As a retelling of Clark Kent arriving in Metropolis to fulfill his superhero destiny, the animated movie Superman: Man of Tomorrow features plenty of major characters in the Man of Steel's vast mythos, including the Kents, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. It also includes a lesser known villain who plays a prominent role in the film: Parasite, voiced by former Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Brett Dalton.
According to director Chris Palmer, Parasite's role in the film is intended to play up the inherent tragedy of the purple supervillain while providing Clark with another parallel who was viewed and treated as an outsider by the general public, a theme that is also mirrored in supporting characters Martian Manhunter and Lobo.
"Parasite at this point... he's always a tragic character, he's definitely a tragic character in this one. I don't give too much away...part of it is damaged, he's damaged coming from a fight with Lobo," Palmer tells CBR. "All this in the film is showing that there's not just Clark, but that there's other aliens living on Earth. There's these other outsiders, and the way that each of them choose to be on Earth is different."
Clark encounters Rudy Jones before his monstrous transformation into the purple-hued, power-sucking villain, and his horrific metamorphosis changes Clark's perspective on what an outsider could be. For the young man who had to grow up concealing his true self from his friends in Smallville, this reveal is especially eye-opening.
"For Parasite, when Clark meets him, he doesn't know [what he is]. At first, he sees something that's another alien to him, something that wants to do harm. And once he figures that he's actually Rudy Jones, whom he had met earlier, and he's this human, there's a little different take on what even Clark thinks is an outsider," Palmer explained. "There's Lobo and Martian Manhunter, who are aliens to Earth, we have Parasite, who is an actual Earthling being treated like an outsider, even though he's from here, as he's changing. It just felt like another side of the coin for what like an outsider feels."
Directed by Chris Palmer, Superman: Man of Tomorrow stars Darren Criss as Clark Kent/Superman, Zachary Quinto as Lex Luthor, Alexandra Daddario as Lois Lane, Ryan Hurst as Lobo, Brett Dalton as Rudy Jones/Parasite, Ike Aamadi as Martian Manhunter, Neil Flynn as Jonathan Kent and Bellamy Young as Martha Kent. The film is available now on digital HD and on Blu-ray and 4K UHD on Sept. 8.