The character first appeared in Showcase #39 (July–August 1962) and was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artists Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

[1] Chemo debuted in a story called "The Deathless Doom" in Showcase #39-40 (July–August & September–October 1962), being the adversary for DC Comics' new superteam the Metal Men.

Writer Len Wein said in a 2006 interview: "I realized after doing that first story [with Chemo] that here was a villain that was a physical match against Superman, so I kept bringing him back".

Chemo featured as a major villain in the limited series Infinite Crisis #1-7 (December 2005-June 2006) and appeared in multiple forms in Superman #663 (July 2007).

Writer Mike Conroy noted "where would comic books be without those flukes, those accidents of fate which, although inexplicable to science, result in innocuous materials having a far-reaching impact on the world outside the laboratory?".

[5][6][7][8][9] In Crisis on Infinite Earths, Brainiac and Lex Luthor unleash Chemo on Earth-4, where he destroys New York City and kills Aquagirl.