The Monocle
Monocle is an enemy of Hawkman. He has devised many different types of lenses with abilities such as focusing various forms of heat, radiation, light, cosmic rays, and x-rays.
Name:
The Monocle
Publisher:
Real name:
Jonathan Cheval
Aliases:
- Jonathan Cheval
- The Monocle
Birth date:
None
Gender:
Male
Powers:
- Electricity Control
- Gadgets
- Light Projection
First issue:
Origin
Jonathan Cheval is an honest businessman in the field of optics; however, due to the scheming of a criminal, he loses his business. Determined to get revenge on the people that cheated him, Cheval invents a number of monocles that can emit beams of energy. He is eventually captured by the Golden Age Hawkman.
Story Arc
Decades later, after being released from prison, he is invited by the Ultra-Humanite to join his Secret Society of Super Villains,\ which battles Hawkman along with the rest of the JSA and the JLA. He and his colleagues are defeated and banished into an interdimensional limbo. They are stranded there until the Ultra-Humanite from 1942 contacts his future counterpart, enlisting the aid of all the criminals then present in limbo. Monocle briefly resides once more in 1942 until he and his allies are once again defeated, this time at the hands of the All-Star Squadron.
Monocle joins up with a new version of the Secret Society, but judging from the story's end, this entire adventure is a tall tale told between two other supervillains; the second Sonar and the Flash villain Rainbow Raider.
Monocle appears with Merlyn and other various villains and ex- Suicide Squad members in Identity Crisis. He is later killed by the newest Manhunter ( Kate Spencer).
In Blackest Night #1, it is revealed that Monocle's remains were gathered by the Justice League along with the remains of several other deceased super-villains after Nightwing found out about a rash of grave-robbings.
New 52
In Forever Evil #1 - Nightfall, the Monocle is one of the villains in attendance when Ultraman and the Crime Syndicate announce their intentions toward the Earth and their declaration of the fate of the Justice League. However, the skeptical Monocle accuses the Syndicate of actually being a disguised Justice League. Ultraman responds by killing him with his heat vision. (The scene was very similar to Alexi Luthor being incinerated by Brainiac in Crisis on Infite Earths when he challenged the beleif of there being one Luthor.)
Character
Monocle's criminal ways are driven by his extensive search for excitement and was fueled by his genius. He is a master of optic science, especially laser technology. He has a high social status and is well known because of his scientific achievements.
Before turning to villainy, he was a prosperous business man with a criminal mind.
Strengths
Monocle possessing a genius-level scientific mind which allows him to create his optical gadgets and other technology.
His extreme wealth, high social status, and scientific establishments help him to create carnage and disruption.
Weakness
His only known weakness is his eyesight.
In Other Media
Justice League Unlimited
The Monocle appears in a cameo role in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Dead Reckoning" and "The Great Brain Robbery" as a member of the Secret Society. In "Alive!" he sides with Grodd during the mutiny against Luthor. The Monocle's ultimate fate is not shown, but he was likely killed when Darkseid blew up the ship.
