Professor Hamilton
Professor Emil Hamilton is a fictional character in DC Comics' Superman titles. He was created by Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway. He is generally portrayed as a stereotypical absent-minded professor, with a gray beard and thick glasses and, at times, a "Mr. Wizard" type character. However, recent versions of the character have been more villainous as he begins to see Superman as a potential threat to the world. The character was named after Edmond Hamilton, who wrote stories about Superman and other characters from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Fictional character biography
He first appeared in Adventures of Superman #424, as an apparent villain, using his gadgets to attack Superman in an attempt to gain funding by proving that they worked. A former employee of S.T.A.R. Labs and the US Government, it transpired he had been driven insane when all his research was bought up by Lex Luthor, who took credit for the inventions. He was placed in a mental health facility and responded well to treatment. On his release, he set up a laboratory in Suicide Slum and quickly became Superman's "scientific advisor", eking out a general living as a technical consultant. He was responsible for creating many devices that aided Superman, including the Phantom Zone Projector and early Superman Robots, as well as helping Superman during such problems as the 'Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite', when Red Kryptonite created by Mister Mxyzptlk shut down Superman's powers; until Superman's powers were restored, Hamilton provided him with various machinery such as a force field belt and an armoured suit to allow him to continue as a hero. Later, another force field belt Emil provides allows Superman to get around the power-blocking talents of the artificial life forms 'Psi-Phon' and 'Dreadnaught'.
