Rudy Jones, also known as The Parasite, is a villainous character from DC Comics and a regular enemy of Superman. Once an ordinary human, he was exposed to unusual chemicals that transformed him into a sort of 'energy vampire'. In this state, Rudy is able to absorb just about any form of energy, though he prefers to take the life energy of people. Parasite has come into conflict with Superman many times and views him as the ideal "battery", wanting nothing more than to feed off the power of the Man of Steel indefinitely.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow[]
In the animated film Superman: Man of Tomorrow, Rudy Jones (voiced by Brett Dalton) was a janitor working at STAR Labs trying to support his family. One fateful day, unfortunately, the alien bounty hunter known as Lobo came to Earth in search of the last Kryptonian. Superman and Lobo fought in close proximity to STAR Labs and their fighting inevitably led to the building being severely damaged. Rudy found himself caught in the middle and was injured after falling through a collapsing floor. While lying broken and unable to move, Rudy was exposed to an organic resin released from one of Lobo's weapons. The substance was supposed to absorb and dampen energy, but for unknown reasons, it bonded with Rudy's cell structure.
Rudy was admitted to hospital following the incident and suffered multiple organ failure. As he was having his damaged organs removed, he suddenly woke up on the operating table, touching two of the surgeons and absorbing their very life energy, killing them. Rudy then fled from the hospital, killing several people by absorbing their life force. He later returned to STAR Labs where Lobo had been locked up, intent on killing him, but Superman arrived on the scene. Sensing the enormous power within Superman, the Parasite attacked him, draining some of his energy, though not enough to kill him. Superman was, however, weakened by the Parasite, his powers no longer working at their peak.
Following this attack, Superman approached Lex Luthor for help. Together, they devised a plan to bring down the Parasite with the help of Lobo and a ring made from kryptonite. They arranged for all power in Metropolis to be shut down, luring the Parasite to the source of power for the city: a nuclear reactor. By this time, the Parasite had grown to a gargantuan size and no longer resembled a human. Luthor was able to briefly bring down the Parasite by utilizing Lobo's ring as a power source for a magnifying pulse rifle. Since Jones had absorbed Superman's essence, it stood to reason that he had absorbed Superman's weaknesses as well, making him vulnerable to the irradiated mineral.
As several citizens had gathered on a nearby bridge, Parasite was drawn to them. Superman tried appealing to Rudy's humanity to make him remember who he was, and seemed to get through to him. After seeing a woman and child on the bridge, Rudy was reminded of his own wife and daughter. Just then, the nuclear reactor that had earlier been damaged by Rudy's attack began to overload. The Parasite turned to the nuclear plant and pressed his arms against the walls of the building, absorbing the excess radiation. The amount of radiation proved to be too much for Parasite and his body began to destabilize and petrify. In the end, Parasite prevented the plant from going into meltdown, but it cost him his life.