Xombi (David Kim) is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

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 ...

. He first appeared in ''Xombi'' #0 (January 1994) and was created by

John Rozum John Rozum is an American writer of comic books and graphic novels who is best known for his work for Milestone Comics, where he wrote ''Xombi'' and ''Kobalt (DC Comics), Kobalt''. He has also written most often for DC Comics but has also written f ...

and

Denys Cowan Denys Cowan (; born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s T ...

Fictional character biography

David Kim is a Korean-American scientist from

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

who develops regenerative nanotechnology. Before Kim can test his invention, the villain Dr. Sugarman attempts to steal the nanites, mortally wounding him. Kim's assistant Kelly injects him with the nanites to save his life, but is killed and partially devoured by them. Following this, Kim becomes involved in the affairs of various races of ancient supernatural beings known collectively as the Shadow Worlds. In ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'',

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

kills his father

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...

, destabilizing the

multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

transfers the Milestone characters to the DC universe, altering history so that they always existed there. Furthermore, an alternate timeline variant of Kim who became a

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, ...

is introduced. A second ''Xombi'' series debuted in

in May 2011, and ran for six issues, which were collected in a trade paperback. It was written by

, with art by

Frazer Irving Frazer Irving (born 1970) is a British comic book artist known for the series '' Necronauts'', published by the British magazine '' 2000 AD''. After breaking into the American market he has worked on a number of superhero titles, including a s ...

Powers and abilities

Xombi is nigh-immortal due to the nanomachines in his body, which prevent aging and heal injuries. He has also demonstrated the ability to control the nanomachines to transmute matter.

Supporting characters

* Becan is an oracle who David Kim/Xombi and Rabbi Sinnowitz meet in a bar. * Bludgeon is a member of the Beli Mah (School of Anguish). * Catholic Girl is a teenage

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school girl who can fly, can project a force field around herself, and fire bolts of energy. The origin of her powers is unknown, but she views them as a heavenly gift. * Cheryl Saltz is an employee of Alva Technologies who tests Xombi's immortality. * Chet is a friend of David Kim. * Cole is a salesman who arranges for Manual Dexterity to murder Lenore Duncan. * Crowne is the leader of the Beli Mah (School of Anguish). * Dalila Rose is David Kim's fiancée. * Dumaka is a Xombi who gained his abilities from African folk magic. After David convinces him of the downsides of immortality, Dumaka gives up his abilities and dies. * ENIAC is an evil computer who holds Xombi and Cheryl Saltz hostage. * Homunculi is a group of ghostly insects who serve Dr. Sugarman. * Julian Parker is a demonic ally of David Kim/Xombi and Rabbi Sinnowitz. * Kameko is an ancient xombi introduced in issue #17. * Kelly Sanborne is David Kim's lab assistant. * Lord of Fumes is a villain who escapes from the Garden of Spires at the end of issue #2/beginning of issue #3. * Manuel Dexterity is the brother of Manuella Dexterity, who Cole sends to murder Lenore Duncan. * Manuella Dexterity is the sister of Manuel Dexterity, who attempts to kill Xombi following his death. * Nun of the Above is a clairvoyant nun and associate of Catholic Girl. * Nun the Less is a sister in the same religious order as Nun of the Above who developed the supernatural ability to shrink to small size after eating a bad shrimp. *

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Sinnowitz is an ally of David Kim/Xombi. He is an occult practitioner with penchant for Golem manufacture and control. Sinnowitz became involved in the shadow worlds when he and his wife battled the Kinderessen and their unborn child was killed. * Rats of Undertown/the Rat Congress are guest-starring from

Blood Syndicate The Blood Syndicate is a multicultural vigilante gang of superhumans created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''Blood Syndicate'' #1 (April 1993), and was created by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr. and ...

associates of the Boogieman (a member of the Blood Syndicate). A riot starts as the rats organize to fight the Kinderessen, and the fight took place in the middle of the Utopia Park Riot. * Sheer Shears are malevolent abstracts shaped like hooded figures with beak-like sheers in place of heads. They are immune to anything that is derived from written knowledge, but can be destroyed from creative application of oral tradition and folklore.

References

External links

International Heroes: Xombi

Xombi's first footsteps in the DC Universe

Reviews of the entire run of the first series at Comics Fondle
{{Milestone Media Comics characters introduced in 1994 Cyborg superheroes DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics immortals DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics titles Fictional characters from New Jersey Fictional characters with elemental transmutation abilities Korean superheroes Milestone Comics titles