Prometheus

A dark reflection of Batman, Prometheus was raised by criminals who were gunned down by policemen right in front of him. Dedicating his life to destroying the law, Prometheus traveled the world and trained in the ways of murder. Clad in an armored suit that maximizes his natural skills, he is a master assassin whose physical and mental abilities rival Batman's own. Currently active as a costumed criminal, Prometheus possesses a pathological need to kill enforcers of the law, whether police officers, vigilantes, or super heroes.

History
Prometheus was the son of two loving, hippie criminals who traveled across the United States with him. They committed indiscriminate murders and thefts, often of a brutal nature (similar perhaps to Bonnie and Clyde). Eventually, they were cornered and forced the police to gun them down in front of their son, whose hair turned white from the shock. That night, he swore an oath to "annihilate the forces of justice." His true name has not been revealed.

Prometheus obtained large sums of money both from his parents' hidden stashes of money and by extorting local mob bosses using his knowledge of their criminal activities. Leaving home at the age of 16, he used his money to travel the world in order to develop the skills he would need. His activities during this period included training as an underground pit-fighter in Brazil, working as a mercenary in Africa, joining terrorist groups in the Middle East, studying silat in Malaysia, associating with the wealthy social elite in order to learn their secrets ('I learned to kill in a dozen different Languages'), and attending only the finest in legitimate academic schools and universities. Eventually he found the legendary Himalayan city of Shamballa, inhabited by a sect of monks who worshiped evil itself. Studying with them, he eventually became a favorite of their leader, who showed him their greatest treasure, an alien spaceship upon which their ancient monastery had been built. The leader then transmuted into one of the aliens who'd first landed there, and Prometheus was forced to kill him to obtain the Key to the 'Ghost Zone'.

Along with the ship was a key that opened into what Prometheus dubbed "The Ghost Zone," an infinite expanse of white nothing-ness. (JLA member and angel Zauriel referred to this zone as limbo; it was also used by the White Martians as a form of Hyperspace to effect interstellar travel; the people of Krypton knew it as the Phantom Zone). Prometheus would eventually build himself a small, lopsided wooden house in The Ghost Zone ('Nothing builds straight here. But that's fine with me. A crooked house for a crooked man.'). Here, he was free to build up a resistance to the JLA, unhindered by Earth's authorities or heroes. JLA

Retro was just a normal young man who had won a competition to be a member of the new Justice League of America for a day by designing his own costume and fictitious "origin story." Prometheus took the place of Retro at the Justice League Watchtower on the Moon and almost single-handedly took down the League: He shot the Martian Manhunter with a dart that turned his shape-changing power against him, infected Steel's armor with a computer virus which commanded the suit to damage the Watchtower, hypnotized the Huntress into unconsciousness, attacked Green Lantern with a "Neural Chaff" that rendered his ring useless, trapped the angel Zauriel in the Ghost Zone, and tricked the Flash into believing that he had planted motion sensitive bombs that would explode if the Flash used his powers. He defeated Batman in hand-to-hand combat with the aide of a device that downloaded the skills of the thirty greatest martial arts masters in the world (including Batman) into his brain and a pair of lights on his shoulder that blinked in an erratic pattern to cause disorientation. At the time, the Watchtower was filled with innocent civilians that the League had invited for a tour. With the Watchtower under his control, Prometheus then demanded that Superman--the only hero he could not defeat--commit suicide in exchange for the lives of the hostages, sacrificing the two things which he presumed would matter to Superman; his image and his reputation. He also expressed his pleasure at the fact that 'Superman said "Prometheus" and he didn't sound scared.'

However, Prometheus's best laid plans were laid to waste by an unforeseen variable: the anti-hero Catwoman, who incapacitated him with a simple whip crack to the groin. Having sneaked onto the Watchtower disguised as Cat Grant looking for things to steal, Catwoman's intervention bought Steel the time he needed to beat the virus (Although it was only thanks to the lucky arrival of Plastic Man that Steel's hammer failed to do any damage to the Watchtower walls) and, in turn, override Prometheus' helmet. Prometheus then escaped to the Ghost Zone.

Prometheus later returned as a part of the second Injustice Gang created by Lex Luthor. He was able to use the Ghost Zone and a White Martian spaceship left from the Martian Invasion within it to get into the Watchtower. He almost killed Oracle by defenestrating her when she refused his deal. He wanted her to betray the JLA in return for being able to walk again. Oracle manages to survive by grabbing the hand on the face of the Clocktower, simultaneously damaging Prometheus's helmet.

He then had a final rematch with Batman who had, in the intervening time, managed to unlock the secrets of Prometheus' helmet. Batman replaced the martial arts skills Prometheus had downloaded into his mind with the physical skills and coordination of Professor Stephen Hawking, a famed scientist who could barely move. Huntress, who witnessed the latter half of the battle, described this as "cheating." Batman retorted with "Not cheating. Winning." Batman later commented that it was the "first time [he] ever hit a man with motor neuron disease". Later, Batman was forced to intervene in order to prevent Huntress from killing the helpless Prometheus, firing her from the Justice League in the process.

After battling Mageddon, Batman and Martian Manhunter conceded that no prison could hold Prometheus, so they placed him in a psychic loop, trapped in his own memories. In this state, he was sent to Blackgate Prison and left. Martian Manhunter kept him in this state for the rest of his life. During this time, his "identity" and all his equipment was used by Chad Graham, his protegé.

