Composite Superman

Joseph Meach was a diver who had fallen on hard times. In an attempt to draw publicity to himself, Meach set up a water tank on a sidewalk in Metropolis and dove off a building. Unbeknownst to Meach, the tank was leaking and Meach would have died if not for the intervention of Superman. Upon learning of Meach's misfortunes, Superman obtained a job for him at the Superman Museum, where Meach was employed as a janitor. Meach's bitterness did not subside and being surrounded by mementos of Superman's career directed his anger towards Superman.[2] One night, as Meach was sweeping in front of a series of statuettes depicting the Legion of Super-Heroes, a bolt of lightning struck the display. The statuettes (which were actually miniature lifeless duplicates of the Legionnaires) unleashed an energy blast that struck Meach, endowing him with the combined powers of the Legion members. Determined to defeat Superman, Batman, and Robin, Meach used his shapeshifting power to turn his skin green and form a costume that was half of Superman's costume and half of Batman's costume.[3] Calling himself the Composite Superman, Meach left a message in both heroes' bases to meet him on a mountain. There, he told the heroes that if he was not allowed to join their team, he would expose their secret identities, which he had learned via telepathy. The Composite Superman then created situations for Superman or Batman to handle, but which he intentionally sabotaged to humiliate the heroes, then sorted them out himself. Superman and Batman's attempt to expose him by using robot duplicates failed, due to the Composite Superman's ability to read their minds. Just before Meach could reveal the heroes' secret identities, the powers he gained from the statues faded away. Meach tried to write down the secret of his powers in the Superman Museum, but his memory faded before he could finish (though he managed to write down about the lightning striking the statues, but nothing more).[4]

A few years later an alien villain named Xan came to Earth to avenge his dead father, a criminal who had been imprisoned by Superman and Batman. Xan restored Joseph Meach's powers by recreating the original accident. Meach's memories returned and he used the powers of Sun Boy and Lightning Lad to destroy the statues of Superman and Batman, leading to investigation by the duo.[5] This time, the duo were able to deduce their enemy's identity, as they checked the museum employees who were not around when the Composite Superman was sighted. The Composite Superman captured Superman and Batman by impersonating a chained Robin, then tried to kill the team by using his powers to simultaneously turn half of their bodies to anti-matter; Meach's powers wore off before he could accomplish this. Xan appeared and fired a lethal energy blast at the heroes with his Magna-Gun. A remorseful Meach intercepted the blast, dying instantly. A statue was made to honor Joseph Meach, saying that he "lived a villain, but died a hero".[6]

Xan escaped from prison and traveled back in time to recreate the event that endowed Joseph Meach with his powers, but with himself obtaining the powers. Xan assumed the identity of the Composite Superman and displayed greater control over his powers and understanding over his weaknesses, such as timing his needed restorations of energy to maintain his power. Xan discarded the Composite Superman identity and created an original costume with the new name Amalgamax. Superman traveled to the 30th century to ask the Legion of Super-Heroes for assistance. Superman, Batman, and the Legion defeated Amalgamax by making him believe that the disease that killed his father had developed in him and that his excessive power was causing the disease to develop rapidly.[7]

The Composite Batman's origin was reimagined as an early attempt of Professor Ivo's to duplicate the Justice League's powers by creating clones of the Justice League. It was only ever referred to as "Composite". Believing it to be a failure, Professor Ivo buried his creature in a field. The clones later revived themselves, merged into one being, and stole Superman and Batman outfits from a store, sewing half of each together. Acting as both Superman/Batman and their alter egos of Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, the Composite creature kidnapped Lois Lane and Tim Drake in an attempt to live the lives of both of its counterparts. He was later attacking Metallo when Batman and Superman arrived, but the duo could not defeat him and he escaped. They tracked him down and told him if he wanted to be both of them, then go ahead. They told him of many crimes taking place and he could not decide whom to help first. Composite became unstable and ripped himself apart before they could help him.[8]

On the planet Durla, there was a long cultural struggle between secular and religious movements. Before the formation of the United Planets, the Secularists of Durla created a program to produce living weapons through mutation. The goal was to acquire soldiers capable of not only mimicking the appearance, but also the function of any species.

When they lost their grip on power, the Secularists found their program deemed sinful by the theocratic government and the test subjects were imprisoned in crystals. During regular maintenance to keep the living weapons contained, one of the crystals was damaged and an unnamed Durlan mutant broke free, killing the entire priest class of Durla. The living weapon went in search of Durlan priest and Legionnaire Reep Daggle. When battling the Legion of Super-Heroes, the living weapon not only imitated the Legionnaires' abilities, but also parts of their respective appearances. The Composite Man met his end when Saturn Girl used her telepathy to shut down his mind, leaving him in a catatonic state.

