Superman's First DEADLY Arch Nemesis...The Ultra Humanite?
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
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When most think of Superman's arch nemesis they think Lex Luthor. While that would come to be the case Lex was not the first villain who would hold that title. In the Golden Age of DC Comics The Man of Steel faced his first deadly foe, The Ultra Humanite. This classic villain would fade away as an antagonist for the man of tomorrow and be transferred over to the JSA (The Justice Society of America). How and why did this happen? Just when did the Ultra Humanite get his giant ape body? Find out as we take a look at the Golden Age of Action Comics here on Casually Comics!
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Batman's Life DESTROYED By Booster Gold...This Story Is Brutal
• Batman's Life DESTROYE...
The Terrifying Tale Of Tyrant Superman
• The Terrifying Tale Of...
0:00 Intro
0:50 The Golden Age
8:52 Body Swap
14:05 Post Golden Age
17:46 Why Didn't He Catch On?
19:55 Wrap Up
#casuallycomics #superman #dccomics #ultrahumanite #comics #comicbooks #goldenage #history
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Who is your favorite hero villain rivalry?
Mine has got to be Dr. Doom and Reed Richards purely for how petty Doom can get and I'm all here for it
I like the contrast of Two-Face and Batman. They always pair up the Joker and Batman, but honestly I feel like Dent is a much better reflection of Batman in terms of becoming a villain. To be fair, I did just read the Long Halloween.
The MONK (MAD MONK) from Detective Comics 31-32
JSA versus Per Degaton. He doesn't get enough love anymore.
Hulk vs the Leader.
It's a kind of weird that if you were in the DC universe and told someone "Today I saw a superhero fight a super intelligent giant gorilla" that someone could ask you "Which one?" 😅
yeah, apparently in the 50s DC noticed that comics with gorillas on the cover sold particularly well so they just started churning out gorilla stories
@@miss_baphomet it wasn't just DC, they just went extra hard.
And somehow they're all still unique and freaky in their own way.
Nobody is going to mistake Malla for Grodd for instance. Even without Malla's Che Guevara cosplay...
i think you misspelled awesome. there's also a gorilla mob boss in gotham. it's just wonderful.
Gorilla Grodd? Monsieur Mallah? Ultra Humanite? Jackanapes? Solovar?
where's my 'Super Gorilla Villian's League'?? ;_;
I'm surprised there hasn't been an Ultra-Humanite vs Gorilla Grodd story line at some time in the Silver or Bronze Age. Maybe we can get it now?
Or that he wasn't introduced into movies yet and combined with the brain!
Ultra was an Earth 2 villain Grodd was Earth 1. Ultra was also mostly forgotten about. It took Roy Thomas to bring Ultra back as the ape
All star squadron 21 to 26 Ann 2 the ultra Ultra story.
@@Matt_Likes_Comics yeah people often fail to remember DC was very split up until the late 80’s.
As a somewhat new comic fan, (largely thanks to this channel!) I almost can't believe this haha.
"You know what I do. Gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss." -The Ultra Humanite.
I like how in Superman and the Authority, the Ultra Humanite holds on to the rivalry shared between him and Superman and cannot fathom the idea that Superman just ignored him at the end as he had outgrown the petty conflict Ultra kept trying to ignite.
I had this idea. What if Ultra-Humanite was like a modern version of Dr Frankenstein meets Get Out? Like, he's trying to create a prefect body for himself by capturing, dissecting and then combing parts of different Meta-humans, or he's working as a surgeon in the meta-human human trafficking ring, where he's operates on people to give or take away thier powers and sells them at auction or something.
Some of that sounds like Doctor Animo.
It's so weird that the DCAU Humanite is so cuddly to the point of barely being villainous, where in the DC canon (such as it is) he may, in universe, be the absolutely most viscerally hated individual outside the Joker. Like, what happened to Dolores is like the Sharon Tate/Black Dahlia murders meets Cronenberg body horror. And eventually her body is disposed of just so her perpetrator can become monke.
I love a villain who refers to his "Evil Plans". Because being Evil is clearly important in its own right, rather than money, power, sex...
It’s amazing that Dolores looks perfectly healthy after having her brain removed. Terry Curtis also returns in All Star Squadron.
