Characters / Superman: The Animated Series – Earth Antagonists

Superman: The Animated Series character index
Main Characters (Superman) | Allies (The Flash) | Earth Antagonists (Lex Luthor) | Apokolips | Alien Antagonists

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Alas, not everyone on the Man of Steel's adopted planet appreciates his presence — and quite a few would love to see him Deader than Dead. Who are these mere mortals that would challenge him, be it through brains, gadgets, or serendipitous superpowers? Read on...

Luthor and Associates

Lex Luthor

See the Lex Luthor page.

Mercy Graves

Mercy Graves

Voiced by: Lisa Edelstein

Voiced in Latin America by: Lilo Schmid (Superman: The Animated Series), Edilú Martínez, Marycel Gonzáles (Justice League, Unlimited)

Voiced in French by: Emmanuèle Bondeville (Superman: The Animated Series)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

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• Battle Butler: Lex Luthor's.
• Beleaguered Assistant: Poor girl has to constantly be on the move with a boss like Lex Luthor barking orders every two minutes.
• Bodyguard Babes: A beautiful bodyguard who wears a chauffeur uniform with very tight pants.
• Bodyguard Crush: Totally one-sided on her part much to her chagrin.
• Canon Immigrant: She follows from Harley Quinn's lead as a character created for the cartoon prior to being added to the continuity of the source material (and in fact was integrated into the canon of the comic books two months before the same was done with Harley Quinn). She proved popular enough that she would subsequently appear in the comics and in other animated series like The Batman (with some slight changes) and Young Justice, and heavily inspired the character of Tess Mercer from Smallville.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Strongly implied due to her Bodyguard Crush as she's shown to be highly resentful of women getting close to Lex. Best seen in "My Girl" where Luthor became unusually taken with Lana Lang so Mercy decided to secretly follow her and discovered her passing information on Lex's activities to Superman, proudly reporting back to Lex and being happy about Lana being killed for her betrayal.
• Chickification: She unfortunately suffers this in Justice League, having retired from action and growing her hair out. Ironically she starts off her first appearance by being more confident, successful, and willing to stand up to Luthor than ever before, but Luthor then threatens her and she reluctantly agrees to help him. She may end the episode hanging up on him, but come Unlimited, Luthor is once again the head of Lex corp and Mercy is right by his side.
• The Comically Serious: Though she can be pretty snarky on occasions.
• Dark Action Girl: She's good behind the wheel or in a fight, and she understands entirely when Lex speculates that it'd be a Shame If Something Happened...
• A Day in the Limelight: Mercy is the protagonist of “Ghost In the Machine,” which acts similarly as Batman The Animated Series’ “Harlequinade” did for Harley Quinn: letting us really get to know the character for the first time, with her leading the adventure while the hero and her boss are supporting characters.
• The Dog Bites Back: Subverted first, as we're set up to think she'll turn on Lex for abandoning her to take the fall on one of his criminal deeds, but it turns out his hold on her is too strong. But she finally gets to do it for real in Justice League when he uses his prison call on her and she immediately hangs up. Then she goes right back to him two seasons later when he's "reformed" and running for President.
• The Dragon: To Lex Luthor.
• Expy: In Justice League, after growing out her hair and undergoing Chickification, she becomes this to Eve Teschmacher.
• Foil: To Harley Quinn in "World's Finest". Where Harley is flamboyant and hyperactive, Mercy is restrained and precise. They don't get along.
• Friends with Benefits: While there's no real romantic feelings between the two, it's heavily implied (especially in Justice League) that the two have more than a professional relationship going on. Their entire relationship oozes with emotionally oppressive relationship subtext, and Lex all but spells out in "Tabusa Rasa" that they've been intimate on a regular basis.
• Girl Friday: A bit of a Badass Normal with many skills and few scruples. She is very useful to Lex.
• Hidden Depths: When Lex is exposed as a criminal, he names Mercy the new head of LexCorp. She turns out to be a much better businessperson than Lex. As it so happens, cutting out Luthor's obsessive supervillain side-projects and selling off Luthor's anti-Superman resources has made LexCorp more profitable than ever. Luthor is rather nonplussed when he finds out.
• Honest Corporate Executive: In Justice League, when Lex was in prison, she took over his position to keep his company running, seemingly without have to commit any crimes unlike Lex when he was in charge to keep LexCorp financially afloat.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: She is way more level-headed than her boss, and seems to be able to keep up with her boss' commands. Of course, we see that when she became head of LexCorp, she was much more successful than Luthor ever was, especially due to not being obsessed with defeating Superman, and just less focused on supervillainy in general.
• Ignored Epiphany: After seemingly having cut ties with Lex for good in Justice League, come Unlimited she's back to being his righthand.
• Ironic Name: She's anything but merciful. Her last name, Graves, is a bit more on-brand.
• Kick Chick: Almost exclusively uses high kicks, except for her gun. She also wears a short mini-dress which almost always gives the viewer a great view of her legs even when she isn't fighting. No Panty Shots, though.
• Magic Skirt: She is always running around doing high kicks, being beaten up and sent flying by people, all in an outfit that looks more like a tight top than a full chauffeur's uniform.
• Ms. Fanservice: Even moreso in Justice League, to the point where the android Amazo (while channeling Flash) hits on her.
• Ninja Maid: For Lex.
• Putting on the Reich: She dresses in what's basically a Gestapo uniform sans the skull and swastikas.
• Recruited from the Gutter: In "Ghost in the Machine", she explains to Superman that Luthor took her in off the streets, explaining her loyalty to him. Unfortunately, Luthor doesn't return the sentiments and abandons her when the room collapses, prompting her to turn on him in Justice League.
• Servile Snarker: Not at first, but she does develop into a snarker. She's the one person to whom it's safe to deliver his As You Know speeches and the only one who will ask, sincerely, "Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?"
• She-Fu: She doesn't hesitate to show off what she's got when she fights.
• Statuesque Stunner: She's quite tall and attractive.
• Street Urchin: According to Mercy, she was one of these until Luthor came along took her in, cleaned her up, and made her his right-hand girl, explaining her hopeless Undying Loyalty to him.
• Villain Decay: In her appearances in Justice League, she has undergone Chickification at the cost of the Bodyguard Babes and Dark Action Girl aspect.

Metallo

Metallo (John Corben)

"No escape, Superman. Not this time. You can drown me, you can bury me, you can send your foot soldiers to do your dirty work, but I can take anything you can throw at me."

Voiced by: Malcolm McDowell (Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited), Corey Burton (Justice League)

Voiced in Latin America by: Rafael Monsalve, Renzo Jiménez, Rubén León (Superman: The Animated Series), Ezequiel Serrano, Roberto Colmenarez (Justice League, Unlimited)

Voiced in French by: Jean-Louis Faure (Superman: The Animated Series, 1st voice), Bruno Dubernat (Superman: The Animated Series, 2nd voice), Vincent Violette (Superman: The Animated Series, replacement voice), Éric Chevalier (Justice League), Magid Bouali (Justice League Unlimited)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

"There's the reality! The metal behind the man! It's all I am now! It's who I am...Metallo."

John Corben was a mercenary hired by LexCorp to steal an experimental Mini-Mecha and deliver it to Lex's (illegal) buyers. Superman's debut in Metropolis was crushing the robot and hauling Corben off to prison. While in jail, Corben contracted a fatal disease. Lex Luthor, thankful for Corben refusing to testify against him, offered a solution: upload Corbin's mind into an immortal robot body, powered by a Kryptonite core. Corben enjoyed the limitless strength and durability, but the lack of touch, smell and taste drove him insane. Especially once he found out that the fatal disease he contracted was deliberately applied to him by Luthor. Still, he is a dedicated enemy of Superman. He later joins the Secret Society in Justice League Unlimited.

