Parasite

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Parasite
Real name:	Rudy Jones
Species:	Metahuman
Base:	Metropolis
Affiliations:	Secret Society Legion of Doom
Rogue of:	Superman Justice League
Abilities:	Absorption of victim's energy, powers, and knowledge via physical contact
Voiced by:	Brion James Brian George

This article is Rudy Jones, the original Parasite. You may be looking for an article about a mysterious second Parasite.

Parasite, real name Rudy Jones, was a former janitor who was transformed into an energy-draining creature and would later lead a life of crime.

History

Origin

File:Rudy Jones.jpg

Rudy before he became Parasite.

A janitor at S.T.A.R. Labs, Rudy Jones had run into financial problems, namely losing at gambling, and soon fell in with Martin Lebeau. Jones agreed to steal a few experimental chemicals for Lebeau. In exchange, Lebeau would retire the debt to Rudy's bookie. However, they were intercepted by two security guards and made a run for it. Lebeau jumped into the truck and took off with Rudy still in the rear with the canisters. Lebeau's hasty and reckless driving toppled the canisters, bathing Jones in the chemicals. He begged Lebeau to stop the car but was dropped off the side of the road, unconscious.

Hours later and left for dead, Rudy was sprung back to consciousness by draining the energy of a rat that came into contact with him. Jones took off and wandered aimlessly until a policewoman waylaid him. Jones lunged at her and sapped her energy as well, discovering that he also could take her memories and mimic her voice.

File:Parasites prisoner.jpg

Parasite holds Superman prisoner.

Realizing his new power, he named himself the "Parasite". With his new powers and appearance, Parasite went to Hob's Bay where he encountered Martin and tried to kill him, until Superman arrived. Parasite grabbed Superman when he came too close and drained his powers, weakening him. He then used Superman's powers to commit a series of crimes, but he eventually began to lose them. Learning that his energy reserve was temporary, Parasite decided to get his power back. Attacking Clark Kent in his own apartment, Parasite kidnapped and held his captive in S.T.A.R. Labs' boiler room, where he would intent to drain Superman's powers every twelve hours but Jimmy Olsen came to rescue Superman and they escaped. Parasite went after Superman, cornering him in a lab. He attempted to drain Superman's powers again but was tricked into touching a piece of Kryptonite, learning the hard way that he had also gained Superman's weaknesses. He absorbed the harmful energies of the Kryptonite rendering him all but comatose. He was held under custody in S.T.A.R. Labs until they designed his special cell in Stryker's Prison. After touching a roach, however, Parasite found that his powers were still in effect.

Metropolis Adventures

While Parasite spent his time in jail, Dr. Earl Garver threatened to destroy Metropolis with a bomb if they didn't pay a large sum of money in ransom. When Garver was knocked unconscious before telling anyone where the bomb was, Superman reluctantly turned to Parasite for help. Parasite agreed, but with a condition: if he helped Superman, he would get a large screen TV with every available channel as a way to kill his prison time faster. His captors, surprised and confused at first, complied and Parasite proceeded to extract information from Garver's mind, but he ended draining Garver's consciousness as well. Earl's consciousness took over and he still made his demand for ransom. Inside Parasite's mind, Rudy and Earl talked about Superman and Parasite's inability to retain his stolen energies. Garver promised to find a way to allow Parasite to keep what energies he stole (thereby granting Rudy the power he always wanted), but Rudy dismissed such a promise as infeasible. However, when Garver mockingly said Rudy preferred cable TV as opposed to his freedom, Rudy agreed to work with Garver. In Parasite's body, Garver lured Superman into an abandoned train station, where he found Garver's bomb and deactivated it, but Garver attacked him. They fought and Superman told him that the bomb would destroy the city along with them, but Garver didn't care as his own body was in an ambulance far from the blast. Realizing that Earl had no intent of sharing power (essentially leaving him for dead), Jones attacked. The two battled inside Parasite's mind, ending in a victory for Garver, however, Superman managed to drop the bomb into an abyss. Garver attacked the Man of Steel, causing both to fall into the abyss as well. Fortunately, Superman managed to escape relatively unharmed and Garver was thrown out just before the bomb exploded. After Garver's mind returned to his original body and then was delivered to the police, Parasite was returned to prison as well but he was enjoying his new TV screen.

