Doctor Bong first appeared in Howard the Duck #15 (August 1977), and was created by Steve Gerber and Marie Severin.[4] The character's personality was loosely based on journalist Bob Greene.[5]
The character subsequently appears in Howard the Duck #16–20 (Sept. 1977–Jan. 1978), #24–25 (May–June 1978), #27 (Sept. 1978), #30–31 (March, May 1979), The Sensational She-Hulk #5 (Sept. 1989), Deadpool #26–27 (March–April 1999), Howard the Duck #1–3 (March–May 2002), Daughters of the Dragon #3 (May 2006), and The Amazing Spider-Man #552 (April 2008).
As a child, Lester Verde was severely bullied. When complaining about it to his mother, she noted his creative use of insults against his tormentors and sparked his desire to use his creativity to become a writer.[6]
Originally a journalism student whose yellow journalism got his professor fired, his hand is severed by a miniature guillotine when performing with the punk band Mildred Horowitz.[3] This is a large factor in his becoming the villain Doctor Bong. How he developed his paraphernalia was never explained.[6]
It is revealed that he was also a skilled scientist, using his knowledge of chemistry and physics to create several devices and creatures to do his bidding, particularly Fifi the Duck, who was the closest thing Bong had to a henchwoman.[6] He lives in a castle on a remote island, and can stun or kill by ringing his bell-shaped head.[7]
He had a longtime crush on Beverly Switzler, whom he eventually married.[8] Before he was removed from the book, Steve Gerber had intended their marriage to last and for her to no longer be a main character in the Howard the Duck series. After Gerber left, Bill Mantlo brought Beverly, now single again, back to the book.
It is later revealed in his initial appearance that he had given up supervillainy to obtain a PhD in psychology. His first patient is Deadpool, who came to him for treatment after the events of Dead Reckoning.[11] He was, however, back to supervillainy by the MaxHoward the Duck series.[volume&issueneeded]
Bong later appears as one of the many villains in a bar that Colleen Wing and Misty Knight enter in search for information. They defeat all the villains, with Bong accidentally taking out the Jester. After being held at sword point, Bong reveals all the information he knows about current power struggles.[12]
Doctor Bong appears in Brand New Day as one of the villains in the Bar with No Name.[13]
Doctor Bong is one of the many villains kidnapped into a roller derby staged by the cosmic game-obsessed entity called the Grandmaster. The bullet proof nature of Bong's helmet is a vital part of the hero's winning plan.[14][3]
Doctor Bong created imperfect clones of Steve Rogers, Moon Knight, and Black Widow and lured Deadpool into teaming up with them. While at their main base the real Secret Avengers infiltrated the base causing the real Steve Rogers to battle with Deadpool. After pummeling each other, the real Moon Knight steps in and things finally calm down enough that Cap and Deadpool can talk, Doctor Bong realizes that he has officially lost. He sets off an explosion that kills the Marc Spector and Natasha Romanoff clones, apparently collapsing the building on all the occupants.[15] Deadpool then teams up with the Secret Avengers to stop Doctor Bong. Doctor Bong tries to confuse the Secret Avengers and Deadpool by dressing all his genetic regenerative clones as Deadpool. Then during the fight Deadpool slips away and cons Doctor Bong to think that he is one of his genetic clones and escapes with Doctor Bong. Black Widow makes Doctor Bong crash his escape car and Deadpool brings the unconscious Doctor Bong body back to the Secret Avengers, after the Secret Avengers kill all the fake Deadpools. Doctor Bong wakes up and attempts to set off an explosion using his bell hand, but Deadpool slices off his arm, leaving him helpless in the hands of the Secret Avengers.[16][3][10]
Doctor Bong is a genius scientist with advanced knowledge of genetic engineering. His main weapon is his bell-shaped helmet which creates a number of effects when struck, including generating concussive blasts and teleporting him.[19][20]
Reception
In 2022, Dalton Norman of Screen Rant ranked Doctor Bong first in his "10 Obscure Marvel Villains Only Diehard Fans Know About" list.[20]
In 2023, Jordan Iacobucci of Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked Doctor Bong third in his "10 Powerful Marvel Villains Who Disappeared Without A Trace" list.[19]
In 2024, Chris Harkin of Game Rant ranked Doctor Bong fourth in his "Marvel: 7 Villains Who Are Hesitant To Kill" list.[10]
Related Research Articles
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, commonly known as Secret Wars, is a 12-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton. It was tied in with a similarly-named toy line from Mattel and a role-playing game of the same name from TSR, Inc.
