Doctor Death (Dr. Karl Hellfern) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in publications by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, primarily as an enemy of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

. Created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and

Bob Kane Robert Kane ( Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator, and artist who created Batman and many early related characters for DC Comics. He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby ...

, he first appeared in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #29 (July 1939). He is notable as the first traditional supervillain to be encountered by Batman as well as his first recurring foe.

Publication history

The character first appeared in

#29 in 1939. The scriptwriter for ''Detective Comics'' #29 and #30 is an issue of dispute, leaving the creator of Doctor Death uncertain. Batman creator

is officially credited as scriptwriter of these issues, though later

, the scriptwriter of ''Detective Comics'' #31 and #32, claimed authorship.

Fictional character biography

Golden Age

In his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #29, Doctor Death develops a lethal chemical agent from

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

extract and plans to use the poison to extort money from wealthy

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

citizens. He is assisted by a large

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

n manservant Jabah. He decides to eliminate Batman, and threatens to kill someone unless Batman stops him. Batman defeats his two henchmen, but is wounded when Jabah shoots him, though he escapes using a gas pellet. He then gets to Doctor Death's base, meeting him in his lab, and chases him around the building. To evade capture, Doctor Death ignites chemicals in his laboratory, presumably killing Jabah and himself in the resulting explosion. Doctor Death next appears the following month in ''Detective Comics'' #30. With a new accomplice, a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

named Mikhail, Doctor Death is this time successful in claiming a victim in his extortion scheme, but discovers from the widow that the poisoned man lost his fortune in the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Batman intervenes in the plot, following Mikhail back to Doctor Death's base, and upon apprehending the doctor, discovers that his face had been horribly disfigured from the lab explosion, giving him a brown, skeletal appearance.

Bronze Age revival

After several decades' absence, writer

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

reintroduced Doctor Death in ''Batman'' #345 and ''Detective Comics'' #512 (1982). Conway's story is an update of the original 1939 tale. In this version, Doctor Death is depicted as a

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

, but his deadly gas gimmick remains the same. He is assisted this time by a manservant named Togo.

Modern Age

Doctor Death was revived once again in ''

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

'' #42-44 and #50 (2003–2004) by writer Dylan Horrocks. The modern version of the character is a producer of biological weapons, often selling them on the black market to terrorists and other criminals. He is now depicted as a bald,

gnome A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

-like man wearing a lab coat and an oxygen mask.

''The New 52''

In ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

'' continuity reboot, Doctor Death is a disgruntled former

Wayne Enterprises Wayne Enterprises, also known as Wayne Corporation, Waynecorp, Wayne Industries, Wayne Technologies and Waynetech, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batm ...

scientist who created a serum that causes uncontrolled bone growth and possesses a skeletal appearance due to testing it on himself. He is killed in battle with Batman after being affected by the serum.

Other characters named Doctor Death

* A different character named Doctor Death appears in ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...

'' #107 (November 1966). * In '' Sandman Mystery Theatre'' #21 (December 1994), Wesley Dodds encounters a serial killer named "Doctor Death", a.k.a. Dr. Raymond Kesslor. This Doctor Death euthanizes elderly patients, in a reference to

Jack Kevorkian Murad Jacob Kevorkian (May 26, 1928 – June 3, 2011) was an American pathologist and euthanasia proponent. He publicly championed a terminal patient's right to die by physician-assisted suicide, embodied in his quote, "Dying is not a crime" ...

. * A rogue doctor styling himself "Doctor Death" is the villain of the Scoop Smith story in ''Whiz Comics'' #2. This issue features the first appearance of Captain Marvel, later Shazam.

In other media

Doctor Death appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.