Proteus (DC)
Proteus is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
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Biography
Remington Percival Cord was a male human who was born in the modern age. (Beware the Creeper v1 #3) According to him, a sad accident resulted in him having an unusual face and having no identity. (Super-Team Family v1 #2) He himself stated that he had become disillusioned with life in his country as he felt no comfort or a life of peace. (Beware the Creeper v1 #6) It was known that in time he became the Secretary of State for the sovereign kingdom of Offalia. However, he ended up being a fugitive and embarked on the career as a criminal after stealing a state secret namely a chemical able to alter the molecular structure of flesh. (Beware the Creeper v1 #4)
Around six months ago, he entered into the criminal underworld where he quickly managed to take over the various mob groups. This led to many falling under his control through Legs Larsen grew angry when his syndicate rackets were taken from him. He secretly wanted to depart from Proteus’s growing criminal organization though none of the other mobsters wanted to join him. Upon learning of this, Proteus decided to use events to his advantage by masquerading as the Creeper and having him stage a criminal act. He then began rumours linking the vigilante to Larsen with the goal of both being removed by authorities whereupon Proteus intended to launch a crime wave across the city. (Beware the Creeper v1 #2) One of his operations was managing a temple headed by a minion named Yogi Bizerk. Through it, he planned to get influence over those attending the temple and slowly take over the city. (Beware the Creeper v1 #4) Whilst in America, his ultimately goal was restoring his criminal empire and he offered rich rewards for those that aided him. It was said that Proteus was more than a criminal as his machinations made him a plague and that he was a living virus that destroyed everything he touched. (Beware the Creeper v1 #4)
Despite his supposed death, Proteus had actually survived and remained in the shadows where he continued his operations that included hiring out his services. He was employed with the kidnapping of American boxing champion Japhy Shim for a million Swiss Francs. (Super-Team Family v1 #2)
With his plot successful, the last person he planned to use his Identi-Factor on the Flash who managed to use his super-speed to react before it could rob him of his memories. He attacked Proteus leaving the supervillain unconscious whilst the amnesiac Justice League members had their memories restored. They then defeated the fake criminals disguised as them leading to Proteus’s defeat. The villain revealed the last hero missing was Zatanna whose memories were not restored at the time and he informed the Flash that he had left her at the train station in Gotham City with the persona of a homeless woman. Flash managed to find her and restore her memories where she used her magic to return all the Justice League back to normal. (Justice League of America v1 #188)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, he tended to wear a white featureless mask over his face that masked his identity from others. (Beware the Creeper v1 #2)
It was claimed that Proteus was a power-mad egotist. (Beware the Creeper v1 #2) He claimed that he was a sentimentalist at heart and would at times make use of old-style weapons. (Beware the Creeper v1 #5)
According to him, he did not become a criminal out of greed but rather it was an act of revenge against the world. He stated that he had left his home country in a search for understanding and love but came to find none of it in America thus sending him on a path of hatred against the rest of humanity who he saw as crass, brutal animals. Proteus stated that he took peoples money for all the comfort he had craved and that he similarly intended to take their lives for the same reason. It was said that Proteus had projected his own inner nature onto the world and thus was his own worst enemy with him being insane as a result. (Beware the Creeper v1 #6) Proteus was considered the most dangerous criminal alive. (Beware the Creeper v1 #5) He stated that he would never have gotten far if he had cracked under pressure. Proteus had said that he killed those that betrayed him. (Beware the Creeper v1 #2)
After his first defeat by the Creeper, his mind burnt with an insane desire for revenge as his tortured mind intended to get vengeance against the vigilante. (Beware the Creeper v1 #2)
Powers and abilities
For years, he had developed his strength to match his intelligence thus making him formidable in close-quarter combat. (Beware the Creeper v1 #5) He described himself as a creature with individual talent. (Super-Team Family v1 #2)
Though resembling a featureless white mask, the garment he wore allowed him to take the appearance of other people. He then used his impression and acting talent to pretend to be another person whether it was a man or woman. This allowed him to also quickly attempt an escape by heading into a crowd of people. The material on his mask resembled a mass of putty with physical blows at times glancing off it. (Beware the Creeper v1 #2) His ability to alter his appearance was the result of his theft of a chemical capable of altering the molecular structure of flesh. (Beware the Creeper v1 #4)
He made use of a range of tools as weapons against his enemies such as pellets which released a gas that paralysed those exposed to it. (Beware the Creeper v1 #5) Proteus later came to make use of gas that created hallucinations and made subjects more suggestable. (Super-Team Family v1 #2)
Notes
- Proteus was created by Dennis O'Neil and Steve Ditko where he made his first appearance in Beware the Creeper v1 #2 (August, 1968).
Appearances
- Beware the Creeper v1:
- Super-Team Family v1:
- Justice League of America v1:
External Links
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