A
villain published by
DC Comics. The
Parasite first appeared in
Action Comics #340 in 1966.
Rudy Jones was a small time crook always looking for a fast buck.
After a string of less than successful jobs, Jones took a job
in the maintainence areas of S.T.A.R. Labs. Having heard rumors
that major corporations sometimes transported payrolls in containers
marked as hazardous waste, Jones decided to find out if it was true
while transporting a load of waste with high security clearance.
Unbeknownst to Jones, the waste in question had extraterrestrial
origins, particularly from the planet Apokolips, the home of
Darkseid. When Jones opened one of the containers, the hazardous
waste in the container bathed Jones in weird radioactive energy, that
caused him to turn purple and become the inhuman villain known as
Parasite.
In his new form, Jones found that his touch would absorb the energy of
a person, feeding him with energy. If Jones stayed in contact long
enough, he would drain all of the life energy from a person, killing
them. When Parasite touches a person with superhuman powers, he can
absorb their abilities for a time. During that time, the hero in
question is unable to use his powers. Jones needs energy to continue
living so he is constantly looking for a new energy source.
The Parasite originally battled Superman, but when he tried to
absorb the Man of Steel's powers, he found himself overloaded and
collapsed from the strain. After that, he tried to only drain a portion
of Superman's power working his way up. He can absorb just particular
abilities from heroes. For instance, he could just absorb Superman's
heat vision if he wished. In one pre-Crisis story, he absorbed
Superman's popularity, making the Last Son of Krypton a public
outcast, until Superman was able to defeat the Parasite.
Lately, Superman's wife Lois Lane was replaced by the Parasite
for a time. The Parasite descovered Lane was Clark Kent's wife
and kidnapped her and took her place for a time. During that time he
tried to undermine Superman by striking at him from his personal
life. When the Parasite finally revealed himself, he and Superman
battled and during the ensuing battle, the Parasite died from unknown
causes.
Though not addressed by the comics specifically, the fact
that the
Parasite's ruse involved Clark and Lois's
sex life raises
some uncomfortable lines of thought. The question becomes how
far Jones was willing to go to convince
Superman that he was
really Lois. The best we can hope for is that
Kal-El was
really, really, really frustrated after those months.