Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Once you are done this project, you can judge if characters with Strange in their name are Strange. Most really aren't, at least by comic book standards.
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Get out of my operating room, MISTER Fate!
- Thread starter Beowulf
- Start date
Many years ago, the Answer Man was asked, "Who is DC's strangest character?" He replied that while there was Adam Strange and the Phantom Stranger, there was no strangest character.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Your father was wise. But it's not the same as truly examining truth in advertising.
#36 Doctor Sun
A brilliant Chinese scientist with multiple masters degrees, an MD and at least one PhD, who became a test subject for his own project, separating a human brain from its body and connecting it to a computer. Turns out, being connected to a computer gives you incredible psionic powers! Dr. Sun manipulated a bunch of vampires, got a robot body, got control of various alien computer networks, and was eventually defeated by HERBIE.
(He never had an alternate supervillain name. “Sun” was his family name. His son, also Dr. Sun, was the one who performed the brain-removal process!)
A brilliant Chinese scientist with multiple masters degrees, an MD and at least one PhD, who became a test subject for his own project, separating a human brain from its body and connecting it to a computer. Turns out, being connected to a computer gives you incredible psionic powers! Dr. Sun manipulated a bunch of vampires, got a robot body, got control of various alien computer networks, and was eventually defeated by HERBIE.
(He never had an alternate supervillain name. “Sun” was his family name. His son, also Dr. Sun, was the one who performed the brain-removal process!)
#37 Doctor Tomorrow
An Acclaim Comics and later Valiant Comics character, Bart Simms using technology from the future to fight Nazis during WW2. While in some versions of his history Simms eventually creates the technology and sends it to himself in the past, he is not a doctor at any point during his superheroic career.
An Acclaim Comics and later Valiant Comics character, Bart Simms using technology from the future to fight Nazis during WW2. While in some versions of his history Simms eventually creates the technology and sends it to himself in the past, he is not a doctor at any point during his superheroic career.
Dr. Sun first appeared as a rival to Count Dracula in Tomb of Dracula.
That’s all I got to say about him
That’s all I got to say about him
Just to check, are we actually talking about the sentient Volkswagen here? Seems like an awfully embarrassing foe for a supervillain to be defeated by.
Oh Goddess, I hope it is the VW Bug that did it.
Honestly, that’s far less embarrassing than the alternative
We're talking about the adorable flying robot H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics). Still embarassing, but not to the degree of a sentient VW.
I don’t know; I don’t think I could take an inanimate Volkswagen in a fight, let alone a living one.
HERBIE on the other hand…
HERBIE on the other hand…
#38 Doctor Vault
Dr. Aloyius Vault was an evil mad scientist in Marvel Comics, who took control of IT the Living Colossus and used it to fight the Hulk. He didn’t do much else and his backstory was never really elaborated on, but this is another case where the character’s civilian name included the honorific, so it’s reasonable to assume it’s earned.
Dr. Aloyius Vault was an evil mad scientist in Marvel Comics, who took control of IT the Living Colossus and used it to fight the Hulk. He didn’t do much else and his backstory was never really elaborated on, but this is another case where the character’s civilian name included the honorific, so it’s reasonable to assume it’s earned.
#39 Doctor Voodoo
Jericho Drumm’s life trajectory actually mirrored Steven Strange’s in a bunch of ways: He went to medical school (though as a psychologist, not a surgeon), had a big life disaster, learned magic, and became a Sorcerer Supreme. There was a big gap between the last two, mind you, as he had a whole heroic career as Brother Voodoo in the interim. Both titles are perfectly appropriate: Not only is Drumm a doctor, but his twin brother Daniel plays a major role in his backstory.
Jericho Drumm’s life trajectory actually mirrored Steven Strange’s in a bunch of ways: He went to medical school (though as a psychologist, not a surgeon), had a big life disaster, learned magic, and became a Sorcerer Supreme. There was a big gap between the last two, mind you, as he had a whole heroic career as Brother Voodoo in the interim. Both titles are perfectly appropriate: Not only is Drumm a doctor, but his twin brother Daniel plays a major role in his backstory.
#40 Doctor Zodiac
Theodore "Cash" Carrigan was a carnival con-artist who fought Superman and Batman a few times, later partnered with Madame Zodiac. Without the magic Zodiac coins he stole, his entire power set consisted of “lying to people”. He was absolutely not a doctor.
Theodore "Cash" Carrigan was a carnival con-artist who fought Superman and Batman a few times, later partnered with Madame Zodiac. Without the magic Zodiac coins he stole, his entire power set consisted of “lying to people”. He was absolutely not a doctor.
I beg your fucking pardon
Really lucky he got rainbow based powers.
Hey, it was the style at the time. Thomas Oscar Morrow was in the same vein. (My dad also likes to joke that if he'd had to make up a civilian name for the Calculator, it would obviously have been Calvin Q. Later.)
I started with Wikipedia's list of "Doctor in comics may refer to..." and built from there.
Thomas Oscar Morrow and Edward Nygma have the excuse of being plausible names.
They didn’t necessarily need to become supervillains
They didn’t necessarily need to become supervillains
What about Julian Day, the Calendar Man? Jason Woodrue, a man perfectly named to become Floro?
Or Marvel's The Vanisher, who was wonderfully named Telford Porter?
Becksworth
Aging Hipster Dragon Dad
So what colors do the "olo" in his name represent?
