| Prometheus | |
|---|---|
.png) Prometheus, as appeared on a panel of the issue ofJLA #17 (February 1998). Art by Arnie Jorgensen. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Curt Calhoun) Blue Beetle (vol. 6) #3 (August 1986) (Unnamed version) New Year's Evil: Prometheus #1 (February 1998) (Chad Graham) Batman: Gotham Knights #52 (June 2004) |
| Created by | (Curt Calhoun) Len Wein (writer) Paris Cullins (artist) (Unnamed version) Grant Morrison (writer) Arnie Jorgensen (artist) (Chad Graham) A. J. Lieberman |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Curt Calhoun Chad Graham |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | (Curt Calhoun) Hybrid (Unnamed version) The Society Injustice Gang (Chad Graham) The Society |
| Notable aliases | (Unnamed version) Retro,Shazam, Matt Dell |
| Abilities | Peak human physical and mental conditioning Highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist Expert in the use of various weapons Cybernetic implants, helmet and armor further augment physical attributes |
Prometheus is a name used by multiplesupervillains appearing incomic books published byDC Comics. Created by writerGrant Morrison and penciller Arnie Jorgensen, the most recognized version first appeared inNew Year's Evil: Prometheus (February 1998). Commonly an adversary of theJustice League and a villainousfoil personality toBatman (similar to villainsKiller Moth,Wrath, andHush), Prometheus would serve as an enemy to superheroes including Batman,Green Arrow andMidnighter.[1]
In 2009, Prometheus was ranked asIGN's 80th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[2] OnThe CW's live-actionArrowverse TV seriesArrow, the character was portrayed byJosh Segarra and voiced byMichael Dorn.
Curt Calhoun debuted inBlue Beetle (vol. 6) #3 (August 1986). A new version of Prometheus debuted inNew Year's Evil: Prometheus (February 1998) and returned inJLA #16–17 (March–April 1998) and #36–41 (December 1999–May 2000). The character was then impersonated for a time by Chad Graham, but returned inFaces of Evil: Prometheus #1 (March 2009). Prometheus starred as the villain in thelimited seriesJustice League: Cry for Justice #1–7 (September 2009–April 2010), and was killed at the conclusion of the story.
WriterMike Conroy noted "...with his technologically advanced armor and weapons arsenal, which can download the fighting techniques of the world's top martial artists...he (Prometheus) turned out to be a formidable foe, as the JLA found out".[3]
The original version,Curt Calhoun, debuted inBlue Beetle (vol. 6) #3 (August 1986), followed by appearances in issues #4 (September 1986); #6 (November 1986); #8–9 (January–February 1987) and #11–13 (April–June 1987). Calhoun is a small-time criminal working for supervillainDoctor Alchemy and is hired to steal a quantity of the metal promethium from KORD Inc., an organization owned byTed Kord. Although successful, both Calhoun and Dr. Alchemy are captured by the Blue Beetle. On release from prison, Calhoun aids the Blue Beetle against theCalculator and is offered a position as a foreman at KORD Inc. by Kord. While saving Kord from an industrial accident, Calhoun is covered with metals laced with promethium. En route to the hospital, Calhoun's ambulance is attacked by members of the supervillain team known asHybrid. The leader,Mento, transforms the metal covering Calhoun into a permanent metallic shell. Assuming the "Prometheus" alias, the reluctant Calhoun fights alongside Hybrid in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat theNew Teen Titans.[4] Although Mento eventually directs Hybrid against the Titans once again, they rebel and Mento is apparently cured of his insanity by Titan memberRaven.[5] Calhoun is never seen again, until the superheroJSA team learns that Hybrid died in the gladiatorial games staged by villainessRoulette.[6] The original version possesses a metalepidermis, which confers superior strength and durability. Calhoun is also capable of raising the temperature of his armored form to several hundred degreesCelsius.