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• Achilles' Heel: Corben's metallic body is too dense to float, causing him to sink to the bottom of the ocean when he's blown off Luthor's yacht. Similarly, removing the Kryptonite from his chest immediately shuts him down, though actually doing it is easier said than done.
• Adaptational Badass: In the comics, Corben was a small-time crook prior to his transformation. Here, he was a dangerous mercenary who was able to put up a fight against Superman even before becoming Metallo.
• Adaptational Intelligence: At the time the series aired, Corben was typically characterized as a stupid two-bit thug given too much power by becoming an indestructible robot powered by his main enemy's secret weakness. This incarnation was a fair bit smarter and more cultivated as a capable and cunning criminal mercenary, and while his post-roboticization plans often lack a bit of nuance, it's implied to be the result of Sanity Slippage rather than "just" not being particularly bright or creative.
• Adaptational Job Change: In the comics at the time, he was a small-time conman before becoming Metallo; while pre-Crisis, he was a journalist (and secretly a thief and a murderer). Here, he was a mercenary-for-hire.
• Adaptational Nationality: In the comics, he's American. Here, he's English.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: In the Post-Crisis continuity the series was primarily based on, Metallo was such an Ungrateful Bastard he murdered the scientist who saved him after a fatal accident by turning him into a robot For the Evulz. In the series, one of Metallo's few redeeming traits is that he's capable of gratitude; he's sincerely appreciative of Luthor saving his life before finding out he poisoned him, and he later helps Intergang to repay them for rescuing him.
• Adaptational Origin Connection: In the comics, John Corben and Lex Luthor had no relationship or interaction prior to the former's transformation. Here, Corben was a hired gun working for Luthor long before it, and Luthor was the one who bankrolled John's transformation - and poisoned him so he'd need it in the first place.
• Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Metallo was a moronic, power-hungry brute after Superman because he wanted to be famous. In this continuity, he's still ultimately a thug, but much more cunning and snobbish, and who wants revenge on Superman for increasingly worse defeats.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Downplayed. In the comics and the series, Corben was a violent criminal even before becoming Metallo. However, here Corben is something of a Tragic Monster, as his transformation takes away his ability to feel anything, causing the constant sensory deprivation to drive him mad.
• Alas, Poor Villain: While he's not a good man, the endings of "The Way of All Flesh" and "Action Figures" treat his fate as being horrifying and pitiable.
• Amnesiacs are Innocent: In "Action Figures", an amnesiac Metallo proves to be sincerely kind and altruistic without memory of his grudges and life experiences. Unfortunately, when his memories return he quickly reverts to form.
• Amnesiac Dissonance: When Metallo surfaces after being lost at sea in his premier episode, he has forgotten who and what he is. He is christened "Steelman" by the pair of children who find him and is (briefly) a hero, rescuing a truck driver from a flaming wreck. However, he recovers his memory at the end of the day and resumes his vendetta against Superman.
• Amnesiac Villain Joins the Heroes: After being left amnesiac, Metallo becomes a local superhero on the island he washes up on. Unfortunately, his memories return and he decides to exploit the two children who idolize "Steel Man" to get revenge on Superman.
• And I Must Scream: His fate at the end of both his first appearance as Metallo ("The Way Of All Flesh") and then his second one in "Action Figures."
  • The first time, he ends up sinking to the bottom of the ocean, leaving him stranded and forced to wander aimlessly until he managed to hit land by sheer chance. He was down there for a year, and the strain of it caused him to lose his mind.
  • The second time, he ends up Buried Alive beneath tons of solidified magma. He discusses it when he returns in "Heavy Metal."
    Metallo: Remember how you left me, Superman? Buried in rock?! I couldn't move. I couldn't see. I couldn't hear. But I could think, and all I thought about was how I was going to make you pay!
• Asshole Victim: His transformation into Metallo is entirely the result of Luthor ruining his life so as to manipulate him for his own ends, and his pain as he realizes how much becoming Metallo has cost him is genuine... but he's also a remorseless sociopathic mercenary who has hurt a lot of people, so the audience's sympathy for him is limited.
• Attack Its Weak Point: Disabling his Kryptonite core is usually the only way to stop him.
• Ax-Crazy: His Sanity Slippage after his transformation causes him to become increasingly erratic and violent. He was already a sadistic killer, but afterwards he lost any impulse control he had prior.
• Blessed with Suck: He gets an immortal, super-strong body powered by Superman's biggest weakness...at the cost of losing all tactile sensation.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: The fake flesh on top of his metal skeleton lacks nipples.
• Brain Uploading: After Lex poisoned him, his brain was put into a robotic shell.
• Cosmic Plaything: Corben is a bad man long before he goes insane, but the universe goes out of its way to screw him over to the point he becomes somewhat sympathetic. Only Metallo can claim to have been subjected to a Fate Worse than Death multiple times.
• Create Your Own Villain: He was certainly dangerous before becoming Metallo, but Luthor poisoned him to make sure he'd agree to be transformed into a cyborg. The result was a violent, unhinged madman with strength equal to Superman's and a grudge against Luthor, though Metallo very quickly switches to solely wanting revenge on Superman.
• Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Downplayed. Corben was a violent mercenary long before he became a cyborg, but his Emergency Transformation took away his ability to feel anything. The constant sensory deprivation drove Corben mad and made him much more erratic and prone to sudden violent outbursts. He was already dangerous before, but afterwards he had super-strength and absolutely none of the impulse control he had prior.
• Cyborg: In "The Way of All Flesh", Corben becomes Metallo; his original organic brain sealed inside a completely artificial body of virtually indestructible metal.
• Didn't See That Coming: Metallo's plan to kill Superman for their past altercations worked well up to the point that the hero arrived, at which point he ignored the hostage completely. Because he didn't account for what to do if Jimmy entered the fight to protect his "friend", he loses again.
• Didn't Think This Through: Revels in gaining an indestructible cybernetic body that saves him from a deadly virus and renders him immune to pain, but finds out the hard way that it also removed all his pleasurable senses, and that the transplant is irreversible.
• Easily Forgiven: In his first episode, he wanted to kill Luthor for ruining his life. But come the time of JLU, he apparently doesn't care anymore about his old grudge when the two of them join Grodd's Legion of Doom despite not directly interacting with each other, as shown by his lack of taking any action against Luthor during his time there.
• Easy Amnesia: In "Action Figures", Metallo's time on the bottom of the ocean wiped his memories clean. He briefly becomes a hero to some local children...until he remembers Superman.
• Emergency Transformation: He agreed to be turned into Metallo after he was infected with a rare, incurable disease, as it was the only way to save his life. Clark and Lois later discover Luthor had Corben's doctor poison him specifically so he'd agree to the procedure.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Metallo is many things, but ungrateful isn't one of them. He's very appreciative that Luthor saved his life, and even after his Sanity Slippage sets in, he's willing to back down from a violent outburst when Luthor persuades him that he's working on restoring Metallo's senses. It's only when he realizes Luthor poisoned him that he turns on him. He also works as a bank robber for Intergang after they rescue him despite viewing it as beneath his talents because he wants to repay them.
  • In "Superman's Pal", he seems sincerely creeped out by just how ruthless his girlfriend Tina is, especially when she tries to crush Jimmy to death in a trash compactor.
  Metallo: And I thought I was cold.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Subverted. In "Heavy Metal", he gets a girlfriend named Tina, but it's heavily implied he's just using her for revenge on Superman. If anything, he seems more disturbed by her ruthlessness and metal fetish than anything else, and shows no qualms about throwing a bus into a room he thought she was in.
• Evil Brit: He's played by Malcolm McDowell and is a thoroughly evil figure.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When John Henry Irons tries to stop him from killing Superman in "Heavy Metal", Metallo punches him and half-mockingly questions why he ins't grateful, when Metallo is going to make him famous for being the witness to Superman's death.
• Exorcist Head: Because Metallo can now shoot Kryptonite blasts from his eyes, Superman tries grabbing him from behind. Metallo then demonstrates that turning his head around 180 degrees is another new feature of his.
• False Reassurance:
  • When he mentioned that he couldn't feel anything, the doctors said there would be "adjustments" to be made. He assumed they meant that his new body needed some fine-tuning; what they actually meant was that he'd have to get used to his new condition.
  • When he goes to confront Luthor, he tries to explain that, in time, he would be able give Metallo his senses back (or transplant Corben’s brain onto another organic body). Metallo is not fooled this time.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's often friendly and grinning, but he is usually assuming the pleasant persona to mock and insult his foes.
• Freudian Excuse: Downplayed. He was already evil, but becoming Metallo took away all his senses, leaving him in a state of perpetual dissociation and sensory deprivation. Even a good man would have trouble staying sane under those conditions, and since Corben was a hedonist prior to his transformation, it very quickly drives him around the bend. "Action Figures" also subtly implies he has one by showing that the amnesiac Metallo is natural heroic, implying something happened in his life that changed him for the worse.
• Friendly Enemy: He lacks the same hatred he has for Superman towards Steel and treats fighting him as a fun game, as opposed to his usual virulent raving about how much he hates Superman.
  Steel: Call me Steel.
  Metallo: Steel, Metallo. The meeting of the metals. Well then, Mr. Steel, may the best alloy win.
• Full-Conversion Cyborg: Corben's body was fully converted into metal, and it's hinted his brain is the only organic part of him left.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: Spending a year on the ocean floor with no human contact causes him to forget his identity. The amnesiac Metallo proves friendly and even heroic, but before long he regains his memories and returns to his old ways.
• Gone Horribly Right: Corben refuses to testify against Luthor both out of genuine loyalty and because he expects a reward. Luthor does make Corben's stay in prison much more comfortable, but decides Corben has proved so loyal he'd make an excellent candidate for becoming his Cyborg super-soldier Metallo.
• The Hedonist: Before his transformation into Metallo, he was shown to be a reckless and thorough hedonist who enjoyed life's pleasures from good food to women. It's how Luthor managed to give him an incurable disease by poisoning his food and what instantly drove him insane by being trapped in a sensory-deprived body.
• Humongous Mecha: At the climax of the pilot, he hijacks the Lexo-Suit 5000, a combat machine which, at this point, is regarded as the most powerful weapon on the planet.
• Identity Amnesia: After spending a year alone walking along the ocean floor, Metallo has gone so long without social contact that he's forgotten who he is, and at the end of "Action Figures" he focuses all his energy into not letting his mind wander again.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: After Corben is incarcerated at the end of the three-part pilot, Luthor bribes the staff of Stryker's Island into providing John with any luxury he wants as a reward for refusing to implicate Luthor to the authorities. However, Luthor decides that Corben is so loyal that prison would be a waste of his talents, and secretly has him infected with a rare disease so he can manipulate him into becoming Metallo. From there, Corben's life quickly spiral into misery.
