Raymond Maxwell Jensen In pre-
Crisis continuity, Raymond Jensen is a lowlife who gets a job as a plant worker for a research center. Wrongly believing that the company payrolls are hidden in storage containers, Jensen opens one and was bombarded with energies from biohazard materials (which was actually waste collected by Superman when he traveled into outer space), transforming him into a purple-skinned, parasitic entity. Any time he touched someone, he could absorb their physical and mental properties. Touching Superman would instantly absorb a sizable fraction of his powers (it was established early on that he is not capable of acquiring the whole of Superman's powers). On one occasion, while attempting to absorb a greater portion of his adversary's powers than previously, his body disintegrated for a period of time due to the pressure in his cells. Despite these abilities, Parasite became depressed because he could no longer embrace his wife and children. Despite this, he had knowledge of his foe's alter ego and often used this to attack Clark Kent. Gaining sizable intellect from his multiple encounters with Superman, Parasite devised the means to reanimate dormant plant remains left behind from the
Earth-Two supervillain
Solomon Grundy, creating a newer and stronger version of the creature to plague his adversary. On another occasion, Parasite devised the means to temporarily transfer the powers of the hero
Air Wave to Air Wave's adversary Casey Jones.
Rudy Jones Originally a menial slacker, Rudy Jones is transformed into Parasite while working as a
janitor at a
Pittsburgh S.T.A.R. Labs facility. Unknown to anyone,
Darkseid manipulates Jones into exposing himself to radioactive waste, transforming him into Parasite. Jones gains the ability to absorb the life energy of other people, which he requires to sustain his body. Parasite joins the
Suicide Squad in confronting
Firestorm, who is attempting to make the United States and the Soviet Union give up their nuclear weapons on behalf of a terminally ill
Martin Stein. Throughout his appearances, Parasite's abilities evolve, giving him the ability to absorb fire, electricity, and consciousnesses, and mimic the genetic makeup and appearance of others. However, he is forced to absorb energy more frequently to stay alive. After escaping from S.T.A.R. Labs, Parasite formulates a plan to get back at Superman. After absorbing
Lois Lane's knowledge and learning Superman's
secret identity, Parasite plans to emotionally break Superman by posing as Lois. Just as Parasite is about to lay the final blow to Superman, he is stricken with
kryptonite poisoning that he had drained from Superman, unbeknownst to either of them. Parasite dies before he can tell Superman Lois' whereabouts. In
Justice League of America, Parasite resurfaces in St. Roch, Louisiana, where he uses his abilities to temporarily neutralize the powers of villains for a fee so they can evade detection. The 2009-10 miniseries
Superman: Secret Origin redefines Parasite's origin. In this version, Rudy Jones is a janitor at the
Daily Planet who is selected to join LexCorp. There, he eats a donut imbued with Kryptonite radiation that transforms him into Parasite. In the
DC Rebirth relaunch, Parasite is a member of the
Suicide Squad. In
Dawn of DC, Parasite reforms, is employed at Supercorp, and is given a special wristband that supplies him with energy. He also develops the ability to create small duplicates of himself and adopts one of them as a pet. Parasite is later seemingly killed by
Doomsday, but absorbs part of Doomsday's energy, which allows him to survive.
Alexander and Alexandra Allston After the villain Ruin (who was secretly
Professor Hamilton) performed some experiments, two new Parasites debuted, one purple, the other green. The two new Parasites were teenagers named Alex (the green Parasite) and Alexandra (the purple Parasite) who wanted to seek vengeance on the people who made their lives difficult. They were soon subdued by Superman after a battle. Alexander is later killed by an
OMAC while attempting to escape prison. Alexandra successfully escapes and joins the
Secret Society of Super Villains under
Alexander Luthor Jr. Joshua Allen In 2011,
The New 52 rebooted the DC Comics universe. Joshua Michael Allen was a misanthropic delivery boy who was caught in the middle of a battle between Superman and a giant parasite. Allen snapped and attacked the creature, electrocuting it and himself with a live wire. While at S.T.A.R. Labs to check his health from the encounter, their testing transformed him into a creature who constantly feels hunger for energy he obtains from people, leaving their molded skeletons. Tired of this kind of life, he tried to commit suicide and was rescued by Superman, from whom Allen absorbed energy like never before. This eased the pain and hunger he experienced, until his energy was depleted. Allen was imprisoned in
Belle Reve. In later appearances, Allen joins the
Secret Society of Super Villains and the Suicide Squad. ==Powers and abilities==