Graham was later seen in Star City, fighting Green Arrow and the police. He was nearly killed, but escaped with the help of Batman villain Hush. Prometheus II later formed a partnership with Hush, but was abandoned for his complicity in the murder of Poison Ivy. Infected with a terminal disease by one of Ivy's mutated foster children, Prometheus II is powerless to defend himself from kidnapping. He is taken by The Society, of which he had previously been a member. The Society wanted to steal the key to the Ghost Zone, which Prometheus had already hidden in the museum of the Justice Society of America. He is later seen in the Battle of Metropolis, in which a villain army battles a superhero army. During the battle, Chad is glimpsed killing the Peacemaker (Mitchell Black).

Prometheus II then appeared in Birds of Prey #94 defeating Lady Shiva, one of the DC universe's top-rated martial artists. Shiva, despite knowing her own skills were recorded, along with twenty-nine others, attacks and is defeated in three seconds.

Chad Graham also appeared facing off against Captain America in the JLA/Avengers crossover. While he put up a fight, using the high-tech outfitted helmet and Batman's fighting skills, the Captain soundly defeated him, deriding him for his usage of the technology (he even remarked he learned focus from fighting the Wehrmacht, giving him effective immunity against Prometheus' neural chaff and hypnosis).

Prometheus II then recaptured the Society defector Crime Doctor from under the Huntress' nose. He then fought the Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, and Black Canary before the Crime Doctor's suicide removed their reason for fighting. Prometheus II departed unopposed, commenting sardonically that thus far the Huntress had given him more trouble than Superman.

In Teen Titans #51, Prometheus II is shown to be under the control of Starro. It appears that while under Starro's control, he is not as skilled a fighter and Robin is portrayed as being nearly a match for Graham. However in the end, Prometheus II is defeated by an alternate-reality version of Tim Drake.

After Martian Manhunter's death at the hands of Libra, the real Prometheus regained control of his own mind and broke out. Enraged that his successor hadn't tried to rescue him, he tracked the younger man down and killed him.

As the impostor died, Prometheus realized that Chad had done him a favor by making people think he was a joke, which allowed him a great opportunity to make his mark once more.

Prometheus is revealed to be the central villain in the 2009 series Justice League: Cry for Justice. In the story, he begins to make his move on the superhero community, killing Freedom Beast, Gloss, Tasmanian Devil and possibly other heroes as well.

It is revealed that Prometheus has sent out a bevy of supervillains to attack various superheroes (including Barry Allen, Batwoman, Crimson Avenger, and Courtney Whitmore) in order to distract them from his true plan. Prometheus and his involvement in the plot is revealed after one of his hirelings, Killer Moth, is cornered by the two Atoms in New Mexico. The heroes torture Moth into revealing that Prometheus is the true mastermind. It has been revealed that he has been impersonating Freddy Freeman throughout the series to gain access to the JLA satellite. He defeats the entire gathering of heroes who try to stop him, only to be distracted by the Shade (who, being a villain, Prometheus doesn't have a file on), allowing Donna Troy to beat him down. Prometheus reveals he has placed teleportation devices in various cities to send them through time and space in order to hurt the heroes. He offers to reveal their locations in exchange for his freedom and proves his threat by revealing Star City is about to be taken away. The Justice League was forced to allow Prometheus to escape in order to stop further destruction.

He is currently at large.

Powers and Abilities

 * Possesses the key to The Ghost Zone, allowing him teleportation abilities via another dimension as well as a hidden extra-dimensional base. The Cosmic Key may also be able to unlock other dimensions, as it was used to free Johnny Sorrow from his extradimensional confinement.


 * Prometheus carries a high tech tonfa (known as 'The Nightstick') that allows him to deliver superhuman blows despite its light weight, as well as various other gadgets.


 * His greatest accomplishment is the invention of a helmet which allows him to download the knowledge of others, stored on a Compact Disc, directly into his brain (this information is not, however, retained indefinitely, and Prometheus must change disks in the helmet to access different knowledge). This helmet also transmits certain reflexive abilities enabling him to access physical skills as well as knowledge. The helmet can also emit strobe lighting to disorient or hypnotize an opponent.


 * Even without his helmet, Prometheus is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and strategic genius.


 * Prometheus wears body armor, the gauntlets of which can fire various projectiles including bullets and chemical and poison darts.


 * Prometheus claims to have developed plans to defeat every DC superhero. To date these have included use of "neural chaff" to disrupt Kyle Rayner's will power and limit his ability to use his ring, chemical darts which resulted in the Martian Manhunter and Plastic Man losing control of their shape changing abilities, a computer virus which took control to Steel's armour and bullets made by Vulcan capable of injuring even Kryptonians such as Superman and Supergirl.


 * Prometheus relied more on double pistols than his Nightstick or hand to hand combat.

As with Batman, much of the danger Prometheus presents is the result of planning and preparation, and a detailed understanding of the weaknesses and tactics and opponent is likely to use against him.

In other media

 * Prometheus also appears as a villain working for Brainiac in the Nintendo DS version of the video game Justice League Heroes. He goes to Gotham City and implants one of Brainiac's mind control devices on Batman. He is then defeated by Wonder Woman and The Flash, who then rescue the Dark Knight.


 * While Prometheus does not actually appear in Batman: Arkham Asylum, an old 'Wanted' flyer issued for the villain by the Gotham City Police Department can be seen among several other cluttered papers tacked to the bulletin board in the insane asylum's Penitentiary Guard Room.