When it comes to creating sophisticated, strange, and fresh villains, DC has never failed to deliver. We have covered Batman villains extensively on this channel, but Superman has an impressive rogues gallery as well, which we will look at today.
When it comes to renowned villains that have faced up against the Man of Steel, Brainiac and Lex Luthor come to mind. However, one supervillain appeared before them all and challenged Superman’s abilities and capabilities. This adversary was not your typical gangster or wicked genius; instead, he was a one-of-a-kind ‘super albino gorilla,’ who also happened to be Superman’s first supervillain. This albino gorilla is known as the Ultra-Humanite and has a fascinating backstory – let us take you on a journey from his initial appearance to his current status as a popular bad ape throughout the DC Universe!
The first comic book appearance and origins explored
He first appeared in Action Comics Issue #13, all the way back in the year 1939. The comic book opens with Clark Kent riding in a cab when he gets hit by a cab driver from a competing company. When he confronts the competing driver, the driver says that he was a member of the Cab Protective League (CPL), a group that targeted independent cab companies and was trying to seize control of the city’s taxi trade which turned quite the profit. This union was led by a man named Reynolds who was being funded and backed by, you guessed it, the villain – Ultra-Humanite. However, this Ultra-Humanite is nothing like the albino-gorilla we popularly know him to be.
Superman then went to the Carlyle Cab Company, where he witnessed the boss being intimidated by a CPL member. He made his presence there known by thrashing the racketeer, then picking him up and leaping into the air. The racketeer attempted to knife him, which caused Superman to fly into a building, killing the racketeer, as he fell to his death.
Mr. Reynolds, the CPL’s boss, then telephoned Mr. Carlyle and inquired about his willingness to pay for his security, which he refused. Reynolds and his goons went to confront Carlyle since he refused, and intimidate him into it. Superman, however, shows up and blows up their car ordering them all to blow up their own taxis. Under pressure from the Man of Steel, Reynolds admits to ordering the killings of the other drivers and is caught by Superman.
He was convicted and sentenced to the Sing Sing penitentiary. On his way there, Reynolds lights a cigarette as the cops drive him to the station. However, the cops discover that the cigarette contains a deadly gas – but it was too late by then and they were already unconscious. Superman begins tracking Reynolds after learning of his escape and discovers a discarded police car in the same location where the cops were last seen. He finally finds him in a secluded cabin.
He crashes through the cabin’s roof, where he encounters Reynolds, who finally presents him to his boss and employer, the Ultra-Humanite, the world’s most intelligent man. Superman sees that he is paralyzed from the waist down and wheelchair-bound but is a wicked “mad scientist.” The domination of the Earth is his grand ambition. He is known to be a mental behemoth who runs a wide ring of nefarious businesses and has fiery eyes that flare with awful anger and deadly knowledge. His real name has never been revealed, but ever since a scientific experiment resulted in him owning the most agile and educated brain on Earth, he has been dubbed “the Ultra-Humanite”.
When Superman approaches the Ultra-Humanite, he is temporarily knocked out by a wave of electricity that shocks him. Superman is then promptly strapped to a board and fed into a sawmill by the Ultra-Humanite in hopes of destroying the Superhero once and for all. For the most intelligent person on Earth, definitely not the cleverest course of action when it comes to killing Superman.
The saw blades, as predicted, have no effect on Superman. However, poor Mr. Reynolds is killed when one of the blades breaks off. The Ultra-Humanite then summons his henchmen, who transport his incapacitated body to a nearby special plane and then set fire to the cabin, when he realized that his plan was not going to work. Superman awakens and flees the cabin just before the fire threatens to kill him. He then deliberately crashes into the plane that was carrying away Ultra-Humanite but alas, could never find the criminal’s body in the wreckage.
The Ultra-Humanite was created to be the exact opposite of Superman; whereas Superman is a superhuman hero with insane physical prowess, Ultra-Humanite is a criminal mastermind with a damaged body but a highly evolved intellect. Until Lex Luthor was introduced in the comics, the Ultra-Humanite was Superman’s primary antagonist. The beginnings of the Ultra-Humanite, a super-criminal, are shrouded in obscurity. Even he claims he has no recollection of his true identity or appearance, and he blames his tremendous intellect and mental aptitude on unidentified scientific operations.
Unfortunately for him, his physical brain interface never advanced as his mind’s energies continued to increase and extend, even generating low-level mind energy abilities like telepathy. His body began to burn out slowly as he was unable to contain the mental energies. Thus, he began transplanting his brain and consciousness into other bodies.
Many of the Ultra-most Humanite’s audacious and famous criminal activities were perpetrated in the body of actress Dolores Winters. Dolores Winters’ body was chosen by the Ultra-Humanite because, in that age, most male cops would not accuse a woman, let alone a well-known public figure, of being a criminal mastermind.
The Ultra-Humanite however, transplants his consciousness to an albino gorilla body and becomes a significant super-villain on Earth-Two only in the yearly JLA/JSA team-up in Justice League of America #195-197 (1981). This is where he finally gets his iconic albino ape persona. In fact, he is known to have transplanted his brain into a variety of human and animal bodies, eventually choosing the albino gorilla due to its incredible physical strength – the one thing that he lacked.
