You know Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. You may be familiar with Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. And if you’re a DC reader, you’ve probably come across Guy Gardner, Mr. Terrific and Hawkgirl. But who on Earth is the Engineer, Luthor’s techno-nightmare of an enforcer? What exactly are her powers, and what is she known for? And is it true that she’s not usually a villain? (That one’s a little nuanced, but in short, yes.)

If you’re not familiar with the Engineer, it’s probably because she’s not always part of the DC Universe. She stems from the publisher’s WildStorm imprint, and in fact is the first WildStorm character to make it to the big screen. Here are some other interesting things about her.
 

• The Engineer, whose real name is Dr. Angela Spica, made her first appearance in 1999’s The Authority #1, written by Warren Ellis and penciled by Bryan Hitch.
   
• Angela grew up in Queens, New York. Her father was a bus driver and her mother worked in a launderette. Angela was the youngest of six sisters, and the only one who didn’t become pregnant in high school (Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority #5).
   
• Angela is actually the second Engineer. The first Engineer was an unnamed scientist who experimented on his own body, giving himself flight, strength and other powers. He wanted to use nanotechnology to make the world a better place, but was killed when Henry Bendix of Stormwatch launched a missile into his base (1997’s Stormwatch #50).

• Angela Spica had befriended the original Engineer in his human identity and was unaware of his other identity until after he died. When the Engineer perished, Angela’s computer filled up with all his notes on nanotech advancements. She uses these notes and her own research to replace her blood with liquid nanotechnology, becoming the new Engineer (1999’s The Authority #1).
   
• In a difference from Superman’s Engineer, in the comics, Angela’s transformation coats her in metal, giving her a silver appearance. But she can switch back to human flesh at will (1999’s The Authority #2).

• Angela’s nanotech blood provides her with extraordinary abilities. The Engineer can shapeshift her body to form various weapons, including working firearms. She can communicate with other machines and use her nanites to create radio frequencies to mentally communicate with her teammates in the field.  She can grow as big as a skyscraper or shrink to the size of a single cell. She can also fly, create doubles of herself and open interdimensional portals. As long as she keeps upgrading her nanites, there is no limit to the new abilities Angela can unlock.
   
• Shortly after gaining her powers, the Engineer joined the Authority after being approached by Jenny Sparks. Since Angela had grown up obsessing over superheroes, the thought of joining an actual superhero team was too exciting to resist (Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority #1).

• Although she is best known as a member of the Authority, the Engineer has also been a member of Stormwatch. At one point Angela served as team leader (2011’s Stormwatch #1).
   
• The first supervillains Angela ever fought were a super-powered terrorist group called the Children of Kaizen Gamorra. The Engineer, along with her teammates on the Authority, stopped the terrorists when they tried to destroy London (1999’s The Authority #1-2).
   
• Being a superhero has not stopped Angela from continuing her scientific pursuits. In 2000’s The Authority #17, it’s revealed that Angela helped develop a cure for leukemia and was in the process of finding a cure for all types of cancer.

• Prior to being integrated into the DC Universe, Angela was a big DC Comics fan. According to Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority #1, Angela owns every DC comic book published since 1956! Um, Angela, can I come over to your house and look through your longboxes sometime?
   
• Speaking of DC, although WildStorm is a DC imprint, the characters were in separate universes until 2011’s Flashpoint shifted reality. Prior to that, the first DC Universe character the Engineer interacted with was Captain Atom, who got stranded in the WildStorm universe in 2005’s Captain Atom: Armageddon.
   
• The Engineer has been romantically linked with two of her Authority teammates, the Doctor and Jack Hawksmoor. However, neither romance has gone the distance, which is just fine by Angela.

• Angela once stood at the heart of a nuclear detonation and walked away without a scratch. Needless to say, her powers make her pretty durable (2000’s The Authority Annual #1)
   
• In 2017, DC launched a series called The Wild Storm, which reimagined the WildStorm characters in a new continuity. This series introduced a new version of the Engineer, who got her powers after developing a nanotech supersuit which she stores inside her body. While this take on the character and her world seems to have concluded, it’s still the most recent ongoing series to be released that features Angela and is a great, thought-provoking read regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with earlier books. (DC.com editor Tim Beedle even wrote a monthly column devoted to it.)

• Superman’s Engineer is played by Maria Gabriela de Faria, a Venezuelan actress who has appeared in numerous telenovelas and Latin America Nickelodeon shows like ISA TKM. For more on how she approached the role, check out her recent interview with the DC Studios Showcase Official Podcast.
   
• Hopefully we’ll see de Faria as the Engineer again! While her future at the end of Superman is unclear, a film based on The Authority was part of the initial DC Studios slate that James Gunn and Peter Safran announced in 2023. Since then, the movie seems to have been backburnered a bit, but as a consistent member of the Authority in the comics, it stands to reason that if the film eventually moves ahead, de Faria’s Engineer would be a core part of it. Even if it doesn’t, Superman is part of a big universe that spans film, TV and animation. It feels safe to assume that we haven’t seen the last of Angela Spica!

As you can see, the Engineer we’ve seen in the comics isn’t usually as villainous as the one onscreen, which makes us think her story may not yet be complete. Be sure to keep an eye on the new DCU for possible future appearances, and if you haven’t yet seen her debut in Superman…what are you waiting for? Tickets are available now!
 

Superman, directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult, is now in theaters. Click here to get tickets.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.