Despero
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Despero is the name of a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe.
He is easily distinguished by his muscular body, pink skin, fin on his head, pointed ears, lavender eyes (and a third eye on his forehead), and sharp teeth.
Despero made his first appearance in Justice League of America #1 from the 1960s. In these early appearances, he appeared of normal build. His current bulked-up look is a result of having bathed in the Flame of Py'tar, a power-giving flame from his native planet Kalanor, which he enslaved and conquered with his psychic abilities. In his first appearance the Justice League liberated the planet from his rule, and he has sworn vengeance ever since.
Making his debut with the release of Justice League of America #1 (1961), Despero has the distinction of being the Justice League’s first adversary, and has gone through virtually as many transformations as the League itself. Initially conceived as a physically weak, mind-controlling tyrant with a penchant for playing chess for the fates of his enemies, he was later redesigned to be a physical powerhouse fueled by his burning, all-consuming hatred of the Justice League.
His most famous battle against the Justice League came in Justice League America #38-42, which established the character as being driven by his utter and all-burning hatred for the Justice League, to the point that his hatred allowed for him to survive death and regenerate his body through sheer willpower. The battle ended only through Martian Manhunter controversially employing a never before seen deus ex machina power to trick Despero into thinking he had successfully killed not only the Justice League, but all life on Earth, causing him to let go of his hatred and regressing to the form of a fetus. The fetus Despero was then given to Manga Khan in exchange for his robotic man-servant L-Ron.
During the "Breakdowns" story (which ran through Justice League America/Justice League Europe titles), Despero was aged back into adulthood and escaped back to Earth to continue his vendetta against the JLA. Despero attacked both the American and European Justice League teams and the murderous bounty-hunter Lobo (who had been hired to retrieve Despero for Khan) at the United Nations building (New York) and even donned the United Nations flag as a cape during the battle. Despero could only be stopped once again through desperate means; the robot L-Ron used the slave collar Despero wore to switch bodies with Despero, gaining his monsterous form while trapping him into L-Ron's powerful, if small, robotic form. Attacking the Justice League, Despero was defeated by an unlikely source, a duck hunter who shot him by mistake, destroying his robot body in the process. L-Ron then went into outer space with his new body before returning to Earth and joining the Justice League Task Force.
Although he was seemingly killed when L-Ron's body was destroyed, his mind somehow ended up returning to his body, where it was shown to be battling L-Ron for control of his original body. L-Ron succeeded in casting him out after Despero briefly regained control over his body, at which point he once again became a "free floating evil essence", able to possess innocent people.
During JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice he had joined forces with Johnny Sorrow in a plan to destroy the League and the Justice Society. He possessed President Lex Luthor, but was cast out of the President by Johnny Sorrow's own gaze and apparently returned to corporeal form.
Years later, in the wake of Identity Crisis, the JLA was attacked by a reformed Secret Society of Super-Villains that once again knew the heroes' alter-egos. The Martian Manhunter discovered Despero was responsible for the restoration of the Society's memory. During a battle with Martian Manhunter, he briefly engages in a telepathy battle with both the Martian Manhunter and Aquaman. After defeating the two and taking control of them, he surprises Batman and takes control of him, but not before Catwoman can summon the Justice League.
In the ensuing battle, Despero mentally takes control of the Green Arrow, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and the Black Canary. After nearly taking control of Superman, Red Tornado arrives and saves Superman. As Despero moves to attack Tornado with the members of the League he has taken control of, Zatanna arrives and stops him. After he was defeated, Despero was taken by Hal Jordan into Oa's custody.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Despero is a powerful villain. The Flame of Py'tar gave Despero great physical strength that may surpass beings like Superman and Captain Marvel. Despero also has a high level of durability, although he is not invulnerable as Aquaman was strong enough to throw a piece of steel rebar into Despero's shoulder, as well as having a group of sharks bite into Despero, causing the villain to bleed. Also very intelligent, he is skilled as both a warrior and tyrant. His hypnotic third eye is directly connected to his brain, giving him telepathic powers that surpass (as seen in JLA #119) those of the Martian Manhunter. It is also capable of projecting realistic illusions and entrancing virtually any sentient being. It can also project beams of telekinetic energy enabling the teleportation of matter anywhere in the universe.
In his "spirit" form, Despero can possess any living being, granting the victim the strength and telepathic abilities of his own body.
In his first appearance, Despero used a teleportation machine which resembled a chess set. It used pieces shaped like the Leaguers to move them to different locations. The machine was subsequently shown to be in the possession of the Weapon Master.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Despero has appeared in the 2000s Justice League cartoon, voiced by Keith David.
In this incarnation, Despero was a cult leader on the harsh desert planet planet Kalanor; born with a third eye, he had been an outcast until encountering the Flame of Py'tar, which enhanced his mental powers, enabling him to brainwash and empower others. He built up an army of followers, defeating even members of the Green Lantern Corps, and threatened to spread his fanatical crusade across the galaxy.
Despero was defeated when the Py'tar, actually the dormant life-force of Kalanor, briefly took willing possession of the Martian Manhunter and appealed to the people of Kalanor to reject Despero's ways and accept it as the living soul of the planet, which they did. The Py'tar then spread its power across Kalanor, seeding it with lush vegetation in the form of gigantic trees and transforming all of Despero's followers in space into trees as well. It then claimed Despero himself, pulling him deep underground into the planet's core, never to be seen again; his last words in the series were, "Oh Py'tar, now I see... paradise!".
- Despero has also appeared in the Justice League Task Force video game for the SNES and Sega Genesis consoles.