Ultra-Humanite in Justice League animated series
The Ultra-Humanite appeared in 3 episodes in the Justice League Animated series and was shown to be not as terrifying as in the comic books – which for many fans was quite disappointing. His true powers were never put to good use during his stint in the Injustice gang in this animated series. He, however, appears in his albino-gorilla form in three episodes, namely “Injustice For All” “Only A Dream” where he only has a cameo in a dream and lastly, in the episode titled “Comfort and Joy”.
Humanite was portrayed to be unlike the other supervillains in this version of the character. He was shown to be a sincere admirer of the great arts, particularly opera – and not as much of a wicked supervillain who wanted to take over the world. The zeal he had for pursuing the arts was so intense that Batman used it to convince him to turn on Lex Luthor and the Injustice Gang. As a result, Humanite handed himself in to enjoy the cultural programming that was facilitated by a generous contribution made in his name by Batman, which was more than double what Luthor was compensating him with.
Ultra-Humanite later revealed his more “human” side. He had actually intended to destroy a gigantic museum selection of modern art figurines, which he considered “garbage,” but he decided to take a break from wickedness to spend Christmas with Flash and some orphans, playing with a toy the Flash had brought that he had accidentally broken but refitted to tell The Nutcracker story.
Later, Humanite returns to jail, and Flash thanks him for his assistance. Humanite states that he appreciates any opportunity to introduce youngsters to culture. Flash then gifts him a Christmas tree and Humanite finds the aluminium Christmas tree surprise moving and informs Flash that he hasn’t had one since he was a child. Definitely not a portrayal that DC fans were used to, but an interesting one nonetheless.
Ultra-Humanite in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Ultra-Humanite’s lore is a little different in his appearance in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In the 1940s, the Ultra-Humanite was a deviant scientist and genius inventor. His biggest accomplishment was mastering the capacity to transfer his brain into other people’s bodies. The bodies of film star Dolores Winters, a huge ant, and a genetically modified albino ape were alleged to have been stolen by Ultra-Humanite.
Specific to this story arc, the Ultra-Humanite was used by the Axis Powers during World War II to tip the scales of the war in their favor. He created a facility on Dinosaur Island in the South Pacific and installed mind-control transmitters in the indigenous population of Dinosaurs and Pterodactyls. As a new host body, he employed an albino Tyrannosaurus Rex – which would also become one of his best-known animal host bodies.
The army was utilized by Ultra-Humanite to shoot out Allied planes, which attracted special operations from the likes of Batman and the Creature Commandos. Unafraid, he vowed to unleash the animals on the globe and conquer it for the Axis Powers. The Commandos were finally able to disable Ultra-remote Humanite’s control, allowing the animals to escape. Ultra-Humanite attempted to flee to his complex but was apprehended, bringing an end to his story in this run.
Ultra-Humanite as portrayed in Young Justice
This was Ultra-Humanite’s fourth on-screen appearance. In this one, we see him first in the body of an old woman. He had implanted his brain into the body of a woman sometime before 2008. In this body, he was a frail woman with long grey hair and an elderly appearance.
The Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron were both enemies of the Ultra-Humanite during this time. A group of scientists led by the now elderly woman arrived in Bwunda in the year 2008 to conduct studies on the local gorillas. Tolifhar, an albino gorilla had his brain swapped with that of the female leader and therefore became the new body for Ultra-Humanite’s brain. Tolifhar was interestingly the first to be caught and Humanite must have taken an added shine to him. He had a grey face and the enormous body of a white gorilla. A brain-like growth had replaced his upper head as a result of his transplant. On the right side of his mouth, he also had a little scar.
In the story, he partners up with Monsieur Mallah, another super-intelligent ape supervillain who often goes up against the misfit superhero squad Doom Patrol. His vicious and nasty personality was on display in the episode when the scientists constructed a compound of laboratories, dubbed “Gorilla City” in a sadistic display of mockery, and enslaved an entire troop of gorillas, except for one who managed to dodge them. They used inhibitor collars to sedate the gorillas and used brain surgeries and Kobra-Venom to improve them. The scientists kept their children captive to ensure the gorilla’s compliance.
Throughout the series, Humanite is shown to be torturing animals in the name of science and scientific experimentation. He also joins the Injustice League at one point in his storyline that spans over 4 seasons of the show. As part of the Injustice League, he was again in charge of modified plant creatures that coordinated a global plant attack – once again using science for evil.
Later, he also joined Light which is a self-proclaimed group of enlightened members who want to be the ones to bring about the next evolutionary step of mankind and would go to any lengths to achieve their goals. He was an active member and conducted many experiments such as cloning and meta programs to further their cause. However, he was not just a mad scientist but also a hitman and carried out plans like kidnapping on behalf of Light.
Thus, in this portrayal of Ultra-Humanite, he is shown as a ruthless villain who has no regard for life in any form and uses beings as his lab rats to further his own needs. He is truly shown to be the terrible villain that was originally imagined for Superman to fight and takedown.
