DC Database
Register
Advertisement

Prometheus was a Justice League villain who has an armor which can download any information into his brain.

Origin

The man that would become Prometheus was the son of two loving, hippie criminals who traveled across the United States with him. They committed indiscriminate murders and thefts, often of a brutal nature (similar perhaps to the criminal couple Bonnie and Clyde whose movie they saw on their first date and decided to emulate the criminal duo ever since). Eventually, they were cornered and forced the police to gun them down in front of their son, whose hair turned white from the shock. That night, he swore an oath to "annihilate the forces of justice" after escaping from the police station of his parent's killers by pretending to be one of a group of cub scouts touring the station. His true name has not been revealed.

Training

Prometheus obtained large sums of money both from his parents' hidden stashes of money and by extorting local mob bosses and contacts using his knowledge of their criminal activities. Leaving home at the age of 16, he used his money to travel the world in order to develop the skills he would need. His activities during this period included training as an underground pit-fighter in Brazil, working as a mercenary in Africa, joining terrorist guerrilla groups in the Middle East, studying silat under masters in the jungles of Malaysia, associating with the wealthy social elite in order to learn their secrets ('I learned to kill in a dozen different languages'), and attending only the finest in legitimate academic schools and universities.

Eventually Prometheus found the legendary Himalayan city of Shamballa, inhabited by a sect of monks who worshiped evil itself. Studying with them, he eventually became a favorite of their leader, who showed him their greatest treasure: an alien spaceship upon which their ancient monastery had been built. The leader then transformed into one of the aliens who had first landed there, and Prometheus was forced to kill him to obtain the key to the what Prometheus dubbed "The Ghost Zone", an infinite expanse of white nothingness that was supposedly the space between dimensions (the angel Zauriel referred to this zone as limbo; it was also used by the White Martians as a form of Hyperspace to effect interstellar travel; the people of Krypton knew it as the Phantom Zone).

Prometheus eventually returned to the United States and went on a killing spree where he shot and killed all but one of the police officers who murdered his parents along with their families, so the one could share the pain of being a survivor of a massacre of loved ones. He eventually decided to kill the entire Supreme Court, but relented when he discovered the Justice League and decided they would be the pinnacle of his targets against dealers of justice. Prometheus would eventually build himself a small, lopsided wooden house in The Ghost Zone along with his first costume and helmet to download information into his mind and advance his technology. Here, he was free to build up a resistance to heroes such as the Justice League of America, unhindered by Earth's authorities or heroes.[1]

Prometheus Unbound

Prometheus made his move against the Justice League with the intention of destroying them and the justice that they stood for.

By doing so he lured and attacked a contest tour winner of the JLA Headquarters named Retro, murdering him, and stealing his identity to gain access to the Justice League Watchtower on the Moon.

JLA 17 textless

Prometheus defeats the Justice League

Once inside the headquarters, Prometheus almost single-handedly defeated the Justice League: he shot the Martian Manhunter with a dart that turned his shape-changing power against him after setting him ablaze, infected Steel's armor with a computer virus which commanded the suit to damage the Watchtower, hypnotized the Huntress into unconsciousness, attacked Green Lantern with a "Neural Chaff" that rendered his ring useless, trapped the angel Zauriel in the Ghost Zone, tricked the Flash into believing that he had planted motion sensitive bombs that would explode if the Flash used his powers, and defeated Batman in hand-to-hand combat with the aid of a device that downloaded the skills of the thirty greatest martial arts masters in the world (including Batman) into his brain and a pair of lights on his shoulder that blinked in an erratic pattern to cause disorientation.

At the time, the Watchtower was filled with innocent civilians that the League had invited for a tour. With the Watchtower under his control, Prometheus then demanded that Superman - the only hero he could not defeat - commit suicide in exchange for the lives of the hostages, sacrificing the two things which he presumed would matter to Superman: his image and his reputation.

However, Prometheus's best laid plans were laid to waste by an unforeseen variable: the anti-hero Catwoman, who incapacitated him with a simple whip crack to the groin. Having sneaked onto the Watchtower disguised as Cat Grant looking for things to steal, Catwoman's intervention bought Steel the time he needed to beat Prometheus' virus and, in turn, override Prometheus' helmet. Prometheus then escaped to the Ghost Zone.[2]

Injustice Gang

Prometheus later returned as a part of the second Injustice Gang created by Lex Luthor. He was able to use the Ghost Zone and a White Martian spaceship left over from the Martian Invasion within it to infiltrate the Watchtower.[3] He almost killed Oracle by defenestrating her when she refused his deal of wanting her to betray the JLA in return for being able to walk again. Oracle managed to survive by grabbing the hand on the face of the Clocktower, simultaneously damaging Prometheus's helmet.[4]

He then had a final rematch with Batman who had, in the meantime, managed to unlock the secrets of Prometheus' helmet. Batman replaced the martial arts skills Prometheus had downloaded into his mind with the physical skills and coordination of Professor Stephen Hawking, a famed scientist with Muscular Neuron Disease that rendered him a drooling catatonic. Later, Batman was forced to intervene in order to prevent Huntress from killing the helpless Prometheus, firing her from the JLA in the process.