• Kick the Dog: He sexually assaults Lois in "The Way of All Flesh" by forcing a kiss on her.
• Kick the Morality Pet: When he's left amnesiac in "Action Figures", two children take him in and encourage him to use his powers for good. The amnesiac Metallo sincerely bonds with them, but once he gets his memories back, he immediately exploits their trust to lure Superman into a trap and shows no qualms about endangering their lives to get his revenge.
• Logical Weakness: Being made of indestructible metal may have its advantages, but it means he sinks like a stone. Once he lands in the ocean in "The Way of All Flesh", he sinks to the bottom in less than a minute.
• Laser-Guided Karma: His refusal to rat out Luthor causes Corben a lot of misery in the long-term.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Since Metallo was still locked up in prison during the events of "Feeding Time" and has been traveling underwater for a year now, he's not familiar with Superman's S.T.A.R. Labs-built Anti-Kryptonite Suit. He initially (albeit sarcastically) mistakes it for a spacesuit.
• Manipulative Bastard: After Metallo's memory returns, he takes advantage of the children who took him in's trust by spinning a story about being an alien robot whose mission to deliver an important message to Earth's leaders is threatened by enemy agents. The children help him disguise himself and keep his presence secret. It's also implied he's just stringing along his girlfriend Tina in "Heavy Metal", and he recklessly endangers her life without a care.
• Man of Kryptonite: He gains a super strong robotic body powered by the very substance that can weaken and kill Superman.
• Misplaced Retribution: In his later appearances, he seems to hold Superman directly responsible for all his misery, when Luthor was also the cause of a great deal of it.
• Motive Decay: Zig-Zagged. Initially, it seems to be played straight; after "The Way Of All Flesh", he seems only interested in defeating Superman and not in avenging himself on Luthor. However, Fridge Brilliance clarifies that there's three easy reasons why he's after the Man of Steel:
  • The first is that Corben has his own grudge against Superman. The Man of Steel interfered with his attempts to avenge himself on Luthor, which would have been bad enough, but the end result of that little encounter was that Corben spent a year wandering blindly along the bottom of the ocean. Not a week after that, a fight with Superman left him buried alive under tons of rock for weeks, maybe months, until Intergang dug him out. No wonder he's pissed off!
    • One could also make the argument that Corben would never have been infected by Luthor in the first place if Superman hadn't been around. Not a very sane argument, but, after what Corben's been through, it's very doubtful that he's stable.
  • The second reason is that Corben needs to kill Superman before he can get revenge on Luthor. Superman is far more of a threat to Metallo than Luthor is — Corben can just smash his way into Luthor's office and rip Luthor's head from his shoulders whenever he wants, but to do that, first he's got to stop the Big Blue Boyscout from interfering with his unlawful vengeance.
  • Finally, the reason why Corben would focus on Superman over Luthor is that Superman is the person responsible for some of the worst of his pain and offers him nothing in return, whilst Luthor (who is a very charismatic and persuasive sort of individual) can make the argument that he can find a way to reverse the transfer or at least upgrade his body with tactile input.
• Naked Nutter: As John Corben goes mad from the Sense Loss Sadness of his Metallo body, he starts ripping off his clothes...along with his human-looking skin.
• Never My Fault: He initially hates Superman for getting him arrested, ignoring that it was because Corben tried to murder Lois and went on a destructive rampage in robotic armor. It does become more understandable afterwards as Superman twice indirectly condemns Metallo to the aforementioned And I Must Scream situations, but those incidents were caused just as much by Metallo's actions as Superman's and were self-defense.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: His robotic body makes him difficult to kill.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Corben was the first real bad guy Superman stopped, and although the Lexo Suit seemed to put him on the ropes, Supes turned it into a Curb-Stomp Battle. As Metallo, Superman can't fight him head-on thanks to the kryptonite inside of him, turning Corben into a battle that can't be overcome with raw strength unless he gets taken by surprise.
• Oh, Crap!: Most of his appearances have Metallo's smug, cocky demeanor give way to sheer panic once the tables are turned on him.
  • At first, Corben is happy, and even gloats, that he can't feel pain from being shot at by the police or Superman's punches, especially after the latter gets weakened by Kryptonite. When Lois shows up to report on the fight, Corben grabs her and plants a Forceful Kiss on her, which is when he realizes that not only can he not feel pain, but he can't feel anything.
  • At the climax of "The Way of All Flesh", Metallo panics after he lands in the ocean when he realizes he can't swim, and begins to sink.
  • Metallo has a short moment of dismay in "Superman's Pal" when he realizes that Jimmy Olsen has just removed his Kryptonite power source with battery acid. He has time for a brief shriek before he collapses.
• Pragmatic Villainy: In "Heavy Metal", he stops Tina from crushing Jimmy in a trash compactor mainly because he needs Jimmy alive to lure in Superman. He does seem legitimately disturbed she'd go that far just because she she finds him annoying.
• Rage Against the Reflection: Metallo finally realizes he's stuck with his Sense Loss Sadness and is trapped inside of lifeless robot body for the rest of time. He is no longer John Corben, tearing much of his artificial skin off and he smashes that man's reflection in the mirror.
• Redemption Rejection: In "Action Figures", Metallo ends up befriended by two children due to his memory loss and they encourage him to save others and do some good. But after he regains his memories he immediately returns to his old ways, and manipulates the two of them and their friendship in an attempt to destroy Superman.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: When Superman tries to explain to Corben that Luthor is the latter's enemy for turning him into Metallo, Corben's response is to credit that Luthor made him the man he is today, or the virus would've killed him otherwise. To his credit, Corben's not far off: Luthor made him the man he is today by tampering his food with the virus, and he would've been dead if not for the procedure that made him Metallo (the twist is, it was all part of his plan).
• Robotic Psychopath: He's a skilled mercenary upgraded to a cybernetic body, a process that made him even deadlier, but drove him insane.
• Sadist: He takes a lot of joy in hurting people.
• Sanity Slippage: Corben was never a good guy, but he was sane and rational for the most part. His transformation into Metallo made him unable to feel anything, which slowly wound up driving him insane; the fact he had to spend months trapped on the bottom of the ocean didn't help matters either.
• Sense Loss Sadness: The inability to taste, smell or feel anything drives him to the edge in less than a day.
• Series Continuity Error: What's left of his clothes and skin at the end of "The Way of All Flesh" is completely destroyed by the beginning of "Action Figures," leaving him with his fully robotic appearance from the comics, but for his remaining appearances throughout the DCAU, he's somehow reverted back to his "Way of All Flesh" appearance pictured above.
• Smug Snake: He tends to be very condescending to everyone.
• Starter Villain: Even though he didn't become Metallo until later, Corben and his gang were still the first criminals that Superman had to contend with in the series' premiere. As Metallo, he made four appearances in the series before Superman formed the Justice League, though Lex Luthor and Darkseid are not only more recurring, but trump him in danger.
• Super-Strength: His robot body makes him far stronger than a normal human being.
• Survival Mantra: At the end of the episode, after Metallo is trapped in solidified lava and unable to see, hear, or move, he resolves that he must never let his mind wander and forget who he is again and continually repeats "I am Metallo" in his head.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: Luthor had him infected with a terminal and rare disease by putting it in his food.
• Tempting Fate: After Metallo boasts he can take anything Superman can throw at him.
  Steel: Yo, Metallo, take this! [throws his sledge hammer at him]
• That Man Is Dead:
  • As he undergoes a mental breakdown in "The Way of All Flesh", he declares that he has become no more than the metal that makes up his body.
  Metallo: There's the reality! The metal behind the man! It's who I am now: Metallo!
  • After regaining his memories in "Action Figures", Metallo declares to the two children who took him in that his amnesiac persona "Steel Man" is dead and gone.
  Metallo: Steel Man? Steel Man's dead.
• There Is No Cure: Corben is turned into Metallo by Luthor by having his mind implanted into a bionic body. At first, Corben's happy he now possesses Super-Strength, can't feel getting shot by the police, and can go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel himself, especially since he now possesses a piece of Kryptonite. However, when Corben plants a Forceful Kiss on Lois Lane, he realizes he can't feel anything at all. When he confronts the scientists Luthor hired for the procedure, Corben is told that he has to get used to not feeling anything anymore because the procedure is irreversible. Corben then decides that from now on he'll go by Metallo.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • He was able to put up a fight against Superman as an ordinary man, but ultimately Corben was out of his league and had to rely on Powered Armor to even stand a chance. After becoming Metallo, he's able to match Superman blow for blow.
  • He takes another one in "Heavy Metal". After being rescued by Intergang, they upgraded him, making him able to shoot Kryptonite blasts to weaken Superman and making him more durable and agile.
• Tragic Monster: He was always a bad man, but the loss of all his senses gradually drives him insane, and his newfound immortality proves to be more of a curse than anything else. It's hard not to feel sorry for him given all he goes through.
• Turned On Their Masters: Corben allowed himself to be turned into Metallo to get revenge on Superman, but after realizing that his metallic body left him with without the ability to feel anything, pain or pleasure, he demands Luthor implant his mind on another body. When Superman confronts Luthor on his yacht, Corben uses his Kryptonite to subdue Superman, but then Superman reveals a sample of the virus and that Dr. Vale purposefully infected him under Luthor's orders. Corben realizes that he was nothing more than Luthor's Unwitting Pawn in his revenge against Superman, and tries to infect Luthor as payback
• Two-Faced: Half of his face has his fake skin intact, but the other half reveals his skeletal robotic body.
• Unwitting Pawn: He was deliberately infected with the lethal virus by Lex Luthor so he would require the cybernetic transplant, effectively becoming his “saviour’s” own guinea pig.
• Villain Has a Point: It's hard to argue he has a point for calling out Superman for leaving him trapped and immobile in volcanic rock while still sentient at the end of "Action Figures".
• Villainous Breakdown: His Sense Loss Sadness in "The Way of All Flesh" gradually causes him to lose it, eventually resulting in him snapping and ripping off his fake skin in a fit of despair.
• Villainous Crush: Despite his vendetta, he clearly had an attraction to Lois Lane. His first instinct upon seeing her again was to kiss her. Unfortunately, he's unable to take any enjoyment when he realizes he can't even feel her lips.
• Walk, Don't Swim: Metallo, at the end of "The Way of All Flesh", is left stranded on the ocean floor and walking towards land. By the time of his next appearance, the sheer isolation and sensory deprivation have stripped him of his memories.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Luthor argues Corben has all the time in the world for further advancements since he's practically immortal. Corben isn't reassured because of what being without senses is like.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Metallo (still disguised as a mere bank robber) feigns giving up just so he can get close enough to sucker punch Superman and reveal his true self.

