Imperiex

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caption = Cover to "Superman" #153. Art by Ian Churchill.
character_name = Imperiex
publisher = DC Comics
debut = "Superman" #153 (February 2000)
creators = Jeph Loeb
Ian Churchill
alter_ego =
species =
homeworld =
alliances =
aliases = Destroyer of Galaxies, Lord Imperiex
supports=
powers = Wields the power of the Big Bang

Imperiex is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in "Superman" #153, (February 2000), and was created by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill. He was the main villain for the "Our Worlds at War" crossover.

Fictional character biography

The embodiment of entropy, Imperiex takes the form of pure energy contained inside a humanoid set of armor, colossal in size. He is first mentioned when Mongul, the son of the deceased villain of the same name, arrives on Earth stating that Imperiex has destroyed his Warworld and is heading for Earth. Mongul convinces Superman to help him fight Imperiex, and the two apparently manage to defeat it. However, it transpires that the "Imperiex" they encountered was no more than a probe, whereas Imperiex Prime, leader of the Imperiex probes, is himself a much larger and more powerful being. He has detected imperfections in the fabric of the universe, and his ultimate plan is to destroy it and create a new, perfect one. To do so, Imperiex Prime heads for Earth- the planet which holds the universe together after being the center of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths", in order to destroy it and therefore induce a new Big Bang.

Before arriving to Earth, Imperiex obliterates countless other planets including Kalanor, Karna, and Daxam. Whole galaxies are also targeted for demolition. After destroying Karna, Imperiex arrives at Almerac, the home of Maxima, and not only destroys Almerac but "hollows" the whole galaxy. After this, the survivors of the dead worlds, along with Earth, Apokolips and Brainiac 13's new Warworld, form a coalition, with Darkseid as its commander, to fight against Imperiex Prime and his probes. Finally arriving at the Milky Way Galaxy, Imperiex sends in numerous probes. On Earth, Imperiex's machine-colony "Hollowers" destroy Topeka, Kansas (as well as seven other places on Earth's seven continents and Atlantis) when they began to dig into Earth to ready it for Imperiex's final demolition.

President Lex Luthor rallies the super-heroes of Earth, the U.S. military, and other countries, such as Pokolistan, together. Luthor decides that Superman alone does not have enough power to lead a strike force, and instead arranges for Doomsday to be released from captivity and brainwashed to see all Imperiex probes as Superman. They fight the probes and manage to destroy several until Imperiex Prime himself is finally drawn to them. Doomsday is outmatched and vaporized, only his skeleton remaining, though Darkseid saves Superman from a similar fate. Thanks to the sacrifice of Strange Visitor and General Rock, Earth's forces managed to crack Imperiex's armor, intending that Darkseid would subsequently use Boom tubes to transfer Imperiex's energy back to the galaxies he'd destroyed to prevent them triggering a new big bang. However, Brainiac-13 appears on the battleground with Warworld, absorbing the Imperiex energies and vowing to use them to rule everything. Superman dives into the sun to acquire a sufficient power boost to oppose Brainiac, but when it is discovered that Warworld cannot be destroyed without releasing Imperiex and triggering another Big Bang, he has the Martian Manhunter form a telepathic link with other combatants to explain a last-minute plan.

With his powers weakened following Brainiac's attack Darkseid uses Tempest as a magical focus for his abilities, empowered by the faith and strength of the Amazons, focusing his energy through Steel's new 'Entropy Aegis' armor (created from a burned-out Imperiex probe).Citation | last = Wallace | first = Dan | author-link = | contribution = Imperiex's Entropy Aegis | editor-last = Dougall | editor-first = Alastair | title = The DC Comics Encyclopedia | pages = 93 | publisher = Dorling Kindersley | place = New York | year = 2008 | ISBN = 0-7566-4119-5 | oclc = 213309017] Meanwhile Lex Luthor activates a temporal displacement weapon on Earth, combining the weapon's energies with the Apokolips energy to create a temporal boom tube. Using his new power boost, Superman is able to literally push Warworld itself through the boom tube, sending both Imperiex Prime's and Brainiac's consciousnesses back to the Big Bang, destroying both villains through a combined effort while negating any effect they would have had on the present. In his final moments, Imperiex Prime realizes, in an ironic twist, that the imperfection he had detected in the universe was himself.

At least 8 million people on Earth die during the war. The total number dead in the DC Universe is stated to be countless. Several heroes also die, including Maxima and General Sam Lane, Lois Lane's father. Aquaman, Doomsday, Guy Gardner, Queen Hippolyta, and Steel are all presumed dead, but later return alive for different reasons.

