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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Kal-Il was Ultraman, the last son of Krypton from Earth 3 and the leader of the Crime Syndicate. After the rebirth of the Multiverse, Ultraman was restored to existence as Kal-El of Krypton.
History
Origin
Kal-Il escapes Krypton
Kal-Il was born on the dying planet of Krypton that, through the machinations of his maniacal father Jor-Il, had caught the attention of its destroyer - the Anti-Monitor. Performing a shooting spree through a research lab, Jor-Il was able to secure a life pod for his only son, whom he regarded as his best chance of revenge.
Rocketing to Earth, Kal-Il was inundated with ideology and moralizing inside his rocket, warning him to be the strongest possible being, eschewing all weakness in himself and in others. His rocket crash-landed in Smallville, Kansas, right through the home of the dysfunctional couple Johnny and Martha Kent. Kal-Il gained power from the pieces of his home planet that landed with him and forced the couple to be his parents, staying with them until he was seven years old, at which point he killed them and burned their farm to the ground.
Over the following years, Kal-Il took the name Ultraman and began his pursuits of taking over Earth by murdering the President of the United States and forming the Crime Syndicate. During this time, Ultraman had a dysfunctional relationship with his teammate Superwoman. Unknown to him, Superwoman had a secret affair with Owlman.
Unfortunately for Ultraman and the Crime Syndicate, their stranglehold over the planet was pried loose by the arrival of the being that had destroyed Krypton, who also sought to destroy the Earth.[1] As their world began to crumble beneath them, the fabric between universes was weakened by the actions of another powerful being in another universe, allowing the Syndicate to escape in a dimensional rift. However, they were trapped in interdimensional Limbo for five years, with only the Outsider and Atomica successfully crossing through.
Forever Evil
Earth's new tyrants
In a plot to free his masters, the Outsider manipulated the new dimension's heroes into giving him access to Pandora's Box, freeing Ultraman and the Syndicate from their interimensional prison and unleashing them onto the new Earth.
After disposing of the Justice League and their allies, the Crime Syndicate declared this new Earth theirs and invited the world's villains to share in their rule. Noticing the rising sun - its light a weakness of his, Ultraman moved the moon to create a perpetual eclipse.[2]
On his way to Kahndaq to stop an insurrection, Ultraman took a detour to The Daily Planet where he discovered this world's version of his wife Lois Lane. Having confessed he had wanted to leave Superwoman for a long time but kept her as a suitable vehicle for bearing his child, he prepared to force himself on Lois before being ambushed by Black Adam.[3] Though they dueled, Ultraman defeated Adam and broke his jaw.
When Ultraman finally made it to Kahndaq, he forcefully took Metallo's Kryptonite heart, killing him, to strengthen himself. Ultraman talked with Superwoman, who revealed that she was pregnant and that she had also overhead Owlman's plan to betray him. Though his wife encouraged him to be strong for their unborn child, Ultraman assured her he only needed to be strong for himself. [4]
Crime Syndicate vs. Injustice League
When Power Ring was killed by Sinestro, his ring sent vibrations through the Multiverse which drew the attention of the one who destroyed the Syndicate's world, prompting Ultraman and his team to prepare in anticipation of the incoming threat.[5] As they were distracted, the Injustice League, led by Lex Luthor took the opportunity to attack them and inadvertently freed the Syndicate's prisoner from their Earth Alexander Luthor, who intended to kill the Crime Syndicate.[6]
As the surviving members of the Syndicate tried to stop the now free Mazahs, Superwoman chose this time to reveal to her teammates that she had been working with Mazahs the entire time, as he was her lover and the real father of her unborn child. Ultraman, enraged, fought Mazahs, regretting having not killed him when he had the chance before tiring from lack of Kryptonite.
