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Quote1 No. Superboy, Steel, the three of us once tried to take on the mantle of Superman. We continue to attempt to be worthy of him. If there ever was a time to make him proud-- --that day is today! Quote2
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Origin

In the distant past, a dying alien race created a number of sentient preservation ships designed to preserve their culture. They sent them into space with contact teams, intent on meeting other civilizations. When a small group of these aliens arrived on the planet Krypton, they were met by the militant Kem-L, who killed them (though one survived) and altered their ship. Its new mission was to preserve his ideal of Kryptonian culture by eradicating all others - and thus the device became known as the "Eradicator." In its original form, the Eradicator resembled a stylized small rocket. Its top section was a prolate spheroid, which exuded a blue glow and was approximately three times the size of an egg. This was connected via four thin mount brackets to a glossy orange tail fin section of equal length. The ten equally spaced fins each had the shape of a pointed quarter ellipse, with the tapered end extending slightly beyond the rear of the squat main cylindrical body tube.

The surviving alien, The Cleric, took the Eradicator and left Krypton with a group of Kryptonian followers, but they died soon thereafter, because the proximity to their planet was required for them to live. The Cleric kept the Eradicator for 200,000 years, until he encountered Superman on Warworld. With the device, the two exchanged memories, and the Cleric had a vision of Superman's death at the hands of Mongul. The Cleric wished to prevent this from happening, and the Eradicator transported them to his asteroid. He noticed that the device changed to protect Krypton's sole survivor, and they used it to heal their wounds, both physical and spiritual. Upon giving the Eradicator to Superman, Cleric rapidly aged and died as the link to the Eradicator extending his life was severed.

The Eradicator's fortress

Back on Earth, the Eradicator caused a number of bizarre events, including altering Jimmy Olsen into a malleable form, causing him extreme pain in the process. Superman threw the device into Antarctica, where it altered the ice to create the Fortress of Solitude, and possessed two scientists to create a portal to the Phantom Zone, where it drew Kryptonian artifacts to the Fortress. When Superman recovered the Eradicator, he learned that one of his ancestors, Kem-L, created it to prevent aliens from influencing Kryptonian culture. The Eradicator tried to transform Earth into a new Krypton, and erased Superman's memory of the device when he tried to interfere.

Professor Emil Hamilton, who had previously examined the Eradicator, restored Superman's memory, and Superman then went into the Phantom Zone to stop the device. He encountered a projection of Kem-L and learned that only the House of El can control the Eradicator, but he first had to undergo a rite of passage. When Superman completed it, he commanded the Eradicator to shut down, and it complied.

The Krypton Man

Later, the Eradicator altered Superman's psyche, turning him into the ideal Kryptonian and alienating his closest friends. Superman nearly killed Draaga, and when he tried to kill Jonathan and Martha Kent, he broke the programming, fought the Eradicator, and threw it into the Sun.

The Eradicator returned as an energy being. It tried to turn the Sun into a red dwarf (the type of star that Krypton once orbited), but Superman stopped it with help from Professor Hamilton.

The Last Son of Krypton

Eradicator Superman

Eradicator as seen in the Reign of the Supermen!

The Eradicator returned again. It created a body for itself based on Superman's, by tapping into the solar energy reserves of Superman's corpse and by creating an energy matter flux through which it was able to grant itself a pseudo organic form. This experience caused the eradicator to briefly believe itself to be a Kryptonian: in fact, it had deluded itself into believing it was Superman himself.

During this time, due to its enhanced senses, the Eradicator had to wear a special visor designed to cut down visible light, since its eyes were particularly sensitive to it. As a humanoid, the Eradicator joined forces with Superman to fight the Cyborg and stop him from destroying Metropolis. This was the second encounter between the two, as the Cyborg had nearly killed the Eradicator in a battle during the obliteration of Coast City. The Eraditcator, after having his identity to him revealed by the robots from the Fortress of Solitude, drained all the energy from it and regenerated and changed the appearance of his body. He was seemingly killed in an attempt to shield Superman from a lethal blast of Kryptonite-based fuel (the lessened blast of which helped fully restore Superman's powers).

David Conner

Following Superman's return, the Eradicator's apparently dead body was examined at S.T.A.R. Labs, and merged with Dr. David Connor. The merged Eradicator joined the Outsiders, and occasionally teamed up with Superman. The Eradicator dealt with Dr. Connor's personal life, and more of the device's history was revealed.

The original Eradicator program was revealed to still exist in the Fortress of Solitude's computers and, following the destruction of the Fortress in Superman's battle with Dominus, the Eradicator took the form of Kem-L, and again attempted to brainwash Superman. The David Connor Eradicator realized that the program was still active, and merged with the remains of the Fortress to control it.

The Fortress-Eradicator took the form of a gigantic Kryptonian battlesuit, and gained a form of multiple personality disorder based on his conflicting programming. When it learned of the origin of Krypto, Superman's pet dog-like creature, a creature with amazing powers, the shock to the original directive of Kryptonian purity was enough to correct its programming. It then decided that this dog shouldn't exist and tried to destroy it and Superman held him in suspended animation in his new Fortress, eventually telling him Krypto's full origin once he had learned it himself.