I really liked how the Ultra Humanite was portrayed in Stargirl. How he had won oscars as Delores Winter, and took that acting career to heart. That scene where he in Sylvester Pemberton's body was delivering a monologue as he buried Stripesy alive was chilling. I like that, while his motives remained the same, his identity shifted to that of his host body frequently. It made him truly terrifying.
Right?!? I found it so compelling how he totally embraced his new identities to the extent that he was almost convinced he really was that person (as with Starman in that scene you mentioned)
I think a problem with Ultra as a Superman enemy is that, once he got the ape body, people focused on his physicality. But that ape, strong as it is, would never be anywhere near as strong as Superman. So, they can't have a physical fight despite Ultra having a new strong body. And so that means Ultra would have to rely on his brains, but I don't think any writer wants to write a story where a big strong ape is going to outwit Superman or use his incredible inventions against Superman. The writers just want to focus on the fact that Ultra's an ape, not the fact that he's a Luthor-level genius. And it's all because of how he looks. If he was still Dolores, perhaps he could be another "I try to outwit Superman" villain, like Luthor, Puzzler, Prankster, Brainiac, or Toyman. On the other hand, I'm not sure if we need another one of those.
I really wish for Ultra Humanite be brought back as Superman villian, cause there's so much that you can do with this interesting concept. Like Imagine having Ultra Humanite creating a dozen Bizarro clones, having his mind be in one of them and then swap back and forth between each of them in the fight. You can have an interesting challenge with a villian who has an ability to outmatch Superman by using others as proxies.
He was in the last few issues of monkey prince.
That sounds like Noman. He is an old man who can swap his mind into any one of his androids. Not DC or Marvel.
I think he'd be a great staple for Clark as Superboy. He could be a kind of proto-Lex, introducing Clark to true depravity and developing a lot of what makes him into Superman. Being in a wheelchair and switching bodies would help Clark develop a "don't judge a book by its cover" mentality and Ultra's lack of pity for those he kills to get their bodies could induce Clark's first case of "should I kill him for the sake of the world?".
I'm not usually a fan of making every Super-Rogue related to aliens or Krypton, but I wouldn't mind Ultra getting past the power gap by taking over the body of an alien Gorilla with super strength and speed or a shapeshifting power that lets him keep the Gorilla form but liquify himself and replace brains by entering the face. That way he could have some of that alien horror movie appeal by bursting out of his victims to go into battle.
Ultra has to physically put his brain into a body though. he isn't a telepath like Grodd.
@Eingoluq I don't think it would be hard to get around that, though. Simce he's a genius, he could probably give himself powers somehow.
ULTRA-humanite, SUPER-man. One is mentally superhuman, the other physically superhuman. One is evil, one is good. Huh. It fits.
It's odd that they went from a body swapping genius who would suddenly pop up as anyone ( which is fascinating and horrifying) to a , at the time, generic mad scientist in Luthor. Even his name was cool. There was so much potential there that he should have been Superman's number one nemesis. Don't get me wrong. I love what Luthor evolved into and the albino ape look has become iconic. But the very idea that he could become anyone and blend in until as he worked his plans was very original at the time. Could you imagine if editorial had the guts let him replace someone like Lois or Jimmy?
The vibe I get from golden age Ultra Humanite is that he was definitely supposed to be in some way the original Reign of The Super-Man Super-Man, retreading the concept of a guy who was part of an experiment and got great mental powers that he uses to menace people and try to take over the world, as a foe for the actual Superman that did get picked up.
I think you're right.
I don't think it's ever established in canon, but given Ultra's appearance in a wheelchair and the time period, it's likely he was intended to be partially paralyzed by polio. Society was pretty accustomed to seeing polio victims in this era - Franklin Roosevelt was president after all.
I always thought Ultra Humanite would make a great villain for Power Girl. Maybe I just have a soft spot for how he was utilized in “Power Trip”, but his sophisticated smugness bounces off her sassy brassy attitude and lead to some fun interactions.
They used him in her ongoing it was pretty fun even with the odd Satanna romance lol
@@CasuallyComics I read that, it was really fun, strange romance and all lol
Ultra-Humanite is one of my favorite underrated villains. There's so much that could be done with body images, what identity means, and just a ton thematically. But also he's a giant albino gorilla, he's like the coolest thing ever if you just want to play it straight without any themes. I think him starting off as one of the origins of the stereotypical mad scientist harmed his chances of being popular but there's still potential.
