List of DC Comics characters: P

Paintball
Paintball (Paul Deisinger) is a DC Comics supervillain. He first appeared in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #2 (September 1999), and was created by Geoff Johns and Leo Moder. Paintball is an art teacher who was transformed into a paint-themed criminal and became a minion of Dragon King.

Paintball in other media
Paul Deisinger appears in Stargirl, portrayed by Randy Havens. This version is an art teacher at Blue Valley High School before being transformed into a paint monster by Cindy Burman and Eclipso. After Stargirl frees and cures him, Deisinger undergoes a psych evaluation before being killed by Lily Mahkent.

Linda Park
Linda Park (also known as Linda Park-West) is a fictional character in the DC Universe. She is best known as the girlfriend and later wife of Wally West. Linda Park first appeared in The Flash (vol. 2) #28 and was created by William Messner-Loebs.

She is a Korean-American television reporter for Keystone City and regularly deals with the Flash, whom she does not like. During their initial meeting she constantly hounds the Flash about the recent thousands of dollars of property damage caused by his battle with the Porcupine Man. Despite this, Linda and Wally became friends on her first job for Keystone City's KFMB Channel 4, when they team up to investigate the Celestial Enlightenment Ranch, a spiritual-retreat scam. After Wally helps Linda deal with her apparent possession by the spirit of an 800-year-old Irish bard named Seamus O’Relkig, they become close and soon begin dating. The Flash's love for Linda has brought him back many times from the Speed Force. After many obstacles—such as Wally nearly being killed by the Black Flash and Linda being abducted and all memory of her erased by Abra Kadabra (the last requiring the aid of an alternate version of Wally to return home and convince Kadabra to reverse the spell)—they marry. She eventually became one of the hosts of the television program The Scene, which is similar to the (real life) program The View. Her co-hosts included Vicki Vale, Tawny Young, and Lia Briggs. Two episodes were shown in which they interviewed Wonder Woman on her career, which was shown in that title comic. Shortly after the Wests moved into a new apartment after their old house was destroyed by Magenta, Linda left her journalism career, her relationship with Wally having made her unable to reconcile the public's right to know against the superheroes’ chance to resolve a situation before people started to panic, instead studying medicine with the intent of becoming a pediatrician. Linda soon became pregnant with twins, but during the early months of her pregnancy she was attacked by Zoom, which caused her to miscarry the twins. After Zoom was defeated, Wally asked the Spectre (whose host at the time was Wally's longtime friend Hal Jordan) to remove knowledge of the Flash's identity from everyone's memories, but Jordan's increasing lack of control of the Spectre meant that even Wally and Linda forgot who the Flash was. After she remembered, Linda left to rethink her life. She returned to Wally after taking some time away. A later battle between Zoom and the Flash spontaneously restored her pregnancy when Zoom and the Flash travelled back in time to their original battle, Zoom unintentionally taking the brunt of the sonic boom generated by his past self and thus protecting Linda from the worst of the attack, and she gave birth to the twins upon Wally's return to the future. In Infinite Crisis #4, a battle with Superboy-Prime caused Wally to disappear. He appeared in front of Linda, telling her he is disappearing. Holding the twins, Linda kissed Wally as they disappeared. It was later revealed by Bart Allen, returned by the Speed Force, that Linda is still alive, albeit in an alternate reality living in its version of Keystone City where time flows apparently faster (as shown by Bart reappearing in IC #5, where from his point of view, four years had passed). There, she is raising her twins with her husband. Recently, seven members of the Pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes were discovered in the 21st Century by the Justice League of America. The seven Legionaries were sent back in time on a secret mission, in which they were to use seven lightning rods, which would be struck by lightning, killing one member and resurrecting another. The Legion was successful in their mission, and surprisingly all seven Legionaries survived. However, there was an unexpected bonus. Wally, Linda, and the twins managed to 'ride' the lightning bolt and return to their homeworld, alive and well. In All Flash #1, the names of the West twins are revealed to be Iris and Jai. In The Flash (vol. 2) #231, it is revealed that, from three months into their "exile", the West family had been living on an alien planet that had previously been saved by the Flash. Linda has extended her medical knowledge with the advanced science of the aliens, thereby gaining the skills necessary to stabilize the speed-related powers of their children. In "The Flash: Rebirth" miniseries, Linda has apparently returned to her journalist career, as she reports on the festivities in honor of the return of Barry Allen. Linda and her children are part of a resistance operating out of the 'Hall of Justice' during the events of "Final Crisis".

In "The New Golden Age", Linda is among those who attended a party held by the Flash family.

