Imperiex first appeared in

Superman vol. 2 #153 (February 2000), and was created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. He is heavily inspired by Marvel Comics character Galactus.^[2]

The embodiment of entropy, Imperiex takes the form of pure energy contained in armor.^[3] Since the beginning of the universe, he has repeatedly destroyed it to create a new one from the remains of the old. He is first mentioned when Mongul II arrives on Earth stating that Imperiex has destroyed his Warworld and is heading for Earth. Mongul convinces Superman to help him fight Imperiex, and the two apparently manage to defeat it. However, it transpires the "Imperiex" they encountered was nothing more than a probe of the real Imperiex, referred to as Imperiex Prime. He has detected imperfections in the universe, and his ultimate plan is to destroy it and create a new, perfect one. To do so, Imperiex Prime heads for Earth, the planet which holds the universe together after being the center of Crisis on Infinite Earths, to destroy it and induce a new Big Bang.

Before arriving on Earth, Imperiex obliterates countless other planets including Kalanor, Karna, and Daxam. After destroying Karna, Imperiex arrives at Almerac, the home of Maxima, and not only destroys Almerac but "hollows" the whole galaxy, as one of the other whole galaxies that are also targeted for demolition. After this, the survivors of the dead worlds, along with Earth, Apokolips and Brainiac 13's new Warworld, form a coalition led by Darkseid to fight Imperiex Prime and his probes. Finally arriving at the Milky Way Galaxy, Imperiex sends in numerous probes, which are revealed to be machine-colony "Hollowers". On Earth, these machines destroy Topeka, Kansas, seven other places on Earth's seven continents and Atlantis, when they began to dig into Earth to ready it for Imperiex's final demolition.

President Lex Luthor rallies the super-heroes of Earth, the U.S. military, and other countries, such as Pokolistan, together for the coming battle, but decides that Superman alone does not have enough power to lead the kind of strike force required. He thus arranges for Doomsday to be released from captivity, with Manchester Black temporarily reprogramming his mind to transfer his traditional hatred for Superman to the Imperiex probes. Superman and Doomsday fight the probes and manage to destroy several until Imperiex Prime himself is drawn to them. Doomsday is outmatched and vaporized, only his skeleton remaining, though Darkseid saves Superman from a similar fate. Thanks to the sacrifices of Strange Visitor and General Rock, Earth's forces crack Imperiex's armor, intending for Darkseid to use Boom tubes to transfer Imperiex's energies back to the galaxies he had destroyed to prevent them from triggering a new big bang. Brainiac-13 appears on the battleground with his Warworld, absorbing the Imperiex energies into it and himself and vowing to use them to rule everything. Superman dives into the sun to acquire a sufficient power boost to oppose Brainiac, but when it is then discovered that Warworld cannot be destroyed without releasing Imperiex and triggering another Big Bang, he has Martian Manhunter form telepathically link with other combatants to make a last-minute plan.

With his powers having been weakened following Brainiac's attack, Darkseid uses Tempest as a magical focus for his abilities, empowered by the faith and strength of the Amazons, and focusing his energy through Steel's new 'Entropy Aegis' armor (created on Apokolips from a burned-out Imperiex probe, originally for Superman to wear it).^[4] Meanwhile, Lex Luthor activates a temporal displacement weapon on Earth. The weapon's energies are then combined with Darkseid's Apokolips energy to create a temporal boom tube. Using his new power boost, Superman is able to literally push Warworld itself through the boom tube, sending both Imperiex Prime's and Brainiac's consciousnesses back to the Big Bang, destroying both villains through a combined effort while negating any effect they would have had on the present. In his final moments, Imperiex Prime realizes, in an ironic twist, that the imperfection he had detected in the universe was himself.

At least 8 million people on Earth die during the war. The total number dead in the DC Universe is stated to be countless. Several heroes also die or are presumed dead, including Maxima, Aquaman, Guy Gardner, Hippolyta, General Sam Lane, and Steel.

Being the embodiment of entropy, Imperiex wields the power of the Big Bang itself, and can project powerful blasts of energy as well as create black holes capable of destroying entire universes. He also possesses superhuman strength, durability, and speed, and can create smaller probes resembling him.

Television edit

Imperiex appears in the second season of Legion of Super Heroes, voiced by Phil Morris.^[5][6][7] This version originates from Apokolips in the 41st century, possesses cybernetic enhancements, and was originally a gladiator before becoming a universal conqueror, with the artificial intelligence K3NT creating a clone of Superman named Kell-El to oppose him. After Kell-El travels to the 31st century to gain the titular Legion of Super-Heroes's help, Imperiex follows him through time and allies with the Fatal Five, the Legion of Super-Villains, and the Dominators to battle them. Eventually, he manipulates Brainiac 5 into succumbing to the original Brainiac's influence, only to be betrayed and killed by him.

Film edit

The Legion of Super Heroes incarnation of Imperiex makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!.^[8]

Video games edit

Imperiex appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[9]

Miscellaneous edit

• Imperiex appears in Injustice 2 #19.^[10]
• An alternate universe incarnation of Imperiex appears in the Justice League: Gods and Monsters tie-in comic book as the evolved monstrous form of Doctor Psycho.^[11]

• Superman Site: Imperiex profile
• Great Krypton: Superman #153