Persuader is the name for three unrelated supervillains appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
The Nyeun Chun Ti version of Persuader first appeared in Adventure Comics #352 (January 1967), and was created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan.[1]
The Cole Parker version of Persuader first appeared in The Adventures of Superman #598 (January 2002), and was created by writer Joe Casey and artist Pete Woods.
The Elise Kimble version of Persuader first appeared in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #56 (April 2008) and was created by writer Sean McKeever and artist Eddy Barrows.
The Persuader was one of five outlaws recruited by the Legion of Super-Heroes to help them combat the Sun-Eater in exchange for amnesty for their crimes.[2] The villains later turned on the Legion and formed the Fatal Five, becoming one of the Legion's most notable threats.[3] The Persuader wielded an "atomic axe" resembling a halberd, that could reportedly cut through anything, occasionally including purely metaphoric or intangible things, such as air supply, the force of gravity, or the separation between dimensions, and followed the Persuader's mental commands.[4]
The Persuader came from a heavy-gravity planet; as a result, all of his physical capabilities such as strength and endurance are greatly enhanced. Before becoming a supervillain, he was a gangland enforcer who gained his name from his ability to thoroughly intimidate his victims.[5]
He was relatively unchanged following the Legion Reboot. In the Teen Titans/Legion crossover that ended the Reboot Legion, the Persuader had used his axe to cut through Hypertime, thereby teaming Fatal Fives from various universes as the Fatal Five Hundred. He had a daughter that visited him while he was in prison.[6]
The Persuader did not appear in the Threeboot Legion continuity.
During Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, the original Persuader joins Superboy-Prime's Legion of Super-Villains.
Cole Parker was a factory worker who had lost his job in the wake of the Brainiac-13 upgrade and blamed the Daily Planet. Inspired by images of Superman fighting a holographic Fatal Five, he began wielding a fire axe and led a riot against the Planet before being defeated and imprisoned.
A mysterious stranger appeared in Cole's cell and gave him an Atomic Axe to help him fulfill his need for vengeance. He escaped prison and fought Superman but accidentally opened an interdimensional portal and disappeared into it.[7]
During a mission with the Suicide Squad, Parker was accidentally killed by Osiris when he flew through his body to save his sister Isis.[8]
Elise Kimble is a member of the Clock King's Terror Titans and alleged ancestor of the 31st-century Persuader who became an assassin after her father left when she was young.[9] Clock King located and brought Elise's father to her, only to kill him during their reunion to toughen her up.[10][11] Elise later joins Superboy-Prime's Legion of Doom before being defeated by Rose Wilson and Speedy.[12][13]
Each of the Persuaders have enhanced physical capabilities.
The Nyeun Chun Ti and Elise Kimble versions of Persuader both wield atomic axes that can cut through anything on a molecular level.
The Nyeun Chun Ti incarnation of the Persuader appears in Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, voiced by Matthew Yang King.[15][14] This version is a member of the Fatal Five.
The Nyeun Chun Ti incarnation of the Persuader appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[16]