Prankster

PRANKSTER

Real Name: Oswald Loomis

Class: Human technology-user

Occupation: Comedian, supervillain

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Metropolis

First Appearance: Action Comics #51 (August, 1942)

Powers: Prankster was a demented schemer with a devious mind, and was skilled at taking advantage of people who underestimated him. He had warehouses full of novelty items that had been converted into dangerous weapons.

History: (Superman vol. 2 #16) - Oswald Loomis is a baggy-pants comic inspired by the heyday of vaudeville. He spent most of his career playing county fairs and carnivals until hitting the big time when Galaxy Broadcasting System made him the host of The Uncle Oswald Show. As the years went by ratings declined, but the show enjoyed a cult following among an adult audiance. Convinced that he would soon be canceled Oswald stockpiled vast amounts of his sponsors' novelty products. Morgan Edge, president of WGBS-TV finally canceled Oswald's show and replaced it with cheap animated cartoons. Oswald snapped, and set out to executed a series of demented and attention-getting pranks as the Prankster. Prankster shut off electrical service for 80% of the clocks in Metropolis, filled several city-blocks with a deluge of giant soap suds and choked off the subway system with huge quantities of popcorn. Superman II tried to get the city moving again, but Prankster routed most of the city's water supply through a gigantic trick flower, unleashing a stream of water at the Man of Steel. Prankster then kidnaped Lois Lane and held her hostage in WGBS's Studio C. Prankster revealed his reasoning for his actions; he wanted to be remembered for generations to come, and after a few years in jail he would cash in on his notoriety with a book and speaking tour. He then gave himself up to Superman, who informed him that kidnapping would land him a very long stretch in prison. Realizing his mistake Prankster used a tear-gas lapel flower on the police escorting him to jail and went into hiding.

When his former boss Morgan Edge was hospitalized, the Prankster infiltrated the staff of Metropolis General Hospital, posing as an orderly. Prankster was about to chain saw Morgans' legs off when Superman intervened, and sent Prankster to prison.

(DC Comics Presents #41) - Joker agreed to bust Prankster out of jail after he learned they’d both been cheated in the past by the deceased Jerry Travis, a famous Hollywood comedian who’d made his real money by financing criminal enterprises. The villains enjoyed each others shticks, but agreed not to pull any practical jokes on each other and act like professionals. They knew Travis had secret bank accounts, and the key to finding his passbook was in his collection of practical jokes that was being auctioned off at an estate sale in L.A.. They broke onto the scene, and stole the collection of jokes, but Superman was in town, so they had to contend with him. Superman’s friend Perry White was in town for a journalist convention, so they kidnapped him, and flew off in a helicopter. Superman pursued, but Prankster double-crossed Joker and tossed him from the copter, so Superman had to give up his pursuit to save him. Joker promised to help him catch Prankster, assuring him he could help Superman save Perry. Superman reluctantly agreed, and using the estate catalogue and looking through the practical joke inventory, they realized Travis’ passbook was hidden under his star in the Hollywood walk of fame. They caught Prankster as he uncovered the passbook, and Joker injected him with a deadly nerve-toxin, grabbed the passbook, and fled. Joker severely disliked people turning against him. Superman couldn’t let Prankster die, especially when he didn’t know where Perry was, so he rushed him to the Fortress of Solitude, and hooked him up to a Kryptonian blood-filter. While he waited for him to recover he arrived at the bank containing Travis’ secret bank account and foiled the Joker’s robbery, but Joker managed to escape using a dummy of himself filled with kryptonite dust. Superman recovered, sped to the Arctic, interrogated Prankster, and saved Perry from the hangar he’d been stashed in, which had been booby-trapped with a gigantic water tank tripped when the entrance was opened. Superman finally caught up to Joker, smashed his helicopter, and brought him to justice.

(Superman I #299) - The alien Xviar planned to charge up Superman's powers until he became a superbomb and destroyed Earth. Toward this purpose he teleported several of Superman's deadliest foes, including Toyman, into the apartment of Clark Kent, Superman's civilian identity. Superman responded, and Xviar teleported the villains across the globe, making Superman chase them. Superman easily defeated Toyman, Prankster and Terra-Man in Egypt. As Superman approached critical mass he figured out Xviar's scheme, and foiled him by defeating his final adversary, Kryptonite Man, in his non-powered civilian identity.

Comments: Created by Ed Dobrotka & Jerry Siegel

In the pre-Crisis DC Universe there were versions of Prankster on both Earth-1 and Earth-2. The Crisis erased the Earth-2 Prankster from existence.

Prankster received profiles in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18, Who's Who Update '88 #3, Who’s Who in the DC Universe #11 and Superman Metropolis Secret Files #1.