DC Comics (Pre-Crisis)

Parasite

Maxwell Jensen was an ordinary lab worker until he got exposed to radioactive elements from another galaxy, changing him into a human parasite capable of absorbing power from any living thing.

Power Absorption (Mental)

Sapped the brains of his coworkers (source) (AC#340)
Absorbed Superman’s mentality and innermost secrets (source) (AC#340)
Accidentally kills an alien, stealing its life and memories (source) (AC#361)
Absorbed some of Jimmy Olsen’s journalistic talent (source) (AC#361)
Siphoned off the journalistic talent of all the journalists at the Daily Planet (source) (AC#361)
Using the genius of the scientists at Star Labs, created the Power Prism (source) (AC#361)
Drained every thought from a professor, rendering the old man brain dead (source) (SM#322)
From getting punched, instantly learns every prevalent detail of Cory Renwald’s career (source) (SM#369)
Points a finger at a black belt in karate, who then cannot bring himself to hit Parasite and finds all memories of learning karate stolen (source) (AC#555)
Steals Superman’s popularity, so potent that even after identity reveal, people side with him, both of Kal-El’s personas are harassed, and Parasite is invited on TV (source) (AC#578)
Drained Superman’s self-esteem (source) (AC#578)

Power Absorption (Physical)

Absorbs some of Superman’s power as he flies by (source) (AC#340)
Targets an energy signature to instantly figure out Clark Kent is Superman (source) (AC#340)
Absorbed the strength of a crowd he walked by (source) (AC#340)
Drained nearly all of Superman’s lifeforce in their fight (source) (AC#340)
Accidentally knocked out a crowd of people (source) (AC#340)
Absorbed Superman’s heat vision (source) (AC#340)
Slowly drained Superman’s powers from a careful distance (source) (AC#361)
Goes on the attack, draining Superman to the extent that it takes him days to recover (source) (AC#361)
Absorbed the power of Lex Luthor’s Quasar Bazooka (source) (SM#299)
Gained the appearance of Superman and used this power to defeat him and become the dictator of Earth (source) (WF#246 & #247)
Drained the energy of hundreds of people off-panel (source) (SM#321)
Drained all of Superman’s powers over the course of five minutes (source) (SM#321)
After landing one hit on Superman at 75% power, Clark is too weak to break out of a steel cocoon for a few moments (immediately after Superman dodged a fired laser) (source) (SM#322)
When Parasite first ambushes Superman on Christmas, his energy-absorbing powers are more debilitating than ever (source) (SM#369)
Knocks Superman out but leaves him after finding him undernourished (source) (SM#369)
Absorbs most of Superman’s powers before they even meet up (source) (DCP#55)
Absorbs all of Superman’s power before they meet up (source) (AC#555)
His absorption is faster than Superman’s flight (source) (AC#555)

Power Usage

Keeps the powers of those he’s killed (source) (AC#340)
Slapped Superman around and withstood a blow that Clark put all his strength into (source) (AC#340)
Used telescopic vision, cold breath, and heat vision to create crises for Superman to solve; burned through his flesh suit and defeated Superman in four blows while unfazed from a punch to the jaw (source) (AC#361)
Punched Clark so hard he carved through the street. ‘It’s the Parasite… The one creature on Earth who can be as powerful as I am… Perhaps even more powerful, since he can steal my strength and keep his own as an edge!’ (source) (SM#361)
Threatens to flatten a city with a single punch (source) (WF#247)
Slams Superman into the Earth with blows so fast they cannot be seen (shown for the saga), then drives him further to magma by throwing George’s needle at him (source) (WF#247)
Superman’s punches don’t faze him, so he knocks Clark out with a single blow (source) (WF#247)
Melted the floor beneath security guards, boiling them to death (source) (SM#322)
Repeatedly launches Superman across a football field (source) (DCP#55)

Regeneration

Can live as long as he can steal the energy of others (source) (AC#340)
After vaporizing himself, turns into a cloud (never explained) (source) (AC#361)
After getting hit with an alien blast, obtained the ability to regenerate from atoms (source) (SM#322)
Recovered from being disintegrated (Superman believes it was the Power Prism, but it’s revealed to be his own doing) (source) (WF#247)
Can think and regrow even after reduced to a cloud of atoms (source) (WF#247 & SM#319)

The Prism of Power

With the Power Prism, is stronger than ever before and can still become much stronger (source) (SM#304)
By funneling light through it, powers absorbed by Parasite can be transferred to those touched by its light, sending them into a rage (source) (AC#361)
It can protect him, allowing Parasite to absorb energy far beyond what he can normally take; if removed, he explodes (source) (AC#361)
Revived a version of Solomon Grundy and slowly empowered him to the point where it was strong enough to harm Superman (source) (SM#319)
‘Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely’: stole Superman’s inhibitions from a distance, causing the Man of Steel to become overwhelmed by his own power and senses (source) (SM#321 & #322)

Weaknesses

Will destroy himself if he absorbs 100% of Superman’s power (later not the case; can circumvent by absorbing slowly) (source) (AC#340)
Burns up all the energy a normal body has in minutes (source) (AC#340)
Enjoys absorbing Superman’s power so much that he lets his guard down (source) (SM#369)
In one instance, when transformed into ‘Kon El’ exposed to kryptonite, reduced to a cloud of atoms (source) (WF#247)
Can accidentally absorb the weaknesses of his enemies (source) (SM#369)

Other

‘Presenting the most dangerous villain Superman has ever faced in… ‘The power of the Parasite!’ He feeds on LIVING ENERGY!’ (source) (AC#340)
Later can give and take away people’s powers on his own (source) (DCP#55)
Gave Superman the invulnerability needed to survive one of his punches (source) (DCP#55)

Tags: