Raymond Maxwell Jensen

Raymond Maxwell Jensen was a greedy laborer who broke into restricted containers at a nuclear facility hoping to find valuables, and instead was bombarded with radioactive energy that transformed him into the Parasite — a villain who drains the life force and powers of anyone he touches.

Few characters can claim a Silver Age debut that still resonates across six decades of DC history, but Raymond Maxwell Jensen is exactly that kind of slow-burn discovery. First introduced in Action Comics #340 in 1966 by the talented Jim Mooney, Jensen emerged during comics' most imaginative era and has kept remarkable company ever since — sharing pages with Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern across titles like Action Comics and DC Universe: Legacies. That last series is telling: when DC wants to chronicle the sweep of its own universe, Jensen earns a seat at the table. With 60 years of publication history behind him, this is a character whose place in the DC tapestry rewards the curious collector willing to dig in.