Harry Stein (character)

Last updated
Harry Stein
Harrysteindcu0.jpg
Harry Stein, art by Steve Erwin.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Vigilante #23 (November 1985)
Created by Paul Kupperberg (writer)
Tod Smith (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoHarry Stein
Team affiliations Checkmate
The Agency
NYPD
Notable aliasesKing
AbilitiesExperienced police officer and espionage agent.

Harry Stein is a fictional police officer and secret agent featured in DC Comics. Stein first appeared in Vigilante #23 (November 1985) and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Tod Smith.

Contents

Fictional character biography

Vigilante

Lieutenant Harry Stein is an eighteen-year veteran of the NYPD. His first DCU appearance was in Vigilante #23 where he is introduced as the head of a police task force operating out of Midtown South. This task force's sole job is the apprehension of Vigilante (Adrian Chase) whom they believed was a cop killer. [1] Gary Washington the very first Checkmate Knight was also introduced during Harry Stein's run, in issue #24 as Stein's partner. In Vigilante Annual #2, Harry Stein uses illegally obtained evidence to prove Adrian Chase is the Vigilante. [2] Stein admitted to illegal search and seizure and all charges against Chase were thrown out. In #37 Stein is forced to resign by his supervisor Chief Rogers and hands over his badge, Rogers informs him that there are criminal charges pending against him. [3]

In #37, Harry is recruited into the Agency by Valentina Vostok, his first mission is to help a mentally unbalanced Vigilante (Adrian Chase) take down a ship full of middle eastern terrorists. During the mission, Vostok, Stein and Chase come into conflict with an equally deranged Peacemaker (Christopher Smith), a man that Adrian Chase had sworn to kill.

Adrian Chase becomes a cop killer, but commits suicide out of regret.

Doom Patrol

Harry Stein shows up next in Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #2, heading for a meeting with his boss, Valentina Vostok. [4] Harry later makes it inside Kalki's complex (father of Celsius), and shuts down the electrical plant long enough for the Doom Patrol to free themselves from Kalki's traps. [5] Harry promises to leave any mention of Joshua Clay's double identity as doctor Johnathan Carmichael out of his reports. [6] Harry later informs the Doom Patrol that the Agency needed them to rescue an American superhero who had been taken hostage in San Salvador. [7]

Checkmate

Harry Stein is appointed Valentina Vostok's replacement in the Agency's command position by Amanda Waller. Stein later sought out the most stable personnel available from the American and international intelligence and law enforcement communities to form Checkmate. His agency would field only the best-trained and well-equipped of agents, working under the strictest rules of secrecy. For the organizational structure of the re-organized Agency, Stein chose the game of chess as his working model. [8]

Stein brought in Gary Washington (Knight One) and Black Thorn as operatives, both of whom were his friends, and both of whom were introduced during his run on Vigilante. Harry Stein's sons Barry and Matthew are introduced in Checkmate #2.

On a rare vacation with his sons, Harry confronts a murderous gang of thieves robbing the payroll of a popular and extensive amusement park. Harry deals with the gang, mostly on his own. Months later, he almost loses one of his sons to a killer's bullet. Harry Stein's last recorded appearance was in Checkmate #33 (January 1991), the final issue of the original series.

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide Squad</span> DC Comics antihero team

The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 and the second and modern version, created by John Ostrander, debuted in Legends #3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doom Patrol</span> Group of fictional characters

Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80, and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appeared in different incarnations in multiple comics, and have been adapted to other media. The series' creator and fans have suspected that Marvel Comics copied the basic concept to create the X-Men, which debuted a few months later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Waller</span> DC Comics character

Amanda Blake Waller, also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character featured in some American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne. Amanda Waller serves intermittently as both an antagonist and an ally to the superheroes of the DC Universe. She is occasionally described as a supervillain.

Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Notable individuals to assume the alias include Greg Saunders and Adrian Chase.

"Alias the Spider" is a superhero feature from the Golden Age of Comic Books that appeared in Quality Comics' Crack Comics for nearly three years, starting with issue #1 in 1940. He was created by writer-artist Paul Gustavson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Flag</span> Comics character

Rick Flag is the collective name used for multiple fictional characters featured in American comic books published by DC Comics. Although each character shares the same name, they are portrayed as distinct family members who typically play significant roles in collaborating with the United States government and military within the DC Universe.

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

Harvey Bullock is a fictional detective appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #441 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Howard Chaykin. In animation, he appeared throughout the DC Animated Universe, voiced by Robert Costanzo. He debuted in live-action in 2014 on Fox's television series Gotham, portrayed by Donal Logue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Diablo (character)</span> Comic character

El Diablo is a name shared by several characters appearing in media published by DC Comics: Lazarus Lane, Rafael Sandoval, and Chato Santana. The Chato Santana version of El Diablo appeared in the 2016 Suicide Squad film, set in the DC Extended Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kupperberg</span> American comic writer

Paul Kupperberg is an American writer and comics editor. He is currently a writer and executive editor at Charlton Neo Comics and Pix-C Webcomics, and a contributing author with Crazy 8 Press. Formerly, he was an editor for DC Comics and executive editor of Weekly World News, as well as a writer of novels, comic books, and newspaper strips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negative Man</span> Fictional character

Negative Man is a superhero from DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Haney, Arnold Drake, and Bruno Premiani and made his first appearance in My Greatest Adventure #80.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Checkmate (comics)</span> Fictional covert operations agency featured in DC Comics

Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The antihero team first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate! In the wake of events depicted in the mini-series The OMAC Project and Infinite Crisis, Checkmate is re-chartered as a United Nations Security Council-affiliated agency and was again given its own series, Checkmate.

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

The Chief is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, usually as the leader of the superhero team Doom Patrol. Created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, he made his debut alongside the other original members of the Doom Patrol in My Greatest Adventure #80. Despite sharing similarities with Professor X, he is, however, a regular normal human.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Clay</span> Comics character

Joshua Clay (Tempest) is a fictional character, a member of the superhero team Doom Patrol in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton, he first appears as the hero Tempest in Showcase #94 (August 1977).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentina Vostok</span> Comics character

Valentina Vostok is a fictional character by DC Comics. She first appeared in Showcase #94, and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton.

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

Celsius is a superhero in the DC Comics series Doom Patrol. She first appeared in Showcase #94, and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton. She is among the very few superheroes of Indian heritage, and may be the first ever such hero created by DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Chase</span> DC Comics character

Adrian Chase is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second DC character to bear the name Vigilante.

References

  1. ↑ Vigilante #23 (November 1985)
  2. ↑ Vigilante Annual #2 (1986)
  3. ↑ Vigilante #37 (January 1987)
  4. ↑ Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #2 (November 1987)
  5. ↑ Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #3 (December 1987)
  6. ↑ Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #4 (January 1988)
  7. ↑ Doom Patrol (vol. 2) #5 (February 1988)
  8. ↑ Action Comics #598 (March 1988)
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.