When Mazahs and the rest of the Syndicate were defeated by the Injustice League, Ultraman returned and attacked Lex Luthor, nearly killing him, but was weakened when Black Adam and Sinestro moved the moon back into rotation and exposed Ultraman to sunlight. Lex, now with an upper hand, defeated and humiliated Ultraman, who begged Lex to kill him. Lex refused, forcing Ultraman to live with the fact that he was the weakest man on the planet. Ultraman was then imprisoned by the Justice League, having been restored to power.[7]
Darkseid War
Ultraman was later set free from his imprisonment by the combined efforts of Cyborg and Power Ring, (who had both been possessed by Grid and Volthoom, respectively), to enlist his help in defeating Mobius, the Anti-Monitor, who was the same being that destroyed Ultraman's Krypton and universe.[8] In the penultimate fight, Ultraman viciously assaulted Mobius, landing several punches, but was vaporized with a concentrated blast of antimatter, killing him.[9]
Rebirth
Confronting Superboy
Ultraman and the rest of Earth 3 was resurrected in the multiverse when it decided to heal itself as to how it thought Earth 3 should be. Witnessing the Symbol of Doom in the sky on their Earth, the Crime Syndicate learned about Perpetua and started a mass-slaughter to gain her notice, with Ultraman himself encouraging the bloodshed. Their plan was successful as they gained an audience and she directed them to lead their people, who had been turned into Apex Predators, as part of her army.[10]
When Superboy accidentally crashed into Earth 3, the Crime Syndicate immediately attacked him,[11] but Utraman defended him and soon as the other supervillains were out of sight, Ultraman threw Superboy into a volcano, where he questioned the boy about where he came from. Ultraman already knew Superboy was from another universe and told the boy he was Clark Kent, just like his father.
During Superboy's imprisonment at the volcano, Ultraman would bring him food and occasionally, he would make fun of him for his devotion to his father and even attack him. But as time passed, Ultraman stopped hurting Superboy and instead, he forced him to listen to stories about his life. He would tell him that he had no real friends to show him respect, and then he would cry and left Superboy alone. Eventually, Superboy managed to escape.[12]
Death Metal
Earth 0's John Stewart, Superman of Earth 23 and Wonder Woman of Earth 6 struck Earth 3 to destroy the tuning fork powering her with Anti-Crisis Energy, after she had taken over the multiverse. As Ultraman and Superwoman fought the defeated John Stewart's allies, Owlman decided to betray his team, since he was already upset at the evil Batmen from the Dark Multiverse taking over Earth 0 and was hesitant at what Perpetua will do when remaking the multiverse. Using a gun made at Qward, he killed both Ultraman and Superwoman.[13]
Batman of Earth 0 later used his Black Lantern Ring to resurrect Ultraman along with Johnny Quick, in order to fight back against the forces of the Darkest Knight.[14]
Infinite Frontier
After the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal, a new Earth 3 is created, changing the history of several characters, including Ultraman. When Kal-El crashed into Earth, the Kents raised him and exploited his powers for free labour, teaching him that obedience was the ultimate virtue and that people who did not contribute to society were to be reviled as "freeloaders". They also manipulated him to be emotionally dependent on them so that he would never leave the Kent Farm.
In 1963, the Kents showed Kal his spacecraft and revealed to him that he was the last of his species, telling him they were all he had. They hoped this would make Kal afraid to ever break free of them, but in fact he turned on them, realising that they had only ever taken advantage of him.[15]
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Hunting Superman
Ultraman obtained a device which allowed him to drain his alternate universe counterpart's powers and journeyed through the Multiverse, murdering every Superman he could find. Val-Zod, the Superman of Earth 2, recruited Jon Kent to stop him, as the device was keyed to Kal-El and Jon was immune.[16] They confronted him on Earth 49, but Ultraman quickly sent Val-Zod and Red Tornado into the Phantom Zone and easily overpowered Jon, who was subconsciously holding back.
