Crime Doctor (comics)

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Crime Doctor
Detective Comics 77.jpg
The Crime Doctor as depicted on the cover of Detective Comics #77 (July 1943). Art by Bob Kane.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Thorne:
Detective Comics #77
(July 1943)
Balcescu:
Manhunter (vol. 3) #32 (September 2008)
Created byThorne:
Bill Finger (writer)
Bob Kane (artist)
Balcescu:
Marc Andreyko (writer)
Michael Gaydos (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoMatthew Thorne
Anica Balcescu
Species Human
Place of originEarth
Team affiliations Secret Society of Super Villains
Notable aliasesBradford Thorne
AbilitiesSkilled surgeon
Expert torturer
Use of injector gun and scalpel

The Crime Doctor is the name of two fictional supervillains that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The Crime Doctor is an underworld medical expert who caters exclusively to criminals, originally an enemy of Batman. [1]

Contents

Publication history

The first Crime Doctor first appeared in Detective Comics #77 (July 1943), and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. [2]

Fictional character biography

Matthew Thorne

The Crime Doctor is surgeon Matthew Thorne, a renowned doctor. In post-Crisis continuity, he is the brother of the Gotham City gangster Rupert Thorne under the name Bradford Thorne.

Earth-Two

On Earth-Two, Matthew Thorne started out as a rogue physician in Gotham City, setting up an illegal clinic and treating criminals for money. He was stopped and apprehended time and time again by the Batman. Shortly after this, Thorne escaped prison and once again opened his crime clinic, but this time he traveled across the country. Batman and Robin learned of his escape and they chased Thorne all the way to California, where Thorne saved Robin's life after he was shot by one of the doctor's henchmen. In the end, Thorne was betrayed by one of his own men, who shot him in the back, killing the doctor almost instantly. [3] [4]

Post-Crisis

Bradford Thorne was a notorious physician who provided criminal services as the Crime Doctor. Thorne assisted criminals using his medical knowledge in return for a small percentage of the stolen loot. His modus operandi stumped the authorities of Gotham City and caused Batman to turn his attention on his crimes.

Thorne eventually learned Batman's secret identity when Bruce Wayne went to see him, seeking his medical support. When the underworld learned that Thorne knew Batman's secret, Thorne was kidnapped by businessman Sterling T. Silversmith, who poisoned Thorne to make him reveal the truth. Batman stopped Silversmith, but Thorne's body had been damaged by the mercury poisoning and the diagnosis given to him was not positive, as he was most likely to remain in a comatose state for life and in the case of an eventual recovery, his memory would be completely wiped out. [5]

The Crime Doctor usually never took part in physical battles against superheroes, but he was recruited by Lex Luthor and Brainiac into their supervillain army during the Crisis on Infinite Earths . Initially, the Crime Doctor took his career as a doctor very seriously, and would not commit crimes that conflicted with his Hippocratic Oath. In later appearances however, he seemed to abandon this principle.

The Crime Doctor's appearances in the 21st century have depicted him wearing star-shaped glasses. It was later revealed that those glasses were a trophy taken from his first victim, a young nurse named Katherine Wheyhall, who had suspected his sadistic inclination to murder and torture while witnessing him deliberately botching a surgery.

Later, the Crime Doctor paid a visit to the nurse and killed her, thus setting the basis of his newfound criminal career.

The Crime Doctor appears in Villains United (2006), where he tortures the Secret Six for the identity of Mockingbird. This fails in the case of the 'Mike the Parademon', who equates torture with love. Breaking his restraints, Catman knocks him out with a metal tray table (where the Doctor had his medical equipment). [6]

In the "Progeny" arc of Birds of Prey , the Crime Doctor tries to "defect" from the Secret Society of Super Villains. The Society sends Prometheus to repay the Crime Doctor by torturing and killing his daughter as he had done to his victims. After a gruesome battle, the Birds of Prey almost manage to subdue Prometheus, but the Crime Doctor decides to kill himself, thus ensuring his own punishment, and sparing his daughter Bethany, who, alone and outcast by the other children, subsequently falls prey to the ambition of Lady Shiva to have a young apprentice to mold in her image. [7]

Anica Balcescu

A new, female Crime Doctor appeared in Manhunter (vol. 4) #32 (2008), a Romanian widow and survivor of the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime named Anica Balcescu. [8]

Following the Final Crisis , Anica Balcescu was seen as a member of Cheetah's Secret Society of Super Villains as she grafted Wonder Woman's lasso to Genocide.