Dr. Vale

Dr. Vale

Voiced by: John Rubinow

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A corrupt doctor working at Stryker's Island who is secretly on Luthor's payroll.

---

• Adaptational Dumbass: In the comics, Vale was able to transform John Corben into Metallo on his own with no funding or outside help. Here, he's just an ordinary albeit corrupt doctor who manipulates him into the procedure.
• Asshole Victim: He deliberately poisoned Corben on Luthor's orders and arranges a destructive prison break just to cover up John's escape, though it's ambiguous if he knew the affects becoming Metallo would have on him. Regardless, Luthor has him killed to cover up any loose ends.
• Deadly Doctor: He's a doctor secretly in league with Luthor, and he poisoned Corben with a rare and agonizingly painful disease on Lex's orders.
• Evil Old Folks: He's an old man working for Luthor and willing to do shady things on his behalf.
• Faux Affably Evil: He comes across as a kindly old man, but he's stringing Corben along for Luthor's bribe money and was the one who poisoned him in the first place.
• He Knows Too Much: Luthor kills him just to make sure no one can trace Metallo's creation back to him.

Dr. Teng

Dr. Teng

Voiced by: Robert Ito

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

The scientist responsible fort Bizarro's creation.

---

• Affably Evil: He's quite polite and professional despite being a ruthless Mad Scientist.
• Lack of Empathy: He has no sympathy for Bizarro's predicament and recommends Luthor kill him.
• Mad Scientist: He's working for Luthor to clone an army of Supermen to sell to the highest bidder.

Professor Peterson

Professor Peterson

Voiced by: John Rubinstein

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A geologist working for Lexcorp, assigned to study Kryptonite.

---

• He Knows Too Much: Mercy murders him on Lex's orders to silence him, and to stop him from exposing Lex's criminal activity.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: He leaks Lex's illegal use of Kryptonite to Lois out of disgust, but Luthor finds out and forces him to lure Lois into a trap under the threat of death. Once Peterson does so, Luthor has Mercy silence him.

Others

Bruno Mannheim

Bruno Mannheim

Voiced by: Bruce Weitz

Voiced in Latin America by: Roberto Colmenárez

Voiced in French by: Mario Santini (1st voice), Christian Pélissier (2nd voice)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

Mannheim leads Metropolis's branch of Intergang, a major criminal syndicate. He soon gets weaponry from Apokolips, allowing him to deal with Superman and the local police force. Eventually, Superman and the police team up, and Mannheim is forced to flee to Apokolips, where he meets his new boss, Darkseid. Instead of killing him outright, Darkseid sends him back to Metropolis so he can overtake the nuclear power plant. He then sets the reactor to overload, and Darkseid leaves him to die as the reactor goes critical.

---

• Adaptational Nice Guy: A very downplayed example. This version of Mannheim is still an unsympathetic, unrepentant crook who willingly collaborates with Darkseid, but he isn't the cannibalistic cult-leading psychopath he was in the comic.
• Adaptational Wimp: His comic book counterpart is Darkseid's chosen apostle on Earth and much more threatening. This version of the character is just a regular mob boss who Darkseid manipulates in his plan to invade Earth and gets nonchalantly sacrificed once he is of no more use.
• Asshole Victim: For starters, he's indirectly responsible for Winslow Schott, Jr. becoming Toyman because he framed his father and had him die in prison. He more than deserved being left to die by Darkseid.
• The Chew Toy: And completely deserving it.
• Les Collaborateurs: He helps Darkseid in his plan to conquer Earth.
• Disc-One Final Boss: He appears to be the main threat at the end Season 1, but it turns out that he's really working for Darkseid.
• Jerkass: He's the head of a criminal syndicate who ruined a man's life by framing his father. What did you expect?
• Karmic Death: He helps Darkseid with his invasion schemes and is left to die for all his troubles, just like Toyman's father.
• Killed Off for Real: Darkseid lets him die in a nuclear explosion.
• Lensman Arms Race: Cops? No problem. Superman? Apokolips weaponry. Superman + Cops? Flee and call in the Parademons!
• Save the Villain: In his first appearance, he had to be saved from the Toyman.
• Smug Snake: He's a very arrogant bastard, that's for sure.
• The Syndicate: Leads one.
• Too Dumb to Live: Working for Darkseid, yeah, that can't go wrong! It gets him killed when Darkseid abandons him to die in a nuclear explosion.
  Mannheim: You said you'd make me a king!
  Darkseid: And so I have. A king of fools!
• Villain with Good Publicity: He's rehearsing a speech for the grand opening of a park he built for the city in his debut episode.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Darkseid leaves him to die after he serves his purpose.

Toyman

Toyman (Winslow Schott, Jr.)

Voiced by: Bud Cort (Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock , Justice League Unlimited), Corey Burton (Justice League)

Voiced in Latin America by: Eduardo Rodríguez (Superman: The Animated Series), Óscar Flores (Static Shock)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Static Shock | Justice League

"A childhood is a terrible thing to lose, Miss Lane, but I'm getting mine back...with a vengeance."

Winslow Schott wanted nothing more in life than to make toys. Unfortunately, he had little money, and could only achieve his dream by taking a loan from gangster Bruno Mannheim. The toy company soon became a front for Intergang activities. When the police busted the operation, Mannheim let Winslow take the fall, and the kindly toymaker spent the rest of his life in prison. Now Schott's son seeks revenge, adopting the identity of Toyman and using a variety of deadly toy-themed weapons and death traps against the gangster and his mooks. Naturally, this attracts Superman's attention. He later joins the Secret Society in Justice League Unlimited.