What makes Ultra-Humanite such a powerful enemy?
He definitely has unique physiology as he is practically a super-intelligent human brain in the body of an albino gorilla, for most of his appearances. His most important power is his enhanced intellect as he is a scientific genius after all, criminal or not. He is best known for the insane experiments that he conducts with no care for human or animal life. He also acquired superhuman strength as he changed bodies, specifically in the albino gorilla and tyrannosaur bodies and thus also had superhuman durability.
He could also control other Gorillas in his most iconic Ultra-Humanite form. He also wielded sufficient power to implement a suggestion in the minds of almost all members of Infinity Inc. simultaneously, thus giving him the power of hypnosis. He was also able to use telepathy, telekinesis, and brain blasts which are waves of energy projected from the brain as a result of his constantly expanding mind energies.
Apart from his physical powers, he is also an extremely skilled person. He knows advanced scientific techniques which can give superpowers to ordinary humans. He is so intelligent that he once calculated that the banishment of certain heroes to Interdimensional Limbo would fade off all heroes in Earth-Two. He was a genius when it came to all things technology and medicine – in fact, it is said that he knew how to cure cancer.
In the various different bodies that Ultra-Humanite possessed, he had different abilities – he was extremely attractive in Dolores Winters’s body and thus could use the powers of seduction and in the gorilla’s body, he could perform acrobatics with ease along with other physical feats with the help of great strength.
One of his biggest weaknesses however is that his brain was too advanced and regular human bodies were unable to host it. The brain caused the body to degenerate, causing him to constantly have the need to change bodies. This is also the reason why he also genetically modified the albino gorilla to be able to house his brain and consciousness for longer amounts of time. Along with that, he also had a monstrous appearance in his gorilla or dinosaur bodies which made it really hard for him to be inconspicuous.
An all-new power upgrade now makes him stronger!
In Superman and the Authority #3, Ultra-Humanite was seen once again, and here, he places his consciousness in the body of Solomon Grundy, another DC supervillain who was originally introduced as an enemy of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. Solomon Grundy is one hunk of a beast and thus, was already a strong villain. Ultra-Humanite, in Grundy’s body, knocks out a power-drained Superman in Fort Superman, vowing to “remake the planet” using the Man of Tomorrow’s Kryptonian abilities. This already shows that in the massive muscular body of Grundy, Humanite is a major threat.
Clark then awakens in the Bottle City of Kandor, which is a planet that features an artificial atmosphere that replicates Krypton’s gravity conditions which thus renders native Kryptonians helpless. Humanite thinks he has the upper hand because of the atmosphere of Kandor but Clark reveals that the artificial environment has been turned off and fights the Ultra-Humanite intensely before Lois Lane subdues the villain with a White Kryptonite rifle which is a weapon that is effective against Grundy’s plant-based body.
After subduing him and studying his brain, they discover that the brain of Ultra-Humanite has been enhanced with modern technologies and bears the hallmark emblem of the cosmic world-collector and DC supervillain, Brainiac who serves as one of Superman’s main villains and is said to have the knowledge of all the universe.
Previously, the Ultra-Humanite could only transplant his brain into one body at a time, but with this new Brainiac-powered enhancement, the villain could now clone their consciousness over numerous bodies at once. As a result, they no longer regarded themselves as a single person, but rather as the forerunner of humanity’s next evolutionary step. The Ultra-Humanite then attacks the G7 Summit on Climate Change in Dubai with an army of drones driven by replicas of his brain as part of Brainiac’s plot to save the Earth’s environment from humanity’s ruin as part of this story arc. Other villains and former heroes, such as Eclipso, Fleur de Lis, and Iron Cross, join him.
Even if the new Authority team that consisted of cynical and often rule-bending superheroes like Apollo, Midnighter, Enchantress, Manchester Black, Steel, Lightray, and OMAC would be able to stop him, the villains’ new consciousness-cloning technology means they may never truly die as long as one body remains.
The Ultra-Humanite returns to Brainiac’s ship, which was trapped in Earth’s orbit, and enters a hanger full of various bodies at his disposal, including a dinosaur, many alien animals, a Chemo-like android, and a frog – showing that he had many bodies at his disposal. When Clark discloses that he plans to leave Earth to save many other planets, Ultra-Humanite feels that the Man of Tomorrow has handed over control of the Earth’s destiny to him and his team, and sets out to assassinate his son, Jon Kent!
Morrison thus finally brought Superman’s first arch-nemesis, giving him better powers as well as increased emotional depth and nuance and potentially reinstating him as a major Superman adversary.
The Ultra-Humanite has been around for a very, very long time as a supervillain and has faced a plethora of heroes. He has also had a long career which has spanned many bodies with the most iconic one of them being the albino gorilla. He is definitely not one to be underestimated and is actually regarded as one of the most intelligent Superman foes by many, being classified as intellectually superior to Lex Luther as well. What do you think about the Ultra-Humanite? Let us know in the comments section below!