| Ultra-Humanite | |
|---|---|
 TheUltra-Humanite in his white gorilla body as seen on a panel ofJustice League of America #196 (November 1981). Art byGeorge Pérez. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Action Comics #13 (June 1939) |
| Created by | Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Gerard Shugel |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Injustice League Secret Society of Super Villains Time Stealers |
| Notable aliases | Delores Winters Johnny Thunder |
| Abilities |
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Ultra-Humanite (Gerard Shugel) is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. He first appeared as a recurring adversary ofSuperman, and was the first supervillain faced by him. Though his name is a near-synonym for Superman, 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.[1] The Ultra-Humanite served as Superman's nemesis until the introduction of Superman's archnemesis, the mad scientistLex Luthor.[2] The origins of 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 inJustice League, voiced byIan Buchanan, as well as the third and final season ofThe CW network television seriesStargirl.
Ultra-Humanite was created byJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster.[3] He first appeared inAction Comics #13 (June 1939), which was written by Siegel and drawn by Paul Cassidy (serving as aghost artist for Shuster).[4]
Ultra-Humanite is described by Superman as a "mad scientist who seeks domination of the Earth",[5] is paralyzed from the waist down, and uses a wheelchair. Portrayed as nearly bald inAction Comics #13 and #19 and as completely bald inAction Comics #14 and 17, his real name is never given, because he has been known as the Ultra-Humanite or Ultra ever since "a scientific experiment resulted in [his] possessing the most agile and learned brain on Earth!"[6] Despite the many possibilities available to a man with such intelligence, he prefers to use his talents for crime.[7] Even after being transferred into other bodies, he is always recognizable by his "evil blazing eyes".[8]
Superman sets out to smash the Cab Protective League, an organization headed by aracketeer named Jackie Reynolds, which is attempting to seize control of the city's lucrative taxi trade.[7] Reynolds' union intimidates other cab drivers through violence and threats against passengers. Apprehended by police, who overheard him mention his crimes during an argument with Superman, Reynolds is sentenced toSing Sing penitentiary. Reynolds escapes by using a cigarette to emit a poisonous gas that kills his guards. Taking an educated guess, Superman finds Reynolds in a cabin hideout, only to learn he has walked into a trap set by Reynolds' boss: the Ultra-Humanite. The trap deals electricity sufficient to kill 500 men, knocking Superman unconsciousness. Reynolds and the Ultra-Humanite attempt to kill him with a buzz saw, but Superman's tough skin breaks the saw into fragments. Reynolds is killed by one of the flying pieces. Ultra's henchmen set fire to the cabin, carry the Ultra-Humanite to a waiting aircraft, and leave Superman to perish. Superman regains consciousness and leaps into the aircraft's propeller, deliberately crashing the plane. He admits that he almost died in the fire, and is unable to find the Ultra-Humanite,[7] who escaped using a parachute.[9]
After scores of subway riders are injured in 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 employees, who lead him into a tank trap. The Ultra-Humanite freezes him inside a block of crystal. Superman breaks out but is unable to stop the Ultra-Humanite's plans.[9]
The Ultra-Humanite extorts five million dollars from a cruise line. Superman recovers the money, but Ultra uses a hologram of himself to conduct the business, leaving Superman no opportunity to capture him.[5]
The Ultra-Humanite reverse engineers a plague from the Middle Ages and releases it into the city, killing hundreds, in the hopes of exterminating the human race and replacing it with his own creations. A young scientist, Professor Henry Travers, concocts an antidote. Ultra kidnaps Travers, but he is rescued by Superman. Ultra's henchmen fire an electric gun and knock out Superman. Ultra tries hypnotizing him, but Superman fakes being controlled, and when he is taken to spread the plague with Ultra's airship, he destroys it. Superman returns to Ultra's stronghold. Ultra fires the electric gun at him, but Superman moves the Ultra-Humanite in front of the blast, killing him.[10]
