Livewire (Leslie Willis) is a

supervillainess A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

appearing in

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradi ...

produced by

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and was based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that manages its DC Comics units and characters in other unit ...

, and

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of '' Action Comics ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

. Created for '' Superman: The Animated Series'', the character appeared in March 1997 in ''

Superman Adventures ''Superman Adventures'' is a DC Comics comic book series featuring Superman. It is set in the continuity (and style) of '' Superman: The Animated Series''. It ran for 66 issues between 1996 and 2002. Writers on the series included Paul Dini, Mark E ...

'' #5 (based on the animated series). Her first mainstream comic book appearance was in

' ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publication ...

'' #835 (March 2006). In television, the character was voiced by Lori Petty in '' Superman: The Animated Series'' and Maria Canals in ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

''. In live-action Superman-based television series, she has been portrayed by Anna Mae Routledge in ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/ ...

'' and Brit Morgan in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a 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 on CW Seed ...

series '' Supergirl''.

Fictional character biography

DC Animated Universe

Introduced in the ''Superman: The Animated Series'' episode "Livewire", Leslie Willis was originally a popular and controversial

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

radio shock jock who took cynical joy in attacking Superman during her broadcasts. Amidst a thunderstorm, Willis hosts a rock concert in honor of her third anniversary working as a shock jock in spite of the Metropolis authorities' public safety concerns. When Superman arrives to help the police break up the event, Willis gains support from her fans in attacking him until

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

strikes the stage, setting it on fire. Superman pushes Willis to safety as a second bolt of lightning electrifies a metal tower on the stage, but the electricity runs through his body and into a wire that Willis stepped on, electrocuting her and changing her appearance. After waking up in the hospital and seeing a news report that suggested Superman deliberately caused her transformation, she swears revenge against him and discovers she can manipulate

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

; the accident turned her into a

metahuman In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both ''mutant'' and '' mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and '' posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the ...

that absorbs electricity like Superman on insolation. She escapes from the hospital and confronts Superman, calling herself Livewire. As she battles him, she drains electricity from nearby electronic devices and takes control of the local media before fleeing to a hydroelectric dam, where he douses her in water. Willis is hospitalized once more, though

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in '' Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: ...

pays her hospital bills due to their shared contempt for Superman. Following this, Willis forms a short-lived alliance with

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

in the episode "Double Dose" and a separate alliance with

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in it ...

and Poison Ivy in ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...

'' episode "Girls' Night Out", only to be defeated by Superman in the former episode and by Supergirl and

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 19 ...

in the latter. In the ''

'' two-part episode "Hereafter", Willis joins the

Superman 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- ...

to fulfill their eponymous goal, only to be defeated by the

. As of the third season of ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 United States, American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. ...

'', Willis joined

Gorilla Grodd Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain character appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in ''T ...

Secret Society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...

Superman Adventures

Livewire appears in the ''

'' comics, which is based on the DCAU animated series. Throughout issue #5, "Balance of Power", the two-part "War Games" (#22–23), and the two-part finale (#65–66), "Power Play", she joins forces with Professor Hamilton to stop Brainiac and eventually reforms.

Comics

In ''Action Comics'' #835, Gail Simone and John Byrne brought Livewire into the mainstream

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lante ...

, in the same tradition as

. Much like the DCAU version of Livewire before she gained her abilities, she was also a shock jock. Going by the DJ name Leslie, her show was dedicated to bashing upon Superman every night, claiming that Superman was only saving people in the name of grandstanding and showing off. She also shows a disdain for fellow broadcaster Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel. Her career as a shock jock was cut short when the owner of the station, Miguel, decided to turn the station into a country station (a reference to popular real-world shock jock, Howard Stern, who lost his first DJ job in a similar fashion). Miguel was also quite pleased that she was fired because his wife was saved by Superman. Unlike the DCAU version of Livewire, she was born with the gift of controlling electricity. Enraged at the loss of her job, she went to the top of the station where she was struck by lightning. Absorbing a large amount of energy from the lightning bolt, her appearance changed to a chalk-white skin with blue hair. With that change, she decided that she would now take her revenge out on Superman. Superman was weakened by his battle with the

Queen of Fables Queen of Fables is a supervillain who has battled the Justice League, Wonder Woman and Superman. Based on the character of the Evil Queen from "Snow White", the Queen of Fables is the living embodiment of all evil in folklore. She first appeared in ...

in the previous issue and was unable to withstand Livewire's attacks. Now too weak to fight her directly he defeated her by cunning, shorting out her powers.