In terms of abilities and raw power, the Joseph Meach version of the Composite Superman was one of the most powerful enemies Superman and Batman ever faced. He had all of Superman's powers, as well as those of Supergirl and the similarly-powered Mon-El and Ultra Boy. The Composite Superman also possessed numerous special powers, derived from various Legion members:

• the ability to grow to giant size (Colossal Boy)
• the ability to shrink (Shrinking Violet)
• the ability to divide into three people (Triplicate Girl)
• the ability to fire lightning bolts (Lightning Lad)
• the ability to generate heat and light (Sun Boy)
• the ability to make things super-lightweight (Light Lass)
• the ability to make things super-heavy (Star Boy)
• the ability to consume absolutely anything (Matter-Eater Lad)
• invisibility (Invisible Kid)
• the ability to inflate into a large ball (Bouncing Boy)
• the ability to stretch any part of his body (Elastic Lad)
• shapeshifting (Chameleon Boy)
• telepathy (Saturn Girl)
• 12th-level intelligence (Brainiac 5)
• magnetic powers (Cosmic Boy)
• x-ray vision (Ultra Boy)
• the ability to transmute elements (Element Lad)
• the ability to phase through solid matter (Phantom Girl)

Professor Ivo's version of the character was shown to possess the powers of Superman, Batman, Atom, Elongated Man, and Red Tornado.

The Composite Superman made a cameo in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told", voiced by Susan Eisenberg. This version is an amalgamation of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, created by Mordru's magic.

In the animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the Japanese Toyman built a mecha/ship to destroy the incoming kryptonite meteor. The ship's design (as in the comic) bears a striking resemblance to the Composite Superman.

The Composite Superman appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Travis Willingham.[10]

DC Direct released a Composite Superman action figure in 2005, and a second one (based on the Superman/Batman Vengeance 5 version) in 2008.

• The Cartoon Network series Robot Chicken has parodied the Composite Superman in several episodes:
  • In "Easter Basket", a sketch about Christmas and Dragon Ball Z features the Composite Santa Claus (voiced by Christian Slater), a creature who is half-Santa Claus and half-Frosty the Snowman. The Composite Santa Claus, the Little Drummer Boy, and the Nutcracker were secretly hired by Mrs. Claus to overthrow Santa Claus and take over the North Pole, leading Santa Claus enlisting Goku and Gohan to help him. The Composite Santa Claus is killed when his snowman half is melted by the intense heat from an energy ball fired by Goku. The Composite Santa Claus's origin is shown in the episode "In a DVD Factory". A mad scientist (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) uses DNA samples of Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman to create the Composite Santa Claus. The Composite Santa Claus shoots the mad scientist and his henchmen and goes on a rampage on Christmas. An anchorman reports that the Composite Santa Claus has been apprehended and is standing trial before a United Nations tribunal. In "Saving Private Gigli", the Composite Santa Claus is among the Robot Chicken characters assembled by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich to fight for Season 5 in the opening Saving Private Ryan parody of this episode. The Composite Santa Claus' snowman half is dissolved in water, while the Santa Claus half is bombarded by bullets. In "Fight Club Paradise", the Composite Santa Claus is one of the mad scientist's line of defense that the Robot Chicken had to fight through to rescue his wife. The Robot Chicken manages to defeat the Composite Santa Claus by beating him down the stairs with a baseball bat. In "Immortal", a sketch parodying The Cabin in the Woods, Composite Santa Claus is among those locked up in the cube cells.
  • The Composite Superman appears in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship, voiced by Jonathan Banks. He is accidentally summoned by Batman and Superman via the Flash's Cosmic Treadmill, and the two run off, arguing whether he should be named the Composite Superman or the Composite Batman. The Composite Superman uses the Treadmill as part of his plan to rule the multiverse. The Composite Superman and Superman fight using their heat vision, but succeed only in killing innocent bystanders. Batman suggests Superman attack the Batman side of his opponent's body, as it is human and, therefore, vulnerable. Superman repeatedly kicks the Composite Superman in the groin, only to discover the Composite Superman has "super balls". The attack proves to be enough of a distraction to allow Batman to jump onto the Composite Superman's back and stab his Superman side with a kryptonite batarang. This weakens the Composite Superman, allowing Superman to defeat him with a punch to his groin. As he collapses in pain, Batman mocks him, saying "I hope you learned your lesson", only for Superman to suddenly snap the Composite Superman's neck, killing him.