Fun fact: The scene of Supes being knocked out by an electric current, put onto a buzzsaw and then the sawblade breaking on his body was copied exactly in the 'Captain Marvel' movie serial in 1941.
Technically it was a guillotine, but yeah it's basically a copy of the same scenario.
@@L-eye-t I believe you're right.
@@ramblingRJ @PG-13 Maybe it was stolen, but I feel like that's the kind of idea two people could come up with at the same time independently from one another.
@@d-manthecaptain1382 Very possible.
Maybe Monsieur Mallah too
Did not know Ultra Humanite started as a Superman villain.
And, by the gods, could it be then...that Saha is really Utra Humanite?! That´s she´s been him all these time?
I liked what Monkey Prince did with the Ultra-Humanite. Though I'm surprised that wasn't the first use of the name "Gerard Shugel". They must have been planning that twist for a while.
I commend you for delving into the Golden Age of superheroes, Sasha. There's a LOT for you to mine there. As to the Ultra-Humanite, I've always viewed him as the first major turning point for Superman. Until Ultra's introduction, Supes was basically a social reformer, a New Deal Democrat in blue tights. His stories focused on matters like juvenile delinquency, urban renewal, prison reform and car safety, with the occasional saving of individuals or communities. With Ultra, we're given essentially the first super-villain, a sci-fi inspired menace that can give Superman a real challenge, and one he goes up against repeatedly. This would set the pattern for not only the hero/villain trope for Superman, but for all the other superheroes to come.
I love these underrated and obscure villain retrospectives. And while Ultra is not really obscure, he is definitely underrated.
This was really fascinating. My first encounter with Ultra in a significant role was actually in Superman and the Authority. I've been low key fascinated with him ever since, and I'm surprised you didnt bring up his appearance there, since it highlighted his bond with Superman.
His appearance in Superman and the Authority is definitely my favorite and really shows off what a great enemy he could be.
The Ultra Humanite story that stuck with me was from JSA. Johnny Thunder who had been suffering with Alzheimer to the point he had to be in a special care home was suddenly aware and alert. Looking to get his Thunderbolt back from Jakeem. The young man at the time feeling guilty for taking the pen also felt unworthy to be on the JSA gave up the Thunderbolt back to Johnny. Only to find out it wasn't Johnny. It was the Ultra-Humanite in Johnny's body. Bum bum BUMMM!
The ape version of the Ultra Humanite is a fun design, but that version of him were he is in Solomon Grundy was kind of cool to me. I'd love to just see him get more new bodies for modern stories just for the fun of it.
Earlier this year I read the Ultra Humanite Golden Age comics, JUST in time for him to show up in Stargirl and all that really cemented Ultra as one of my favorite DC villains. I really want to see more of him.
I find the cross-pollination with Luthor to be interesting; especially if you consider Luthor to hate Superman due to a “Humanity Uber Alles” kind of theme.
It’s always ironic to me to see a giant albino ape billed as the Ultra-Humanite.
I think he could make a great Superman villain; being able to body swap, if done right, could be an interesting counter to the Man of Steel and his powers.
Until Ultra bites off more than he can chew and tries to brainswap Jimmy Olsen, leading to a comedic cavalcade of disaster.
Thank you for educating us on this character. I thought he was a JSA villain as I first saw him in All Star Squadron. I had no idea that he was a Superman villain and the original Lex Luthor type villain. I enjoyed what the Justice League cartoon did with him and his interaction with Lex in that series. Great video.
I was first introduced to Ultra through the Justice League animated series, but I didn't read up on him until years later.
I think it's a shame that he doesn't get more recognition as one of the first true supervillains and I think that he'd be perfect for a movie. I really love what Stargirl did with him though (I'd love to hear you talk more about that show.
I'd love to hear more about the origin and evolution of Lex Luthor too.
