Leslie Willis, aka Livewire, is a DC Comics villainess with a sharp tongue and sizzling disposition. Created by Bruce Timm, she made her first appearance in Superman Adventures #5 (March 1997) and came to mainstream comics in Action Comics #835 by Gail Simone and John Byrne.
Livewire has a similar personality to Harley Quinn, embodying manic energy, colorful commentary, and an unhinged attitude. Unlike Harley, Livewire has supernatural powers. Her abilities exist as pure energy. She can transform into electricity and travel through whatever conducts electric current. She can also manipulate electricity and create lightning blasts in different levels of intensity. Her primary weakness is water, which can cause her stored energy to falter.
In both the comic and in the DC animated universe, Livewire is a shock jock radio DJ with a certain disdain for Superman. DJ Leslie insults Superman every night on her show, claiming that he saves people to show off his powers and gain fame. She was eventually fired when the owner of her station changed the music genre and style of the station.
In the comics Livewire was born with the gift to control electricity. Furious that she lost her job, Leslie went to the station roof to vent, where she was struck by lightning. Rather than killing her, Leslie absorbed the energy which turned her skin chalk white and her hair blue. Becoming Livewire, she decided to fight Superman with her newfound abilities.
In the animated adventures, Leslie Willis also took pleasure in condemning the Man of Steel. She decided to host an outdoors concert, in honor of her anniversary with the radio station. Ignoring warnings about a dangerous thunderstorm, Leslie put herself and listeners in harm’s way. Superman showed up to convince her to stop the event when lightning struck the stage. He tried to push Leslie to safety, but she stepped on the wire that had been struck, shocking her and transforming her appearance.
She blamed Superman for causing the accident and once she realized she could manipulate electricity she confronted him. Superman was able to stop her by dousing her in water as she infused electricity through telephones, TVs, and billboards.
