Parasite (comics)

The Parasite
Parasite (Rudy Jones) as seen in the cover art for Superman #684, by Alex Ross
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(Jensen) Action Comics #340 (August 1966) (Jones) Firestorm vol. 2 #58 (April 1987) (Allstons) Adventures of Superman #633 (Dec. 2004)
Created by	(Jensen) Jim Shooter (Jones) John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski (Allstons) Greg Rucka, Matthew Clark, and Andrew Lanning
In-story information
Alter ego	- Raymond Maxwell Jensen - Rudolph "Rudy" Jones - Alex and Alexandra Allston
Team affiliations	S.T.A.R. Labs Suicide Squad Superman Revenge Squad Secret Society of Super Villains
Abilities	Absorption of energy, superpowers, and knowledge through physical contact

The Parasite is the name of several fictional supervillains that appear in Superman comic book stories published by DC Comics. Each version of the Parasite has the ability to temporarily absorb the energy, knowledge and super-powers of another being by touch, making him a formidable adversary for the Man of Steel.

The most well known incarnation of the Parasite is Rudy Jones, who has appeared in the largest number of comic books and media. In 2009, The Parasite was ranked as IGN's 61st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

The Raymond Maxwell Jenson version of Parasite first appeared in Action Comics #340 and was created by Jim Shooter.

The Rudy Jones version of Parasite first appeared in Firestorm vol. 2 #58 and was created by John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski.

The Alex and Andrea Allston versions of Parasite first appeared in Adventures of Superman #633 and were created by Greg Rucka, Matthew Clark, and Andrew Lanning.

Raymond Maxwell Jensen was a lowlife who got a job as a plant worker for a research center. Wrongly believing that the company payrolls were hidden in storage containers, Jensen opened one and was bombarded with energies from biohazard materials (which was actually waste collected by Superman when he traveled into outer space), which transformed him into a purple skinned, parasitic entity, becoming the Parasite. Any time he touched someone, he could absorb their physical and mental properties. Touching Superman would instantly absorb a sizable fraction of his superhuman powers (it was established early on that he is not capable of acquiring the whole of his powers). On one occasion, while attempting to absorb a greater portion of his adversary's powers than previously, his body disintegrated for a period of time due to the pressure to his cells. Despite these abilities, the Parasite became depressed because he could no longer embrace his wife and children. The Parasite made a number of reappearances before the Crisis, yet he never successfully found a means to permanently defeat Superman. Despite this, he had knowledge of his foe's alter ego and often used this to attack Clark Kent. Gaining sizable intellect from his multiple encounters with Superman, Parasite devised the means to reanimate dormant plant remains left behind from the Earth-Two supervillain Solomon Grundy, creating a newer and stronger version of the creature to plague his adversary. On another occasion, Parasite devised the means to transfer the powers of the hero Air Wave to the young hero's adversary Davy Jones temporarily.