Meet Metamorpho, the weirdest member of the Justice Legaue in James Gunn's new Superman movie

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Credit: DC

James Gunn's Superman reboot movie has a whole team of co-stars (who don't go by the name 'Justice League' in the film) who will appear alongside David Corenswet's Man of Steel. Some, like Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern Guy Gardner and Isabela Merced's Hawkgirl are fairly recognizable. But others, Anthony Carrigan's Metamorpho in particular, are likely altogether mysterious to a majority of casual DC fans.

Metamorpho's inclusion as one of the members of the new Superman movie's non-Justice League isn't unprecedented - he's a DC hero who dates back to the '60s and who has indeed been a part of multiple iterations of the League in the decades since.

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Alongside his upcoming live action appearance in Superman, Metamorpho is also currently starring in his own comic book from longtime Marvel mainstay writer Al Ewing, who's branching out into the DC Universe alongside fan-favorite artist Steve Lieber. This combines for a one-two punch that's about to give Metamorpho one of his first big, A-list moments in the DC Universe across media.

That boosted profile is naturally leading to questions about Metamorpho's comic history, his powers, and his place in the DC Universe - all of which we've got answers for right here.

Metamorpho, the Element Man

Credit: DC

Metamorpho first appeared in 1965's The Brave and the Bold #57 by writer Bob Haney and artist Ramona Fradon, with editor George Kashdan helping originate the concept for the character, who was originally envisioned as a partially satirical take on the ever more eccentric sci-fi stories of Silver Age superhero comics.

Within the DC Universe, Metamorpho starts out as human adventurer/archaeologist Rex Mason, who is hired by villainous corporate overlord Simon Stagg to retrieve an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Orb of Ra which is said to possess tremendous power.

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When Mason finds the Orb, he is suddenly ambushed by Stagg's bodyguards, who expose him to the Orb's power and leave him for dead, as Stagg has grown to resent Mason because he is in love with Stagg's daughter Sapphire.

But rather than dying, Mason becomes Metamorpho, the Element Man, who possesses the incredible ability to turn himself into any element naturally found in the human body - but who is also cursed with a bizarre, non-human appearance that at first takes great effort to control.

Credit: DC

Sapphire sticks with Mason, becoming his adventuring partner as he works against Simon Stagg and other villains with his amazing element powers in stories that are often tinged with comedy and a kind of absurdity that defines the classic Metamorpho vibe of cheery sci-fi.

In the '80s, after a couple decades as an occasional leading man and guest star in secondary DC titles, Metamorpho finally hitched up with a super-team - but not the Justice League. Instead, Metamorpho's first superhero team was the Outsiders, a sort of secret super-team led by Batman to take on missions under his guidance.

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Later in that same decade, Metamorpho would finally become part of the Justice League as part of Justice League Europe and Justice League International, eventually going on to be part of the main Justice League team in the early '90s.

Since then, Metamorpho has once again been a cult-favorite DC B-lister, who is finally getting a long awaited shot at the A-list thanks to his new comic title.

Metamorpho in the new Superman movie

Credit: DC

Metamorpho has been present in a lot of the early footage we've seen for Superman, with some details of his involvement in the plot already known. For one thing, we know his role in the film will involve Metamorpho using his elemental powers to transform his body into Kryptonite in order to weaken Superman at Lex Luthor's behest - though he's still got a strong heroic streak, according to actor Anthony Carrigan.

Likewise, we also know that Metamorpho's unique physiology will actually be portrayed primarily through practical make up, with Carrigan wearing a specially constructed suit for filming that is particularly faithful to comics, with a body made up of four different sections to loosely represent the four alchemical elements of earth, air, fire, and water, according to the intent of original designer Ramona Fradon.

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In terms of casting, it's hard to envision a better choice for Metamorpho than Anthony Carrigan, perhaps best known for his portrayal of lovable would-be gangster NoHo Hank on HBO's Barry. He's got the right look for an actor to be turned into Metamorpho, and he's shown a particular aptitude for the kind of absurdist but relatable wit that the character's personality has often encompassed.

With all that in mind, we're expecting Metamorpho (and the rest of the non-Justice League) to have strong potential to be breakout characters for James Gunn's budding DC Universe. We won't have long to wait to see how it all pans out, with Superman opening July 11. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows for everything else the DCU has in store.

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