Helping to save the world

Livewire gets kidnapped along with most of the other Metahumans on Earth by a being dubbed the 'Auctioneer'. This being scours the universe looking for unique items to acquire (often by theft) before selling them to the highest bidder. Livewire's unique powers allow her, Superman and several other captives to escape their containment fields. She teams up with Nightwing, Superman, the Veteran,

Blue Jay The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are ...

and other heroes in fleeing their situation and gaining intelligence. A dampening field provides a psychological barrier against utilizing their powers. With the help of Mister Terrific, who communicates through Livewire's natural electricity, the field is soon neutralized. During the escape attempt, Livewire accidentally creates a link between the makeshift team and every single television on Earth. This proves hard to shut off. Soon, the team confronts the Auctioneer. With great difficulty, Livewire gains control over the being's communication systems. Under Superman's suggestions, they threaten to broadcast the Auctioneer's entire database to every alien system possible unless he agrees to release the heroes and leave the Earth alone. He reluctantly does so and returns everyone to Earth. The entire adventure was seen on every Earth TV and due to the Auctioneer selling the dramatic story rights, on many alien planets as well. During this story arc, she also shows that she is physically attracted to Nightwing. In ''

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 ...

'' (vol. 3) #51, Livewire is shown to be under the control of Starro. She recently caused a blackout of Gotham City. However, she is easily defeated by Batgirl VI, who was wearing an insulated Batsuit. During the " Brightest Day" storyline, Livewire is shown battling

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

after being possessed by the Starheart. In the '' Superman: Grounded'' storyline, Livewire attacks

Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the '' Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and ...

and takes hostages in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

to get the attention of Superman. Superman then puts a modified version of the suit he had to wear when he was briefly converted into an energy being on Livewire (who promptly changes the S-shield on it to an L-shield), which returns her power levels to normal. She is arrested, but does not receive a hard sentence as she only damaged property, no one was wounded, and Superman spoke on her behalf. Iron Munro also chooses to use his influence in the justice department to help. When asked by Jimmy why he would help Livewire, Superman says that, in America, everyone deserves a second chance. With the help of Iron Munro and Serling Roquette, an employee of S.T.A.R. Labs, Livewire is declared reformed. She and Munro are given signal watches as part of an ''ad hoc'' '

Supermen of America The Supermen of America is the name of two fictional superhero teams published by DC Comics. The original group first appeared in a special written by Stuart Immonen published in 1999, and a later mini-series written by Fabian Nicieza, which was ...

' group that Superman recruits because he comes to understand he cannot be everywhere at once.

The New 52

In 2011, "

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cross ...

" rebooted the DC universe. Livewire appears as a member of the

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978 ...

after the events of the " Forever Evil" storyline. She has previously faced against Superman, who found himself unable to defeat her, since she is made of pure energy, and teamed up with

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

in order to do so. Her origin is later given in an issue of ''Batgirl'', where it is revealed that Leslie Willis was once a popular vlogger known for her pranks and makeup tutorials. During a stunt where she tried to reroute all the power in the city in order to spell out a dirty message that would be visible from space, she was accidentally electrocuted, granting her superhuman abilities.

Powers and abilities

Livewire is a being of pure electricity able to absorb vast quantities from external sources. She can also manipulate electricity, including electric and magnetic fields, ionize the air around her, which the DCAU incarnation used to create her costume, and generate lightning blasts of various intensities, with her strongest being able to weaken or stun Superman. She can transform her body into a living electric arc in order to travel through anything capable of conducting an

electric current An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume. The movin ...

, possess/control electronic devices such as computers, telecommunications networks, and an entire electrical grid. In the comics, as stated by Superman in ''Action Comics'' #843, Livewire has the ability to broadcast the energy she has stored in the form of a coherent signal (radio wave, etc.), without directing the energy at a target. Due to her powers, her primary weakness is water, as even a small amount will cause her stored energy to go haywire unless she has stored up enough power. At this or any stage, Livewire would have to be completely drenched in water to be fully depowered. Additionally,

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...

dust can also render her powerless due to its electrical resistance. When drained of her electricity, she reverts to her solid form and cannot use most of her abilities until she absorbs a minimal amount of

electric power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions ...

from an appropriate source. However, even when depowered, she can direct the flow of free electricity from an exposed energy source to re-power herself. In her self-titled ''Superman: The Animated Series'' episode, she demonstrated extraordinary strength while lifting a hydroelectric dam's power unit that she was draining at the time.