Linda Park in other media

 * Linda Park makes a cameo appearance in the pilot episode of The Flash (1990), portrayed by Mariko Tse. This version is a Central City reporter.
 * Linda Park appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance", voiced by Kim Mai Guest.
 * Linda Park appears in TV series set in the Arrowverse, portrayed initially by Olivia Cheng and later by Malese Jow. This version is a Central City reporter who enters a relationship with Barry Allen before they eventually break up. Additionally, her Earth-2 counterpart Doctor Light appears in the second season of The Flash.

Jarrett Parker
Dr. Jarrett Parker is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created in The Flash Vol. 2 #10, and was created by Mike Baron and Mike Collins.

He was a therapist who practiced in Huntington, New York and a colleague of Dr. Owen Slade.

One of his patients was Chunk. After swallowing a matter transmitter and becoming a human singularity, Chunk became frustrated with Parker and sent him to another dimension. Here, Parker helped establish a community with others who suffered the same fate, including Karin Preus and Eric Gunderson. Parker's counsel remained ineffective on Chunk, and Chunk's frustration with this caused him to be absorbed into a separate dimension.

Jarrett Parker in other media
Dr. Jarrett Parker appears in the seventh season of Arrow, portrayed by Jason E. Kelley. This version is the corrupt chief psychiatrist of Slabside Maximum Security Prison who utilizes unethical and lethal methods to rehabilitate criminals. After Oliver Queen and Talia al Ghul discover and expose his corruption, Parker is subsequently fired from Slabside and killed by Talia.

Peek-a-Boo
Peek-a-Boo (Lashawn Baez) is a DC Comics supervillain. She first appeared in The Flash (vol. 2) #180 (January 2002), and was created by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins.

Lashawn Baez was a graduate student at Central City Medical School, but put her studies aside to help her father Tomas when he got ill, requiring a kidney transplant. Lashawn tried to donate her's, but the procedure activated her latent metagene, granting her teleportation powers, leaving her unable to donate her own organ because of her powers whenever she was touched.

As Peek-a-Boo, she snuck into Central City Hospital to steal a kidney, but accidentally destroyed a lab due to her unstable powers. The doctor grabbed her arm, which caused an implosion where she disappeared, nearly killing the surprised surgeon. The Flash and Cyborg intervened and defeated her with a wall of white sound generated by Cyborg's arm, coupled with disorientation from being teleported hundreds of times a second when the Flash deliberately triggered her powers. The Flash later returned the kidney to the hospital and Lashawn was convinced and sent to Iron Heights.

When Gorilla Grodd attacked Iron Heights, Peek-a-Boo was able to escape along with many other Rogues. She went to the hospital to check on her father. Tomas Baez' doctors had been able to find a new kidney in time, but his ailing body rejected it and her father died. When the Flash came to the hospital, Lashawn, in grief and embittered by her incarceration, revealed to him that she wanted to be a hero like him whom she had idolised, but now considered him as an enemy. However, she later saved the life of the Flash's wife Linda Park when she was injured in a fight between them. Lashawn then turned herself in to the police believing she had nothing left to live for and remained in custody.

Peek-a-Boo in other media

 * Peek-a-Boo, renamed Shawna Baez, appears in The Flash, portrayed by Britne Oldford. This version acquired her powers after being exposed to dark matter from S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator and received her codename from Dr. Caitlin Snow.
 * Shawna Baez / Peek-a-Boo appears in the web series Chronicles of Cisco: Entry 0419, portrayed again by Oldford.

Neptune Perkins
Neptune Perkins is a superhero in the DC Universe.

The character, created by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert, first appeared in Flash Comics #66 (August 1945). That and a follow-up story in 1947 were the character's only appearances, until Roy Thomas revived him for an All-Star Squadron story in 1984 and later selected him as one of the focal characters of Young All-Stars in 1987. In addition, Thomas expanded the character's backstory and origin so that it incorporated large chunks of The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne.

Within the context of the stories, Neptune Perkins is a mutant born with attributes that lend themselves to living at sea. During World War II he works with the All-Star Squadron. After the war he weds Miya Shimada, though this relationship becomes strained in part by his being unaware that he is not the father of their daughter, Debbie. In more recent years, he has acted as a governmental contact for Aquaman and Young Justice after being elected to the United States Senate and was even a member of Old Justice. He is killed in Infinite Crisis #3 when the Shark and King Shark together attack and partially devour him during an undersea battle.

Phantasm
Phantasm is the name of different characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

First version
The first version is a ghostly supervillain who fought Chris King and Vicki Grant. He was created by Robby Reed's Master form from the cell samples of an unidentified human, is a member of the Evil Eight, possesses ghost-like abilities, and can also summon demonic ghosts.