In other media

Television

"Justice League: Unlimited"

The episode "Hawk and Dove" features a living suit of armor called the Annihilator that design-wise resembles Imperiex. It is Tom Sera (Ares) commissioned the creation of the Annihilator for the purpose of exacerbating the civil war in Kaznia. Offering it free-of-charge to Nardoc, the leader of the hard-pressed Northern tribes, Ares touted it as the perfect aid to their cause. Nardoc put it to good use early on, using it to spearhead a counterattack against the Southern forces that successfully drove them away. The Annihilator tore through several units of the Southern army, and even proved too strong for a Justice League team composed of Wonder Woman, Hawk and Dove.

Recognizing Hephaestus’s mark on the machine’s breastplate, Wonder Woman confronted him. Hephaestus confessed that all of his creations contained a weakness, but he wouldn’t tell her what the Annihilator’s was. However, he gave her a hint that she figured out in the midst of the next battle between the Kaznians: the Annihilator was indestructible, but required aggression to power it.

As it approached the Southerners’ camp, Dove convinced the guards to lower their weapons. Deprived of its fuel, the Annihilator shut down.

The inert Annihilator was stored aboard the Watchtower until it was stolen by Task Force X on behalf of Cadmus.

Tala experimented on the armor, trying to find a way to remove its weakness. When she was unsuccessful, her mentor, Felix Faust, then existing only as a disembodied soul, tricked her into speaking an incantation that released him from his confinement and allowed him to possess the Annihilator. It became Faust's new body, with which he immediately stormed into Tartarus, overcame Hades, and made himself master of the underworld. He was shortly confronted by Diana, Shayera Hol, and Lord Hades. Although Faust managed to remove the Annihilator's weakness, it was still vulnerable to Shayera's Nth metal mace, which disrupted magic. After Shayera struck the initial blow, Diana took up the mace and destroyed the armor, leaving a small portion of Faust's soul drifting loose.

"Legion of Super Heroes"

Imperiex appears in the "Legion of Super Heroes" animated series, voiced by Phil Morris. [cite web|url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=123052|title=SDCC '07 - DC TV Cartoons Panel|accessdate=2007-10-08|author = Steve Ekstrom] The character was deemed to be a big enough threat to be used as the primary villain for the entire second season, but enough of a blank slate that his "real" DC Universe history could be modified for the TV version. [cite web |url=http://www.wizarduniverse.com/television/tvother/005969788.cfm |title=Legion Season 2: Back to the Future |accessdate=2007-10-08 |author =Jami Philbrick] In the show, Imperiex was originally an alien (presumably from the planet Apokolips) raised in a gladiator lifestyle; over time his body was modified by the technology created by a scientist named Abel that allowed a perfect union of organic tissue and cybernetics. In the 41st century, Imperiex has wiped out nearly all resistance that stands in his way, with a only a clone of Superman named Kell-El left to oppose him. Unable to stop Imperiex and his army, Kell-El travels back to the 31st century to recruit the Legion of Superheroes to help stop Imperiex. Although Brainiac 5 comes up with a plan that appears to stop him by taking advantage of his weakpoint, Imperiex is able to take the device Kell-El used to travel through time to escape to the Legion's timeline. After escaping to the 31st century, Imperiex secretly frees the Fatal Five and the Legion of Super-Villains from prison, recruiting Validus. He hacks into Computo, downloading information about the Legion's arsenal at the time as well as acquiring some data that he offers to the Dominion. Outside of Validus, the Dominion, and his Destructo-Bots, Imperiex works with and recruits villains such as Mekt Ranzz, Ron-Karr, and Grimbor the Chainsman to aid him, although he was perplexed by those villains who left him. In "Unnatural Alliances," the cybernetic villain Terra-Man was targeting a younger Abel which Imperiex wouldn't allow. In the final fight with Terra Man, Superman X and Imperiex worked together to destroy Terra Man. In "Message in a Bottle," Imperiex and his armies invade the Fortress of Solitude so he can steal "The Messenger" from the shrunken city of Kandor. Brainiac 5 was forced to tap into his ancestor's knowledge and used it to turn the sun yellow, the Kandorians managed to fight back and caused Imperiex's army to retreat. However, Imperiex intended Brainiac 5 to do that in order for him to become a ideal member of his campaign. Unfortunately, Imperiex ends up being impaled and killed by Brainiac 1.0 (in Brainiac 5's body), who thanked him for his part.

As opposed to his comic-book incarnation, this Imperiex instead relies on physical, direct combat. He is stronger than Superman, and is virtually indestructible. The only time that he is vulnerable is when he uses a cannon mounted in his chest, which is also his most powerful weapon. In addition, he wields a pair of powerful swords that can fire out waves of energy. He is also exceptionally intelligent and cunning.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.supermansupersite.com/imperiex.html Superman Site: Imperiex profile]
* [http://www.greatkrypton.com/superman/comicissues.php?IssueID=9 Great Krypton: Superman #153]