Prometheus III

PROMETHEUS III

Real Name: Unrevealed

Class: Human technology-user

Occupation: Supervillain

Group Affiliation: formerly New Injustice Gang

Known Relatives: unnamed parents (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Ghost Zone, formerly Middle East, Malaysia, Tibet

First Appearance: Prometheus #1 (February, 1998)

Powers: Prometheus could enter the extradimensional Ghost Zone using his Cosmic Key. He wore protective body armor and used highly advanced weaponry including a super-dense war club and phosphorus darts. His helmet could download information straight into his brain or act as a hypnotizing strobe light.

History: (Prometheus #1, Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1) - Prometheus' parents were dangerous outlaws who took their son along on a number of robberies. He was present when they died during a standoff with the police. He vowed to tear down the forces of justice, and spent years traveling the world and training to be a killer. A group of Tibetan monks took him in and gave him the Cosmic Key and showed him how to access the Ghost Zone. He built weaponry and a suit of armor, creating the identity of Prometheus. He returned to America and intended to blow up the Supreme Court before finding an even better symbol of justice to destroy, the JLA. He tracked down and shot all the police officers that gunned down his parents, except for officer Graham, who he found already dead in his house. His psychopathic son Chad Graham had shot him, and he took the boy under his wing, intending to make him his apprentice.

(Prometheus #1, JLA #16, 17) - He killed Retro, the winner of a create-a-hero contest that had won a trip to the JLA Watchtower. As "Retro" he gained access to the Watchtower. Prometheus shed his Retro disguise and downloaded the info from the JLA Watchtower’s computer into his brain. Prometheus disrupted the Watchtower’s oxygen supply and defeated Steel, Zauriel, Huntress and Batman, mainly because he had plans and weapons to deal with virtually every hero on Earth. Unbeknownst to Prometheus Catwoman was inside the Watchtower, and although she was armed with only a whip Prometheus was not prepared to fight a fellow villain and she was able to take him down. Prometheus disappeared back to the Ghost Zone, promising to destroy the JLA at a later date.

(JLA #34, 36-39) - Prometheus joined Lex Luthor’s New Injustice Gang in order to destroy the JLA. They chose a time to strike when the JLA’s resources were spread thin, and during a Belle Reve prison riot Prometheus had minor crook Red Dart steal Lantern’s ring, and Prometheus tinkered with it before allowing Green Lantern to recover it. The Gang attacked the JLA Watchtower, getting the drop on the JLA because they entered via Prometheus’ Still Zone. They attacked the heroes and set off massive explosions that damaged the Watchtower, and Prometheus used the Watchtower computer system to pinpoint Oracle’s location. He confronted her, and was impressed by her determination to overcome her handicap and remain in the hero game. He offered her access to his tech that would heal her spine if she spit on her JLA membership, but she refused, he was hurt, and threw her out the window. After downloading Oracle’s computer files into his helmet he returned to the fight against the JLA aboard the Watchtower and met Huntress, who he defeated in combat. Batman confronted him, and Prometheus wanted another win over the hero. He was doing well until Batman sabotaged Prometheus’ helmet, downloading the physical characteristics of Steven Hawkings into Prometheus’ nervous system. The crippled villain was easy pickings for Batman, but he managed to teleport away to his Crooked House in the Still Zone. The JLA followed, and Huntress was ready to kill him, but Batman made her stand down. Batman told Huntress she was off the JLA, and Prometheus was pleased at the turmoil he’d caused.

(Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1 (fb)) - Batman and Martian Manhunter needed to attend to Mageddon's threat, but knew no cell they could build would hold Prometheus, who had as many plans for defeating his enemies as Batman had. Manhunter put his mind in a loop, effectively creating a mental prison and leaving him permanently comatose. After WWIII ended the JLA dropped Prometheus off at Blackgate prison.

(Faces of Evil: Prometheus #1) - After nearly two years in his coma Prometheus awoke when Martian Manhunter was killed by Libra, undoing the mental prison he left Prometheus in. Prometheus murdered a guard that used to slap him around in his comatose state and escaped Blackgate. He hid out in his Gotham safehouse, and while updating himself on what he'd missed over the years he found that his protege Chad Graham had usurped him as Prometheus. Worse, he'd never lived up to the unstoppable image Prometheus had built for himself. Prometheus found his protege on the verge of being defeated by the Blood Pack when he stepped in. The Blood Pack tried to take him down, but he crippled Gunshot's hands killed Anima before returning with Chad to the Ghost Zone. Prometheus told him he was angry because he never tried to free him from Blackgate, but he was even more furious that he'd done such a lousy job as Prometheus. He tied Chad up, covered him in lighter fluid and set him on fire. Prometheus reflected that maybe Chad had done him a favor, because the superhero community no longer saw him as a threat, and would never expect what he was going to do next.

Comments: Created by Grant Morrison and Arnie Jorgensen.

Prometheus received a profile in JLA Secret Files #2.

Zauriel believed that the Ghost Zone was in fact Limbo. As an angel, I think his opinion’s pretty credible. JLA #36 revealed that it was synonymous with the Phantom Zone.

A statue of Prometheus was shown in the JLA Watchtower trophy room in Flash II #209.

Huntress had a hallucination about fighting Prometheus in Batman: Gotham Knights #38.