Isaac Asimov's DC Comics Doppelgänger Was An Obscure Superman Villain

In October 1980, "Superman" #355 debuted a new villain who also happened to be one of the most celebrated sci-fi writers of all time. Asa Ezaak was a version of the great Isaac Asimov, who became the bizarre DC villain "Momentus, Master of the Moon!" Created by writer Carey Bates and penciller Curt Swan, this strange orange monster man only appeared in one issue before he was consigned to "Superman" history, making for a less than flattering homage to one of the great authors of the 20th Century — especially since he basically gets a dozen pages before he's blow him up in the end.

The best comic book villains represent some aspect of the hero, forcing the protagonist to reckon with a part of themselves and confront their own beliefs about their crusade against the forces of evil. The worst are, well, on /Film's list of the most bizarre Silver age Batman villains. To be fair, many of the zaniest rogues against which the Dark Knight has done battle are actually charming in their way — as are the majority of those villain-of-the-week creations that dominated the sci-fi-inflected comics of the 50s and 60s.

In the 1980s, however, when DC decided to bring Isaac Asimov into the world of Superman it was less charming and more just sort of bizarre. The esteemed sci-fi maestro who penned several seminal novels in the genre (including the books on which Apple TV's "Foundation" is based) was teleported into the pages of "Superman" not for some loving homage to the man who gave us "I, Robot" but in order to be transformed into a muck monster who was ignominiously dispatched before he could make much of an impression.

Isaac Asimov played a small but memorable part in Star Wars history. He also played a small and forgettable part in Superman history. In "Superman" #355 Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen attend a talk given by Doctor Asa Ezaak, a scientist and prolific author who, according to Olsen, has "written a whole library-full of material about every subject from astronomy to zoology." Asimov himself similarly wrote hundreds of non-fiction books, so if Ezaak's sideburns weren't a dead giveaway then his extensive bibliography should have left no doubt that this was, indeed, the comic book version of Asimov.

Unlike the real-life author, however, Dr. Ezaak was obsessed with harnessing the power of gravity and created a chemical for doing so which he dubbed Ezaakis. But it wasn't enough to merely take the drug. Instead, Ezaak wanted his creation to be documented as the seminal scientific breakthrough it was, and kidnapped Jimmy Olsen so that he could witness Ezaakis being administered. The dodgy doctor also wanted to prevent the reporter from investigating his nefarious scientific endeavors for the Daily Planet, and kept poor Jimmy in a cage to ensure he didn't scupper what were some pretty vague and diffuse plans.

For some reason, Ezaaksis had the unfortunate side effect of transforming doctor Ezaak into some sort of mud monster. Why? I'm not sure even the writer knew, but that's what happened. Sadly, Asimov's doppelgänger didn't last long after taking the drug, as what seemed to start as a tribute to the great writer quickly descended into absurdity when doctor Ezaak simply blew up due to his own oversight.

Going by the moniker Momentus (because he wields his power on "momentous nights" when the full moon is out, apparently) Dr. Asa Ezaak sets about doing... stuff. It's not actually clear what his plans were beyond proving he could harness the power of gravity, but he quickly comes face-to-face with Superman, who's initially startled by the villain's powers. Soon, however, it becomes clear that Supes himself is such a powerful being that Momentus is feeding off his energy. Unfortunately, the doctor-turned-supervillain doesn't recognize the danger of being overwhelmed by Superman's energy and continues to pursue the hero using his "gravi grip." Once he absorbs too much of the hero's power he... well, explodes. Or rather, "overloads himself out of existence," to use Superman's phraseology.

What on earth was going on "Superman" #355? Well, the closest thing to an explanation comes from Jimmy Olsen, who tells Superman that the deranged doctor didn't want to just write and talk about scientific wonders. No, "He had to possess them as well!" Why did Ezaakis turn him into a poor man's Clayface? We don't know. Neither do we know why a legendary science fiction writer was introduced into a "Superman" comic only to be unceremoniously exploded after only a few short pages.

Following Ezaak's unfortunate end, Superman flies off with Jimmy Olsen and says, "Every time I see a new or full moon from now on I'm going to look and wonder if we've really seen the last of Momentus." He needn't have wondered. The character never returned in any form, adding further insult to what was already a less than flattering usage of Asimov's likeness.