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Preus was a xenophobic Kandorian enemy of Superman.

For years, Sergeant Preus had proudly served the Citizen's Patrol Corps, a police force that kept the peace in Kandor under the Kryptonian banner of El, their "creator." Due to the compression of time, more than a century had passed inside the bottle city (compared to only a handful of years outside it) during which Preus and his fellow Kandorians had come to worship "The Superman" as their "god in heaven" above.

The Corpsman was also a devout xenophobe who dispensed justice against "non-K" (Kandorian) dissidents that threatened their way of life, especially a citizen named Kal-El who forever tainted Paradise when he seemingly murdered several Kandorians.

Preus swore a solemn oath to make the murderer pay, not realizing that Kal-El was actually the Superman he and others had worshiped for so long. He was also unaware that the "victims" were constructs created by an alien telepath, Lyla, who had brainwashed Kal-El into believing that Kandor was a never-exploded Krypton. Eventually shattering the illusion, Superman escaped Kandor and confronted Lyla back in Metropolis. Preus followed them, but exposure to Earth's air and yellow sun drastically affected him, giving him strange, new powers equal to Superman's while amplifying his already-unbalanced racist views. Convinced that Kal-El defiles the legacy of "The Superman," Preus swore to assume that responsibility himself, and that all of the impure would die by his hand.

His xenophobia led him to a group of white supremacists in the American desert, who he forced into worshipping him and his views. However, in time, the people of "God's Peake" (as the camp was called) came to worship him as their cult leader. His increasing prominence eventually led both Martian Manhunter and Jimmy Olsen to investigate, only to have both of them captured by Preus and his men. This forced a confrontation with Superman, who at the time was dealing with the effects of Gog's synthetic yellow kryptonite, which had significantly aged and weakened Superman in a short period of time. So weakened, Superman was barely able to deal with Preus' legions alone, and quickly found himself outclassed by the (at the time) much more vital Preus. A last-ditch gambit using kryptonite to try and weaken Preus failed, as Preus revealed a previously unknown resistance to kryptonite. However, he was finally defeated when Superman attacked and destroyed a key portion of Preus' armor, rendering him unconscious. Afterwards Preus was injured from that attack and had to be hospitalized. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Powers

  • Kryptonian Physiology: Under the effects of a "yellow" sun, Preus possesses the same potential powers as an average Kryptonian. These include:
    • Solar Energy Absorption: Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of Preus's 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.
    • Heat Vision: Preus 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.
    • Super-Hearing: Preus's 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: Preus's vision processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
      This umbrella ability includes the following:
      • Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Preus can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. He can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, he can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. This also allows him to see the aura generated by living thing.
      • Telescopic Vision: This is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
      • X-Ray Vision: This is the ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. Preuss 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. The exact type of energy perceived—such as x-rays, cosmic rays, or some other energy invisible to normal humans—is unclear. This ability perceives an ambient energy source though, it does not involve the eye projecting a concentrated, possibly toxic, beam to be reflected back from objects.
      • Microscopic Vision: This is the ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.
      • Infrared Vision: Preus can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
    • Flight: Preus 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.
    • Invulnerability: Due to the interaction of his dense molecular structure and supercharged bio-electric aura, Preus is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, his extends this protection against toxins and diseases.
    • Superhuman Stamina: Preus is able to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an indefinite period of time. This based on his body converting yellow solar radiation directly to energy, but is limited by physiological and psychological needs to eat, drink, and sleep.
    • Superhuman Strength: Preus's 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 force, such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass.
    • Superhuman Speed: Preus is able to move at incredible speed by sheer force of will. This extends to his perceptions and allows for feats such as catching bullets in mid flight as well as covering vast distances in little or no time.
      This also confers:
    • Super-Breath: Preus 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.
    • Longevity: Preus can live longer than regular humans, remaining at his prime as long as he was under the exposure of the "yellow" sun.
  • Black Light Energy: A unique skill of the kryptonian enforcer Preus. Unlike typical supermen from krypton he possessed the unique ability to generate and emit jet black energy from both his hands and eyes which seemed to function on multiple wavelengths.
    • Black Heat Vision: Preus can emit heat based optic blasts which are both heat and concussive energy at the same time. Moreover, his heat vision can even affect Martian Manhunter even while he's intangible.
    • Energy Punch: Another skill used by the xenophobic Kryptonian was his channeling of said black energy through his fists in order to add an explosive charge to ever punch landed. Multiplying their striking power.

Weaknesses

Equipment

Preus wears a breastplate that protects him from telepathy and allows him to eavesdrop on telepathic conversations.

Related

Footnotes


Villains-secret-files
Superman Villain(s)
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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."

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