After the defeat of Mageddon, Batman and Martian Manhunter conceded that no prison could hold Prometheus, so they placed him in a psychic loop to imprison his mind, trapped in his own memories. In this state, he was sent to Blackgate Prison. Martian Manhunter kept him in this state for the rest of his life to be tormented by the prison staff. During this time, Prometheus' "identity" and all his equipment was used by his protegé, Chad Graham. Upon Martian Manhunter's death at the hands of Libra, Prometheus regained control of his own mind and broke out of Blackgate after killing the guards who tormented him. Enraged that his successor hadn't tried to rescue him and ruined his reputation by making him look foolish, he tracked Graham down and killed him along with several members of the Blood Pack.[1]

Cry for Justice

 Main article: Justice League: Cry for Justice

Prometheus blamed the Justice League for the years that he spent with his damaged mind and sought revenge. He instigated a global crime wave that saw the deaths of Freedom Beast, Gloss, Tasmanian Devil, and Sandstorm of the Global Guardians as part of a distraction in order for him to infiltrate the JLA satellite and place teleportation devices in the home cities of various heroes which will "strand" the cities in various places in the past and future. In the process, he maimed Roy Harper and single-handily defeated the JLA until he was subdued by Donna Troy.

Green Arrow kills Prometheus

Death of Prometheus

While being interrogated by the JLA, Prometheus offered to reveal the locations of the devices and deactivate them in exchange for his release. After one of his devices severely devastated Star City and inflicted millions of fatalities, including Roy Harper's daughter Lian, Prometheus' ultimatum was reluctantly met to save the cities. After Prometheus returned to his lair, he is ambushed and killed by Green Arrow, who shoots an arrow through the villain's head.


Abilities

Equipment

  • Body Armor: The costume is made ​​of a lightweight and durable material, which is intertwined with synaptic relays to increase their formidable fighting prowess and covered with microscopic nano-bites to affect the opponent's brain. The armor is also able to fly through the manipulation of magnetic forces and generate force fields.[7]
    • Chameleon Device: Prometheus used the device to pass by Captain Marvel and infiltrate the Justice League satellite, the device allows him to imitate the voice and facial mannerisms of a person.
  • Computerized Helmet: Is connected to his brain and central nervous system.
    • Download Capabilities: Able to download any kind of information into his brain and download movements, mannerisms, and fighting styles into his central nervous system. He has been able to download the Watchtower's schematics onto a CD and from there download them straight into his brain which allows him to automatically know where everything is in the Watchtower. Has been able to download a CD into his central nervous system that contains 30 of the World's Best Martial Arts Masters, one of them being Batman's fighting style.
    • Hypnosis: By flickering the lights at a rate of 10 cycles per second, he can induce hypnosis.
    • Neural Chaff: Given off by the helmet, neural chaff disorganizes thought processes. It interferes with brain electricity. It is like giving thoughts the 'flu'. Exclusively used against heroes like Green Lantern who needs to concentrate to use his ring.
    • Memory Enhancement: Enhances his short-term memory.
    • Pain Killers: His helmet releases endorphin to take care of any pain he feels.

Transportation

  • Cosmic Key: Possessed the key to The Ghost Zone that only he could use, allowing him teleportation abilities via another dimension as well as a hidden extra-dimensional base. It can also be used to inflict total molecular disintegration of a target.

Weapons

  • Microscopic Nanobots: Attacks central nervous system, infecting the brain of a human and/or metahuman through electronic impulses, causing the individual to lose control of his abilities for 5 minutes.
  • Energized Nightstick
    • High Hit-Impact: Able to destroy boulders and anvils with a single light strike.
    • Computerized Reprogramming: capable of hacking and alternating internal electronic equipment.
  • Wrist Gauntlets: Fires and/or launches different kinds of ammo and artillery.
    • Molecular Toxins Dart: Attacks morpho-plastic nervous system. It gives complete spastic paralysis. The victim doesn't have any control over their physical structure. It stops his molecules from forming polymer chains. This effect turns the victim into a puddle and can last about an hour. Used against opponents with malleable bodies like Plastic Man and Martian Manhunter.
    • Mini-Rockets
    • Incendiaries
    • Grenades
    • Unique Bullets: Special bolts created by Vulcan/Hephaestus that were sold to him by Mercy Graves capable of inflicting great damage even against Martians & Kryptonians.

Related

Footnotes



Injustice League Unlimited 002
Justice League Villain
DC Rebirth Logo

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."

Batman Villains 0003
DC Rebirth Logo

Batman Villain(s)
This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."

Green Arrow 0024
Green Arrow Villain(s)
DC Rebirth Logo

This character is or was primarily an enemy of Green Arrow, or his supporting cast including Black Canary and Team Arrow. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Green Arrow Villains."

Advertisement