Molly Pitcher
Molly Pitcher is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in "The New Golden Age" event, she is a school girl and friend of Betsy Rose who became the sidekick of Miss America and wields a magic pitcher that enables her to create various weapons and large amounts of water. After the end of World War II, Pitcher and Ross mysteriously vanished and were kidnapped by the Time Masters. Eventually, they are rescued by Stargirl and brought to the present day by Hourman.

Plunder
Plunder is the name of a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

In a twisted alternate reality, a counterpart of Central City Police Department member Jared Morillo worked as an assassin.

Plunder in other media
Plunder appears in The Flash episode "The Present", portrayed by Stephen Huszar. This version is a jewel thief who uses a futuristic gun.

Derek Powers
Derek Powers, also called Blight, is a supervillain who appears in the Batman Beyond (1999–2001) animated series, voiced by Sherman Howard. He served as the primary antagonist of the series' first season.

Derek Powers is a corrupt businessman who gains control over Wayne Enterprises after merging it with his own company Powers Technologies as Wayne-Powers after Bruce Wayne retires. He is the one who inadvertently sets a young man named Terry McGinnis on the path to being Batman. Powers had developed a lethal mutagenic nerve gas and intends to sell it as a weapon. One of his employees, Terry's father Warren, obtains evidence concerning this plan, for which Powers kills him. With this knowledge, Terry steals Bruce's Batsuit and becomes Batman to stop Powers' plans. During their battle, Powers is exposed to the gas and subjects himself to extreme levels of radiation to save his life, which interacts with the gas and causes his body to become radioactive and translucent. However, he hides this and contains his radiation with artificial skins that disintegrate over time. Eventually, he retires from leading his company to focus on finding a cure, appointing his estranged son Paxton as his replacement. However, Paxton betrays his father by publicly exposing his condition. Subsequently, Derek hides in an abandoned nuclear submarine and is presumed dead after battling Batman.

In comic books
In Batman Beyond #18, Powers is revealed to have survived the submarine explosion and forgotten his original identity, referring to himself only as Blight. After battling Batman in a steel mill, he is engulfed in melted steel and presumed dead once more.

In the "DC Rebirth" Batman Beyond series, Blight is revealed to have survived and regained his memories. He encounters former Wayne-Power scientist Doctor French, who helps him build his suit. However, the suit becomes ineffective over time, and he learns that his condition is slowly killing him. Eventually, Batman hacks into Blight's suit, transforming him into radioactive slime.

Blight made another appearance in the Gotham Academy comics Yearbook. He disguises himself as a visiting lecturer to kill Warren McGinnis, the father of his arch-foe. He used a portal located in a clock to travel to the past. However, the students of Gotham Academy manage to push him into the clock and destroy it, sending him back to the future.

A young Derek Powers appears in the Task Force Z series.

Derek Powers in other media

 * Blight appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
 * Blight appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham as part of the "Batman Beyond" DLC pack.

Pozhar
Pozhar (Пожар or "Fire") is a Russian superhero in the DC Universe. The character, created by John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski, first appeared in The Fury of Firestorm (vol. 2) #62 (August 1987). Within the stories' context, Mikhail Arkadin is a nuclear technician who worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and during the meltdown that occurred there, he gained the ability to convert matter into energy. He was subsequently recruited by Major Zastrow of the Red Shadow as one of the Soviet Union's official superheroes. However, he was forced to wear a containment suit to prevent himself from destroying everything he touched. The Russian government then maneuvered him into position to be one of its premier heroes, placing him into a battle against the original Firestorm, who was then calling for complete nuclear disarmament.

During their battle, Firestorm and Pozhar were fused together after a nuclear weapon was dropped on them. Eventually, they are separated and removed from the Firestorm Matrix so that Martin Stein alone could bear the powers and serve as the Fire Elemental.

The "In My Father's House" storyline reveals that Mikhail is, in fact, once again in control of his former abilities. He was re-powered by a nuclear test gone wrong in Russia. He was going by the name of Firestorm for a time despite now knowing that Firestorm was made up of Martin and Jason Rusch at the time, but he has now changed his super identity back to Pozhar.

In "The New 52" reboot of the DC Comics universe, Arkadin helped Stein invent the Firestorm Protocols.

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Pozhar appears as a member of the People's Heroes and closes Russia's borders to all foreigners, be they metahuman or not.

Pozhar in other media
Mikhail Arkadin appears in Legends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Voytek Skrzeta. This version is a prison guard from 1986.