---

• Achievements in Ignorance: In the Justice League episode ”Hereafter”, Vandal Savage comments that Toyman had unknowingly created a time machine that sent Superman 30,000 years into the future as opposed to a death ray he thought he had.
• Affably Evil: He can be quite genial, particularly to Lois, though in a very creepy way.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He sics a giant rubber duck on Mannheim in "Fun and Games", a very large Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Robot/wind-up kangaroo hybrid on Superman in "Obsession," and a massive toy-like robot on the League in "Hereafter".
• Beware the Silly Ones: Toyman's gimmick is a joke, but his toys make him an exceptionally dangerous villain.
• Cool Mask: Wears an ever-smiling mask that he never removes.
• Creepy Monotone: He speaks in a cold and emotionless tone of voice.
• Crazy-Prepared: In the Static Shock crossover "Toys in the Hood," even though he had genuinely fallen in love with Darci enough to try and give her a new identity, he was always aware of betrayal, so he put in a fail-safe that would destroy her.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: As goofy as he looks, he manages to create a time machine by accident, destroy Killer Frost in a fight via a yo-yo, successfully navigates the Hall of Doom through the universe and create a nerf gun that causes parademons to explode.
• Death by Irony: Presumably the original reason for Schott's gimmick- he uses toy-themed weapons to attempt to kill the man who ruined his father's toy business and sent him to prison.
• Demonic Dummy: The staff of the show said his design was based off of a ventriloquist dummy that used to be sold in magazines back in the day.
• The Dragon: Is basically Luthor's right hand man during "Alive!"
• The Faceless: Orphaned after his father dies in prison, Toyman becomes a toy-crazed supervillain, hiding his face behind a Howdy Doody-like mask. Schott is never seen without the mask, although it's frequently cracked and broken in his battles with Superman, and his fellow villains.
• Gadgeteer Genius: He invents toy-like weapons.
• Ironic Nursery Tune: He's very fond of invoking this trope, whether he's singing "Rain, Rain, Go Away" while piloting a Humongous Mecha or humming "Mary Had a Little Lamb" while walking through a bunch of supervillains fighting.
• Killer Yo-Yo: He knocks out Killer Frost in a Single-Stroke Battle in the penultimate episode of Justice League Unlimited. Using a yo-yo.
  "Awww... sleeper."
• Malevolent Masked Men: He wears a creepy doll-like mask and is also an insane criminal.
• Motive Decay: In his first appearance, he was seeking vengeance against Bruno Mannheim, the man responsible for ruining his father's life. After that, Toyman never makes another attempt to kill Mannheim again and focuses all his future efforts on either creating lifelike female androids to be his companion or just trying to kill Superman. Makes sense, since by the time of Toyman's second appearance, Darkseid has already killed Mannheim, depriving him of his chance for revenge.
• Nerf Arm: Toyman's weapons include suction-cup darts (that explode) and nerf bullets (that make the target explode after bouncing off).
• No One Could Survive That!: Happens at the end of both of his Superman: TAS appearances.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: He's a Manchild in a clown mask straight out of the '40s, with a theme based on children's toys. He's also one of the most terrifying villains in Superman's Rogues Gallery, a roboticist on par with Lex Luthor, and one of the few villains to legitimately defeat Superman (and apparently kill him).
• Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: His father died penniless and he's never shown committing crimes for money, but he apparently has endless resources to pay for his tanks, helicopters, giant rubber ducks, and incredibly advanced robots. Oh, and in his Static Shock appearance, he somehow got his hands of enough Kryptonite to build an entire army of robot minions made of it.
• Oh, Crap!: He has this reaction in "Hereafter" after he "killed" Superman and a distraught Wonder Woman tore his machine apart in response and literally told him that she was going to kill him for what he had just done. Thankfully for him, the Flash saved his life telling Wonder Woman Superman wouldn't want her to do such a thing.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: It's implied on a personal level for him with his and his fellow Legion of Doom accomplices' Enemy Mine with the Justice League against the revived Darkseid's invasion of earth in the Grand Finale of Justice League was because Darkseid had killed his original Arch-Enemy Bruno Mannheim, therefore taking away the original reason he became Toyman in the first place as he was trying to avenge himself and his father for what Mannheim did to them. So, he's probably more than happy to sic his nerf gun on his parademons stealing his initial goal from him.
• Parental Abandonment: His dad (framed by the mob) died in prison, leaving him to spend his childhood being bounced from one foster home to another.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: In his first appearance, his entire motivations resolve around trying to kill Bruno Mannheim as revenge for what he did to his father. Superman still ends up saving Mannheim, but it's hard to feel sorry for all the things Toyman makes the guy go through.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Much like his Superfriends incarnation, he's depicted as a maniac with a childish obsession with toys, though played in a light that's more disturbing than humorous.
• Slasher Smile: Painted onto his mask.
• Unadoptable Orphan: Toyman's Start of Darkness is that his father got to jail and died there because he was coined by Bruno Mannheim and was constantly moving from one orphanage to another because he was constantly returned as "a doll nobody wanted".
• Underestimating Badassery: Killer Frost does this to him in "Alive!". Toyman is able to take her down using a weaponized yo-yo.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Even if he is a dangerous criminal, it's hard not to feel sorry for the fact that he became this way because his father was screwed over by Mannheim and died in prison while he was shipped off to several neglectful foster homes.

Luminus

Luminus (Edward Lytener)

Voiced by: Robert Hays (Superman: The Animated Series), Nicholas Guest (Justice League)

Voiced in Latin America by: Eduardo Rodríguez (Superman: The Animated Series)

Voiced in French by: Vincent Ropion (Superman: The Animated Series), Mathias Casartelli (Justice League)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

Edward was an engineer at LexCorp who specialized in light and laser manipulation. He was a mole for Lois in one of her stories, and while Lois' work won her a journalism award, he was fired. In revenge, he tried to murder Lois, and then Superman got involved. Lytener took up the persona of Luminus and decided to get his revenge on Superman. That failed, too. Luminus is last seen fighting the Justice League after a jail break.

---

• Affably Evil: Even when making declarations of absolute hatred and murderous intent, he's always so briskly, cheerfully polite. This continues after he becomes Luminus.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: You managed to weaken Superman to human strength, Luminus. Just shoot him already. Don't toy with him until he breaks the machine weakening him.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He enjoys fighting Superman because he can't wait to kill a god.
• Canon Foreigner: An original character created for the show.
• Death Trap: His specialty. Spent his debut episode trying to kill Lois.
• Dirty Coward: In his second appearance where he uses a machine to change the color of the sun from yellow to red to weaken Superman, he spends the episode being an arrogant bully, tormenting Superman knowing that there's little he can do to stop him. But once the pointless, mean-spirited tormenting leads to Luminus accidentally destroying his own machine, he COMPLETELY freaks out and desperately tries to beat Superman to death before he returns to full strength.
• Energy Weapon: He's good with light, so lasers aren't too far of a stretch.
• Entitled to Have You: What his obsession with Lois ultimately boils down to.
• Expy: Of Dr. Light/Arthur Light as a villain with Light based powers
• Fighting a Shadow: As Luminus, he never puts himself in the same place as Superman if he can send a hologram instead.
• For the Evulz: In his second appearance, Edward Lytener becomes the villain Luminus just to get back at Superman.
• Gadgeteer Genius: He created his weapons himself.
• Hard Light: His other specialty. Turns out, lasers still hurt anyway.
• Hellevator: One of his death traps.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: In his first appearance, he slips up and gives away his involvement in the attacks on Lois when he congratulates her on her journalism award. Since he was in his lab for the past day, with no TV or radio (he finds them distracting), he could only know that she'd won the award if he was the one who attacked her at the awards ceremony.
• Invisibility: He can use his devices to appear invisible.
• Light Is Not Good: He has weapons that manipulate light and he is a bad guy.
• Love Makes You Crazy: He went nuts because of his infatuation with Lois Lane.
• Master of Illusion: He can use his manipulation of light to create illusions.
• Me's a Crowd: Similar to The Flash villain Mirror Master, but Superman learns the hard way that his copies actually can deal real damage. Justified Trope as Lytener points out that holograms and lasers both use light, so with some tweaking to his holograms, they are capable of laser related attacks.
• Motive Decay: Goes from being Lois's Stalker with a Crush to trying to kill Superman just because he can.
• Never My Fault: He blames his Start of Darkness on Lois not returning his affections.
• Nothing Personal: Said this in his second appearance to Lois. He put her in a death trap again, but he insisted only as bait for Superman.
• Smug Snake: He's pretty full of himself.
• Stalker with a Crush: He became The Mole against LexCorp because he liked Lois, not because it was the right thing to do. One of his evil plans was to creepily install a laser cage Death Trap in Lois Lane's apartment. Ugh.
• Steven Ulysses Perhero: Lytener?
• Took a Level in Badass: In his second appearance. He comes very close to killing Superman.
• Villainous Breakdown: Is calm and calculating when he has a powerless Superman on the ropes. When the satellite's key to powering the big guy down get blown up, however, he (understandably) becomes quite panicky and desperate.
• Yandere: Lois Lane won't give you the time of day? Well she has to go then.

Livewire

Livewire (Leslie Willis)

^{Click here to see her pre-powers}

Voiced by: Lori Petty (Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures), Maria Canals Barrera (Justice League)

Voiced in Latin America by: Elena Prieto (Superman: The Animated Series), Úrsula Cobucci (Justice League, Unlimited)

Voiced in French by: Magali Barney (Superman: The Animated Series), Virginie Ogouz (The New Batman Adventures), Caroline Maillard (Justice League)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | Justice League

A Metropolis radio personality who built her career by bashing Superman on the airwaves. She finds herself suddenly possessing electrical superpowers after both she and Supes are struck by the same lightning bolt during a thunderstorm. Blaming him for her condition, she soon adopts the persona of "Livewire" and takes her Superman-bashing to a new, dangerous and shocking level. She later fights Batgirl and Supergirl in a crossover episode of The New Batman Adventures and joins the Secret Society in Justice League Unlimited.

