From DC Database
Preus
[[Image:|200px|center|Preus (New Earth)]]
Characteristics
Status
Occupation
Former member of the Kandorian Citizen's Patrol Corps.
Origin
History
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 and Abilities
Powers
Kryptonian Power Set: The following represents the potential superhuman abilities available to the average Kryptonian while operating within a yellow sun environment such as Earth even if demonstration of such abilities has not been explicitly shown in a canonical resource. Variations of these powers may apply depending upon the wielder in question.
Kryptonian Powers
A Kryptonian's cellular structure is more dense, resilient and biologically more effective than human tissue. Kryptonians do not seem to possess superhuman strength levels despite their enhanced cellular ability without constant exposure to yellow solar energy. Without such charging, their strength is equitible to that of an average Earth human who engages in regular physical activity. As aliens, they possess several organs whose functions are not yet disclosed or understood but are believed to be part of and perhaps even the source of his biomatrix force field and reclamation aura. A Kryptonian's body also stores energy actively within their bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to their body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of a Kryptonian's electromagnetic capabilities such as flight and heat vision. It also supplements their physical strength.
Under optimal conditions, this is the main source of a Kryptonian's super powers and are contingent upon exposure to solar radiation from a yellow sun star system.
A Kryptonian develops enhanced physical strength after absorbing a sufficient amount of yellow solar radiation. While the exact magnitude of a Kryptonian's strength level is unknown, it is generally accepted that they are sufficiently strong enough to lift 100,000 tons or more. The specific range is unknown as a Kryptonian's strength, like their other powers, may fluctuate over time. A Kryptonian's strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is through this act of conscious will that enables a Kryptonain to perform physical feats that are beyond merely applying applicable force (such as moving a mountain top without said rock crumbling under its own mass). At full power, a Kryptonian's normal strength levels are well into the multi-megaton range.
A Kryptonian's body is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces. In addition, their immune systems protects them from toxins and diseases. The most common explanations for their invulnerability is that they have a super-dense molecular structure and/or a supercharged bioelectric "aura" which acts as an invisible "force field" around their bodies within a few millimeters from their skin, and presumably within their bodies as well.
[citation needed] The proximity of this field to their skin means that loose clothes, for example, may be burned off of of them, while cloth that is close to their body is protected by the "aura;" This phenomenon is sometimes cited as a Kryptonian's reason for wearing a skin-tight bodysuit. It is this understanding which allows them to be able to carry and move objects that would collapse under their own mass, overcoming gravity or inertia tearing them apart around their human-sized hands.
A Kryptonian has the ability to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an undetermined period of time. Theoretically, Kryptonians have unlimited stamina as their enhanced nourishment is produced from the solar energy their cells process; however their base physical structures do need to process food stuffs as well as have the psychological need to eat and drink just as Earth humans do, despite the fact that their superhuman powers receives the majority of that power from a yellow sun. A Kryptonian does require sleep on occasion so they can dream. They can also hold their breath for an undetermined period of time.
A Kryptonian is able to manipulate graviton particles, in an unknown and apparently unconscious manner, to defy the forces of gravity. Under one Earth gravity, a Kryptonian is capable of speeds of multi Mach speeds in Earth's atmosphere. Their control of their flight is very precise and they can perform aerobatic feats such as hovering, flying backwards and even lifting great weights while flying.
A Kryptonian is capable of enhanced reflex action and the ability to move at incredible speeds by sheer force of will. A Kryptonian can match most other speedsters in their ability to perform super-fast movements, reactions, and processes. They can use this power to disarm opponents without heightened reflexes, catch bullets or shrapnel or cross vast distances in seconds.
Super-Breath is the ability to create hurricane force winds by blowing, and to chill their breath in order to freeze a target (this latter ability has also been called "freeze breath" and "arctic breath"). A Kryptonian can also breathe in large amounts of air, an ability used when dealing with and disposing things like clouds of poison gas.
Super-Hearing is the ability to hear any sound at any volume or pitch. With practice, a Kryptonian can develop enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency. As such, they can identify a person by their heartbeat, or pick out a single voice in an entire city.
The ability to fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Visually, the power is typically depicted as two beams of red light firing from the eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing a Kryptonian to work undetected. The maximum temperature of their heat vision is said to be around that of a nuclear detonation. The area of effect can be consciously determined by the Kryptonian in question, down to the microscopic level.
A Kryptonian also possess a superior sensory arrangement of microscopic, telescopic, infrared and ultraviolet visual capabilities. They are able to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Part of this mechanism is physical, part of it is believed to be psionic in nature. Abilities include:
- Electro-magnetic Spectrum Vision: Can see well into most of the EM Spectrum. He can see and identify radio/television and any and all broadcast/transmitted frequencies, allowing him to avoid detection through radar or satellite monitoring methods. A Kryptonian can see the aura that every living thing generates.
- Telescopic Vision: Telescopic Vision is the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. The total telescopic ability is unprecedented, but limited to some extent. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
- X-Ray Vision: The ability to see through any volume of matter except lead. A Kryptonian can see things behind a wall as if the wall were not there, or can "peel back" layer after layer of matter in their mind. A Kryptonian is able to focus their vision past layers of matter, literally seeing "through" them -- possibly perceiving x-rays, cosmic rays or other forms of energy invisible to normal human vision which pass through Earth's atmosphere (and solid objects) after emission from stars. Since it is passive, this ability would not generate harmful radiation in the same manner as a focused projection of hard X-rays.
- Microscopic Vision: The ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level (normal optical microscopes can only see objects down to the size of chromosomes).
- Infrared Vision: Allows a Kryptonian better visual accuity in total darkness.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Preus wears a breastplate that protects him from telepathy and allows him to evesdrop on telepathic conversations.
See Also
Links and References
Footnotes