File:Parasite interested.jpg

Parasite intrigued by Livewire's proposal to team up.

Some time later, the electrokinetic criminal Livewire helped Parasite break out of prison after realizing that Superman's power was too great for her to overcome. Parasite agreed to help but he was secretly planning to take Livewire's powers for his own. Freed from prison Parasite escaped in a boat and when Superman came, Parasite grabbed and stole the swimming abilities of a shark and battled Superman beneath the ocean. He was unable to take Superman's powers, however, and escaped. Later, Parasite and Livewire met up with each other and Parasite attempted to steal Livewire's powers. Livewire was wise to his plans, however, and shocked him away. She was still in need of his ability and let him live believing that Parasite had learned his lesson. The two entered into a power plant where they allowed their presence to be known in order to lure Superman in. Superman arrived, but the combined abilities of Livewire and Parasite were too much for him and Parasite managed to take his powers. When Livewire was preparing to kill Superman, Parasite took the opportunity to take her powers as well. He nearly used his new powers to defeat Superman, but he was defeated when he was exposed to water. Rendered comatose once more, he and Livewire were later delivered to the authorities.

Teaming Up

Years later, Parasite was recruited by Grodd to be a member of the Secret Society, a criminal group with the goal to destroy the Justice League. He assisted the team to free Clayface from Morgan Edge's clutches. In the first battle, Parasite drained Superman's powers. In the second battle, he drained Wonder Woman's powers. In the third battle, he drained Flash's powers but was knocked out. After the Secret Society was defeated, Parasite was delivered to the police.

Later after escaping, Parasite was seen battling Elongated Man and Metamorpho, draining their powers. When Parasite confronted Batman, he had been defeated by Captain Marvel and delivered to the authorities.

He eventually joined Grodd's Legion of Doom. But when Lex Luthor overthrew Grodd from leadership, Parasite disagreed. During the Legion's mutiny, he sided with Grodd's faction against Luthor's. While he fought hard, Parasite was ultimately defeated by Sinestro. Afterwards, Parasite, along with Grodd's other supporters, were frozen by Killer Frost and then blown up by Darkseid.

Successor

A large and monstrous-looking Parasite appeared over forty years after his predecessor's death.

Abilities and equipment

Due to his exposure to experimental chemicals, Parasite had the ability to temporarily drain energy from other living things through physical or mental contact. He also absorbed his victims' skills, powers, and memories, allowing him to mimic their voices and do anything that they could do. Over time, these stolen powers would slip away, returning to their original source. Consequently, Parasite took to restraining his victims in a secure location, periodically visiting them to re-drain them and maintain his powers.

File:Parasite drains Superman.jpg

Parasite drains Superman's powers.

Apart from the time limit on his abilities, Parasite's power had a few other flaws. His main weakness was his need for direct contact with his victims; although he seemed to be capable of draining energy through normal clothing, more specialized coverings (such as body armor or plastic sheets) were impenetrable to his powers. Attempting to drain someone with an especially strong mind carried the risk of allowing that person to assert his or her will over Rudy's, as demonstrated during the incident with Earl Garver. Additionally, Parasite tended to absorb the physical weaknesses of his victims along with their strengths, such as Superman's susceptibility to Kryptonite, or Livewire's vulnerability to water. The effects of these weaknesses can leave him comatose and cause him to suffer a massive memory loss. However, he is able to overcome that eventually.

Appearances

Superman: The Animated Series

• "Feeding Time"
• "Two's a Crowd"
• "Action Figures" ^(Cameo)
• "Double Dose"
• "Superman's Pal" ^{(Mentioned Only)}

Justice League

• "Secret Society"

Justice League Unlimited

• "Clash"
• "I Am Legion" ^(Cameo)
• "To Another Shore" ^{(Cameo in flashback)}
• "The Great Brain Robbery" ^(Cameo)
• "Alive!" ^(Cameo)