Harm

Origin

The adopted brother of Greta Hayes, Billy Hayes sacrificed her life to a demon in a ritual to gain superpowers and unknowingly cursed her to become Secret. Dedicated to becoming the Greatest Supervillain of All Time, he has fought Young Justice and his sister Secret on numerous occasions, even returning from the dead to do so.

Creation

Created by Peter David and Todd Nauck.

History

Orphaned as a child, Billy would ultimately be adopted by a middle-class couple, Burt and Ellen Hayes who had a child of their own, Greta. Despite being raised in a wonderful environment with two loving parents and a sister who adored him, Billy concealed dark sociopathic tendencies and his overwhelming ambition: to become the Greatest Supervillain of All Time.

He began cataloging information of superheroes and their weaknesses into his own "Book of Blood" and searching for a way to acquire superpowers of his own. He ultimately succeeded by contacting the demon Buzz and he would kill his own sister, Greta in demonic bargain to gain power in exchange. Unknowingly, he condemned Greta to become Secret; as her soul was too pure to be cast into Hell and yet due to the manner of her death in a demonic ritual, Greta was unable to pass into Heaven.

Instead, she was effectively "stuck" in this plane of existence as a Warder; a being who was not quite alive, not quite dead, and yet a gateway into both the spheres of Heaven and Hell. Severely traumatized by her brutal death, Greta lost most of her memories and was contained by the D.E.O. She later escaped custody from the D.E.O. who attempted to trick Robin, Impulse, and Superboy into apprehending her for them. Upon discovering that she was not the mindless monster that the D.E.O. had proclaimed her to be and their intentions to experiment upon her, the trio secretly conspired to make it appear that she was destroyed and allowed her to make her own way in the world, free of being hunted by the D.E.O. This misadventure bonded the youthful heroes as friends and ultimately leading them to forming Young Justice.

Meanwhile now armed with superpowers, Billy would reveal his sociopathic tendencies to his parents, effectively terrorizing them as he began his training in earnest to become the world's greatest supervillain. When his father tried to discipline him, Billy reprimanded him by nearly severing his jugular. When Billy finally believed he was ready several years later; he took the name of Harm and decided to test himself by killing superheroes of his own age, believing it would be good practice for when he would challenge their elders.

After discovering the secret identity of Arrowette, he lured her into a trap and when she shot at him; he caught her arrow and threw it back, impaling her in the shoulder with her own weapon. Contemptuously, he left her alive to serve as a warning and as a sinister message to all of teenage superheroes, "to stay out of Harm's way". She was found by the Supercycle who brought her to the Secret Sanctuary (then serving as the headquarters of Young Justice) for aid, prompting the members of Young Justice to hunt down and apprehend Arrowette's attacker.

Harm had decided to continue his rampage by attacking Wonder Girl and was surprised when Secret appeared and when she tried to stop him, he promptly electrocuted her. Subsequently, he remarked that she looked vaguely familiar for some reason. Even the appearance of Superboy was unable to turn the tide in their favor as the Boy of Steel was gassed into unconsciousness.

Harm next broke into the Secret Sanctuary where he skewered the Red Tornado and then reprogrammed the android to serve him, forcing Young Justice to rescue their erstwhile mentor while simultaneously trying to foil Harm's attempt to kill Pope John Paul II. He then proceeded to defeat Robin, and it was only through the assistance of a recovered Arrowette that saved the Boy Wonder from Harm who fled in the confusion.

Confronted afterward by his father who had seen his actions on television, Harm mocked him for his inability to stop him and was surprised when his tearful father took out a gun and shot him; believing that it was the only way that he could prevent Harm from hurting other people. And so Harm died, apparently ending his reign of terror once and for all.

However, this was not the end for Harm. During the Day of Judgment, Harm was among the dead souls who escaped from Hell and promptly attacked and defeated Young Justice once more. On the verge of Harm's victory, Secret recalled her horrifying death and with it; the realization that Harm was actually her brother Billy and that he had killed her years ago. In a fit of rage, Secret launched herself at him and crashing them into a mountainside. The tremendous impact created an avalanche and burying brother and sister under tons of rubble. Despite an extensive search by Young Justice to find Harm's body, he was never found.

