Equus is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

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 ...

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

and a cyborg mercenary in the

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 ...

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

who serves as an opponent of

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 ...

. Created by writer

Brian Azzarello Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo. ...

and artist

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

, he first appeared in ''Superman'' (vol. 2) #206, which was published in June 2004 as part of the " For Tomorrow" storyline.

Fictional character biography

Equus first appears in the third issue of the "For Tomorrow" storyline that ran in ''Superman'' in 2004 and early 2005. A prototype for the OMAC Project, he comes into conflict with Superman when he traces "The Vanishing", an event in which one million people disappeared, to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Investigating, Superman intervenes in a civil war by stealing all the guns from the combatants. During this time, Superman confronts Equus, a cybernetically enhanced creature whose claws are capable of piercing Superman's skin.''

'' (vol. 2) #206 (August 2004) Although Superman initially stands down, he later appears before Nox, who has stolen a device from the regime. Superman then appears, demanding to know of the weapon's origins, and when Nox informs him that the former king had intended to use it against him, Superman intervenes, feeling that the condemned men deserve a trial. Superman then returns to Nox's palace, confronting him with the question of what he intends to do with the weapon, but Equus also appears and ignores Nox's orders to stand down. Nox reminds him that Equus is there to aid him, but Equus brushes Nox aside, and attacks Superman. Superman is less forgiving in this rematch, using his enhanced vision to view and disable Equus' enhancements. Equus escapes by activating the weapon, causing himself and 300,000 other people to vanish.''Superman'' (vol. 2) #207 (September 2004) Superman subsequently learns that Equus is working for a mysterious man named Mr. Orr, who financed Nox's war and loaned Equus to them.''Superman'' (vol. 2) #208 (October 2004) Eventually, Superman tracks the victims of the Vanishing to the

Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created b ...

and encounters Equus, who has allied with

General Zod General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), was ...

.''Superman'' (vol. 2) #215 (May 2005) Equus III later appears in ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

/ Outsiders Secret Files 2005'', stored alongside the

Wildebeest Wildebeest ( , ,), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed ...

, who had been captured in the same story. Equus reappears in ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' #36 (2007), where he battles Karate Kid and Una. The two eventually defeat Equus, disabling him and leaving him without an arm. The arm is retrieved for reattachment, and Orr sets the Legionnaires on

Buddy Blank OMAC (Buddy Blank) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history OMAC was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby towards the end of his contract with the publisher following the cancellation of his ''N ...

's tracks. In the 2008 ''

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.Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

battle fight numerous clones of Equus and Wildebeest to prevent them from helping Cyborg against the "

Cyborg Revenge Squad The Superman Revenge Squad is the name of two fictional organizations in the DC Comics universe. As their name suggests, it is a group of Superman villains who banded together to defeat the Man of Steel. Pre-''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' In pre ...

Powers and abilities

Equus is a human who has undergone extensive modification as part of the OMAC Project. He possesses enhanced strength and durability, powerful claws, and a healing factor that enables him to regrow severed limbs.''

Countdown to Final Crisis ''Countdown'', also known as ''Countdown to Final Crisis'' for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of ...

'' #35 (August 2007)

In other media

A hologram of Equus appears in the ''

Superman & Lois ''Superman & Lois'' is an American superhero drama television series developed for The CW by Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti, based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Tyler Hoechlin and ...

'' episode "Of Sound Mind".

References

External links

* {{Jim Lee Characters created by Brian Azzarello Characters created by Jim Lee Comics characters introduced in 2005 DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics cyborgs Superman characters