The most well-known version is the unnamed son of twohippie spree killers, who traveled across theUnited States with them until they were gunned down by police in a shootout. This traumatic experience causes their son's hair to turn white, and he vows to "annihilate the forces of justice" to get revenge for his slain parents.[7]
Using his parents' hidden caches of money, the son travels the world and develops his skills, becoming an underground pit-fighter inBrazil and a mercenary inAfrica, and joining terrorist groups in theMiddle East. After avenging his parents' deaths by murdering the police officer who shot them, he locates theHimalayan city ofShambhala, inhabited by a sect of monks that worshiped the concept of evil. Prometheus discovers the monastery has been built on an alien spaceship, and the leader of the sect is one of the creatures from the vessel. He kills the alien and obtains the "Ghost Key", which opens a portal to the "Ghost Zone".
Prometheus builds a house in the void as his headquarters, which is warped by the dimensional effects to become "crooked". He relates his origin to a young man, with the alias "Retro", who has won a competition to be part of theJLA for a day. Prometheus kills Retro, copies the young man's mannerisms (courtesy of his advanced helmet), and joins the tour group at the JLA transporters, intending to masquerade as Retro to gain access to theJLA Watchtower.[8]
Initially, the plan appears to be successful, with Prometheus infectingSteel's armor with a virus, hitting theMartian Manhunter with a dart containing a toxin that destabilizes his ability to control his shape, knocking out Huntress, trappingZauriel in the Ghost Zone, beatingBatman senseless using downloaded skills, using neural chaff to disruptGreen Lantern's will, and manipulating the Flash into believing that the tower is rigged with bombs that will detonate if he moves too fast. He then tries to forceSuperman to kill himself after admitting that the hero is too powerful for him to kill, stating that he will murder the rest of the tour group otherwise. Prometheus is then caught off guard by the anti-heroCatwoman (who is disguised as journalistCat Grant), allowing the heroes time to recover. Steel is able to restore his suit and transfer the virus to Prometheus' suit. Admitting he lied about the bombs, Prometheus switches places with Zauriel in the Ghost Zone and escapes capture.[9]
Prometheus appears briefly during an encounter between the JLA and theAvengers and skirmishes withCaptain America while using Batman's skills, but Captain America easily defeats him by exploiting the villain's overconfidence and his own enhanced physique.[10]
Prometheus returns as a member ofLex Luthor's second Injustice Gang. During the confusion caused by the arrival of the weapon Mageddon, Prometheus is able to use aWhite Martian space vessel abandoned in the Ghost Zone to infiltrate the Watchtower and attackOracle. Oracle escapes, with Prometheus's helmet being damaged in the process. The villain retrieves his original helmet (lost during the first battle with the JLA) and battles Batman once again. Prometheus is neutralized when Batman sabotages his helmet, overriding the information on the disc Prometheus uses to upload his combat skills and replacing the data with the physical skills and coordination of ProfessorStephen Hawking. Batman prevents fellow memberHuntress from killing the now-helpless Prometheus.[11] Batman and Martian Manhunter take Prometheus into custody and use the latter's telepathy to reduce Prometheus to a mentally disabled adult, reasoning that his skills and training mean that no jail could hold him under conventional circumstances. Upon Martian Manhunter's death atLibra's hands, Prometheus's mind was restored and he tracked down Chad Graham, killing his would-be protégé and maiming/murdering members of theBlood Pack super-hero team.[12]
A spate of superhero deaths (Freedom Beast andGloss) and attacks on others (Barry Allen,Batwoman, andCrimson Avenger) is revealed to be the work of the true Prometheus. The villain impersonatesFreddy Freeman and gains access to the JLA satellite, which in turn allows Prometheus to place teleportation devices in the home cities of various heroes which will "strand" them in various places in the past and future, as revenge for the years that he spent with his mind damaged. Prometheus also maimsRoy Harper after Harper realizes his foe is not Freddy Freeman. After defeating the JLA and theTeen Titans by reading files on them, Prometheus is captured byDonna Troy and beaten brutally, until being stopped by the Shade. Prometheus offers to reveal the location of the devices in exchange for his release, after they malfunction and begin destroying the cities. WithStar City suffering massive casualties (including Roy's daughter), Prometheus's ultimatum is met and he returns to his lair, but is murdered byGreen Arrow by shooting an arrow through his head.[13]