Preus
Preus is a fictional DC Comics supervillain who first appeared in Adventures of Superman #625 (April 2004) and was created by Joe Kelly and Talent Caldwell as part of their "Godfall" arc.

For years, Sergeant Preus had proudly served the Citizen's Patrol Corps, a police force that kept the peace in Kandor under the Kryptonian banner of El, their "creator". Due to the compression of time, more than a century had passed inside the bottle city (compared to only a handful of years outside it) during which Preus and his fellow Kandorians had come to worship "The Superman" as their "god in heaven" above. The Corpsman was also a devout xenophobe, who dispensed justice against "non-K" (Kryptonian) dissidents that threatened their way of life, especially a citizen named Kal-El, who forever tainted Paradise when he seemingly murdered several Kandorians.

Preus swore a solemn oath to make the murderer pay, not realizing that Kal-El was actually the Superman that he and the others had worshiped for so long. He was also unaware that the "victims" were constructs created by an alien telepath, Lyla, who had brainwashed Kal-El into believing that Kandor was a never-exploded Krypton. Eventually shattering the illusion, Superman escaped Kandor and confronted Lyla back in Metropolis. Preus followed them, but exposure to Earth's air and yellow sun drastically affected him, giving him strange, new powers equal to Superman's while amplifying his already-unbalanced racist views.

Convinced that Kal-El had defiled the legacy of "The Superman", Preus swore to assume that responsibility himself and that all of the impure would die by his hand. His xenophobia led him to a group of white supremacists in the American desert, who he forced into worshiping him and his views. However, in time, the people of "God's Peake" (as the camp was called) came to worship Preus as their cult leader. His increasing prominence eventually led both the Martian Manhunter and Jimmy Olsen to investigate, only to have both of them captured by Preus and his men.

This forced a confrontation with Superman, who, at the time, was dealing with the effects of Gog's synthetic yellow kryptonite, which had significantly aged and weakened Superman in a short period of time. So weakened, Superman was barely able to deal with Preus' legions alone and quickly found himself outclassed by the (at the time) much more vital Preus.

A last-ditch gambit using kryptonite to try and weaken Preus failed, as Preus revealed a previously unknown resistance to kryptonite. He was finally defeated when Superman attacked and destroyed a key portion of Preus' armor, rendering him unconscious. Afterwards, Preus was injured from that attack and had to be hospitalized. His current whereabouts are unknown. He was last seen as a weakened Superman tried to fly him to S.T.A.R. Labs for treatment. Preus disappeared after Superman was engaged by an army of Gogs.

Powers and abilities of Preus
Preus possesses powers similar to those of Superman, such as superhuman strength and speed, flight, invulnerability, X-ray vision and enhanced senses. Unlike Superman, Preus can fire beams of black energy from his eyes that strike a target with intense heat and force. Preus also does not share Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite.

Preus in other media
Preus appears in Krypton, portrayed by Ciaran Owens. This version is a Sagitari commander on the moon Wegthor.

Psiphon
Psiphon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, introduced in The New 52.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Psiphon is introduced to DC as a H.I.V.E. warrior who is paired up with the Dreadnought. He appears in Superboy (vol. 4) #20, where the team are dispatched to New York City to capture Doctor Psycho, who had escaped from a H.I.V.E. facility, and Superboy, whose psionic powers were of interest to the H.I.V.E. Despite proving to be formidable opponents, both Psiphon and the Dreadnought were defeated when Doctor Psycho and Superboy teamed up to take them down. Psiphon was knocked out by Superboy with just a flick of his finger.

Psych
Psych is the name of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

Wanderers member
An unidentified female with empathy is a member of the Wanderers. When a space cloud turned the Wanderers evil, they fought the Legion of Super-Heroes where Psych takes control of Chameleon Boy before being defeated by Bouncing Boy.

Knight Shift member
An unidentified female with mental powers is a member of Knight Shift. They went up against the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Bashir
Bashir is an information broker who is a user of the Sage Force which grants him telekinesis and telepathy. The character was created by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval, and first appeared in The Flash vol. 5 #61 (March 2019). Bashir sold out the Flash in Zandia (the crime-ridden European nation with super-villain diplomatic immunity) while looking to dismantle Roulette's criminal empire in order for him to steal information before being double crossed by Gemini who the two were able to work together and defeat before Bashir escaped. Bashir later manipulates Steadfast and Fuerza against each other before being killed by the Black Flash.

Psych in other media
A variation of Psych, Bashir Malik, appears in The Flash, portrayed by Ennis Esmer. This version is a psychic who is immune to mental inhibitors.