The early 1980s were right when my comic collecting was hitting its stride. The albino ape/SSOV story was particularly memorable. But then there was the Ultra story in All-Star Squadron (#21-26, and annual #2). That's the one that introduced Deathboth (an evil palette swap of the golden age Blue Bolt), Amazing Man (Will Everett) and Cyclotron (who was actually scientist Terry Curtis, in a very-Roy Thomasian recycling). Ultra was tired of the female body and wanted Bob Crane's Robotman body. Curiously, Ultra needed Chuck Grayson (Crane's assistant and Dick Grayson's cousin [i.e. the Bridwell Law of Relativity]) to make the switch. Previously, Ultra was able to find henchmen he could train to brain surgery.
10:02 I misread "shipload" on the newspaper headline. I thought, "Wow! They really got away with a lot during the Golden Age!"
Honestly I would actually love an au or reboot where in Superman’s early career Ultra is his big bad but later on Lex gets involved or reveals himself and basically supplants him as the big bad. Similar to how a lot of Batman media treats the mafia until the supervillains show up. For movies it’d make a good movie 1 villian.
I liked that Brave and the Bold had him use an albino T-Rex body instead of a gorilla. Also in Young Justice, they reference the Dolores Winters body and had him be friends with The Brain.
I remember from the Amanda Conner story that the Ultra Humanite tried to put his brain into Power Girl's body, but that fell flat because, just like in the Golden Age, he underestimated the might of the Kryptonian physiology.
Highly recommend and sadly obscure reading on the UH: The Golden Age by James Robinson. Phenomenal post-World War II story that doesn't get enough love.
I definitely second that. "The Golden Age" by James Robinson is an excellent mini-series that deserves more attention. Great use of Ultra-Humanite as a villain and his brain stealing modus operandi played to its full potential.
Surprised you didn't mention his recent role in Monkey Prince, when it seems that he a biological daughter and bas been remote piloting the gorilla body.
The only Ultra-Humanite story I ever read was in JSA where he stole Johnny Thunder's body in order to steal the Thunderbolt.
That's a great one!
Yeah he deserves more credit for this as the very first supervillain
I really like the version from Batman/Superman: Generations, where it's eventually revealed Lex Luthor was actually a minion of Ultra-Humanite, on whom he eventually transplanted his brain. Thereby explaining where he went and why Lex was suddenly a genius.
I've always seen the Ultra Humanite in villian group meetings and was like "Who's villian is this guy??" Had no idea he was not just a Superman villian but an arch for a while
[Team Fourstar] *Gohan is holding up a baby Goku* "I'm gonnah call you Clark! .....no, wait, that's stupid! How about....Goku?!"
There was that JSA CLASSIFIED arc where Delorous Winters now as Endless Winter was the villain.
I had heard about the Ultra Humanite, but it wasn't until an issue of Superman Family that I knew of Delores.
SPOILER ALERT,
It involved UH planning on swapping brains with Bruce Wayne
I posted this comment early in the video.
I have been a little bit of a fan of the Ultra Humanite thanks to the Animated JL series. I just really digged his personality in that weird form. Plus the christmas episode with Flash was just cute as all hell.
Flash "You hit me!"
Ultra "You hit me first."
Speaking of first. I know you've covered first appearances of minor heroes and villains in comics, but how about also doing it for the major heroes.
Some characters like Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man are so iconic and feel like they have existed forever. It would be interesting to go back and see what they're like in their first ever appearance.
One thing I never really understood was the meaning of the name "Ultra-Humanite" as if "humanite" was a thing that we were supposed to know the meaning of. I always kind of assumed it was some sort of 1940's word that fell out of fashion, but I'm not so sure of that anymore. Now, it feels like, he was trying to rip off Superman. Instead of "Super," let's go with "Ultra". Instead of "man", let's go with "human... ish"... no, wait, make that "human... ite". Yeah, Superhumanite. No, wait, I mean Ultrahumanish. No, wait, it's Ultra-Humanite. Yeah, that's the perfect name.
As someone else in this thread pointed out, Siegel and Shuster's first character named "Superman", in a prose story, was a villain with enhanced mental powers, and in the original appearance of the Ultra-Humanite it kind of seems like he's a revival of that guy with his name tweaked a little.
Edit: it was Drawnder
And now I'm picturing Superman in the Monty Python "bring out your dead" bit.