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Prometheus shows up to tormentMidnighter using stolen technology from the God Garden that he sells to various individuals around the world. In addition, he acquires the Gardener's secret files on Midnighter's true identity and origin. When confronted by Midnighter, Prometheus uses God Garden technology to block Midnighter's tactical computer, eliminating the edge Midnighter has in analyzing an opponent's fighting techniques. Prometheus also reveals that he has downloaded all of Midnighter's own skills into his brain to use against his enemy. Pretending to be an ordinary man, he uses the aliasMatt Dell to seduce and have a romantic relationship with Midnighter to achieve his goals.[14]
The third version,Chad Graham, debuted inBatman: Gotham Knights #52 (June 2004), as part of the "Pushback" storyline from issues #50–55 (April–September 2004). The villain reappeared inBatman: Gotham Knights #66 (August 2005);Villains United #1–6 (July–September 2005);Infinite Crisis #1–7 (December 2005–June 2006);Birds of Prey #94 (June–August 2006);Teen Titans (vol. 3) #51–54 (November 2007–February 2008) andFinal Crisis #1–7 (July 2008–March 2009). He was not initially established as a different version from the second version until the "Faces of Evil" issue that featured the second version's return. It was later revealed that his former apprentice assumed the Prometheus identity after the well-known version went into a mentally disabled state; Graham had been taken in by Prometheus to serve as an evil sidekick years earlier, but proved too impulsive and ended up leaving Prometheus (under unknown circumstances). Graham appears inStar City, battlingGreen Arrow and local law enforcement. Almost killed by Green Arrow, Graham is saved byHush. Hush forms an alliance with the impostor but abandons him due to his incompetence.[15]Talia al Ghul leadsKobra in search of Prometheus in a bid to secure his Ghost Key. Graham, poisoned byPoison Ivy, is saved once again by Hush.[16] Graham is then recruited to join another version of theSecret Society of Super Villains[17] and participates in a massive attack by the Society onMetropolis. During the battle, Graham killsPeacemaker.[18] Graham also has an encounter with theBirds of Prey and defeatsLady Shiva in seconds.[19] He eventually falls under the alienStarro's control but is freed once Starro is defeated.[20] Graham is later murdered when the true Prometheus regains himself; he expresses contempt for Graham's impersonation but is satisfied that the damage Graham has done to Prometheus's reputation would lead to the heroes underestimating him in the future.[12] The third version relies on the use of two pistols, although he also possesses his mentor's helmet and artificial skills, giving him the training to defeat even Lady Shiva in a matter of seconds.
Prometheus possesses no superhuman abilities, but has undergone intense physical and mental training and utilizes an extensive range of equipment and technology like the heroBatman. Common tools include body armor, gauntlets that fire various projectiles, a side-handle baton with several technological features, and a helmet that in addition to emittingstrobe lighting capable of disorientation andhypnotism, candownload the knowledge and physical skills of others directly into his brain via acompact disc, his default disc including the skills of thirty of the world's greatest martial artists. Where Prometheus obtains this information is not known, but his combat skills include the duplicated abilities of Batman andLady Shiva, although it is unclear how much combat training he would possess if he had to fight without the helmet. The 'battlesuit'/helmet combination is also equipped with an artificial Intelligence that can rapidly calculate and deploy a variety of strategies and countermeasures that have allowed Prometheus at various times to incapacitate entire groups of the Justice League singlehandedly and simultaneously.
Finally, the unnamed version possesses the "Ghost Key" which allows the villain to teleport himself and other objects and persons to and from a dimension called the "Ghost Zone". It can also be used to inflict total molecular disintegration on a target, but Prometheus only employed this function once, when he eliminated the unsuspecting Retro. The helmet can be hacked by external sources, but Batman had to study the helmet for a month to learn how to hack it in that manner, and it is unclear if this would allow him to hack other versions of the helmet.
Prometheus appears inJLA/Avengers #4 as a brainwashed minion ofKrona.[21]
InJustice League/Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,Billy Cranston temporarily wields Prometheus' armor afterLord Zedd andBrainiac steal his powers.[22]
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Prometheus appears inSmallville: Lantern. After stealing equipment from theDepartment of Extranormal Operations (DEO), he fights the Green Arrow and a DEO team before disappearing in a Boom Tube.
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