| Livewire | |
|---|---|
 Livewire on the cover art of Action Comics #835, art by Kalman Andrasofszky. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman: The Animated Series "Livewire" |
| First comic appearance | Action Comics #835 (March 2006) Superman Adventures #5 (1997) |
| Created by | Evan Dorkin Sarah Dyer Bruce Timm |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Leslie Willis |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Superman Revenge Squad Supermen of America Legion of Doom Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Abilities |
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Livewire is asupervillain appearing inmultimedia produced byDC Entertainment, andAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. Created forSuperman: The Animated Series, the character appeared in March 1997 inSuperman Adventures #5 (based on the animated series). Her first mainstream comic book appearance was inDC Comics'Action Comics #835 (March 2006).[1]
In animation, the character was voiced byLori Petty inSuperman: The Animated Series andThe New Batman Adventures, and byMaria Canals-Barrera inJustice League.[2] In live-action, she has been portrayed byAnna Mae Routledge inSmallville andBrit Morgan in theArrowverse seriesSupergirl.
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Introduced in a self-titled episode ofSuperman: The Animated Series, Leslie Willis is a popular, yet controversialMetropolis radioshock jock who takes cynical joy in ridiculingSuperman during her broadcasts.[3] On the third anniversary of her career, she hosts a rock concert at Centennial Park to celebrate despite a concurrent thunderstorm and public safety concerns. After lightning strikes the stage, Willis is transformed into an electrokineticmetahuman.
Following this, Willis forms a short-lived alliances withParasite,Harley Quinn, andPoison Ivy.
In theJustice League episode "Hereafter", Livewire (voiced by an uncreditedMaria Canals-Barrera) joins theSuperman Revenge Squad, only to be defeated by theJustice League. InJustice League Unlimited, she joinsGorilla Grodd'sSecret Society.
Livewire also appears in theSuperman Adventures tie-in comic, where she works withProfessor Hamilton to stopBrainiac and eventually reforms.
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Leslie Willis / Livewire is introduced into the main comics continuity inAction Comics #835 (March 2006), written byGail Simone andJohn Byrne. This version is ametahuman who was born with superhuman abilities and was originally a radio host who was fired when Miguel, the owner of the station she broadcasts on, decides to turn the station into a country station. Enraged at the loss of her job, she goes to the top of the station, where is was struck by lightning. Absorbing a large amount of energy from the lightning bolt, Willis gains chalk-white skin and blue hair and decides to take her revenge out on Superman.
Livewire and many other metahumans are kidnapped by a being called the Auctioneer.[4] This being scours the universe looking for unique items to acquire (often by theft) before selling them to the highest bidder. Livewire's unique powers allow her, Superman and several other captives to escape their containment fields. She teams up withNightwing, Superman, the Veteran,Blue Jay and other heroes in fleeing their situation and gaining information. A dampening field provides a psychological barrier against utilizing their powers. With the help ofMister Terrific, who communicates through Livewire's natural electricity, the field is soon neutralized.
During the escape attempt, Livewire accidentally creates a link between the makeshift team and every single television on Earth. This proves hard to shut off. Soon, the team confronts the Auctioneer.[5] With great difficulty, Livewire gains control over the being's communication systems. Under Superman's suggestions, they threaten to broadcast the Auctioneer's entire database to every alien system possible unless he agrees to release the heroes and leave Earth alone. He reluctantly does so and returns everyone to Earth.
InSuperman: Grounded, Livewire attacksJimmy Olsen and takes hostages inLas Vegas to get Superman's attention. It is subsequently revealed that her powers are deteriorating and she can no longer control them safely. Superman provides her with a special suit that resolves the problem and recruits her to join theSupermen of America.[6][7]
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Livewire appears as a member of theSecret Society of Super Villains after the events of the "Forever Evil" storyline.[8] Her origin is later given in an issue ofBatgirl, where it is revealed that Leslie Willis was once a popularvlogger known for her pranks and makeup tutorials. During a stunt where she tried to reroute all the power in the city to spell out a dirty message that would be visible from space, she was accidentally electrocuted, granting her superhuman abilities.[9]
Livewire is a being of pure electricity able to absorb vast quantities from external sources. She can also manipulate electricity and generatelightning blasts of various intensities, with her strongest being able to weaken or stun Superman. She can also transform into living electricity to travel through electric currents and control electronic devices.
Due to her powers, her primary weakness is water, as even a small amount will cause her stored energy to go haywire unless she has stored up enough power. At this or any stage, Livewire would have to be completely drenched in water to be fully depowered. Additionally,silicon dust can also render her powerless due to its electrical resistance. When drained of her electricity, she reverts to her solid form and cannot use most of her abilities until she absorbs enough energy.
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