Other versions

''DC Universe Online''

Livewire appears in '' DC Universe Online: Legends'', working for Brainiac.

''Injustice: Gods Among Us''

Livewire appears in the prequel comics for '' Injustice: Gods Among Us''.

In other media

Television

Animation

* Livewire makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013 and is based on the DC Comics fictional superhero team. The series was announced f ...

'' episode "Black Friday". * A teenage version of Livewire appears in ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

'', voiced by

Britt Baron Britt Baron (born October 16, 1991) is an American actress, best known for her role as Justine in '' GLOW'', an American comedy-drama streaming television wrestling series on Netflix and as Tifa Lockhart in ''Final Fantasy VII Remake.'' Early l ...

. Introduced in the third season episode "Triptych",

Simon Stagg Simon Stagg is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, serving primarily as an antagonist to the superhero Metamorpho in most comic book stories and their adaptations. He is responsible for turning Rex Mason ...

uses the Mad Hatter's nanotech to control her as part of his

trafficking ring before Nightwing's team free her. Following this, Livewire became a resident of the Metahuman Youth Center in Taos, New Mexico. As of the fourth season, she has joined the Outsiders. * Livewire appears in ''

DC Super Hero Girls ''DC Super Hero Girls'' or ''DC Superhero Girls'' (in various countries) is an American superhero web series and franchise Produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Cartoon Network based on characters from DC Entertainment that launched in the thi ...

'', voiced by Mallory Low. This version is a teenage bully and

internet troll In slang, a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, a online video game), or in real life, with the ...

who posts videos and pictures of victims of the pranks she causes with her powers. * Livewire makes non-speaking cameo appearances in ''

''. This version is a member of the

Legion of Doom The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in '' Challenge of the Super Friends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Uni ...

in season one.

Live-action

* Livewire appears in the ''

'' episode "Injustice", portrayed by an uncredited Anna Mae Routledge. This version is a low-time crook. After being incarcerated, she is recruited by Tess Mercer and is tasked with searching for

Davis Bloome ''Smallville'' is an American television series developed by writer/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and was initially broadcast by The WB. After its fifth season, the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which was the second broadcaster fo ...

alongside

Neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behav ...

Plastique Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives or blastics. Plastic explosives are especially suited for explos ...

, and Mercer's assistant Eva Greer. Livewire is later killed by an explosive implanted in her head off-screen. * Livewire appears in '' Supergirl'', portrayed by Brit Morgan. This version is a confident yet abrasive CatCo shock jock who acquires her powers after Supergirl is struck by lightning while rescuing her from a potential helicopter crash. Introduced in her self-titled episode, Livewire attempts to seek revenge on Cat Grant for demoting her, only to be defeated by Supergirl and turned over to the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO)'s custody. In the episode "

Worlds Finest "Worlds Finest" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of the American superhero television series '' Supergirl''. It aired on CBS on March 28, 2016. The episode's teleplay was written by Andrew Kreisberg and Michael Grassi, and directed ...

", Silver Banshee breaks Livewire out of the DEO to help her kill Grant, Supergirl, and Kara Danvers. However, the pair are foiled by Supergirl and a group of firefighters and incarcerated at National City's newly developed metahuman prison. In "We Can Be Heroes", scientist Dr. Hampton kidnaps Livewire in an attempt to steal her powers and create an army of electricity-powered super-soldiers, but she escapes with Supergirl's help and they form a truce. In "Fort Rozz", Livewire agrees to help Supergirl and Psi on a mission to the titular prison to gather information on

Reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Budd ...

and later dies saving Supergirl.

Film

* An alternate reality version of Livewire appears in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters'', voiced by Kari Wahlgren. This version is a non-metahuman terrorist armed with an electric beam gun. * Livewire makes a non-speaking appearance in '' Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse''. This version is a member of the

Video games

* Livewire appears as a boss in '' Superman: Shadow of Apokolips'', voiced again by Lori Petty. * Livewire appears as a boss in '' Superman: Countdown to Apokolips''. * Livewire appears in ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play action combat massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game w ...

''. * Livewire appears as a playable character in the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Th ...

version of '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * Livewire appears as a playable character in ''DC Legends''. * Livewire appears in ''

Lego DC Super-Villains ''Lego DC Super-Villains'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales. The fourth installment in the ''Lego Batman'' series of games, it is a spin-off that focuses entirely on villains of the DC Uni ...