Ultra's assistants revive him withadrenalin. However, his body is still dying, so Ultra has his henchmen kidnap actress Dolores Winters and transplant his brain into her body.[11] As Dolores, the Ultra-Humanite announces her retirement from acting, and throws a retirement party on her yacht,The Sea-Serpent. During the party, he moves the yacht out to sea, and holds the guests at gunpoint. Ultra announces via ship's radio that he is holding the celebrities captive for $5 million. He places helmets on the heads of the captives, wired to a control board where he can electrocute them. He receives the ransom money, but Superman throws astalagmite into the switchboard, breaking the electrical connection. When "Dolores" threatens to disfigure the captives using a lighted torch, Superman recognizes him as Ultra. After Superman extinguishes the torch (using super-breath for the first time), Ultra dives into the water and escapes.[8]
The Ultra-Humanite reads that physicist Terry Curtis is developing an atomic weapon. As Dolores, he tries to steal Curtis's plans, then kidnaps him and tortures him into building a disintegrator. The Ultra-Humanite demands $2 million or he will destroyMetropolis. As a demonstration, he destroys the Wentworth Tower. Superman destroys the disintegrator and rides the Ultra-Humanite's plane to a glass-sheathed city inside anextinct volcano. He defeats the robot guards, but Curtis is held behind aphotoelectric sensor, and Metropolis will be destroyed if the beam is broken. In exchange for Curtis's release, Superman steals the crown jewels from the Reynolds Building. In a double cross, the Ultra-Humanite sends diamond drills at Superman, but Superman breaks them. Curtis stops Ultra from pulling the lever that would destroy the city. Superman then disintegrates the photoelectric cell connections. When Superman leaps at him, the Ultra-Humanite dives to safety in the volcano's crater.[12]
The Ultra-Humanite made his lastSuperman appearance inAction Comics #21 (1940), and made no further comic book appearances for several decades. He was replaced as Superman's archvillan byLex Luthor, who was introduced inAction Comics #23 (1940).
With the introduction of DC'smultiverse system, the continuity ofGolden AgeSuperman stories and the Ultra-Humanite were retroactively placed onEarth-Two, the Earth of DC's Golden Age characters. The Ultra-Humanite was reintroduced during theSilver Age as a recurring villain in the "Mr. and Mrs. Superman" feature in theSuperman Family anthology comic. The feature consists of stories about the early years of the marriage between the Earth-Two Superman andLois Lane. These stories feature a number of Golden Age Superman villains of which the Ultra-Humanite is the most prominent.
In the annual JLA/JSA teamup inJustice League of America #195-197 (1981), the Ultra-Humanite transfers his consciousness to analbinogorilla body and becomes a major super-villain on Earth-Two. In one instance, he recruitedBrain Wave,Monocle,Rag Doll,Psycho-Pirate,Mist, and four villains from Earth-1 (Plant Master,Signalman,Cheetah, andKiller Frost) into a newSecret Society of Super Villains. Afterwards, the Ultra-Humanite regularly appears in DC Comics titles, opposing theAll-Star Squadron in the 1940s, and theJustice Society of America andInfinity, Inc. in the decades sinceWorld War II.[13]
After the 1985-86 limited seriesCrisis on Infinite Earths, Superman's history was rewritten inThe Man of Steel miniseries, and the Earth-Two Superman 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 inAction Comics #13-21 and inAll-Star Squadron were re-told for the sake of continuity (a technique known asretconning) to show him having fought other 1940s heroes.[14]
The Ultra-Humanite's most ambitious scheme occurs in the 2002 "Stealing Thunder" story arc fromJSA #32-37 where, having taken over the body of an agedJohnny Thunder, he deceivesJakeem Thunder into handing over his magical pen. WithThunderbolt'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 the control of the Ultra-Humanite: Jakeem Thunder,Captain Marvel,Hourman, the thirdCrimson Avenger,Power Girl,Sand, and the secondIcicle.Wildcat andHector Hall are also freed—Wildcat as an apparent side effect of his 'nine lives', and Hall so that he could summon the garb ofDoctor Fate and thus provide the Ultra-Humanite with access to Nabu's power—but both are held captive by the Ultra-Humanite. After the reserve JSA are able to temporarily short out the Thunderbolt (thanks to advice from the time-displacedoriginal 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.[15]
After the events of "Infinite Crisis", history was altered to bring Dolores Winters (now calledDelores 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.[16]
