Agent Liberty (Benjamin Lockwood) is a fictional character appearing in American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. Created by

Dan Jurgens Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC Comics, DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday (DC Comics), Doomsday, Hank H ...

, he made his debut in ''Superman'' vol. 2 #60 (Oct. 1991), and was later given his own solo adventure in ''Agent Liberty Special'' # 1 (1992).

Sam Witwer Samuel Weiler Witwer IV (born October 20, 1977) is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Crashdown in ''Battlestar Galactica'', Davis Bloome in ''Smallville'', Aidan Waite in '' Being Human'', Mr. Hyde in ''Once Upon ...

portrayed a loosely adapted version of the character on the live-action

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...

television series ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

''.

Fictional character biography

Benjamin Lockwood once worked for the CIA but ultimately left in disgust at their methods and the types of missions he was being asked to undertake. He became so disenchanted with the Federal Government as a whole that he joined the paramilitary group called the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It p ...

, who gave him the equipment to become Agent Liberty. As Agent Liberty, Lockwood helped to further the Sons of Liberty's cause of overturning the governmental regime which brought him into conflict with

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, though he later briefly assisted the Justice League in battling Brainiac in the crossover '' Panic in the Sky''. When the Sons asked him to assassinate politician Pete Ross, Lockwood refused and instead helped to bring down the group by sending vital information to reporter Clark Kent (Superman's secret civilian identity). Lockwood later learns that one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty was his former CIA mentor, and he became so disgusted with this revelation that he burned his Agent Liberty costume, vowing to never adopt the persona again. However, Lockwood subsequently becomes one of the many unwillingly brainwashed victims of a cult started by Brainiac and takes up the Agent Liberty identity once more. Agent Liberty and the other kidnapped meta-humans are rescued by Huntress and Vixen. Later, during the Earth-shaking crisis of ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'', Agent Liberty is seen at a mass for fallen and missing superheroes. Dozens of heroes, Agent Liberty included, also gather to defend the city of

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

from the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Liberty is seen heading for a heavily armed

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

s newly arrived on Earth. Agent Liberty was apparently killed when

Superwoman Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters in DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, such as flight, invulnerability, and enhanced strength. In 1942, DC Comics trademarked the n ...

uses her heat vision on him after she caught him spying on Sam Lane and

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

. His body was dumped in Metropolis Harbor where it was discovered and brought ashore by a group of boaters. Upon an autopsy it is discovered that Agent Liberty's suit had sent out a distress signal at the moment of his death, leaving clues to who killed him. Metropolis Metacrimes Inspector headed the investigation into Agent Liberty's murder. Before he could remove Liberty's armor, Lucy Lane had Lockwood's body removed from Metropolis City Hospital.

Powers and abilities

Agent Liberty is highly skilled in military tactics, hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship. His high-tech battle suit can generate a force-field of energy capable of deflecting bullets and houses weapons such as retractable gauntlet blades. He wears a jetpack that allows flight and was able to summon attack helicopters and other assistance from the Sons of Liberty.

Other characters named Agent Liberty

During the Codename: Patriot arc, a new female Agent Liberty has been seen as part of President Martin Suarez' security team. It is unknown at this time if she is connected to the Sons of Liberty, or even her predecessor Benjamin Lockwood, or if she is in fact yet another agent in General Lane's considerable list of operatives. The new Agent Liberty is apparently killed by Ursa when she attacks the White House during the ''

War of the Supermen ''Superman: War of the Supermen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), limited series from DC Comics that serves as the culmination to the ''Superman'' line-wide event ''Superman: New Krypton, New Krypton''. The series began on Free ...

''.

In other media

A heavily modified incarnation of Benjamin "Ben" Lockwood / Agent Liberty appears in ''

'', portrayed by

. Primarily appearing in the fourth season, this version is described as "ruthless and terrifying" as well as "a brilliant orator in the guise of a family man" who has "eerie abilities of persuasion and manipulation". Additionally, he was originally a mild-mannered college history professor who lost his home and father Peter (portrayed by

Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His films include ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''Candyman ...

) during the events of the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and third seasons respectively. Upon being fired by the university he worked at for his anti-alien opinions, Ben was approached by

's subordinates,

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

and Otis Graves, who gave him the equipment needed to become a self-proclaimed "Agent of Liberty". Ben subsequently goes on to found the Children of Liberty to create a human-first world order and rid National City of alien life whilst keeping these activities a secret from his wife Lydia (portrayed by

Sarah Smyth Sarah Smyth (born October 12, 1982) is a Canadians, Canadian acting, actress who starred on the three seasons of the Canadian show ''Naked Josh'' and known for ''50/50 (2011 film), 50/50'' (2011), ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning T ...

) and son George (portrayed by Graham Verchere). * Additionally, an alternate timeline version of Ben appears in the fifth season episode " It's a Super Life".

References

External links

Agent Liberty
at the Guide to the DC Universe {{Justice League characters 1991 comics debuts Characters created by Dan Jurgens DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics male supervillains DC Comics television characters Fictional Central Intelligence Agency personnel Fictional marksmen and snipers Fictional private military members United States-themed superheroes