---

• Adaptation Dye-Job: In the tie-in comic The Superman Adventures, she temporarily loses her powers. While human again, she's a blonde rather than the brunette she was in the show.
• Adaptational Heroism: In both Superman Adventures and the mainstream comics, she eventually becomes an ally, a stark contrast to her original animated incarnation who simply did things For the Evulz.
• Attention Whore: A decent part of her characterization, especially in her first appearance. It's particularly obvious before her transformation. In Superman Adventures, realizing this is her first step towards a Heel–Face Turn: she tries to call Superman out for a big, flashy showdown in the middle of an alien invasion, but instead of fear from the populace she only gets annoyance that she's trying to grab the spotlight when there's far more important events taking place, causing her to realize how ridiculous her usual schtick is.
• Badass Boast: "You can't stop me anymore than you can stop rain...wind...or LIGHTNING!"
• Canon Immigrant: She originated in Superman: The Animated Series and was subsequently added to the original comics.
• Create Your Own Villain: She gained her powers after a lightning bolt passing through Superman finally struck her, causing her to absorb a portion of his abilities.
• Deadpan Snarker: Comes with her job as a Shock Jock.
• Dumbass DJ: Before gaining her powers, she was a popular DJ who spent all her time insulting Superman in order to boost her ratings.
• Elemental Baggage: She works like a battery; she must absorb the charge from other electricity sources to use her powers, and when that charge runs out, she's normal.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: Her voice is so gravelly that it sounds like she regularly smokes a carton a day.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Livewire's outfit is created by ionizing the air around her, and she herself describes it as "form-fitting."
• Goth: Dressed like one as a human.
• Heel–Face Turn: In the Superman Adventures tie-in comic to the show, at least (which like all comic tie-ins to the DCAU has a questionable canonicity due to several discrepancies). After making the jump to the main DC Universe, she eventually turns good there as well when her powers are rewritten to cause her to develop incredible psychosis, and Superman helps her by giving her an energy-regulating suit, restoring her mind.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Twice in the comics:
  • The first time is to stop Brainiac from releasing all the world's nuclear weapons: she ends up using all her power and the effort leaves her pretty much brain dead, and Star Labs can only barely manage to keep her alive.
  • The second time is after Luthor uses Apokolips tech to revive her in order to sell her to Apokolips, Superman intervenes but ends up getting himself and Leslie sent to Apokolips itself where they find out Darkseid plans to use Livewire to power a doomsday weapon. Leslie and Superman manage to foil the plan and Leslie, fully powered by the planet itself, starts to wreak havoc, but realizing that she will go nuclear soon tells Superman to run. Being Supes he refuses and races Leslie back to earth where he flies her to a clearing to explode. Luckily for her it doesn't hurt her, but it kills Superman. Leslie uses the last of her power to restart his heart, which reverts her back to normal. Later she gets struck by lightning again and returns to being Livewire, but now as a hero.
• Hypocrite: She trashes Superman for supposedly "only thinking of himself" even though the second she gets her powers she does her best to use them for her own benefit while screwing over everyone else.
• Immoral Journalist: Leslie Willis was a nasty radio shock jock whose "reporting" consists of malicious stories and rants about people she doesn't like, especially the Man of Steel himself. A freak accident turns her into the supervillainess Livewire, with the power to manipulate electricity.
• Jerkass: As a shock jock, it's sort of her thing to be a malicious bitch. How much was an act and how much was her true personality is unclear, but she seemed to believe what she was spouting.
• The Lad-ette: While she's a woman, she doesn't act very feminine.
• Leitmotif: An electric guitar tune.
• Lightning Can Do Anything: Passing through Superman first apparently means it can create metahumans. Applying the trope to Livewire specifically, she's able to do nonsensical things like dive into TV screens and then appear on them.
• Logical Weakness: Livewire and water do not mix. Her stored electricity will short-circuit and at least partially dissipate if she gets wet.
• Motor Mouth: She often makes multiple snarky comments while on-screen.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: She has a large lightning bolt-shaped slit that goes down to her belly button, although no cleavage is actually drawn.
• Never My Fault: Her transformation was due to her stupidity in hosting a concert in the middle of a storm. Superman tried to get her to cancel it as she was both putting herself and the audience in danger; she wouldn't listen and even though he saved her from getting hit by lightning, the bolt passed through Superman and hit her anyway, transforming her into Livewire. She then blamed Superman for the mess, mostly from seeing on TV a reporter interviewing Superman accusing that he deliberately didn't push Leslie out of the way when the lightning struck.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Between her being a Dumbass DJ, having black hair pre-transformation, and referring to herself as the "queen of all media", she's basically a gender-flipped counterpart to Howard Stern.
• One-Liner: Loves these. Makes sense given her past as a Shock Jock.
• Psycho Electro: She has electrical powers and isn't very sane. Even more so in the comics where her powers are explicitly stated to affect her brain chemistry, exacerbating her already less-than-stable mental faculties.
• Pure Energy: Livewire describes herself as such and, though it makes for a very interesting character, it does not make any more scientific sense than every other "energy being" out there. And, oddly enough, she apparently still has a skeleton.
• Shock and Awe: Gains electric powers after being struck by lightning.
• Shock Jock: Before getting her powers. Afterwards, she drops the "jock" part.
• Straw Feminist: At times.
• That Man Is Dead: "Meet [Leslie Willis's] replacement!"
• Too Dumb to Live: When lightning began striking her stage, rather than running for cover, she enthusiastically stared at the display as if it was some pre-planned light show.
• Vapor Wear: Her Navel-Deep Neckline makes it clear she's not wearing a bra.
• Verbal Tic: She tends to tack the word, "babies", onto the end of almost every other sentence when talking to other people.
• Villain Has a Point: She argues with Lois that the reason for her being so brash is because shock jockeying is a rather sexist profession, and to be even half as notable as male jockeys she had to be twice as loud.

Parasite

Parasite (Rudy Jones)

Voiced by: Brion James (Superman: The Animated Series), Brian George (Justice League)

Voiced in Latin America by: Alí Rondón (Superman: The Animated Series)

Voiced in French by: Bruno Choël (Superman: The Animated Series), Olivier Cordina (Justice League), Michel Barbey (Justice League Unlimited)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

Once an employee of S.T.A.R. Labs, Rudy was exposed to an experimental chemical compound that spilled on him when he tried to steal it. Now, as The Parasite, he possesses the power to absorb the energy, memories and physical abilities from anyone he touches, including Superman. He later joins the Secret Society in Justice League Unlimited.

