Dr. Simon Hurt, commonly known simply as Doctor Hurt, is a fictional character from the

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 ...

universe. First appearing as an unnamed character in ''

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 ...

'' #156 (June 1963), the character was retroactively revived in 2008 by writer

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

and established as Thomas Wayne, a distant relative of Bruce Wayne and his father

Thomas Wayne Dr. Thomas Wayne, Doctor of Medicine, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayn ...

Development info

Visually, Doctor Hurt is based on an unnamed scientist who appears in ''Batman'' #156 (June 1963), in a story titled "Robin Dies at Dawn". The character made behind-the-scenes appearances throughout Morrison's run before appearing fully in the first chapter of "

Batman R.I.P. Batman R.I.P. is an American comic book story arc published in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #676–681 by DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Tony Daniel, and with covers by Alex Ross, the story pits the superhero Batman against t ...

" The character was first called "Doctor Simon Hurt" in ''Batman'' #674. He is a brilliant psychologist whose true identity and nature is an enigma. Has been implied to be the devil, the demon Barbatos, a supernaturally-empowered ancestor of Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne's long-lost twin brother, Bruce Wayne's father, an instrument of

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...

, and Darkseid himself. Hurt is dedicated to destroying Batman in body, mind, and soul, and replacing him with an evil counterpart. Doctor Hurt led both the Black Glove and the Club of Villains against Batman in "Batman R.I.P." Hurt was the main antagonist of Morrison's run on Batman titles from 2007 to 2011, appearing in ''

'', ''

The Return of Bruce Wayne ''Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne'' is a 6-issue American comic book limited series published by DC Comics beginning in May to November 2010, written by Grant Morrison and featuring a team of rotating artists starting with Chris Sprouse and Fraz ...

'', and ''

Batman and Robin 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 Comi ...

'', as well as behind-the-scenes in ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

''.

Fictional character biography

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, Doctor Hurt is involved in a program that creates three "replacement Batmen" with the participation of the

Gotham City Police Department 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 ...

. Sometime after the replacements are trained, Hurt joins the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

to oversee an isolation experiment. During this process, he gives

a post-hypnotic trigger connected to the phrase "

Zur-En-Arrh Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is a character appearing in media published by DC Comics. Introduced in the Silver Age, the character is an alien named Tlano from the planet Zur-En-Arrh who decided to become a version of Batman for his own planet. The char ...

". Going over his notes on Batman's psychology, Hurt realizes that Batman is "powered by tragedy" and intends to traumatize the three replacements to make them better crimefighters. Years later, Doctor Hurt is working with the

Black Glove ''Black Glove'' is a Ugandan mystery-thriller-fashion noir film created and produced by Douglas Dubois Sebamala and directed by Angella Emurwon. The film follows three friends who go on a vacation on Independence Day and they meet a beautiful wom ...

when they decide to target Batman and his allies. Hurt is presumed dead after a helicopter explosion, but survives and resurfaces in Mexico. With Joker working as an unreliable ally, Hurt releases a drug into Gotham's air to drive its citizens insane. Hurt shoots

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ' ...

in the head and attempts to force

Damian Wayne Damian Thomas Wayne is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. He was created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert. Damian Wayne is the biological son of Bruce Wayne/Batman. His mo ...

to swear allegiance to him. However, Dick survives and eventually recovers while Batman defeats Hurt. Hurt escapes before the Joker subdues him. Hurt also appears in ''

Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

'', where he is killed in battle with Batman.

''DC Rebirth''

In the ''

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...

'' relaunch, Hurt's immortality is derived from the Hyper-Adapter, a time-traveling device created by Darkseid.

Character overview

Hurt claims to be Dr. Thomas Wayne, the name being shared with a devil-worshiping ancestor back in the 18th century. Batman initially suspects him to be the actor Mangrove Pierce, dismissing the belief of the third replacement Batman and the Joker that Hurt is the devil; Hurt alludes to this possibility several times using metaphor only, claiming "I am the hole in things...", "the enemy", "the piece that can never fit, there since the beginning", all cryptic statements that relate to the mythology of a demonic figure. Near the end of "

", however, Batman begins to wonder whether Hurt really ''is'' the devil. Batman states that Darkseid is attempting to "incarnate" in Hurt. Following numerous hints and plot threads throughout ''

'' and '' Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne'', the mystery of Hurt's identity was seemingly resolved in ''Batman and Robin'' #16, in which he was identified as a devil-worshipping ancestor of Bruce Wayne's named Thomas Wayne (first mentioned in ''Batman and Robin'' #10 and appearing in ''Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne'' #4). The issue reveals that centuries beforehand, Hurt attempted to summon the demon Barbatos but instead was confronted by the Hyper-Adapter, a hyper-dimensional creature tasked by

with overseeing Batman's voyage through history after the villain's Omega Effect struck him. Corrupted — or perhaps possessed — by the Hyper-Adapter's energies, this Thomas Wayne became extremely long-lived (potentially immortal), living until the present day, when he was taken in by Batman's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Wishing to help him, the Waynes send him to Willowood Asylum, a reference to a Pre-''Crisis'' story in which Bruce had a mentally damaged brother who was sent to the same facility. This was previously referenced in Morrison's ''Batman'' #702, which showed the asylum as the same hospital to which Thomas Wayne Jr. was sent. Batman and Dick Grayson conclude this reading of events to be the truth, and impartial flashbacks in the issue appear to confirm it as accurate. However, the insane Hurt continues to claim throughout the issue that he is both Thomas Wayne and the devil. However, since Hurt was already an adult man when the Waynes met him, it seems unlikely that they would have claimed him to be their son, Thomas Jr. As Bruce Wayne travels through time as a result of the Omega Effect, Hurt is seen as a doctor in Willowood, rather than a patient. Grant Morrison explains the ambiguity during an interview in ''Wizard'' Magazine:

Other versions

Hurt appears in the "Batman in Bethlehem" alternate future where Damian Wayne became Batman. In ''

Batman Incorporated ''Batman Incorporated'' (''Batman, Inc.'') is an ongoing American comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring the superhero Batman. Written by Grant Morrison, the series debuted following the events of '' Batman R.I.P'', ''Final Crisis'', ...

'' (vol. 2) #5. Damian fails to stop a "Joker Virus" from devastating Gotham City. Hurt, having become a personal advisor to the President of the United States, convinces the president to destroy Gotham with a nuclear weapon.''Batman Incorporated'' (vol. 2) #5. DC Comics.

References