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Dr. Death
Dr. Death as depicted in Batman (vol. 2) #25 (January 2014). Art by Greg Capullo.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #29 (July 1939)
Created by	Gardner Fox (writer) Bob Kane (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Dr. Karl Hellfern
Species	Metahuman
Team affiliations	Science Squad
Partnerships	Riddler
Abilities	Chemical and biological weapons

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). He is notable as the first traditional supervillain to be encountered by Batman as well as his first recurring foe.

Publication history

The character first appeared in Detective Comics #29 in 1939. 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.

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. He is assisted by a large East Indian manservant Jabah. 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.

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.

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. 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.

The New 52

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Doctor Death is a disgruntled former Wayne Enterprises scientist who created a serum that causes 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.

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), Wesley Dodds encounters a serial killer named "Doctor Death", a.k.a. Dr. Raymond Kesslor. 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, later Shazam.

In other media

Doctor Death appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.

References

1. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 113. ISBN 9780345501066.
2. Misiroglou, Gina Renée; Eury, Michael (2006). The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9780780809772. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
3. Daoust, Christian (2020-09-28). "Who is Batman's First Villain in the Original Comics?". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
4. Daniels, Les (1999). Batman: The Complete History. San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books. p. 18. ISBN 0-8118-4232-0.
5. Fleisher, Michael L. (1976). The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman. Macmillan Publishing Co. pp. 190–192. ISBN 0-02-538700-6. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
6. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York City: Facts on File. p. 89. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
7. Gardner Fox (w), Bob Kane (p), Bob Kane (i), Bob Kane (let), Vincent Sullivan (ed). "The Batman Meets Doctor Death" Detective Comics, no. 29 (July 1939). New York City: DC Comics.
8. Gardner Fox (w), Bob Kane (p), Bob Kane (i), Sheldon Moldoff (let), Vincent Sullivan (ed). "The Return of Doctor Death" Detective Comics, no. 30 (August 1939). New York City: DC Comics.
9. Dylan Horrocks (w), Damion Scott (p), Robert Campanella (i), Jason Wright Jamison (col), John Costanza (let), Dennis O'Neil (ed). Batgirl, no. 42 (April 2000). New York City: DC Comics.
10. Dylan Horrocks (w), Adrian Sibar (p), Andy Owens (i), Jason Wright (let), Michael Wright (ed). "Harvest of Death" Batgirl, no. 44 (November 2003). New York City: DC Comics.
11. Geoff Johns (w), Drew Johnson (p), Jerry Ordway (i), Rob Leigh (let), Dan DiDio (ed). "The Island of Professor Morrow" 52, no. 23 (October 2006). New York City: DC Comics.
12. Paul Dini (w), Dustin Nguyen (p), Derek Fridolfs (i), John Kalisz (col), Steve Wands (let), Mike Marts (ed). "The House of Hush, Chapter Five: Infestation" Batman: Streets of Gotham, no. 20 (April 2011). New York City: DC Comics.
13. Scott Snyder (w), Greg Capullo (p), Danny Miki (i), FCO Plascencia (col), Nick J. Napolitano (let), Mike Marts (ed). "Dark City, Part Two" Batman, no. 25 (January 2014). New York City: DC Comics.
14. Scott Snyder (w), Greg Capullo (p), Danny Miki (i), FCO Plascencia (col), Nick J. Napolitano (let), Mike Marts (ed). "Dark City, Part Three" Batman, no. 26 (February 2014). New York City: DC Comics.
15. Scott Snyder (w), Greg Capullo (p), Danny Miki (i), FCO Plascencia (col), Nick J. Napolitano (let), Mike Marts (ed). "Dark City, Part Five" Batman, no. 29 (January 2014). New York City: DC Comics.
16. Matt Wagner (w), Guy Davis (p), Vince Locke (i), David Hornung (col), Gaspar Saladino (let). "Doctor Death, Act One" Sandman Mystery Theatre, no. 21 (January 2014). New York City: DC Comics.
17. Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2024.

Further reading

• The Encyclopedia of Super Villains by Jeff Rovin, Facts on File (1987)
• Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones, University of Michigan Press (2004)

• DC Comics supervillains
• Characters created by Bob Kane
• Characters created by Gardner Fox
• Comics characters introduced in 1939
• DC Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
• DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
• DC Comics male supervillains
• DC Comics metahumans
• DC Comics scientists
• Fictional characters with disfigurements
• Fictional engineers
• Fictional mad scientists
• Fictional serial killers
• Golden Age supervillains