Parademon

Parademons are a fictional group of extraterrestrials appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are monstrous shock troops of Apokolips used by Darkseid to maintain order on the planet.

Parademons made their first live-action appearance in the feature films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League of the DC Extended Universe.

Publication history
The original Parademons were created by Jack Kirby in The New Gods #1 (1971).

Fictional history
An artificially enhanced pseudo-race devoted to Darkseid, Parademons serve as both labor as well as an elite guard for the planet of Apokolips. Created and trained by DeSaad—often by torturing and reconditioning captured victims—Parademons typically act in insect-like swarms.

Their true strength is in their numbers, which reach into the thousands. When acting together, they can overwhelm even the toughest heroes. They are chosen from the most sociopathic and cruel residents before being given gliders and trained in combat. They are often accompanied by gigantic dogs called Hounds.

In the comic Salvation Run, Parademons are dispatched by Desaad to attack the villains that were dumped onto their training camp. They killed Hyena, Brutale, General Immortus, and Solomon Grundy, the last of whom turned up alive in later comic issues. Most of them were killed when Lex Luthor self-destructed the teleportation device.

In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), the Parademons are used to attack Earth, first seen encountering both Green Lantern and Batman in Gotham City. It is revealed in new continuum that the Parademon hordes are either remolded lifeforms or the processed corpses of which that Darkseid and Apokolips have harvested and processed from the various worlds and realities they've conquered.

Repurposing them through the usage of nightmarish Apokoliptian technologies, Red Tornado of Earth 2 noted that K'li's, former fury of Darkseid; special class of Berserker Parademons are the remodeled remains of the dead or kidnapped citizens from their world.

Powers and abilities
Typical abilities of a Parademon include superhuman strength, endurance, and a high tolerance for pain rooted in their reconditioning by DeSaad. Their armor provides additional protection from most weaponry or energies and also comes complete with wings for self-propelled flight.

As opposed to most Parademons, Mike, the Secret Six Parademon, and Pharzoof could speak and seemed to have more than the rudimentary intelligence most Parademons possess. The latter was shown to enjoy being tortured by his opponents.

Within The New 52 many if not all Parademons boast fire breath, self-detonation, and transformation abilities; certain Parademons can even convert captured victims into new Parademons via direct technological infection.

JLA/Avengers
In #2 when the heroes go to Apokolips to gain the Infinity Gauntlet, they are shown to have battled Parademons. In #4 they are among the first of the enthralled villains the teams meet as they attack Krona's stronghold.

Notable Parademons
The following is a list of notable Parademons:

Mike
As part of one of his plans to acquire the Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid left a contingent of Parademons on a small Caribbean island. Eventually, seemingly having been forgotten, one of the Parademons took on a mind of his own and, dubbing himself Michael (but prefers to be called Mike), he began to kidnap people off passing ships to get company.

One of the boats that Michael took happened to have Tim Drake, the current Robin, and his father, Jack, on it, thus drawing the attention of the Justice League. Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, and Batman all came to the island and were drawn into conflict with Darkseid, who had come to retrieve his errant Parademons.

After a battle with Green Lantern, when the Justice League transport they were in crashed, Michael was presumably killed by Darkseid, and the Apokoliptian warlord left Earth. Batman had spirited Michael back into his home beneath the island and left him with a television for company, warning him that if he left, he would have to face the Dark Knight.

Secret Six Parademon
A rogue Parademon debuted as a member of the Secret Six in Villains United #1 (July 2005). He is forced to join the Secret Six or, as punishment, Mockingbird would inform Granny Goodness about his presence here. During that time, he forms a bond with Rag Doll, calling him "clown." The nature of their relationship is unknown as well as how they formed such a close bond.

When the mansion the Six were living in was attacked by members of the Secret Society of Super Villains, he detonates the Mother Boxes he had strapped to his body, killing him. In the Secret Six miniseries, it is revealed that Parademon has been stuffed and is kept in Rag Doll's bedroom. Rag Doll talks to his stuffed body as though he is still alive.

During the Reign in Hell arc, Rag Doll attempted to use the "Get Out of Hell Free" card to resurrect Parademon. However, Rag Doll discovered that Parademon actually enjoyed Hell (as it reminded him of Apokolips). The card was then used on Knockout instead.

