was changed into a Dragon Lord story published in Marvel Spotlight vol. 2 No. 5 (March 1980). The creature that the Dragon Lord battled was intended to be Godzilla but since Marvel no longer had the rights to the character (which lapsed the previous year) the creature was modified to a dragon called The Wani. In 1980, Wolfman returned to DC after a dispute with Marvel. Teaming with penciller George Pérez , Wolfman relaunched DC's Teen Titans in
9300-470: Was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster . Ultra-Humanite is described as a fiendish " mad scientist ", and is paralyzed from the waist down and in need of a wheelchair. His "great goal" is the "domination of the Earth". Portrayed as nearly bald in two texts and as completely bald in two others, he is a "mental giant" and the "head of a vast ring of evil enterprises" whose "fiery eyes burn with terrible hatred and sinister intelligence". His real name
9400-442: Was informed by Marvel writer Chris Claremont that a DC executive had approached Claremont at a holiday party and offered him the position of writer on The New Teen Titans . Claremont immediately declined the offer and told Wolfman that apparently the publisher was looking to replace him on the title. When Wolfman confronted DC executives about this, he was told it was "just a joke", although Claremont reiterated that he took it to be
9500-487: Was launched in April 1978 by Wolfman and artist Carmine Infantino . As the first regular writer on Spider-Woman , he redesigned the character, giving her a human identity as Jessica Drew. Wolfman succeeded Len Wein as writer of The Amazing Spider-Man and in his first issue, No. 182 (July 1978), had Peter Parker propose marriage to Mary Jane Watson who refused, in the following issue. Wolfman and Keith Pollard introduced
9600-568: Was met with mixed reviews, as the show was praised for its story, but was criticized for its focus on spirituality. Previously, in the 1980s, Wolfman wrote the story for Optimus Prime's return in " The Return of Optimus Prime " of the third season of Transformers . A decade later, Wolfman began writing in comics again, scripting Defex , the flagship title of Devil's Due Productions ' Aftermath line. He wrote an "Infinite Crisis" issue of DC's "Secret Files", and consulted with writer Geoff Johns on several issues of The Teen Titans . Wolfman wrote
9700-567: Was one of the first to publish Stephen King , with "In A Half-World of Terror" in Wolfman's horror fanzine Stories of Suspense No. 2 (1965). This was a revised version of King's first published story, " I Was a Teenage Grave Robber ", which had been serialized over four issues (three published and one unpublished) of the fanzine Comics Review that same year. Wolfman's first published work for DC Comics appeared in Blackhawk No. 242 (Aug.–Sept. 1968). He and longtime friend Len Wein created
9800-530: Was rejected by publisher Carmine Infantino. The revised story appeared in Teen Titans No. 20 (March–April 1969). Wolfman and Gil Kane created an origin for Wonder Girl in Teen Titans No. 22 (July–Aug. 1969) which introduced the character's new costume. He and artist Bernie Wrightson co-created Destiny in Weird Mystery Tales No. 1 (July–Aug. 1972), a character which would later be used in
9900-576: Was removed from continuity. The Ultra-Humanite was excluded from Superman's reboot, and his post- Crisis history remained tied to the 1940s and to the Justice Society of America and All-Star Squadron. Previous appearances of the Ultra-Humanite fighting Golden Age Superman in the 1940s in Action Comics #13-21 and in All-Star Squadron were re-told for the sake of continuity (a technique known as retconning ) to show him having fought other 1940s heroes. The Ultra-Humanite's most ambitious scheme occurs in
10000-462: Was told to him by a "wandering Wolfman." The Comics Code Authority , which did not permit the mention of werewolves or wolfmen at that time, demanded it be removed. DC informed the Authority that "Wolfman" was the writer's last name, so the Authority insisted he be given a credit to show the "Wolfman" was a real person. Once Wolfman was given a credit, other writers demanded them as well. Shortly, credits were given to all writers and artists. Wolfman
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