A villain published by DC Comics. The Parasite first appeared in Action Comics #340 in 1966.

Rudy Jones was a small time crook always looking for a fast buck. After a string of less than successful jobs, Jones took a job in the maintainence areas of S.T.A.R. Labs. Having heard rumors that major corporations sometimes transported payrolls in containers marked as hazardous waste, Jones decided to find out if it was true while transporting a load of waste with high security clearance. Unbeknownst to Jones, the waste in question had extraterrestrial origins, particularly from the planet Apokolips, the home of Darkseid. When Jones opened one of the containers, the hazardous waste in the container bathed Jones in weird radioactive energy, that caused him to turn purple and become the inhuman villain known as Parasite.

In his new form, Jones found that his touch would absorb the energy of a person, feeding him with energy. If Jones stayed in contact long enough, he would drain all of the life energy from a person, killing them. When Parasite touches a person with superhuman powers, he can absorb their abilities for a time. During that time, the hero in question is unable to use his powers. Jones needs energy to continue living so he is constantly looking for a new energy source.

The Parasite originally battled Superman, but when he tried to absorb the Man of Steel's powers, he found himself overloaded and collapsed from the strain. After that, he tried to only drain a portion of Superman's power working his way up. He can absorb just particular abilities from heroes. For instance, he could just absorb Superman's heat vision if he wished. In one pre-Crisis story, he absorbed Superman's popularity, making the Last Son of Krypton a public outcast, until Superman was able to defeat the Parasite.

Lately, Superman's wife Lois Lane was replaced by the Parasite for a time. The Parasite descovered Lane was Clark Kent's wife and kidnapped her and took her place for a time. During that time he tried to undermine Superman by striking at him from his personal life. When the Parasite finally revealed himself, he and Superman battled and during the ensuing battle, the Parasite died from unknown causes.


Though not addressed by the comics specifically, the fact that the Parasite's ruse involved Clark and Lois's sex life raises some uncomfortable lines of thought. The question becomes how far Jones was willing to go to convince Superman that he was really Lois. The best we can hope for is that Kal-El was really, really, really frustrated after those months.