DC Completely Reinvents Superman’s Lamest Villain

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Superman’s facing off against an old, and not-very-threatening, enemy who’s trying to make a comeback. Over the years, the Man of Steel has battled powerful villains like Brainiac and General Zod – foes who are genuinely intimidating. But not all of Superman’s enemies reach that level, and one stands out as particularly weak: the Prankster. He’s back, attempting a reinvention for today’s audiences, but remains one of the least scary villains Superman has ever faced.

Oswald Loomis, also known as the Prankster, loves playing jokes even more than he loves money. This criminal is known for committing silly, prank-based crimes. While not as dangerous as many of Superman’s enemies, the Prankster has become a recurring villain. He hasn’t been seen in a while, but he’s back now, and he’s training a new Prankster who could be a much bigger threat.

DC Comics Debuts New Metahuman Prankster to Face Off with Superman

In the comic Superman Unlimited #9, created by Dan Slott, Mike Norton, Marcelo Maiolo, and Dave Sharpe, Clark Kent is at a bar with colleagues, discussing a string of bizarre deaths in Metropolis. Several important citizens have died in freak accidents – everything from a pie triggering a fatal allergy to a musician being killed by a falling piano. What the reporters don’t know is that all these deaths are the work of the Prankster.

Okay, so it’s confirmed: Loomis is the one carrying out these hits, working as a hired gun for the Prankster. And it’s not just about killing; the Prankster demands his victims be publicly humiliated too, all for a price. But Loomis isn’t the mastermind, he’s just the middleman. We see this clearly in his deal with Minnie Mannheim, who wants Perry White eliminated. The actual hit is carried out by the Prankster’s new protégé – a really interesting metahuman with shape-shifting powers. Loomis basically feeds them all the intel, and they go off to take out the unsuspecting mayor. It’s a disturbing setup, and this new protegee is definitely one to watch.

A new villain, the Prankster, repeatedly tries to kill Lois Lane. He attacks her at a baseball game and then during a ceremony honoring Superman. The Prankster is skilled and manages to predict Superman’s powers, including his newfound resistance to kryptonite. Despite this, Superman saves Lois and begins investigating the source of these attacks. He publicly connects the attempts to the Flash’s old enemy, the Trickster, believing this will draw out the Prankster – and it works, as the Prankster now targets Clark Kent personally.

Prankster is Finally a Real Threat to Superman

Honestly, the Prankster has never posed a significant challenge to Superman. By the time he became a regular villain, Superman was powerful enough that the Prankster was more annoying than dangerous. DC Comics has tried to update the character to fit modern stories, and Kurt Busiek notably reimagined him as a hired distraction. In this version, the Prankster would create wild and risky pranks to keep heroes – including Superman – occupied, giving other criminals a chance to operate unnoticed.

Although the previous approach was effective, the changes made to the Prankster are much more compelling. In ‘Superman Unlimited,’ Loomis becomes a truly malicious character, willing to order killings for financial gain. This version of the Prankster is also a genuine threat to Superman. While an ordinary criminal could only cause limited trouble, this Prankster is a metahuman – and a shapeshifter, no less – who has already almost killed Superman. For the first time, the Prankster feels like a worthy adversary for the Man of Tomorrow.

I’m confident Superman will ultimately defeat the Prankster, but the stories are more engaging when his villains are genuinely dangerous. It’ll be interesting to see how the Prankster reacts after being directly challenged, especially since he doesn’t know Clark Kent is Superman. I hope the next installment really showcases the Prankster’s abilities and establishes him as a more formidable foe than the previous villain, Oswald Loomis.

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2026-01-23 00:43