Even he claims not to remember his true name or appearance and attributes his vast intellect and mental prowess to scientific experiments of an unknown nature.

In other media, Ultra-Humanite has appeared in Justice League, voiced by Ian Buchanan, as well as the third and final season of The CW network television series Stargirl.

His real name is never given, but he has been known as the Ultra-Humanite (Ultra, for short) ever since "a scientific experiment resulted in [his] possessing the most agile and learned brain on Earth!"

"[7] Superman sets out to smash the so-called Cab Protective League, an underworld organization headed by a racketeer named Jackie Reynolds, which is attempting to seize control of the city's lucrative taxi trade.

[6] The Ultra-Humanite tries to extort millions of dollars from a cruise line, but again is foiled by Superman even though Ultra uses a hologram of himself to escape capture.

Superman destroys the disintegrator and follows the plane to the criminal lair, which is a city inside a volcano, and defeats the robot guards.

In exchange for the release of Curtis, the Ultra-Humanite sends Superman to steal crown jewels, expecting him to be destroyed by the guards as she alerts them.

In the annual JLA/JSA teamup in Justice League of America #195-197 (1981), the Ultra-Humanite transfers his consciousness to an albino gorilla body and becomes a major super-villain on Earth-Two.

Afterwards, the Ultra-Humanite regularly appears in DC Comics titles, opposing the All-Star Squadron in the 1940s, and the Justice Society of America and Infinity, Inc. in the decades since World War II.

The Ultra-Humanite was excluded from Superman's reboot, and his post-Crisis history remained tied to the 1940s and to the Justice Society of America and All-Star Squadron.

Previous appearances of the Ultra-Humanite fighting Golden Age Superman in the 1940s in Action Comics #13-21 and in All-Star Squadron were re-told for the sake of continuity (a technique known as retconning) to show him having fought other 1940s heroes.

A few heroes manage to escape the control of the Ultra-Humanite: Jakeem Thunder, Captain Marvel, Hourman, the third Crimson Avenger, Power Girl, Sand, and the second Icicle.

[15] The Ultra-Humanite's secret origin is revised, shedding more light on his past life as genius youth Gerard Shugel (a name derived from Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel).

In the 2006-07 Lightning Saga crossover between Justice Society of America and Justice League of America, the untold story of how Ultra-Humanite transitioned from Delores Winter's body to his albino ape form was revealed: Per Degaton, the villainous time traveler, and a young version of Despero rescued the Delores Winters-version of Ultra-Humanite from a hospital in the year 1948.

It is revealed that the Ultra-Humanite was stricken with terminal cancer and in exchange for his loyalty, Per Degaton agreed to provide a new body for the villain, in the form of a rare albino ape from the secret civilization known as Gorilla City.

In the end, Ultra-Humanite and Despero were sent back into the past after their group was defeated, while other members were returned to their previous places in time.

[17] Later, Ultra-Humanite is seen aiding the Reach in their plans to conquer Earth; he is defeated by Blue Beetle and Guy Gardner.

The attempt fails, and Power Girl accidentally scars his whole body with acid burns, maiming his form permanently.

Satanna returns to New York, attempting to aid her former lover, stealing the body of the current Terra, Atlee, for Gerard's use.

After a lengthy fight, Power Girl is able to retrieve Terra's brain (now in the crippled simian form of the Ultra-Humanite) and bring both of them to Strata, Atlee's advanced underground birth society.

Power Girl attempts to hire him as a scientist for her Starr Labs, and Gerard plays along by showing a fake desire of reformation.

[18] When DC rebooted its continuity with The New 52 in 2011, Ultra-Humanite was reintroduced in the pages of Action Comics with a wildly different concept: a fear-feeding alien in the Phantom Zone who manages to get out and feed on the fear of Superman when he is a child.

The original Ultra-Humanite subsequently appeared again, depicted as an evil genius who placed his brain into an albino gorilla.

Superman is forced to leave Earth with the Authority while the Ultra-Humanite, unconcerned with implications of Clark's journey, prepares to continue his villainous career as the arch-nemesis of Jon Kent.

Superman is early in his career and battles a scientist named Morgan Wilde who, angered by the death of his wife, swears revenge on Luthor and gains the ability to transfer his "life essence" (called "Under-Light") as the U.L.T.R.A.

[24] In the Elseworlds miniseries The Golden Age, the Ultra-Humanite places his brain into the body of Tex Thomson, known as the Americommando.