View source for Doctor Death (character)

{{Short description|Fictional supervillain in Batman comics}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{All plot|date=April 2023}}
{{Context|date=April 2023}}
{{Primary sources|date=April 2023}}
{{Sources exist|date=April 2023}}
}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|image = Doctor-Death.jpg
|imagesize          = <!-- numeral only, defaults to 250 -->
|converted          = y
|caption            = Dr. Death as depicted in ''Batman'' (vol. 2) #25 (January 2014). Art by [[Greg Capullo]].
|character_name     = Dr. Death
|real_name          = Dr. Karl Hellfern
|publisher          = [[DC Comics]]
|debut              = ''[[Detective Comics]]'' #29 (July 1939)
|creators           = [[Gardner Fox]] (writer)<br/>[[Bob Kane]] (artist)
|species            = [[Metahuman]]
|homeworld          = <!-- optional -->
|alliances          = [[Science Squad]]
|partners           = [[Riddler]]
|supports           = <!-- optional -->
|aliases            = <!-- optional: actual identities the character uses, not nicknames -->
|powers             = Chemical and biological weapons
|cat                = super
|subcat             = DC Comics
|hero               = 
|villain            = y
|sortkey            = Doctor Death (comics)
}}
'''Doctor Death''' ('''Dr. Karl Hellfern''') is a [[supervillain]] appearing in publications by [[DC Comics]], primarily as an enemy of [[Batman]]. Created by [[Gardner Fox]] and [[Bob Kane]], he first appeared in ''[[Detective Comics]]'' #29 (July 1939).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greenberger |first1=Robert |title=The Essential Batman Encyclopedia |date=2008 |publisher=Del Rey |isbn=9780345501066 |page=113}}</ref> He is notable as the first traditional supervillain to be encountered by Batman as well as his first recurring foe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Misiroglou |first1=Gina Renée |last2=Eury |first2=Michael |title=The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood |date=2006 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |isbn=9780780809772 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vHtAAAAMAAJ&q=dr.%20death |access-date=15 March 2020}}</ref>

==Publication history==
The character first appeared in [[Detective Comics]] #29 in 1939.<ref>{{cite web|last=Daoust|first=Christian|title=Who is Batman’s First Villain in the Original Comics?|date=2020-09-28|publisher=[[Screen Rant]]|url=https://screenrant.com/batman-first-villain-detective-comics-doctor-death/|accessdate=2024-02-18}}</ref> The scriptwriter for ''Detective Comics'' #29 and #30 is an issue of dispute, leaving the creator of Doctor Death uncertain. Batman creator [[Bob Kane]] is officially credited as scriptwriter of these issues, though later [[Gardner Fox]], the scriptwriter of ''Detective Comics'' #31 and #32, claimed authorship.<ref>{{cite book|first=Les|last=Daniels|author-link=Les Daniels|title=Batman: The Complete History|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|location=San Francisco, California|date=1999|isbn=0-8118-4232-0|page=18}}</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
===Golden Age===
In his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #29, Doctor Death develops a lethal chemical agent from [[pollen]] extract and plans to use the poison to extort money from wealthy [[Gotham City]] citizens.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleisher |first1=Michael L. |title=The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman |date=1976 |publisher=Macmillan Publishing Co |isbn=0-02-538700-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco01flei/page/190/mode/2up |access-date=29 March 2020 |pages=190–192}}</ref> He is assisted by a large [[East India]]n manservant Jabah.<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York City|isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |page=89}}</ref> He decides to eliminate Batman, and threatens to kill someone unless Batman stops him. Batman defeats his two henchmen, but is wounded when Jabah shoots him, though he escapes using a gas pellet. He then gets to Doctor Death's base, meeting him in his lab, and chases him around the building. To evade capture, Doctor Death ignites chemicals in his laboratory, presumably killing Jabah and himself in the resulting explosion.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Gardner Fox]]|penciller=[[Bob Kane]]|inker=Bob Kane|letterer=Bob Kane|editor=[[Vincent Sullivan]]|story=The Batman Meets Doctor Death|title=[[Detective Comics]]|issue=#29|date=July 1939|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|location=New York City}}</ref>

Doctor Death next appears the following month in ''Detective Comics'' #30. With a new accomplice, a [[Cossack]] named Mikhail, Doctor Death is this time successful in claiming a victim in his extortion scheme, but discovers from the widow that the poisoned man lost his fortune in the [[Great Depression]]. Batman intervenes in the plot, following Mikhail back to Doctor Death's base, and upon apprehending the doctor, discovers that his face had been horribly disfigured from the lab explosion, giving him a brown, skeletal appearance.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Gardner Fox]]|penciller=[[Bob Kane]]|inker=Bob Kane|letterer=[[Sheldon Moldoff]]|editor=[[Vincent Sullivan]]|story=The Return of Doctor Death|title=[[Detective Comics]]|issue=#30|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=August 1939}}</ref>

===Bronze Age revival===
After several decades' absence, writer [[Gerry Conway]] reintroduced Doctor Death in ''Batman'' #345 and ''Detective Comics'' #512 (1982). Conway's story is an update of the original 1939 tale. In this version, Doctor Death is depicted as a [[paraplegic]], but his deadly gas gimmick remains the same. He is assisted this time by a manservant named Togo.

