Reactron is a fictional

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 ...

who appears in

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

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 ...

, usually as an adversary of

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

Publication history

Reactron first appears in ''The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl'' #8 (June 1983), in a story written by Paul Kupperberg and drawn by

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis

Ben Krullen is a sergeant serving in the US Army during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, alongside Joshua Clay. Krullen later massacres the inhabitants of a Vietnamese village, with the shock triggering Clay's metahuman powers. Clay seemingly destroys Krullen with his energy blasts, transforming him into a metahuman capable of generating radioactive energy. blasts. Calling himself Reactron, he surfaces years later and attacks the

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...

, as well as Supergirl.

Post-Crisis

Reactron's origin and background are changed for his appearances after the 1985 ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'' continuity reboot. Now known as Benjamin Krull, he faces the Doom Patrol and

Power Girl Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L, Karen Starr, and Paige Stetler, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976).''Who's Who in the DC Unive ...

in his first appearance. Most of his pre-''Crisis'' continuity seems intact, but it is now said that his previous battles involved Power Girl instead of Supergirl. Seemingly destroyed after overloading on Negative Woman's energy, he resurfaces unharmed and as a member of the

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

. Reactron is destroyed when

Deadshot Deadshot is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer David Vern Reed and artist Lew Sayre Schwartz based on a concept from Bob Kane, the character first appeared in ''Batman (comic book), Batman ...

punctures his containment suit, causing him to go critical. Reactron, Mister Nitro, Geiger, Nuclear, Professor Radium, and

Neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The Discovery of the neutron, neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nucle ...

form the Nuclear Legion in the 2006 miniseries '' The Battle for Blüdhaven'', working for the Society. They battle Freedom's Ring, who apparently kills Reactron. Reactron reappears in the '' Superman: New Krypton'' storyline with a new costume and abilities. Recruited by General Sam Lane as part of his Project 7734, Reactron is equipped with a heart made of gold kryptonite and partnered with

Metallo Metallo () is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of Superman. All versions of the character are powered by kryptonite and are partially ...

. Reactron and Metallo attack the city of New Krypton, where Reactron kills

Zor-El Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A Kryptonian, he is the younger brother of Jor-El,'' Action Comics #1075 (2024)'' husband of Alura, father of Supergirl, and paternal uncle of Superman. T ...

, the father of

. As part of his participation in Project 7734,

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 ...

sends a robot double of himself with Brainiac on a mission to attack New Krypton, a new planet in Earth's solar system populated by the survivors of the

Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to ref ...

city of Kandor. While there, the Luthor robot tampers with Reactron's body chemistry. Shortly thereafter, Reactron kills himself, causing a chain reaction that destroys New Krypton. In ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in i ...

'', Scarecrow drugs Supergirl with his fear toxin, causing her to believe she is fighting Reactron reanimated as a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

Powers and abilities

Reactron is a metahuman with the ability to generate nuclear radiation and concussive blasts. Reactron is also equipped with a gold Kryptonite heart, which allows him to briefly depower Kryptonians.

In other media

The Ben Krull incarnation of Reactron appears in the ''

'' episode "Fight or Flight", portrayed by Chris Browning. This version is a former nuclear engineer who was exposed to radiation amidst a terrorist attack that

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

thwarted, during which Ben's wife Alyssa died. Blaming Superman for her death, Ben built an advanced biomedical exo-suit that grants super-strength, the ability to fly, and fire energy blasts. In pursuit of his revenge, he attacks

, only to be defeated by her and arrested.

References

External links

"Pre-Crisis Reactron"
DC Comics Database
"Post-Crisis Reactron"
DC Comics Database {{Suicide Squad Characters created by Carmine Infantino Comics characters introduced in 1983 Characters created by Paul Kupperberg DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics metahumans DC Comics supervillains Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities Fictional mass murderers Fictional military sergeants Fictional United States Army personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans