Professor Hamilton

Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Jerry Ordway, Professor Emil Hamilton first appeared in The Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987). His depictions in various incarnations range from that of a trusted ally to Superman and his colleagues to one who is cautious and mistrustful of Superman and his power, to an unambiguous villain. The character was named after Edmond Hamilton, who wrote stories about Superman and other characters from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Emil Hamilton first appeared in The Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987), as an apparent villain, using his gadgets to attack Superman in an attempt to gain funding by proving that they worked. A former employee of S.T.A.R. Labs and the US Government, it transpired he had been driven insane when all his research was bought up by Lex Luthor, who took credit for the inventions. He was placed in a mental health facility and responded well to treatment. On his release, he set up a laboratory in Suicide Slum and quickly became Superman's "scientific advisor", eking out a general living as a technical consultant. He was responsible for creating many devices that aided Superman, including the Phantom Zone Projector and early Superman Robots, as well as helping Superman during such problems as the 'Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite', when red kryptonite created by Mister Mxyzptlk shut down Superman's powers; until Superman's powers were restored, Hamilton provided him with various machinery such as a force field belt and an armored suit to allow him to continue as a hero. Later, another force field belt Emil provides allows Superman to get around the power-blocking talents of the artificial life forms 'Psi-Phon' and 'Dreadnaught'.[2]

Emil's first time turning evil is when the immortal 'Mister Z' brainwashes him into assisting in an attack on Superman.[3]

Later, Superman is fighting the alien monster Doomsday. Working with Bibbo, another ally of the Man of Steel, Emil sets up a powerful laser and scores a direct strike on the monster. It does little to stop it.[4] The two combatants seemingly fall dead and Emil creates a CPR unit for the hero. Bibbo is injured while using it and Hamilton takes over. Their efforts fail and Superman is declared dead.[5] This failure causes feelings of intense guilt that not even Hamilton's long-term female friend Mildred Krantz can help him overcome.[6] After the hero's return, Emil helps in the investigation of a Superman 'corpse duplicate'.[7] He lost an arm during the "Fall of Metropolis" storyline, but replaced it with a self-designed cybernetic prosthesis.

He also provided Superboy with the visor that duplicated Superman's vision powers (x-ray and heat vision). This helps Superboy get a start on a heroic career in Hawaii. Hamilton would also enjoy time in that state as well.[8] He spends time with Superman, assisting him in restoring in Fortress of Solitude and saving the lives of the citizens of the Bottle City of Kandor.[9]

Emil Hamilton is a normal human being and thus, has no inherent super powers, though he is a brilliant scientist and inventor, having designed and built devices such as a force-field generator. However, as Ruin he dons a "power suit." The suit allows Ruin to take advantage of his knowledge of Superman's weaknesses. Powerful blasts of Kryptonian red sunlight can be fired from the suit, which essentially sap Superman of all his powers. Also, Ruin is able to transport himself to the Phantom Zone (though at a detriment to his health), and reemerge anywhere, effectively allowing him to teleport. If the suit is forcibly removed from Hamilton's body, it self-destructs with a massive force, apparently enough to destroy a small city, although enough time elapsed between the removal and the explosion for Superman to get it to a safe distance using his superspeed.

Emil has designed various prosthetic arms with unusual abilities, including one that acted as a sunscreen dispenser.

• Professor Hamilton made an appearance in the Elseworlds tale, JLA: The Nail.[16] In this story, Hamilton still operates S.T.A.R. labs, but it is a secret-alien research facility in Smallville, Kansas that includes various heroes and villains who have been publicly identified as aliens to increase paranoia among the population (it is unclear if Hamilton is a willing part of the propaganda program or genuinely believes the idea that metahumans are alien invaders). Hamilton also appeared in Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl and Batgirl, featuring Batgirl and Supergirl, having previously worked with Lex Luthor to create a new solar battery only to be disgraced when he tried to reveal the truth about the project (it actually uses the corpse of the infant Kal-El as a power source).[17]

• Hamilton continues to play a supporting role in the Smallville Season Eleven comic. With his new position at STAR Labs, he was tasked with helping the Watchtower Network with the construction of an outpost on the Moon.[18] Months later, Emil was unexpectedly reunited with Tess, who was revealed to still be alive, inside the brain of her half-brother, Alexander/Conner Kent. Tess was extracted from Lex's brain and Emil uploaded her consciousness to the Watchtower computer system. Because of an earlier incident with Hank Henshaw and his robotic body, who had been in the same situation as Tess, Emil began acting as her psychiatrist. After Tess downloaded herself into an android body called "Red Tornado", the two began going on dates. As her activities with the new Justice League required her to spend time on the new Lunar outpost, Emil decided to get himself certified in space travel, thus allowing him to visit her there.[19]

• Emil Hamilton at the DC Animated wiki
• Emil Hamilton at the DC Database