===Modern Age===
Doctor Death was revived once again in ''[[Batgirl]]'' #42-44 and #50 (2003–2004) by writer [[Dylan Horrocks]].<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Dylan Horrocks]]|penciller=Damion Scott|inker=Robert Campanella|colorist=Jason Wright Jamison|letterer=[[John Costanza]]|editor=[[Dennis O'Neil]]|title=[[Batgirl (comic book)|Batgirl]]|issue=#42|date=April 2000|
publisher=[[DC Comics]]|location=New York City}}</ref> The modern version of the character is a producer of biological weapons, often selling them on the black market to terrorists and other criminals. He is now depicted as a bald, [[gnome]]-like man wearing a lab coat and an oxygen mask.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Dylan Horrocks]]|penciller=[[Adrian Sibar]]|inker=[[Andy Owens]]|letterer=[[Jason Wright]]|editor=[[Michael Wright (comics)|Michael Wright]]|story=Harvest of Death|title=[[Batgirl (comic book)|Batgirl]]|issue=#44|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=November 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Geoff Johns]]|penciller=Drew Johnson|inker=[[Jerry Ordway]]|letterer=[[Rob Leigh]]|editor=[[Dan DiDio]]|story=The Island of Professor Morrow|title=[[52 (comics)|52]]|issue=#23|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=October 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Paul Dini]]|penciller=[[Dustin Nguyen]]|inker=[[Derek Fridolfs]]|colorist=[[John Kalisz]]|letterer=[[Steve Wands]]|editor=[[Mike Marts]]|story=The House of Hush, Chapter Five: Infestation|title=Batman: Streets of Gotham|issue=#20|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=April 2011}}</ref>

===''The New 52''===
In ''[[The New 52]]'' continuity reboot, Doctor Death is a disgruntled former [[Wayne Enterprises]] scientist who created a serum that causes [[Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva|uncontrolled bone growth]] and possesses a skeletal appearance due to testing it on himself. He is killed in battle with Batman after being affected by the serum.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Scott Snyder]]|penciller=Greg Capullo|inker=Danny Miki|colorist=FCO Plascencia|letterer=Nick J. Napolitano|editor=Mike Marts|story=Dark City, Part Two|title=[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]|issue=#25|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Scott Snyder]]|penciller=Greg Capullo|inker=Danny Miki|colorist=FCO Plascencia|letterer=Nick J. Napolitano|editor=Mike Marts|story=Dark City, Part Three|title=[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]|issue=#26|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic |date=January 2014 |title=[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]] |story=Dark City, Part Five |issue=#29 |publisher=[[DC Comics]] |location=New York City |writer=[[Scott Snyder]] |penciller=Greg Capullo |inker=Danny Miki |colorist=FCO Plascencia |letterer=Nick J. Napolitano |editor=Mike Marts}}</ref>

==Other characters named Doctor Death==
* A different character named Doctor Death appears in ''[[Doom Patrol]]'' #107 (November 1966).
* In ''[[Sandman Mystery Theatre]]'' #21 (December 1994), [[Sandman (Wesley Dodds)|Wesley Dodds]] encounters a serial killer named "Doctor Death", a.k.a. '''Dr. Raymond Kesslor'''.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Matt Wagner]]|penciller=[[Guy Davis (comics)|Guy Davis]]|inker=[[Vince Locke]]|colorist=[[David Hornung]]|letterer=[[Gaspar Saladino]]|story=Doctor Death, Act One|title=[[Sandman Mystery Theatre]]|issue=#21|location=New York City|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=January 2014}}</ref> This Doctor Death euthanizes elderly patients, in a reference to [[Jack Kevorkian]].
* A rogue doctor styling himself "Doctor Death" is the villain of the Scoop Smith story in ''Whiz Comics'' #2. This issue features the first appearance of [[Captain Marvel (DC Comics)|Captain Marvel]], later Shazam.

== In other media ==
Doctor Death appears as a character summon in ''[[Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eisen |first=Andrew |date=October 4, 2013 |title=DC Characters and Objects - ''Scribblenauts Unmasked'' Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/scribblenauts-unmasked/DC_Characters_and_Objects |access-date=June 6, 2024 |website=IGN}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kIQUAQAAIAAJ&q=dr.%20death The Encyclopedia of Super Villains]'' by Jeff Rovin, Facts on File (1987)
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hyxlAAAAMAAJ&q=%22dr.%20death%22 Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book]'' by Gerard Jones, University of Michigan Press (2004)

{{Batman characters}}
{{Batgirl}}
{{Gardner Fox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Death, Doctor}}
[[Category:Characters created by Bob Kane]]
[[Category:Characters created by Gardner Fox]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1939]]
[[Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability]]
[[Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman strength]]
[[Category:DC Comics male supervillains]]
[[Category:DC Comics metahumans]]
[[Category:DC Comics scientists]]
[[Category:Fictional characters with disfigurements]]
[[Category:Fictional engineers]]
[[Category:Fictional mad scientists]]
[[Category:Fictional serial killers]]
[[Category:Golden Age supervillains]]