The Chameleon is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. The Chameleon is the first ever antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He is a master of disguises who is known for his ability to impersonate virtually anybody. The character is also the half-brother of Kraven the Hunter. This relationship helped evolve him as a major villain compared to his original depiction of being just a solo villain in the original issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. He has also been a member of the Sinister Six and the Sinister Twelve at various points in his history.
Howard the Duck is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered anthropomorphic animal trapped on a human-dominated Earth. Echoing this, the most common tagline of his comics reads 'Trapped In a World He Never Made!'.
Mephisto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Silver Surfer #3, and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema and based on Mephistopheles: a demon character from the Faust legend, who has sometimes been referred to as Mephisto. Introduced as a recurring adversary of the Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider, Mephisto has also endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent adversaries, being responsible for Norman and Harry Osborn's respective transformations into the Green Goblin and Kindred; and for the superhero's loss of his marriage to Mary Jane Watson, considering their future daughter Spider-Girl his archenemy. Mephisto has often come into conflict with Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Scarlet Witch and other heroes of the Marvel Universe, being responsible both for the creation of the Cosmic Ghost Rider and the descents of Phil Coulson and Otto Octavius into villainy.
Peter Petruski is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #104. Petruski is one of the first supervillains who became active during the "Silver Age" of Marvel Comics. He is known under the codenames Paste-Pot Pete and Trapster. Petruski is a former research chemist in New York City who invented an extremely adhesive "multi-polymer" liquid, which he used to create a paste-gun and become a criminal. He has also been a member of the Intelligencia and the Frightful Four at various points in his history.
Jack O'Lantern is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
White Rabbit is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by J.M. DeMatteis, Kerry Gammill, and Mike Esposito, the character first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #131. White Rabbit is a wealthy criminal who based her supervillain persona on Alice in Wonderland. She is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Spider-Man.
Tiger Shark is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared in Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner #5. Todd Arliss is a recurring antagonist of the antihero Namor. His powers come from both the DNA of Namor and shark DNA. He is also known under the codename Tiger Shark.
The Black Talon is the name of a number of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Ringmaster is the name of two characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Ringmaster, Fritz Tiboldt, first appeared in Captain America Comics #5. The second incarnation, Maynard Tiboldt, debuted in Incredible Hulk #3.
Mandrill is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Juggernaut is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #12 as an adversary of the eponymous superhero team. Since then, he has come into conflict with other heroes, primarily Spider-Man and the Hulk.
Titania is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, the character first appeared in Secret Wars #3. MacPherran is the second character called Titania. She is the rival of the superhero Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk. Originally a supervillain, in later years, she has reformed into more of an antihero. The character has also been a member of the Masters of Evil and the Frightful Four at various points in her history.
Psycho-Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Beverly Switzler is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is mostly a companion and sometimes girlfriend to Howard the Duck.
Human Cannonball is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
MODOK is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #93. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former employee of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), an arms-dealing organization specializing in futuristic weaponry, who undergoes substantial mutagenic medical experimentation originally designed to increase his intelligence. While successful, the experiments result in him developing a freakishly overdeveloped head and a stunted body, causing the character's signature look and use of a hoverchair for mobility. After the experiments, he kills his creators and takes control of A.I.M. Following Tarleton being changed back to normal, a MODOK clone being created afterward dubs himself MODOK Superior, becoming the enemy of Gwenpool.
Gwenpool is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A girl from the real world transported to the Marvel Universe, Marvel initially produced two stories featuring Gwenpool as a character, created by Christopher Hastings, Heather Antos and Jordan D. White: first appearing a backup story in Howard the Duck, and a one-shot Gwenpool Holiday Special, illustrated by Gurihiru. Following the publication of the one-shot, an ongoing series titled The Unbelievable Gwenpool by the same creative team was announced, primarily illustrated by Gurihiru, which started in April 2016 and concluded in April 2018. The Unbelievable Gwenpool #0, collecting Gwen's appearances from Howard the Duck and the first Gwenpool Holiday Special, was later released, as well as the limited series Gwenpool Strikes Back. In West Coast Avengers, Gwen is depicted as the owner of Jeff the Baby Land Shark, appearing alongside him in the spin-off series It's Jeff from its second season onwards. The nemesis of the supervillain MODOK, Gwen faces off against him in The Unbelievable Gwenpool, West Coast Avengers, and MODOK: Head Games.
↑ Morris, Jon (2017). The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History. Quirk Books. p.216. ISBN978-1594749322.
↑ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p.180. ISBN978-1465455505.
↑ "The Doctor Is In!"The Sensational She-Hulk,vol.2,no.5(Sept. 1989).Marvel.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