Most recently, the Eradicator returned to his [last?] humanoid form. He wears a new outfit which, like the "Krypton Man" costume, is a combination of elements from Superman's costume and Kryptonian robes. He has gained the ability to sense beings that should not be in the DC Universe, such as Mr. Majestic, which may be related to his original programming against alien influences. Later, the Eradicator was seriously injured by an OMAC. He was said during the Infinite Crisis to be in a coma at Steel's headquarters, Steelworks.

One Year Later

The Eradicator's fate during the One Year Later storyline (which is set one full year after Infinite Crisis) is unknown. A recent Superman story arc suggests he has turned into a villain in a possible future. A flashback shows Jor-El muttering about "damned Eradicators" while sending Kal-El into space, hinting at their attempts to destroy Krypton. Eradicator is seriously injured by an OMAC, and is left in a coma.

New Krypton

A new Eradicator has now surfaced in Markovia claiming to be an ambassador from New Krypton. Although he is not the original Eradicator, he has all the original's memories.

Doomsday

While Eradicator helped Geo-force in Markovia, Doomsday appeared and attacked him. Eradicator was quickly defeated and abducted. Later, after realizing Steel, Superboy, and Supergirl had also been abducted, they all worked together to try to escape. Superman showed up to help, but in the end Eradicator was killed by a new, more evolved Doomsday.

Powers

  • Kryptonian Clone: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, he possesses the same potential powers as an average Kryptonian. These include:
  • Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of his super powers as they are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system. His biological make up includes a number of organs which lack analogues in humans and whose functions are unknown. It is believed that between one or more of these and his bio-cellular matrix, "yellow" solar energy is stored for later use. This allows for the use of these powers to fade when yellow solar radiation is not available instead of immediate failure.
  • Superhuman Strength: His strength is augmented by yellow solar radiation interacting with the greater than human density, resilience and biological efficiency of his musculature. His strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables him to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application of force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass.
  • Invulnerability: This ability's levels have changed over time, at times allowing him to fly into a sun and emerge unharmed, as evident most recently through Krypton's red sun[1] and survive and directly entering directly into the Sun.
  • Superhuman Stamina: He is able to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. This based on her body converting yellow solar radiation directly to energy, but is limited by physiological and psychological needs to eat, drink, and sleep.
  • Flight: He is able to manipulate graviton particles to defy the forces of gravity and achieve flight. This ranges from hovering to moving in any posture, in any direction.
  • Superhuman Speed He is not as fast as the Flash, but he can achieve faster than light speed under his own power in space [2].
  • Super-Breath: He is able to create hurricane force winds by exhaling air from his lungs. He can chill the air as it leaves his lungs to freeze targets. He can also reverse the process to pull large volumes of air or vapor into his lungs.
  • Super Hearing: His hearing is sensitive enough to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With skill and concentration, he can block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency.
  • Enhanced Vision: He also possess a superior sensory arrangement of microscopic, telescopic, infrared and ultraviolet visual capabilities. He is able to see the entire spectrum. Microscopic, chemical, x-ray, auditory, ultrasonic, magnetic, photonic, etc.
  • Heat Vision: He can, as a conscious act, fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it. He can vary the heat and area affected.
  • Energy Projection: What distinguishes the Eradicator from other Kryptonians is his ability to manipulate energy. Eradicator is actually a being of pure energy, therefore he possesses vast energy manipulation abilities, ranging from being able to absorb, convert and release various forms of energy as powerful blasts from his hands or eyes.
  • Cybernetic Awareness: After an altercation, namely the Eradicator having fought Mr. Majestic, the Eradicator's programming had been enhanced in a way to make him more aware of his surroundings. The full extent of this new hardware alteration is unclear, although it has been shown that he can sense beings and gateways from alternate realities such as the Bleed.
  • Mechanokinesis: As a sentient supercomputer, the Eradicator has limitless cybrenized interactive capability, being able to control and operate the vastly more advanced crystal based nanotech computers of the Fortress of Solitude along with lower level technologies of earth.
  • Enhanced Intellect: Being a program from Krypton, the Eradicator possesses extensive knowledge of Krypton, is extremely intelligent, as well as the ability to compute and process information at incredible speed.
  • Telepathy: The Eradicator has vast mental abilities of it's own design, able to influence if not outright manipulate the thoughts of beings like Superman and Matrix.

Abilities

Weaknesses

  • Power Limitation: The Eradicator cannot see through lead with his vision powers.

Equipment

  • Kryptonian Battle-Armor: Ancient battle tech armor from Krypton's old ages, Eradicator Incorporated it into its system parameters able to conjure it as a crystal-tech construct around himself. It vastly increases his strength and other attributed abilities several fold, enough to barrel through the armies of Apokolips and even cause damage to the likes of Mr. Majestic.


  • Because of Eradicator's enhanced sight, he was forced to wear goggles to block out visible light. He no longer needs his goggles to see.

Related

Footnotes


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Superman Family member
This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Superman, and a member of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Family members" category.

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This character is or was a member of one or more of the teams known as the Outsiders. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category.

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This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

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