(Target Comics v1 008, 1940)
Dr Death's initial outing, in Target Comics v1 008, is a pretty typical late-1940/early 1941 plot about trying to draw the US into WWII by attacking shipping and throwing blame for it on an enemy of the unnamed fascist nation that Death is working for. Notably, Dr Death does not appear in the issue and works through various minions whom he directs via loudspeaker.
Probably the most interesting thing about this first appearance is the fact that Dr Death has a few White Streak contingency schemes in place, including the addition of a coating of anti-electricity glass to his submarine-cum-torpedo superweapon. Despite this, and despite the fact that the White Streak is trapped inside the thing when it sets out to explode a portion of the US fleet, it is destroyed by the Streak because he simply left some electricity outside the sub before boarding, and not only was he able to direct its actions from inside but it was able to shove the submarine onto some rocks for him, disabling it and freeing him (the White Streak's power level has been ramping up pretty significantly as his series has continued - at this point he's basically magic).
Dr Death returns in Target Comics v1 009, and this time he's not just prepared for the White Streak but actively trying to kill him. He sends one of his minions to lead the Streak into a trap by murdering his captured agent Messer with a cool knife and then returning to Death's base at an easy-to-follow pace. This turns out not to work due to the fact that Messer was at the FBI's New York HQ and there was a considerable amount of competition between the White Streak and various law enforcement officials who were on hand.
(this seems like the place for an aside about Dr Death's choice of costume and all I really have to say is that it's great. Seven foot-tall green man with a radio speaker voice? Terrific stuff, no notes)
The White Streak picks up Dr Death's trail again when he visits his friend Dr Simms' lab for some assistance and finds the villain there murdering Simms' niece Betty. Dr Death comes out on top in this encounter thanks to a very specific ray gun that "dissolves" the Streak's electron vision but merely stuns the android himself.
Even a ray gun-wielding megacrook with steel-lined gloves is ultimately no match for an ancient super-powered Mesoamerican android, and Dr Death is eventually tracked down and unmasked beheaded to reveal that he is really... Dr Simms!? This is completely wild, friends. Simms, if you don't recall, is the archaeologist (later rounded up to all-around super scientist) who discovered the White Streak in his volcanic cocoon, and he has been basically the only member of his supporting cast ever since - contextually, this is like Batman pulling off Clayface's mask to reveal that he is actually Commissioner Gordon.
I can only assume that Carl Burgos had gotten tired of Simms and took the thirdmost direct way of getting rid of him (after having him be murdered and just never using him again), because this is some real off-the-wall behavior on Simms' part. Was he already Dr Death when he met the White Streak? If so, what a terrible decision to keep hanging around with the avowed and deadly enemy of all warmongers, and even moreso if he made the decision to take up the Dr Death mantle as the White Streak's friend, like meeting and befriending and hanging out with and helping a prominent environmentalist and then getting really deeply invested in dumping toxic waste into the ocean.
And on top of everything else, why suit up and challenge your super-human acquaintance to a head-to-head battle rather than just sneaking up behind him and bashing him on the head with something when he was not expecting it? Do you reckon that this was a mid-life crisis thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment