Cosmic King

For the pro wrestler with the nickname "Cosmic King", see Wade Barrett.

Cosmic King
File:LightningLord.jpg Cosmic King, as seen in Superman/Batman #17 (March 2005)
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Superman #147 (August 1961)
Created by	Jerry Siegel (writer) Curt Swan (artist) (based upon Cosmic Boy by Otto Binder & Al Plastino)
In-story information
Alter ego	Laevar Bolto
Species	Metahuman
Place of origin	Venus
Team affiliations	Legion of Super-Villains
Abilities	Transmutation of chemical elements

Cosmic King is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He debuted in Superman #147 (August 1961), and was created by Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan.

Fictional character biography

Cosmic King was born Laevar Bolto on the planet Venus. He was an alchemist who spent his life trying to invent a ray that could change an object's atomic structure into that of another. He was finally successful when he was able to transform a flower into a sparkling jewel. After accidentally falling in front of the ray himself, he found that he possessed the ray's ability innately, which he projected from his eyes. When he approached the Venus government officials with his discovery he was informed that his power of transmuting chemical elements was considered evil. As such, he was banished from Venus and travelled to the Earth's past where he became part of the Legion of Super-Villains, who broke Lex Luthor out of jail after he made a radio to contact them, before being defeated and captured by the Legion of Super-Heroes. He is sometimes depicted as wearing a breathing device.

Return

During the "Absolute Power" arc of the Superman/Batman series, Cosmic King returned to create an alternate universe in which he and some of his associates were the "parents" of both Batman and Superman. He uses his powers to kill Joe Chill by magnetizing the bullets, and shows he has magnetic powers. Most of the other JLA members are killed. In this world, the World's Finest were the personal enforcers of their parents' will, and had taken over the world. When things started to spiral out of control and Bruce was killed, he did not care and was totally emotionless. When things were changed to normal with Superman, but not with Batman, the Legion joined Ra's al Ghul to take over the world. In the end, the world was restored and he was taken to the 31st century and jailed.

Final Crisis

Cosmic King was among the villains in Superman-Prime's Legion of Super-Villains.

External links

• DCU Guide - Cosmic King bio
• DCU Guide - Legion of Super Villains bio