Puppeteer
The Puppeteer, originally known as the Puppet Master, is a DC Comics supervillain. Jordan Weir was a scientist who created a "hypno-ray" which he could use to force his victims to obey his commands. As the Puppet Master, he embarked on a crime spree, manipulating minor criminals into doing his dirty work.

After being defeated by Green Lantern, he started a new life as a scientist for Dayton Industries. However, when the company developed the self-generating power source known as Promethium, the temptation was too much for him. Through his robot puppets, the Puppeteer took control of Cyborg, Kid Flash, Starfire, and Wonder Girl and turned them against their teammates. Raven's soul-self was finally able to break their trance and the Titans united to battle the Puppeteer and his toy robotic army. When the villain was defeated, the H.I.V.E. attempted to destroy him for his failure, but the Puppeteer escaped.

Puppeteer in other media

 * A character loosely inspired by the Puppet Master called the Dollman (not to be confused with Doll Man) appears in The Adventures of Batman episode "Beware of Living Dolls".
 * A character inspired by the Puppeteer called the Puppet King appears in Teen Titans, voiced by Tracey Walter.
 * The Puppeteer makes non-speaking background appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.
 * The Puppeteer appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.

Purgatory
Purgatory is a supervillain in DC Comics.

Paul Christian is a man who lost his legs in a subway accident. Years later, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) used his ring to create prosthetics for him. Following another accident, Christian's willpower diminished, causing the constructs to vanish.

During the Underworld Unleashed crossover event, Christian accepted the demon-lord Neron's offer to regain his legs and was given superpowers. As the green flame-emitting Purgatory, he was sent to kill Kyle before being defeated by him and taken to Hell by Neron.

Purgatory in other media
Purgatory appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.

Puzzler
The Puzzler is a name used by three supervillains in the DC Universe.

First version
The concept and original character, created by Jerry Siegel and John Sikela, first appeared in Action Comics #49 (June 1942).

The original Puzzler is an unnamed non-costumed criminal who is skilled in parlor games and puzzles and operates a protection racket in Metropolis. The character, along with most of the Golden Age Superman material, was later assigned to the universe of Earth-Two in the DC Multiverse, before being removed from continuity during Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Second version
The name of the Puzzler was reused in Superman (vol. 2) #187 (December 2002) as the supervillain identity of Valerie van Haaften, a new version of the character whose body was composed of living "puzzle pieces". In the first appearance, as "Puzzler", she admits that she is a large fan of Superman's, and initially attempted to join several super groups to no avail. Thus, she decided that she would become a villain to gain his attention. Her body is composed of multiple large "puzzle pieces" that she can fully control, even when they are not directly attached to her. Superman disperses her with his super breath.

The Puzzler reappeared in Superman: Up, Up and Away! during the One Year Later story arc as an assassin hired by Intergang to kill Clark Kent. When she sees Superman, she decides to attempt to kill him instead to become famous. During the fight, she reveals she has been "upgraded" to have pieces that are nearly indestructible. Her "puzzle pieces" are much smaller and appear to be able to hit with greater force than her previous appearance. Superman defeats her again by trapping her component pieces in separate containers - preventing her from building up sufficient speed to escape.

Third version
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, a new character called the Puzzler under an alias of "Agent Evans" appears as a member of A.R.G.U.S. He is later revealed to be a descendant of Vandal Savage.

Puzzler in other media

 * The Puzzler appears in the Batman consecutive episodes "The Puzzles Are Coming" and "The Duo Is Slumming", portrayed by Maurice Evans. Originally, the episodes were going to feature the Riddler (portrayed by Frank Gorshin) and were titled "A Penny for Your Riddles" and "They're Worth a Lot More", but this was prevented by Gorshin being in the midst of a contract dispute with the series' producers as he no longer wanted to portray the character.
 * An unidentified incarnation of the Puzzler makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.

Son of Pyg
Son of Pyg is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

Janosz "Johnny" Valentine is the son of Professor Pyg. Batwoman was investigating the murders of three marines that he killed on behalf of a group of Argentinian criminals.

Son of Pyg was revealed to be an operative of Leviathan who oversaw the initiation of Leviathan's recruits. He interrogates Stephanie Brown and Jolisa Windsor where he claims that one of them betrayed Saint Hadrian's Finishing School for Girls. When Son of Pyg threatens Jolisa, Stephanie frees herself and saves Jolisa. Both of them go on the run with Son of Pyg and the Leviathan girls in hot pursuit. As Stephanie as Batgirl gets Jolisa down to the courtyard, Son of Pyg catches up to them and gets knocked out by the gardener who turns out to be Batman in disguise.