I don't want to hurt anyone. Well-- that's not entirely true. I try and pretend I'm like everyone else. I brush my teeth and eat dinner and watch the evening news. I conform to the ethics they preach. But sometimes it's hard. Sometimes I forget I'm not working at the brig anymore. I miss it. I miss having prisoners to play with. The truth is. I don't want to hurt anyone-- I just have to. 
- — Master Jailer src
The Master Jailer, formerly known as Deathtrap, is a genius locksmith and inventor whose expertise for designing foolproof containment units for maximum security super-prisons made him a considerable fortune. Eventually, it became impossible for him to resist trying his hand at devising a prison even the Man of Might himself, Superman, could not escape from. The Master Jailer's daughter Carla followed in his footsteps as the hi-tech criminal Snare.
History
Security expert Carl Draper was hired by S.T.A.R. Labs to create a cell capable of holding Conduit, prompting his daughter Carla to ask if he could create a cell capable of a real challenge -- holding Superman himself. Creating the hologram Deathtrap as a false identity to hide his true one, Draper set out to capture Superman but failed, and subsequently became obsessed with proving he could actually contain the Man of Steel.
Carla, who had previously adopted the identity of Snare and clashed with Superboy, later used the Deathtrap hologram, now calling that identity Locksmith, without her father's knowledge, while Draper himself apparently adopted the Master Jailer identity while working for the villainous Manchester Black.
Having been psychically given knowledge of Superman's true identity alongside many other members of his rogues' gallery, the Master Jailer teamed up with Neutron in an initial attack on the White House with the aim of getting at Clark Kent by harming his childhood friends, then-Vice President Pete Ross and his wife Lana Lang.
Later, the Master Jailer ganged up on Superman alongside several other villains recruited to Manchester Black's cause, including Bizarro, Mongul, the Silver Banshee, and Metallo. Ultimately, Master Jailer and his allies were dispatched by Superman when he used Neutron as a nuclear missile to obliterate their island battleground.
Some time passed before Carl Draper re-emerged, this time as a security consultant in the employ Checkmate. Before long, Draper was promoted to Checkmate Head of Security, under the code name Castellan. He protected Checkmate from a number of attacks by an unknown party, who Draper himself privately suspected was Carla.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Other Characteristics
- Mental Disorder (Formerly): Draper has poor impulse control, making it all too easy for him to give in to his sadistic fantasies against his better judgement. Ever since being drafted into Checkmate, Draper has consented to a surgery to implant a computer interface into his brain to repress his unstable tendencies.[1]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
- Kryptonite
- Chain links
Related
- 14 Appearances of Carl Draper (New Earth)
- 4 Images featuring Carl Draper (New Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Carl Draper (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Carl Draper (New Earth)
Footnotes
  This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |
 This character was a member of the top secret government organization Checkmate. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Checkmate members" and "Government Agents" categories. |