Others

 * 3G4 – A Parademon drone who somehow develops a self-awareness and questions his training. Killed by Topkick for treachery. (Aquaman vol. 5, #37)
 * Colonel Harrendous – Officer of Parademon invasion force. Killed when Alien egg within him burst. (Superman/Aliens II #2)
 * Pharzoof – Rogue miniature Parademon. (Birds of Prey #12)
 * Topkick – Parademon drill instructor. (Aquaman vol. 5, #37)

Television

 * The Parademons appear in the final season of the Super Friends, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985–1986) with their vocal effects provided by Frank Welker. When Darkseid became a recurring villain, the Parademons followed (although the use of the word "demon" on television was often protested by parents' groups). Thus, Darkseid's minions were sometimes referred to as "para-drones" on that show.
 * Parademons have also been seen in several episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, most notably in the "Apokolips...Now!" two-parter. They were last seen in the final episodes of Justice League Unlimited, following a resurrected Darkseid's attempt to take over Earth once more. They are non-speaking creatures and usually appear as invading armies.
 * The Parademons appear in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Knights of Tomorrow!" A few of them along with Kalibak pursue Question after he uncovered Darkseid's plans to invade Earth. In "Darkseid's Descending," the Parademons take part in the attack on Earth. Additionally, a Parademon appears in part 2 of the two-part episode "The Siege of Starro," as one of the statues that represent the warriors defeated by the Faceless Hunter.
 * The Parademons appear in the DC Super Hero Girls TV Special "DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High." One notable Parademon is called Perry (voiced by Fred Tatasciore).
 * The Parademons appear in Justice League Action.
 * The Parademons appear in Young Justice: Outsiders.
 * The Parademons appear in the Harley Quinn episode "Inner (Para) Demons." After the titular character kills Granny Goodness, Darkseid puts her in charge of a Parademon army, which she leads into attacking Gotham City, only to relinquish control of them after realizing she had gone overboard. Despite this, numerous Parademons are left to roam Gotham and, in "Dye Hard," Doctor Psycho used his psionic powers to take control of them in an attempt to take over the city and exact revenge on Harley. All the Parademons in Gotham are ultimately killed by the Justice League in "Lover's Quarrel."

DC Extended Universe

 * The Parademons made a small appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, showing up in Bruce Wayne's vision/nightmare of a post-apocalyptic Earth resembling Apokolips; one of them knocks Batman out, allowing Superman's soldiers to capture him and deliver him to their leader. Their inclusion hints at Darkseid's future involvement within the DC Extended Universe.
 * The Parademons appear in the 2017 film Justice League with their vocal effects provided by Gary A. Hecker. They appear under the command of Darkseid's uncle Steppenwolf, are shown to be attracted to fear, and can transform their victims into other Parademons. In the final confrontation with Steppenwolf, he is betrayed by his own Parademons when the League's success in separating the Mother Boxes he was using to trigger a transformation of Earth inspires fear within him. They attack Steppenwolf as he disappears into the Boom Tube.

Animation

 * The Parademons appear in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. They appear driving a tank trying to destroy Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Big Barda when they arrive on Apokolips to save Supergirl.
 * Parademons resembling their New 52 looks, are shown coming out of a Boom tube in a post-credit scene in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.
 * The Parademons are heavily used in Justice League: War with their vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker. In the film, they are depicted as aliens from conquered worlds, transformed by nanomachines into an army of monstrous soldiers serving as Darkseid's invasion forces. Desaad even attempts to transform Superman into a "Super-Parademon" or using his Kryptonian DNA to create a "Super" type of Parademons by using these nanomachines, but the process is interrupted by Batman. In order to diminish the invasion, Cyborg connects himself to a Mother Box and uses it to reopen the Boom tubes to send them all back to Apokolips.
 * The Parademons appear in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League. They assist Darkseid in his invasion on Bizarro World.
 * Parademons also appear in Reign of The Supermen.
 * The Parademons have a short appearance in the introductory scene of Wonder Woman: Bloodlines.
 * In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Darkseid combined the DNA of Parademons and Doomsday to create the "Paradooms."

Video games

 * In the video game Superman: The Game, the player fights Parademons as the first wave on invasion from Apokolips.
 * In the video game Justice League Heroes, the player fights Parademons on the level prior to the final battle with Darkseid.
 * The Parademons appear in DC Universe Online.
 * The Parademons appear in Injustice 2 as support units for Darkseid. In his ending after killing Brainiac and Superman as well as getting Supergirl on his side, Darkseid used Superman's DNA to clone a new type of Parademon.
 * The Parademons appear in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Elias Toufexis.