Preus
Encyclopedia
Preus is a fictional DC Comics
supervillain
who first appeared in Adventures of Superman
#625 (April 2004), and was created by Joe Kelly
and Talent Caldwell
.
under the Kryptonian
banner of El, their "creator." Due to the compression of time, more than a century had passed inside the bottle city (compared to only a handful of years outside it) during which Preus and his fellow Kandorians had come to worship "The Superman
" as their "god in heaven" above. The Corpsman was also a devout xenophobe
who dispensed justice against "non-K" (Kryptonian) dissidents that threatened their way of life, especially a citizen named Kal-El, who forever tainted Paradise when he seemingly murdered several Kandorians.
Preus swore a solemn oath to make the murderer pay, not realizing that Kal-El was actually the Superman he and others had worshipped for so long. He was also unaware that the "victims" were constructs created by an alien telepath, Lyla, who had brainwashed Kal-El into believing that Kandor was a never-exploded Krypton
. Eventually shattering the illusion, Superman escaped Kandor and confronted Lyla back in Metropolis
. Preus followed them, but exposure to Earth
's air and yellow sun drastically affected him, giving him strange, new powers equal to Superman's while amplifying his already-unbalanced racist
views.
Convinced that Kal-El defiled the legacy of "The Superman," Preus swore to assume that responsibility himself, and that all of the impure would die by his hand. His xenophobia
led him to a group of white supremacists
in the American desert, who he forced into worshipping him and his views. However, in time, the people of "God's Peake" (as the camp was called) came to worship Preus as their cult leader. His increasing prominence eventually led both Martian Manhunter
and Jimmy Olsen
to investigate, only to have both of them captured by Preus and his men.
This forced a confrontation with Superman, who, at the time, was dealing with the effects of Gog's
synthetic Yellow Kryptonite
, which had significantly aged and weakened Superman in a short period of time. So weakened, Superman was barely able to deal with Preus' legions alone, and quickly found himself outclassed by the (at the time) much more vital Preus.
A last-ditch gambit using Kryptonite to try and weaken Preus failed, as Preus revealed a previously unknown resistance to Kryptonite. However, he was finally defeated when Superman attacked and destroyed a key portion of Preus' armor, rendering him unconscious. Afterwards, Preus was injured from that attack and had to be hospitalized. His current whereabouts are unknown. He was last seen as a weakened Superman tried to fly him to S.T.A.R. labs for treatment. Preus disappeared after Superman was engaged by an army of Gogs.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
who first appeared in Adventures of Superman
Superman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
#625 (April 2004), and was created by Joe Kelly
Joe Kelly (comics)
Joseph "Joe" Kelly is an American comic book writer, penciler and editor who has written such titles as Deadpool, Uncanny X-Men, Action Comics, and JLA...
and Talent Caldwell
Talent Caldwell
Talent Caldwell is a comic book artist best known for his work on the Top Cow Productions character Fathom. He has also drawn for DC Comics' Superman and Marvel Comics' Spider-Man characters.-Biography:...
.
Fictional character biography
For years, Sergeant Preus had proudly served the Citizen's Patrol Corps, a police force that kept the peace in KandorKandor
Kandor is the name of the former capital city of the fictional planet Krypton in the DC Universe. It is best known for being stolen and miniaturized by the supervillain Brainiac...
under the Kryptonian
Kryptonian
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race of the DC Comics universe who hail from the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman...
banner of El, their "creator." Due to the compression of time, more than a century had passed inside the bottle city (compared to only a handful of years outside it) during which Preus and his fellow Kandorians had come to worship "The Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
" as their "god in heaven" above. The Corpsman was also a devout xenophobe
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
who dispensed justice against "non-K" (Kryptonian) dissidents that threatened their way of life, especially a citizen named Kal-El, who forever tainted Paradise when he seemingly murdered several Kandorians.
Preus swore a solemn oath to make the murderer pay, not realizing that Kal-El was actually the Superman he and others had worshipped for so long. He was also unaware that the "victims" were constructs created by an alien telepath, Lyla, who had brainwashed Kal-El into believing that Kandor was a never-exploded Krypton
Krypton
Krypton is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a member of Group 18 and Period 4 elements. A colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, krypton occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere, is isolated by fractionally distilling liquified air, and is often used with other...
. Eventually shattering the illusion, Superman escaped Kandor and confronted Lyla back in Metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
. Preus followed them, but exposure to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's air and yellow sun drastically affected him, giving him strange, new powers equal to Superman's while amplifying his already-unbalanced racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
views.
Convinced that Kal-El defiled the legacy of "The Superman," Preus swore to assume that responsibility himself, and that all of the impure would die by his hand. His xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
led him to a group of white supremacists
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
in the American desert, who he forced into worshipping him and his views. However, in time, the people of "God's Peake" (as the camp was called) came to worship Preus as their cult leader. His increasing prominence eventually led both Martian Manhunter
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
and Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
to investigate, only to have both of them captured by Preus and his men.
This forced a confrontation with Superman, who, at the time, was dealing with the effects of Gog's
Gog (comics)
Gog is the name of several different fictional characters in the comics published by DC Comics. The first version first appeared in New Year's Evil: Gog #1, , and was created by Mark Waid and Jerry Ordway.-The Kingdom:...
synthetic Yellow Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
, which had significantly aged and weakened Superman in a short period of time. So weakened, Superman was barely able to deal with Preus' legions alone, and quickly found himself outclassed by the (at the time) much more vital Preus.
A last-ditch gambit using Kryptonite to try and weaken Preus failed, as Preus revealed a previously unknown resistance to Kryptonite. However, he was finally defeated when Superman attacked and destroyed a key portion of Preus' armor, rendering him unconscious. Afterwards, Preus was injured from that attack and had to be hospitalized. His current whereabouts are unknown. He was last seen as a weakened Superman tried to fly him to S.T.A.R. labs for treatment. Preus disappeared after Superman was engaged by an army of Gogs.
Powers and abilities
Preus possesses powers similar to those of Superman, such as superhuman strength and speed, flight, invulnerability, x-ray vision, and enhanced senses. Unlike Superman, Preus can fire beams of black energy from his eyes that strike a target with intense heat and force. Preus also does not share Superman's vulnerability to KryptoniteKryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...