#41 Doc Samson
Leonard Skivorski Jr. was a college professor and psychiatrist (so, yes, he’s got an MD) who exposed himself to some gamma radiation siphoned from the Hulk and gained strength proportionate to the length of his flowing green hair. In addition to his skill at punching things, Doc Samson actually gets called in specifically to use his degree in psychiatry from time to time. (Kinda like She-Hulk having entire storylines where it’s more important that she’s a lawyer than the fact she can bench-press a skyscraper.)
Leonard Skivorski Jr. was a college professor and psychiatrist (so, yes, he’s got an MD) who exposed himself to some gamma radiation siphoned from the Hulk and gained strength proportionate to the length of his flowing green hair. In addition to his skill at punching things, Doc Samson actually gets called in specifically to use his degree in psychiatry from time to time. (Kinda like She-Hulk having entire storylines where it’s more important that she’s a lawyer than the fact she can bench-press a skyscraper.)
#42 Doc Savage
The Man of Bronze, a pulp hero with no superpowers but the peak of human abilities, Doc Savage dates back to 1933 and has appeared in all manner of media since.
But Clark Savage Jr, while a genius polymath Olympian martial artist master of disguise…is not actually a doctor! He was trained from birth by an elite team of scientists assembled by his father in many subjects including medicine, but he did not attend medical school or receive a doctorate from an accredited university. So while he has medical training and has demonstrated incredible abilities in both science and medicine, he doesn’t actually meet the qualifications. “Doc” is just an affectionate nickname.
The Man of Bronze, a pulp hero with no superpowers but the peak of human abilities, Doc Savage dates back to 1933 and has appeared in all manner of media since.
But Clark Savage Jr, while a genius polymath Olympian martial artist master of disguise…is not actually a doctor! He was trained from birth by an elite team of scientists assembled by his father in many subjects including medicine, but he did not attend medical school or receive a doctorate from an accredited university. So while he has medical training and has demonstrated incredible abilities in both science and medicine, he doesn’t actually meet the qualifications. “Doc” is just an affectionate nickname.
Hyperbolic Orange, self-Luminous red, and Octarine.
My favourite is Vincent Stegron who turned into a stegosaurus man.
Lucky enough he got to turn into a dinosaur, but can you imagine if he was turned into a dromiceiomimus-man?
He’d never live it down!
I maintain that Oswald C Cobblepot is the best comics name out there. It is not as on the nose as Roy G. Bivolo, but it is absolutely the kind of name wherein a Gotham resident could be flipping through an old yearbook, see "Oswald C. Cobblepot (Activities: Umbrella Club, Student Council)" and say, "Cobblepot? Huh. I wonder whatever happened to that penguin-y guy."
#43 Doc (of the Omega Men)
An alien from the planet Aello, Doc was a scientist who transferred his mind to a cybernetic brain and then put that head back on his biological body.
Interestingly, this hasn’t really come up before: If you attend an institute of higher learning on an alien world and get their equivalent of a doctorate, are you allowed to call yourself a doctor? I would argue that, yes, if the concept of education is similar and the cultural differences are manageable, an alien who received extensive training in their field and then was licensed to practice that specialty as master of the trade would be equivalent. Green Lantern Soranik Natu, for example, was a neurosurgeon on Korugar. The closest English equivalent to her training and practice is that she’s a doctor.
So yes, I’d say that Doc is a doctor.
An alien from the planet Aello, Doc was a scientist who transferred his mind to a cybernetic brain and then put that head back on his biological body.
Interestingly, this hasn’t really come up before: If you attend an institute of higher learning on an alien world and get their equivalent of a doctorate, are you allowed to call yourself a doctor? I would argue that, yes, if the concept of education is similar and the cultural differences are manageable, an alien who received extensive training in their field and then was licensed to practice that specialty as master of the trade would be equivalent. Green Lantern Soranik Natu, for example, was a neurosurgeon on Korugar. The closest English equivalent to her training and practice is that she’s a doctor.
So yes, I’d say that Doc is a doctor.
#44 Doctor Omen
The mother of China’s Super-Man, Kong Kenan, and Director of the Ministry of Self-Reliance; I can’t find enough about Kong Meitei’s background to determine if she’s actually a doctor or not. Given the importance of appearances in Chinese culture and government, I suspect she wouldn’t be allowed to use “doctor” if she hadn’t earned it; but that’s just my hypothesis.
The mother of China’s Super-Man, Kong Kenan, and Director of the Ministry of Self-Reliance; I can’t find enough about Kong Meitei’s background to determine if she’s actually a doctor or not. Given the importance of appearances in Chinese culture and government, I suspect she wouldn’t be allowed to use “doctor” if she hadn’t earned it; but that’s just my hypothesis.
#45 Doctor Tyme
Percival Sutter is a Doom Patrol foe who became a member of the Oolong Island Science Squad with a cadre of other mad scientists. Like a few others, while we know he’s a brilliant scientist, we don’t know enough of his backstory to know what educational level he actually attained and he’s never been shown in a position that required a doctorate. He might have finished his dissertation and then gone off the deep end; he might have been kicked out of undergrad for freezing the Dean in temporal stasis. As we don’t know, he remains a “maybe.”
Percival Sutter is a Doom Patrol foe who became a member of the Oolong Island Science Squad with a cadre of other mad scientists. Like a few others, while we know he’s a brilliant scientist, we don’t know enough of his backstory to know what educational level he actually attained and he’s never been shown in a position that required a doctorate. He might have finished his dissertation and then gone off the deep end; he might have been kicked out of undergrad for freezing the Dean in temporal stasis. As we don’t know, he remains a “maybe.”