_Vs._Kal-El_(Earth_3)_0001.jpg){kind=link}
Injustice vs. Crime
Jon turned the tables on Ultraman by activating his new exotic energy powers and was able to punch him out of the sky, but was left exhausted and collapsed. Ultraman told Jon that he would take him back to the volcano and then travel to Earth 0 and murder his mother, when the Superman of Earth 49 suddenly appeared behind him and snapped his neck.[17]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Kryptonian Physiology: The Kryptonians of Earth 3 evolved to the point where they could gain great power from the radiation of their planet. The radioactive remains of Krypton give an even greater power to Ultraman who can absorb and process that radiation inside his own body to gain an immense array of abilities.[1]
- Kryptonite Radiation Absorption: Ultraman's cellular structure allowed him to absorb, store and metabolize Green Kryptonite to fuel all of his abilities. He can do this by either eating it[1] or inhaling it after turning the mineral to dust.[2]
- Ultra Strength: Ultraman was capable of effortlessly move an object as big as the moon to eclipse the sun even after being slightly weakened by it,[2] break bones,[1] defeat Black Adam in combat,[3] and hold his own against Mazahs even after the latter had absorbed the powers of several members of the Crime Syndicate, but Luthor was still able to overpower him.[7] He was strong enough to injure the Anti-Monitor to the point of making him bleed, although ultimately not as strong as him.[9]
- Invulnerability: Ultraman's body was virtually impervious to harm. He could endure being pummeled through many buildings by Black Adam, with the latter being unable to tear him apart,[1] and was unfazed when he was struck by the "Shazam" lightning (but it was still capable of making him bleed).[3] His invulnerability has its limits, and the Anti-Monitor was able to vaporize and kill Ultraman in seconds with a concentrated blast of antimatter.[9]
- Ultra Stamina: Ultraman's stamina was dependent on the quantity of Green Kryptonite his body's cells absorb, thus the more Green Kryptonite he absorbs the longer he can use his abilities.[3]
- Flight: Ultraman could defy gravity and fly at incredible speeds.
- Ultra Speed: Ultraman was fast enough to fly from the Earth's surface to the moon's orbit in a matter of seconds.[2]
- Ultra Breath: Ultraman's lungs could store and blow air with hurricane forces.[1]
- Enhanced Senses:
- Heat Vision: Ultraman's eyes can emit beams of concentrated heat that are hot enough to vaporize minerals[2] and calcinate human flesh.[1]
- X-Ray Vision: Ultraman can see things behind a solid, opaque object as if it were not there. He can focus this ability to "peel back" layers of an object, allowing hidden image or inner workings to be observed.[18]
- Microscopic Vision: Ultraman can see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level. He can also detect whether a person is a clone or from another dimension simply by observing their cell structure and DNA.[19]
- Ultra-Hearing: Ultraman's senses were augmented to the point that he could hear things like the signal of Jimmy Olsen's superwatch[1] and a little heartbeat in Superwoman's womb.[4]
- Kryptonite Radiation Absorption: Ultraman's cellular structure allowed him to absorb, store and metabolize Green Kryptonite to fuel all of his abilities. He can do this by either eating it[1] or inhaling it after turning the mineral to dust.[2]
Weaknesses
- Vulnerability to Sunlight (Formerly): The radiation of Earth's yellow sun breaks down the Kryptonite radioactivity flourishing within Ultraman's cells,[1] thus eliminating all of his ultrahuman abilities while leaving him in a weakened and emaciated state.[7]
- Green Kryptonite Depletion: When deprived of Green Kryptonite to empower him, Ultraman's abilities would slowly begin to fade, thus requiring Ultraman to recharge.[3][7]
Notes
- Ultraman was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, first appearing in Justice League of America #29. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Ultraman first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Justice League (Volume 2) #23 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis.
- Traditionally, Kryptonians are only affected by Kryptonite of their own native universe. This doesn't seem the case for Kal-Il since he can be empowered by the Kryptonite of both his home universe and the Prime universe. However, this was changed to the original weakness in Infinite Frontier.
Related
- 68 Appearances of Kal-Il (Earth 3)
- 54 Images featuring Kal-Il (Earth 3)
- 6 Quotations by or about Kal-Il (Earth 3)
- Character Gallery: Kal-Il (Earth 3)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Justice League (Volume 2) #24
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Forever Evil #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Forever Evil #3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forever Evil #4
- ↑ Forever Evil #5
- ↑ Forever Evil #6
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Forever Evil #7
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 2) #47
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Justice League (Volume 2) #48
- ↑ Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #1
- ↑ Superman (Volume 5) #8
- ↑ Superman (Volume 5) #9
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal Multiverse's End #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #5
- ↑ Crime Syndicate #1
- ↑ Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1
- ↑ Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2
- ↑ Suicide Squad (Volume 7) #5
- ↑ Suicide Squad (Volume 7) #6
  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 is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Justice League Villains." |
 This character is or was primarily a member of the the CSA (Crime Syndicate of America • Crime Syndicate of Amerika • Crime Society of America), in any of its various incarnations, either on Earth-Three, Earth-3, Earth 3, or in the Antimatter Universe. As with all other CSA members, they are an evil version of a hero of the mainstream DC Universe, primarily the Justice League. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "CSA members" category. |
 Superman Family member |