It's really interesting that they seemed to be giving Ultra a big push -- featuring him in so many issues in rapid succession -- only to then drop him cold and introduce the very similar Luthor. It makes me wonder if someone at DC objected to the concept of a man in a woman's body, and put a stop to it?
Luthor going by Alexei is... the most low-key Cold War thing I can imagine.
The Cold War wasn't until the late '40s.
You so deserve a voice over gig.😂 You could do at least half of the cast. Hearing you in DC animated movie as the Bat would be it, I can pass on dying of laughter ❤
Sometimes I forget that she is voicing a male character since my brain is thinking that is how the character should sound like. I feel that is probably how Japanese DBZ fans with Goku or Bob's Burger fans feel with some of the female characters in Bob's Burger
In Batman and Superman: Generations, Superman was Superboy back in the 1920's, and the Ultra Humanite used dieselpunk versions of 1920's technology to commit crimes--that was cool.
I really like the spin the justice league cartoon got for him, he's not after world domination or inflicting suffering, but to be an ultra humanite, above humans and always erudite, he judges people for liking modern art, joined the injustice league and later betrayed it just for money so he could pay an opera channel he watches while at prison, it sure is different from the golden age and even most comics I guess, but I like the contrast with the other villains of the show
The Ultra-Humanite character has an inherent creepiness that Luthor lacks: his willingness to change bodies, even to one as different from his own like a woman or a giant ape. Used properly, he could have been as formidable an arch-foe as Luthor.
By the way, they have recently established that he is the step-grandfather to new superhero, the Monkey Prince.
So, he was The Lawnmower Man, before The Lawnmower Man? Went through experimentation that expanded his mind beyond a normal humans.
I was wondering if you were going to talk about the Power Girl and Humanite story. The less said about the sex stuff the better. And I agree, Stargirl was really good. Deserved more than 3 seasons.
Going from a protection ring targeting simple cabbies to TAKING OVER THE EARTH. Gotta admire the moxie.
20:27 superman sure fights a lot of bald dudes
When the DC extended universe wasn't layed to rest, I seriously theorised that if this guy ever gonna be included, they'd inevitably cut out middle man, by making the brain and him same!
Interestingly no one has mentioned that Terry Curtis came back in a All Star Squadron story where he gained powers. Those powers were in his genes and passed to his daughter and then his grandson, the hero known as Atom Smasher.
Did Ultra get that invisible metal formula from a time traveling Scotty? We know Spock, Bones and Kirk got caught in that time period. 😁
Here's hoping that ultra appears in the new superman animated show
10:20 That was actually pretty creepy. Ultra-Humanite is a cool concept for a Superman villain.
Justice League the Animated series Made me Fell in Love with Ultra Humanite. I am not that
Big of a Comic nerd and I dont know how authentic the series showed him. But He was a pretty likeable Villain. He Btreayed Luthor Like a Boss and the Christmas Episode He was involved in was also very great at least for me.
JLA 195 was my first League/Society crossover and Ultra became one of my favorite villains. I never realized he'd been gone for over 3p years.
DC villains are a lot more sequestered than Marvel's, but the way DC history panned out meant the Golden Age seems to provide the largest pool of communal foes.
Superman - Ultra Humanite, there is such a nice contrast between those two names.
So he started out a bizarro Charles Xavier. Learn something new every time from this channel. Thank you.
First Parasite and now Ultra-Himanite? I feel spoiled! Thank you for spotlighting some classic Superman antagonists who don't get enough love!
And if you wanted to showcase classic versions of the Prankster, Metallo, or Terra-Man, I wouldn't exactly protest...
People are talking about how they're tired of Lex being the villain in the movies and hoping they do something different for the next reboot. The problem is, SO MANY things don't really make sense as a first foray until you establish a wider universe and some super science. The Ultra Humanite was my first inclination, because he's can basically just be used as a more interesting Luthor.
We stan a non-binary body swapping villain
Another Brilliant journey into the history of a character I never thought I needed to learn about, but am Oh! So glad you taught me …Also I only watched season 1 of Stargirl , but with you endorsing it several times, knowing your take it or leave it feelings with adaptations, I’m planning on binge watching the remainder of the series…Keep Up The Outstanding Work Sasha 🖖🏾
the Justice League Show has the best Ultra Humanite stories
I always thought he was a Flash villain.