The Ultra-Humanite's secret origin is revised, shedding more light on his past life as genius youthGerard Shugel (a name derived from Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel). He was born with both an intellect that surpassed 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.[17]
Working with a reckless and young Satanna, a fellow college researcher, they worked together at their brain/transplant and animal hybridization technologies. Backlash fromanimal rights activists forced them to relocate in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, where they were 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 2006-07Lightning Saga crossover between Justice Society of America and Justice League of America, 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 ofDespero 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 a new body for the villain, in the form of a rare albino ape from the secret civilization known asGorilla City. Christening themselves the "Time Stealers", they align themselves withMister Mind, Rex Hunter, the mysteriousBlack Beetle, and the villainous father ofBooster Gold in an attempt to manipulate time for their own selfish goals. Their conspiracy ultimately unravels at the hands of Booster Gold andBlue Beetle Ted Kord. In 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'sMento helmet.[18]
Later, Ultra-Humanite is seen aiding theReach in their plans to conquer Earth; he is defeated byBlue Beetle andGuy Gardner. Ultra appears in the first arc ofPower Girl (vol. 2), using ananti-gravity mechanism to raiseNew 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 the body of the currentTerra, 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 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.[19]
When DC rebooted its continuity withThe New 52 in 2011, Ultra-Humanite was reintroduced in the pages ofAction Comics with a wildly different concept: a fear-feeding alien in thePhantom 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.[20] During theSuperman: Doomed storyline, a portal opens inSmallville allowing the Ultra-Humanite to escape. Superman is able to defeat him by filling him up with too many emotions.[21]
Later, DC discarded most of its New 52 changes, with an initiative calledDC Rebirth. All of Superman's villains and history were restored to pre-New 52 basics in a storyline calledSuperman 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.[22]
InSuperman 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 is forced to leave Earth with theAuthority while the Ultra-Humanite, unconcerned with implications of Clark's journey, prepares to continue his villainous career as the arch-nemesis ofJon 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 is that of amutatedalbinogorilla with immense physical attributes and psychic powers. He invented numerous advanced weapons, vehicles, and other arcane technology.[23]
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 thefears out of him or her.[24]
An alternate Ultra-Humanite appears in issues three and four of theTangent: Superman's Reign series. This version is a living weapon created by theSoviets 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 ofLegends of the DC Universe feature the post-Crisis Superman. Superman is early in his career and battles a scientist namedMorgan 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 theU.L.T.R.A. Humanite.[25]
In theElseworlds miniseriesThe Golden Age, the Ultra-Humanite places his brain into the body ofTex Thomson, known as the Americommando. He also arranges to place the brain of his allyAdolf Hitler into the body ofDanny Dunbar, while simultaneously arranging to give Hitler (as Dunbar) super-powers.[26][27]
The Ultra-Humanite is the principal villain in theJohn Byrne limited seriesSuperman & Batman: Generations. He first appears in the 1939 story, but is believed to be killed when his escape rocket explodes.[28] Decades later, it is revealed that the Humanite had his brain placed in the body of his lackeyLex 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.[29][30]
A different Ultra-Humanite appears as the main villain of the "One Nation" arc ofEarth 2: Society #12-16, where he is a survivor of the destroyedEarth 2 and uses the lost children of the old Earth as his personal soldiers, one of whom is John Grayson, the son of the Earth 2Dick Grayson, aka Batman III. He is killed by Hawkgirl with the Amazonion Casket, the object he was going to use as part of his plan to take over Earth 2.[31]
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