---

• Achilles' Heel: He gains the weaknesses of those whose powers he copies, usually with greater effect than the originals.
• Affably Evil: He's an amicable blue collar guy who is nonetheless a ruthless, predatory criminal.
• Assimilation Backfire: He absorbs his victims' weaknesses alongside their strengths. Superman beats him twice by exploiting this, with the backlash leaving Rudy comatose for a while.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: He has this in "Two's a Crowd" against Earl Garver, after Parasite realizes Garver is going to get him killed.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Superman first approached him by treating him with sympathy for his accident and offering help. Parasite played along to trick him into physical contact so he could absorb his powers.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Parasite stops Livewire from killing Superman because he can't keep feeding off his power if he's dead. He also applies this mindset to Livewire herself.
• Chekhov's Skill: Parasite explains to his former tormentor Marty that his power doesn't just allow him to drain someone's energy. He can also hear their thoughts. This foreshadows the moment when he ambushes Clark as he comes home, having learned Superman's Secret Identity from their brief encounter.
• Composite Character: Of himself, between the Rudy Jones and Maxwell Jensen Parasites. He has the name and origin of the former and the powers of the latter.
• Death by Secret Identity: Both times he learns Superman's secret identity, his defeat leaves him in a vegetative state. He gets better both times, but without ever remembering the aforementioned secret identity.
• Decomposite Character: Word of God confirmed the Batman Beyond-era Parasite in the JLU episode "Epilogue", based on how Ed McGuinness drew Jones^note Which was basically to take the monstrous Parasite form Jones had in the mid-to-late 1990s and slap the DCAU costume on him, is a Legacy Character.
• The Dog Bites Back: After becoming fully acclimated to his new form, the first thing he did was track down his former partner Marty to pay him back for past abuses and for leaving him to die.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: He is arguably the most prominent character to get this anti-climactic death.
• Drunk with Power: As a defining character trait. His main motivation is that his whole life people have been pushing him around and looking down on him, and now he wants as much power as he can for as long as he can...and enjoys using it to lord over others. That said, on a good day, he can be a relatively well-adjusted guy considering it all. He seems pretty satisfied with getting cable TV in his prison cell once he's captured.
• Dumb Muscle: He's powerful and has enhanced strength even without Superman's powers, but he's generally a short-sighted moron who relies on his physical strength. He shows occasional flashes of cunning, but he's also pretty easy to outwit and mostly dangerous because of his powers.
• Empty Shell: His defeat at the end of "Double Dose" leaves him comatose and with all his memories erased, leaving him little more than a vegetable. He's recovered by Justice League and is very eager to get revenge on Superman.
• Eviler than Thou: He's on both sides of this in two episodes of Superman: TAS. In "Two's A Crowd", he's less evil than Earl Garver, initially trying to encourage him to be a good prisoner and comply, which will make his life easier. It's only after being duped by Garver that he goes rogue, and that lasts only until he realizes Garver is using him as an expendable dupe. Then, in "Double Dose", he pulls this on Livewire, playing along as her partner only until they have Superman incapacitated, then preventing her from killing him so he can leech the life from the both of them.
• Evil Is Petty: In "Two's A Crowd", he demands payment to use his powers to read the mind of Mad Bomber Earl Garver. His payment? That he gets a big-screen television with cable TV hookup installed in his cell. With all of the premium channels.
• Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: Parasite does this not with Superman (who he does want to take by surprise), but with former tormentor Marty while getting back at him.
  Parasite: Don't you recognize me, Marty? It's your old doormat Rudy Jones.
  Marty: Rudy, you oughta be in a hospital. You need help.
  Parasite: Help?! I never felt better in my life! [taps Marty, draining a little energy]
  Marty: Ow! Hey!
  Parasite: It's fantastic, Marty. [keeps tapping him] I should be thanking you. When I touch somebody, I get strong. I absorb their energy. But more than that, I hear their thoughts. I know what they know. Really, words don't describe it. Here, lemme show ya! [picks him up while draining him]
• Extreme Doormat: Prior to his transformation, he was a meek man who took all kinds of verbal abuse. Turning into Parasite made him far more assertive, but unfortunately he chooses to use his powers to act out on his resentments.
• Eye Awaken: The newly mutated Parasite opens his eyes after draining energy from a nearby mouse.
• Freudian Excuse: He spent his whole life being treated like dirt and was an Extreme Doormat before getting his powers. Afterwards, he decided to take revenge on the world that mistreated him.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He went from a janitor to deadly supervillain.
• Grew a Spine: Rudy Jones was a meek, submissive guy. As Parasite he's far more assertive. Unfortunately it's in a very destructive, crooked way.
• History Repeats: The last time Parasite drained Superman's powers, he also obtained his weakness to Kryptonite, leading to his defeat. In "Double Dose", he obtains both Superman's and Livewire's near the end. Since Parasite also has Livewire's weakness to water, Super just needed to trigger the office sprinkles to defeat him once more.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • In "Feeding Time", Superman tricks Parasite into grabbing a lump of Kryptonite. Since he's been feeding off a Kryptonian, he has their weaknesses.
  • In "Double Dose", Parasite absorbs both Superman and Livewire's powers. Superman beats him this time by tricking him into setting of the sprinklers, electrocuting Rudy and leaving him comatose.
• I Surrender, Suckers: Parasite pretends to see reason when Superman tries to talk him out of hurting a former fellow employee who mistreated him, which allows him to get the first taste of the hero's power.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Parasite has absorbed Earl Garver's personality, and the two personalities team up... for a while. Eventually, it becomes clear that the clever guy is perfectly willing to let the Parasite die, since, after all, his real body and mind are miles away, and they start battling it out inside the Parasite's head. Meanwhile, Superman, on the sidelines, shouts encouragement to the Parasite personality. Both personalities are bad guys; Superman is just rooting for the lesser of two evils.
• It's Personal: He was somewhat playful with Superman in his initial appearances, but then he got fried after absorbing Livewire's powers and was left practically comatose. When he returned in Justice League, Grodd noted that he now openly hated the Man of Steel.
• Karma Houdini: Rudy isn't given any extra punishment for teaming up with Garver, even being given the premium cable he asked for. Somewhat justified in that he helped stall Garver while Superman disposed of the bomb, and he was perfectly willing to hold up his end of the bargain to begin with before Garver lied to him.
• Killed Off for Real: He's frozen and then blown up along with Grodd's other followers in "Alive!"
• Lesser of Two Evils: Rudy becomes this between him and Garver after the latter takes control of his body. Parasite would prefer not getting blown up by Garver's bomb, while Garver views him as expendable. Since the former aligns with Superman's goals, he's willing to team up with Rudy for the time being.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: After mouthing off at Rudy one too many times, Parasite finally snaps and drains Livewire's powers right as she's about to finish off Superman.
  Parasite: I want [Superman] alive so I can keep feeding off him- and you too. You've said "no" to me for the last time, baby.
• Near-Villain Victory: Without the rubber suit, Superman is quickly drained by Parasite and left barely able to stand. Livewire was poised to finish him, but then Parasite betrayed her, paving the way for Superman to defeat them both.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Parasite betraying Livewire in "Double Dose" gives Superman a way out of this. He even restrains her with a bent pipe, which saves a weakened Superman any further trouble after beating him.
• Power Parasite: He can absorb the powers of any metahuman he drains.
• Pragmatic Villainy: In his first scene, he tackles LeBeau when his boss tries to shoot a guard, but his dialogue implies that this was only because he is afraid of getting a longer prison sentence for murder if they get caught.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Superman interrupts Parasite's escape by boat, leading to a battle underwater. Parasite forgoes trying to escape to try to drain Superman here and now, but in the face of too much resistance, he just swims off in all the confusion for the nearest pipe and departs.
• Secret Identity Apathy: Parasite finds out that Superman is Clark when he absorbs his powers during his first appearance, but other than using this to ambush him at home and take him prisoner so he can be a permanent "meal", he shows zero interest in it. A throwaway line from his first appearance suggests that he lost all of his memories — therefore including who Clark is — but next time we see him he shows no sign of this (and he gets him several times in later episodes anyway), so presumably Parasite spends the entire DCAU knowing that Clark Kent is Superman and simply not caring (or maybe not thinking) to share that information with anyone.
• Split-Personality Takeover: In "Two's a Crowd," Earl Garver takes control of Parasite after Parasite tries to absorb Garver's memories. Eventually, the two of them duke it out for control of the body.
• Trapped by Gambling Debts: The reason he tried to steal a chemical compound in the first place.
• Voice Changeling: Unfortunately, Parasite can also drain his victims' voices, which lets him keep Superman captive for days on end because he can mimic Clark's voice to call in sick. Either that, or draining Superman's powers also allowed him to pick up his super-ventriloquism.
• Who's Laughing Now?: He goes from hardluck janitor to one of Superman's most dangerous enemies.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: When Rudy Jones was first introduced, his characterization was desperation instead of malevolence, and he stopped his partner when he tried to actually hurt people. However, after he became Parasite, he became obsessed with draining anybody he could get his hands on and taking revenge on a world that hurt him.

Volcana

Volcana (Claire Selton)

Voiced by: Peri Gilpin

Voiced in Latin America by: Livia Méndez

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League

• Anti-Villain: In her debut episode, the only reason she turned to crime was to collect enough money to leave the USA and escape the government agents trying to take her back as a living weapon. She is depicted as a conventional villain when Supergirl confronts her just a few episodes later.
• Canon Foreigner: She is an original character created for the series.
• Cleavage Window: As part of her Justice League outfit.
• Costume Evolution: During S: TAS, she wore a cocktail dress and jacket, but during JL, she sports a midriff-baring tank top and pants.
• Dark Action Girl: She's willing to fight and is also a villain.
• Dating Catwoman: She was flirting heavily with Superman at the end of her debut episode and he never stopped her. In fact, he looked like he was having fun while she did it.
• Deadpan Snarker: At one point, when Superman catches her, she remarks "You're going to make me earn this, aren't you?"
• Distracted by the Sexy: She gains entry to a private party and draws the eye of on-duty photographer Jimmy Olsen, through raw sex appeal.
• Evil Redhead: She’s a lady supervillain with red hair.
• Fiery Redhead: Has long red hair, with a temper and literal fire powers to match.
• Fiery Sensuality: Volcana has a more sexualized outfit in Justice League. The villain Firefly is shown to be quite smitten with her, either because of her looks, her fire powers or both.
• Flying Firepower: She has pyrokinesis and some flight (possibly a form of telekinesis).
• Foil: To Batman's rogue, Mr. Freeze. While they both have tragic backstories, they're opposite genders, their powers and weaknesses are opposite from each other, and Freeze grows less malicious with time, whereas she grows into more of a jerkass.
• Friendly Enemy: At the end of her debut episode she and Superman are shown to be on incredibly good terms, showing that they're friends now. They were playfully flirting and trading barbs. Volcana even blows a fiery kiss towards Superman and he smiles at it.
• Logical Weakness: She's immune to extreme heat, but extreme cold can damage her, and her powers are useless if there isn't any oxygen in the vicinity to generate a flame.
• Lovable Rogue: At least in her first appearance.
• Motive Decay: In her first appearance, she's an Anti-Villain who Superman forms a quasi-partnership with. Afterwards, she's just a random baddie.
• Ms. Fanservice: She’s a curvy, beautiful woman. She wears a bikini in her first appearance, and in Justice League, she wears a tight, revealing costume.
• Playing with Fire: She can create streams and even crude shapes of fire (assuming there's air to fuel the combustion).
• Projectile Kiss: At the end of her debut episode, she blows Superman a fiery goodbye kiss while flirting with him that hits his cheek.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In Justice League, she shows a willingness to kill using her powers, making her more sinister than before.
• Ungrateful Bitch: While her attitude and thoughts on Superman by the time of Justice League aren't directly addressed, she can still be seen as this by sheer (un) virtue of joining a bunch of Superman's rogues to go on a crime spree in celebration of Superman's supposed death...which is a really funny way of showing appreciation towards the guy who once helped her out.
• Villainous Crush: The end of her debut episode shows her now having one on Superman. The grin he gives her when she blows a fiery kiss at him implies it's mutual. However, it is unclear if she still has it in her later appearances, once she is depicted as a standard villain.