Powers and abilities

The original Crime Doctor had no super human powers, but was a skilled physician and expert torturer. He sometimes carried an injector gun which could gas opponents to sleep. He also sometimes used a scalpel to assault his opponents.

In other media

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin (character)</span> DC Comics supervillain

The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #58 and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The Penguin is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bane (DC Comics)</span> Comics character

Bane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, the character first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1. He has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugo Strange</span> Fictional comic book supervillain

Hugo Strange is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character is one of Batman's first recurring villains, and was also one of the first to discover his secret identity. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #36.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cluemaster</span> Fictional DC Comics character; enemy of Batman

The Cluemaster is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman as well as a recurring enemy of Tim Drake, the third Robin. Cluemaster first appeared in Detective Comics #351 and was created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Mask (character)</span> Comic book supervillain

Black Mask is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386. He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhunter (comics)</span> DC Comics superheroes

Manhunter is the name given to several different fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Quality Comics. They are depicted as superheroes and antiheroes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killer Moth</span> Fictional supervillain

Killer Moth is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as an adversary and dedicated original foil personality of Batman. Like Batman, he has no superpowers and relies on his technical equipment, including a Mothmobile and numerous gimmicks. Killer Moth originally wore a garish costume of purple and green striped fabric, with an orange cape and moth-like mask. In Underworld Unleashed, Killer Moth is transformed into the monster Charaxes with superhuman abilities.

Copperhead is the name of several supervillains appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly as enemies of the superhero Batman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Thorne</span> Comics character

Rupert Thorne is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a crime boss and enemy of Batman.

Blockbuster is the name of four supervillains and a criminal organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first iteration was an adversary of Batman and Robin, while the second served as one of Nightwing's greatest enemies. The latest version first appeared in the pages of the series 52 wherein he is directed into battle against Lex Luthor's team of superheroes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calculator (character)</span> Fictional supervillain

Calculator is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Originally introduced as an enemy of the Atom, the character was later redeveloped in the 2000s as a master information broker, hacker, and tactical supervisor to other supervillains, and foil to Batman's partner Oracle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Phosphorus</span> Fictional DC Comics supervillain

Doctor Phosphorus is a supervillain who has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. Primarily an enemy of Batman, the villain exists in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Signalman (comics)</span> Fictional supervillain

Signalman is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a member of Batman's rogues gallery.

<i>Manhunter</i> (Kate Spencer) Comics character

Manhunter (Kate Spencer) is a fictional superheroine appearing in DC Comics. She is the eighth DC Comics character to be given the name Manhunter, but was the first woman. The character first appears in Manhunter (vol. 3) #1 (October 2004) and was promoted by DC Comics as relevant to the popular Identity Crisis limited series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Spider</span> Comics character

Black Spider is the name of several supervillains and assassins appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most characters who operated under the alias are depicted as both lesser renown adversaries of Batman and a member of various super-villain organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver St. Cloud</span> Comics character

Silver St. Cloud is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the vigilante Batman. The character debuted in Detective Comics #470 and was created by Steve Englehart and Walt Simonson. Silver St. Cloud is typically depicted as a romantic interest of Bruce Wayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-Face in other media</span> Fictional character Two-Face in media

The character Two-Face was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #66. However, he did not appear outside comics until half a century later in Batman: The Animated Series. Two-Face has since been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, such as feature films, television series and video games. Two-Face has been voiced by Richard Moll in the DC Animated Universe, Troy Baker in the Batman: Arkham series, Billy Dee Williams in The Lego Batman Movie, and William Shatner in Batman vs. Two-Face. His live-action portrayals include Billy Dee Williams in Batman (1989), Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever, Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight, and Nicholas D'Agosto in the television series Gotham. In 2009, Two-Face was ranked #12 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time.

References

  1. Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 180. ISBN   978-1605490892.
  2. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 99–101. ISBN   9780345501066.
  3. Batman #18
  4. Fleisher, Michael L. (1976). The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman. Macmillan Publishing Co. pp. 353–355. ISBN   0-02-538700-6 . Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. Detective Comics #494-495. DC Comics.
  6. "Privileged to Spill Her Blood" Villains United ,no. 3(September 2005). DC Comics .
  7. Simone, Gail  ( w ),Siqueira, Paulo,Prado, Joe ( p ), Riggs, Robin , Giordano, Dick  ( i )."Progeny" Birds of Prey ,no. 92-95(May–August 2006). DC Comics .
  8. Manhunter (vol. 4) #32. DC Comics.
  9. 1 2 "Matthew Thorne Voices (Batman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 4, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.