Universo is a

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 ...

appearing in

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 ...

, primarily as an enemy of the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

. He was created by

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...

and

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

, and first appeared in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' #349 (October 1966).

Fictional character biography

Pre-Zero Hour

Universo is a hypnotist and enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes who makes several attempts to conquer Earth using his abilities. He is later revealed to be a former

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

who was banished from the group after attempting to view the beginning of time.

"Five Years Later"

Years later, the Dominators seize control of Earth, during which Universo works with the Legion to stop them. After Earth is liberated, Universo allies with Leland McCauley.

Post-Zero Hour

Following '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!'', which reboots the Legion's continuity, Universo is depicted as Sarmon Ardeen,

Saturn Girl Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) is a superheroine appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Saturn Girl is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Imra's "Saturn Girl" title refers to her homeworld ...

's cousin. This version of Universo is erased from continuity following ''

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, ...

'', which further alters DC's timeline.

The New 52

The New 52 The New 52 was 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, cros ...

, Universo disguises himself as president-elect Hiroshi Takaneda. After a precognitive terrorist attempts an assassination, he hypnotizes Saturn Girl into missing his true identity. It is revealed that within nine years, the United Planets will fall apart under the villain's tyrannic rule.''Action Comics'' (vol. 2) #16 (March 2013)

Other versions

* Universo appears in the one-shot '' Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes''. This version is the descendant of

Egghead In U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. A similar ...

. * An alternate universe variant of Universo appears in '' Superboy's Legion''. This version is a benevolent supercomputer and leader of the Science Police who is later destroyed by

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 ...

and replaced by the Emerald Eye of Ekron.

Powers and abilities

Universo can manipulate the minds and memories of others. Furthermore, he wears a necklace that enhances his abilities.

References

External links

Universo/Vidar at the Book of Oa website
{{Green Lantern Characters created by Curt Swan Characters created by Jim Shooter Comics characters introduced in 1966 DC Comics extraterrestrial supervillains DC Comics supervillains Fictional hypnotists