Corey Mills

Sergeant Corey Mills

Voiced by: Xander Berkeley

Voiced in Latin America by: Eduardo Rodríguez

Voiced in French by: Patrick Osmond

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

• Anti-Villain: He's not a bad guy, he's just bonded to a bad suit of Powered Armor.
• Ax-Crazy: Courtesy of the armor suit that makes him increasingly homicidal.
• Blood Knight: The suit makes him this by having him enjoy its power and combat usage against his adversaries.
• By-the-Book Cop: Mills before he became the test subject for the power armor.
• Canon Foreigner: He is an original character created for the series.
• Clothes Make the Maniac: Mills became violent, paranoid and obsessive after prolonged exposure to the armor.
• Fair Cop: He's quite handsome.
• Happily Married: Again, until the suit started to change him.
• Powered Armor: The battle armor built by Lex Corp granted him several abilities:
  • One-Way Visor: With Stat-O-Vision.
  • Grenade Launcher
  • Hand Blast: With Black Light lasers.
  • Rocket Boots: Jetpack provided flight
  • The Strength of Ten Men: More like twenty men. Enhanced physical strength at least on par with Superman as well as comparable durability allowing the pilot to battle the Man of Steel on an equal footing.
• Villain Has a Point: When he tries to kill Luthor in his office by unleashing his pet shark on him for backstabbing him, literally by placing a shutdown switch in the port on Mills' back and figuratively, and attempts to give him "The Reason You Suck" Speech, he was correct to point out that Luthor was like all the other criminals in Metropolis who picks on the little guy.

Detective Kurt Bowman

Detective Kurt Bowman

Voiced by: Eddie Barth

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A corrupt detective who despises reporters because Lois cost him a promotion with an article on police corruption. Bowman also murdered a woman, and pinned it on a small time burglar. And Bowman is perfectly willing to kill so he isn’t caught.

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• Death by Secret Identity: After his crimes are revealed, he's soon sentenced to death. Right before the lever is pulled for the gas chamber he's in, he wonders how the heck Clark had survived the bomb he implanted into his car and quickly came to the realization he was Superman.
• Dirty Cop: Detective in his case, but he's known for taking bribes and ignoring protocol. He's also not above murder either.
• Evil All Along: He initially seems like just an unhelpful Jerkass before he's revealed to be a murderer.
• Jerkass: He’s a spiteful, petty man and abrasive in general even before he's revealed to be a murderer.
• Killed Off for Real: He is executed by gas chamber, the same way the man he framed would have died.
• More Hateable Minor Villain: Most villains in the series are too entertaining to hate and have some likable traits. Bowman is just a charmless asshole and his crimes are given far more focus, making him come across as more loathsome.
• Noodle Incident: It's never revealed why he murdered a woman. It's obliquely hinted it was a robbery gone wrong, but nothing is explicitly revealed.
• Not Me This Time: Inverted. In his debut episode, Target, he is innocent of trying to kill Lois, and it's never suggested he did anything worse than take bribes. The Late Mr. Kent shows that he had killed someone offscreen, and he tries to kill Clark Kent when Kent tries to exonerate the man he blamed for it.
• Oh, Crap!: It's not his pending execution that worries Bowman — it's trying to figure out how Clark Kent survived a car bomb that Bowman knows went off, with all the circumstances leading to him realizing seconds before they flip the lever that Kent is Superman. Very shortly after the trope's typical panic, however, red veins appear in his eyes when he says it, dying in vengeful anger instead of worry, though presumably terror as well.
• Spanner in the Works: Would have gotten away with his crimes if he hadn't happened to target the one reporter in the city who was Nigh-Invulnerable.
• Villain of Another Story: He debuts in "Target," but only as a Red Herring and doesn't become the Villain of the Week until "The Late Mr. Kent."

Earl Garver

Earl Garver

Voiced by: Brian Cox

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A deranged scientist who created a radioactive bomb, and threatened to use it on Metropolis if his ransom demands weren’t met. Garver was left in a coma during a raid on his heavily fortified house, and Parasite was brought in to read Garver's mind. It went very wrong.

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• Grand Theft Me: Pulled this on Parasite.
• Ink-Suit Actor: He bares a resemblance to his actor Brian Cox in the role of Hannibal Lector in Manhunter.
• Mad Scientist:
  Professor Hamilton: Earl, please, listen to reason!
  Garver: I am listening to reason. My reason.

General Hardcastle

General Hardcastle

"He's an alien with no allegiance or jurisdiction. I don't trust what I can't control, Hamilton, and I don't like what I can't trust."

^{Click here to see him in Justice League Unlimited}

Voiced By: Charles Napier

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League Unlimited

A U.S. Army general with a hatred for Superman.

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• Asshole Victim: Given what he's done to Superman and Supergirl out of unjustified paranoia, you won't feel a shred of sympathy once he loses his rank and gets killed by Galatea.
• Back for the Dead: He reappears in Justice League Unlimited only to get killed by Galatea.
• General Ripper: He tries to kill Superman even before the events of “Legacy” out of spite and paranoia.
• Fantastic Racism: Views aliens as something he doesn't trust if he can't control them.
• Hate Sink: "Hardcastle" is right. He isn't just a dick, he's unreasonable and xenophobic.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Hardcastle was scapegoated for Superman and Supergirl escaping custody in “Legacy”, and by the time of Unlimited he became a shell of his former self. Not that he didn’t deserve it, mind you.
• Improperly Paranoid: For all that CADMUS may be right about the possibility of evil superhumans and the U.S. government lacking the firepower to fight them, Hardcastle from beginning to end is unwilling to see any good in Superman, constantly assuming the worst. This extends to other Kryptonians too.
• Killed Off for Real: Galatea murders him for giving too much information on Cadmus to the Justice League.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: After being absent ever since “Legacy”, he turns up again early on in the first season of Unlimited during the beginning of the Cadmus arc just long enough to be killed by Galatea.
• Visual Development: He's clearly aged the next time he's seen in Unlimited in contrast to his appearance in Superman: The Animated Series and how other most reoccurring characters mostly retain their original appearances in the DCAU.

Agent Kurt

Agent Kurt

Voiced by: Peter Gallagher
Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A government agent who was the head of the project that captured Volcana and attempted to turn her into an assassin. He and his men went rogue after she escaped and tracked her down, intending to sell her to the highest bidder.

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• Corrupted Character Copy: Of Nick Fury - eyepatch-wearing, take-no-prisoners leader of a secret government taskforce. Really hammered in by his closest subordinates being obviously based off Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, and Jasper Sitwell.
• Eyepatch of Power: Wouldn't be an expy of Nick Fury without one.
• Killed Off for Real: He dies when Volcana, while trying to fight Superman so she can murder him, inadvertently sets off some nearby gas tanks. Considering the strength of the explosion, the slim chances of Kurt getting away, and the fact he never shows up again, it’s safe to assume he died.

Tina

Tina

Voice by: Dina Sherman
Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

Metallo's girlfriend. She seduces Jimmy Olsen as part of a complicated plan to lure Superman into a trap.

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• Action Girl: She demonstrates some martial arts skills when fighting Jimmy.
• Glass Cannon: She gets some good hits in on Jimmy, but can't effectively fight back once he begins to respond.
• Love-Interest Traitor: Jimmy discovers that she is working with Metallo and only wants him as bait for Superman. The last we see of her is him locking her in a closet before going off to help the superhero.
• Monster Fangirl: What else can you say about a girl who dates a supervillain?
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Tina acts like a ditzy intern while playing double agent for Metallo the entire episode.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: We never find out what happened to Tina after Jimmy locked her in the closet (though it's very likely she got arrested).

Martin Lebeau

Martin Lebeau

Voice by: Robert Patrick
Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series

A small-time crook and the former partner of Rudy Jones.

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• Asshole Victim: A non-lethal version. He's a sleazy Jerkass, so it's hard to feel bad when Parasite gleefully manhandles him as revenge.
• Create Your Own Villain: His reckless driving and his attempt to steal chemicals from STAR Labs lead to Rudy Jones being drenched in those chemicals, turning him into Parasite.
• Jerkass: He's short-tempered and abrasive in addition to being a violent criminal.
• Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: He's never seen again after being assaulted by Parasite.
• You Have Failed Me: Fed up with Rudy's constant bungling, Martin leaves him to die after he's dosed with seemingly toxic chemicals. It doesn't end well for him.

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