I like how none of his original plans even came close to working. Superman just brushed off everything
Allegedly, a later artist confused UH with Alexi and thus classic bald Lex was created. I've always thought that this could be used as inspiration for a Luthor/Ultra rivalry, the two geniuses competing against each other to ultimately defeat Superman.
Great video as always! I'd love you to take a look at sportsmater and huntress/tigress. Good example of a golden age version of a character outshining and outlasting the revamped silver age one!
Your voiceovers …keep bringing me back to this channel
In fairness to Superman, the Ultra-Humanite's voice over the phone may not have sounded the same. It was still the late 1930s, so it's not like there was cutting edge phones. Supes is probably hearing it slightly distorted, leading to it sounding just a little bit off.
He recently popped up in the monkey prince book. Turns out he was monkey's uncle... Well, grandfather lol
The recognizing of your foe by the evil of his eyes was later used in Captain America 370.Between Cap and the Red Skull.
I love that you gave the ultrahumanite that dull Hanar like droning voice
Great video. I always thought the same thing about Ultra-Humanite being a recurring adversary of Superman, and was among the first villains faced by him upon reading the early Golden Age Superman stories reprinted in Superman: The Action Comics Archives volumes 1 and 2 hardcovers.
This was a fun retrospective! I also appreciate the slight acknowledgement of the Ultra/Satanna team up from the Power Girl solo series. That series was actually my first introduction to superhero comics so it sort of shaped how I perceived Ultra as a villain moving forward. I kind of wanted to see where that relationship would go but I guess it just wasn't meant to be
Hey Ultra, maybe instead of all the backstage high jinks, sell the patent to the transparent, unbreakable metal if your in need of cash.
Man I love golden age superman. I've bought a compilation of the first 65 pages of golden age goodness
Always loved Ultra-Humanite. Best name ever.
Ultra-humanite reminds me a bit of Mr mind where they both look for the ultimate powerful form and fail badly.
I have been reading comics. And watching anime, for 50 years. Everytime I watch your videos. It brings back happy childhood memories. As always. Well done!
He used to be then Lex Luthor came along and became the new hotness.
I did not expect this episode but its one of my favorites now. Honestly didn't even know who "Ultra" was before but now I wanna read back on some comics.
I really like Ultra-Humanite, a super unique villain and design and I like him as both a Superman & a JSA villain but I think he could work as a villain for Plastic Man or Martian Manhunter for their shape-shifting powers also he was really good in Stargirl but sadly the white gorilla could have been used more
Nick Cage and the moon... I just saw Renfield and love the Tshirt!
So this villian loves opera, but also uses made science to listen to Tech9 songs from the future. Truly the classiest of foes.
Golden age adventures were so wild. Very stunning and entertaining! I’m glad to hear about Ultra’s evolution. Body swapping is a very deadly super power. If he took over Bruce Wayne, he would have been almost unstoppable. I remember lots of older stories wher Bruce is targeted by villains who don’t know that he is Batman. They rarely figure it out. Bruce as a hostage can be legit funny sometimes. I will never forget the story in the 2000s cartoon where Bruce lost his memory and he actually offered to pay me the Penguin a check. I love whacky stories like that. Thank you for sharing your fun stories too.
Man the ultra humanite could have made a bundle pattenting that invisible metal *shrug
After watching this video, it made me wonder if Ultra Humanite and Grodd have ever crossed paths, and if so, what was that like! Would be an interesting video!!
I do like these "what's about this super power" questions! I think, if you had the power to create a younger body that you could hop into when you're old, that would be a cool power--insta immortality. But the idea of swapping into someone else's body seems next level evil. You'd be taking someone else's life, but in a way that seems way worse than murder to me, for some reason. That's prob why it works as a villain power.
But give me the power to make a healthy body to hop into if something like injury or old age happens to mine, rather than steal someone else's.
That tiny shield on Superman's chest looks so weird to me
Witness the power of The Holy Numbers as they bless you with this fine video.
Another first. Star Trek owes its transparent aluminum (Star Trek IV) to the Ultra-Humanite!
I had no idea Ultra Humanite was a Superman Villian. seems like it would actually would make a great villian for Superman today