Livewire (DC Comics)
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- This article is about the villain. For the Legion of Super-Heroes member, see Garth Ranzz.
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Livewire is a supervillain in the DC Universe. She first appeared in Superman: The Animated Series, voiced by Lori Petty. She appeared in the Superman comic books beginning in 2006.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Animated series
Leslie Willis was once Metropolis' most controversial shock jock. No one was immune to her venomous words, not even Superman. She took great joy in bashing him, and Lex Luthor enjoyed listening to her do it every morning.
One evening during a severe thunderstorm, Willis was hosting a rock concert in honor of her anniversary working at the radio station in Centennial Park in downtown Metropolis. Ignoring the public safety concerns by Metropolis authorities, and the changeable skies, Willis demanded the show to go on.
It was about that time Superman showed up to help the police. Willis' fans showed support for her by throwing stuff at the Man of Steel, when suddenly, lightning struck the stage, setting it on fire. When Superman pushed Willis to safety, lightning struck both of them, transferring some of Superman's powers to Willis and changing her appearance.
When Willis woke up, she saw that her skin had turned ghostly white and her hair stood on end. She accused Superman for the injuries she had suffered from the accident she created. She was about to throw a clock-radio at the TV on which she had seen Superman talking to reporters about the accident when the radio suddenly turned on. It was not plugged into the wall, there were no batteries in it. She discovered she could manipulate electricity.
Willis then escaped from the hospital by turning herself into an electric current. Confronting Superman, she had rearranged the electrons of the hospital gown she was wearing into a black leotard with a lightning bolt down the front and black boots. She then declared herself to now be Livewire, and took over the telephones, televisions, and billboards-effectively taking over all of media. However, Superman stopped her when he doused her with water.
She had a short-lived alliance with Parasite and later had an alliance with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.
Leslie Willis is loosely based on shock jock Howard Stern, calling herself the "Queen of All Media." Her name is likely a reference to Wesley Willis. Lori Petty voiced Livewire in Superman: the Animated Series. Her powers and appearance have striking similarities to the controversial "Blue Superman".
In an episode of the Justice League animated series, Livewire teamed up with the Superman Revenge Squad to get revenge on Superman. When some of its members were defeated and Toyman's machine sent Superman into the future with them thinking that Superman is dead, Kalibak and Livewire later attacked the scene of the incident with Copperhead, Volcana, Star Sapphire, and Deadshot. When it came to Season 3 of Justice League Unlimited, Livewire later returned as a member of Grodd's Legion of Doom (comics).
[edit] Comics
In Action Comics #835, Gail Simone and John Byrne brought Livewire into the mainstream DC Universe, in the same tradition as Harley Quinn.
Much like the DCAU version of Livewire, before she gained her abilities, she was also a shock jock. Going by the DJ name Leslie, her show was dedicated to bashing upon Superman every night, claiming that Superman was only saving people in the name of grandstanding and showing off. She also shows a disdain for fellow broadcaster Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel. Her career as a shock jock was cut short when the owner of the station, Miguel, decided to turn the station into a country station. Miguel was also quite pleased that she was fired because his wife was saved by Superman.
Unlike the DCAU version of Livewire, she was born with the gift of controlling electricity. Enraged at the loss of her job, she went to the top of the station where she was struck by lightning. However, she absorbed a large amount of energy from the lightning bolt, changing her appearance to a chalk-white skin with blue hair. With that change, she decided that she would now take her revenge out on Superman.
In Action Comics #842, Livewire gets kidnapped along with most of the other Metahumans on Earth. Her unique powers allow her, Superman and several other captives escape their containment fields. While most have their powers completely nullified, Livewire still has the ability to manipulate, and sense electromagnetic energy. But she doesn't have the ability to direct it as a weapon or absorb large quantities of it. She then helps Superman and the others by creating a two-way video phone link between the alien ship and JSA headquarters. Later in #843, Livewire shortcircuits several systems on the ship and forces it's owner to release them by threatening (at Superman's suggestion) to broadcast his databases galaxy-wide.
[edit] Video Games
Livewire appears as a boss in the Superman: Shadow of Apokolips video game, which was released in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 home consoles.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Livewire is a being of pure energy, able to transform into electricity (her skintight costume is made up of ionized air) and travel through anything that will conduct an electric current. She can externally manipulate electricity (along with electric and magnetic fields), and conjure lightning blasts of various intensities and lengths. In her electrical state, she can possess and control any devices along a grid that conduct electricity - notably, consumer electronics and telecommunications networks. Her lightning blasts can weaken or stun Superman. Also (as stated by Superman in Action comics #843) Livewire has the ability to broadcast the energy she has stored in the form of a coherent signal (radio wave, etc..), without directing the energy at a target.
Livewire's weakness is water. Even a small amount of water will cause her stored energy to go haywire. However, if she has enough power, she can survive being splashed without completely losing her powers and suffering only a minor drain. Livewire has to be drenched in water to suffer a major power loss.
While live-wired, she can store a vast amount of electricity, though it is not infinite. When drained of her electricity, she reverts back to her solid form and cannot use most of her abilities or transform into living electricity until absorbing at least a minimal amount of electric power from some source. However, even when depowered, she can direct the flow of free electricity from an available energy source to re-power herself.
In the episode "Livewire" of Superman: The Animated Series, when she wanted to recharge her powers at a hydroelectric plant, Livewire lifted one of the power units that stored electricity that she could drain for power. This shows that she may have some superhuman strength, as well, but it is likely that her strength is a function of the energy she has absorbed.