Harm's next complex plot saw him attempting to enhance his supernatural powers. He first freed Rip Roar from his imprisonment and then allied himself with Annie Mae under the identity of REMbrant by offering her revenge on Spyboy, Spygirl, and Bombshell. Combining her technology with his hellspawn magics, Harm created a series of Super-Deformed Agents by tapping the inner subconsciousness of Spyboy and his friends as well as Young Justice. These miniature versions wrecked havoc and sowed the seeds of suspicion and distrust between the two groups. Harm then betrayed Annie Mae by using the Super-Deformed to launch a terrorist attack at the Zenith Conference in Tokyo, intending to trigger a collapse of a Hell-Hole and collapse all of Tokyo into it, including Young Justice. By linking himself to the Hell-Hole, Harm would have gained unimaginable power with it's accelerated growth.

However, Harm's newest servant Rip Roar proved to be no match for Annie Mae's associate, Slackjaw and Annie Mae turned the tables on Harm by alerting Secret to his plan. Harm's scheme was foiled when the rest of Young Justice were able to derail their miniatures and prevent the mass panic which would have accelerated the Hell-Hole's collapse. Secret teleported Spyboy to Annie Mae's secret submarine headquarters where Spyboy stabbed a weakened Harm with his own sword and sent him back to Hell.

Harm next managed to escape from Hell as a disembodied spirit. Ironically, he would possess his adopted father, Burt Hayes' body who was sentenced to death for shooting and killing Harm himself. Secret, having regained her lost memories sought to reconcile with her father. Harm instead would psychologically devastate her by having Burt reject her by proclaiming her as a monster. Despite this, Secret was unwilling to allow her father to be executed and broke him out of prison with the help of her teammate Slobo. This incident turned the rest of Young Justice against her. Believing herself cut off from all of her friends and in despair, Darkseid would offer her sanctuary on Apokolips, relocating her and her "father".

During her time on Apokolips, Harm would force Burt to commit suicide, apparently further driving Secret into Darkseid's clutches. Harm has not made his presence known since.

Powers and Abilities

Originally, Harm possessed superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes. The exact limits of these abilities are unknown but he was able to hold his own against Superboy and Wonder Girl briefly.

In addition, he possesses a tremendous intellect and apparently was responsible for creating his own costume which included body armor and the ability to use his cape for limited gliding as well. Harm possessed extensive knowledge and research on superhumans, particularly superheroes. His technical abilities included computer hacking and he was able to actually reprogram the Red Tornado. He was highly skilled in strategy, tactics, and psychological warfare.

He wielded a customized sword that contained a miniature chemical sprayer that was loaded with a knock-out chemical able to neutralize Superboy and drove a customized car that was armored, faster than conventional vehicles, and could deploy a grappling hook.

He demonstrated extraordinary fighting skills in both hand to hand combat and swordsmanship.

After his death, Harm gained supernatural powers and abilities and was apparently even more powerful than he was in life. Further, he also possessed necromantic abilities which gave him the ability to command the dead and spirits. Under certain conditions such as special supernatural rituals or events, his necromantic abilities were increased or could be augmented. Harm possessed certain limitations towards remaining on the physical plane due to his state as an undead entity and could even be banished.

Harm also demonstrated the ability to cast magical spells and perform certain arcane rituals and apparently gained extensive knowledge about supernatural spellcasting and magic.

He later learned how to possess a physical body and control it; allowing him to bypass his former limitation on remaining in the living world. Although this may have been limited due to his connection to his adopted father and how his father was responsible for killing him, as he never demonstrated the ability to possess other people.

Other Media

Harm appears in the Young Justice episode "Secrets" voiced by Benjamin Diskin. In this appearance Harm speaks in the third person and referred to Artemis & Zatanna as "they" or "it".

Harm recognizes Secret immediately and is obviously shaken when she appears. When Artemis and Zatanna find Greta's grave in the back yard, Artemis rages at him for seeming proud of killing his sister and having the gall to write "beloved" on her grave. Harm replies that it wasn't gall but truth. "She was the only thing Harm ever loved. That's why she had to go. Harm's heart had to be pure, Greta had to be cut out. Excised like an infection."

When confronted by his sister's ghost Harm panics and yells that his heart is pure and he isn't sorry, switching mid sentence from speaking in the third person to speaking in the first person. Secret reaches into his chest and takes his powers, after which Artemis is easily able to defeat him in hand to hand combat.

He is the only known villain faced by YJ who had no connections to "The Light".