Doctor Alchemy is a name used by three different

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 ...

s appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published 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 ...

. The most notable was Albert Desmond, who originally used the name of Mister Element. The character appeared as a recurring cast member on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

television series third season of ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' played by Tom Felton. The character makes his cinematic debut in the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comic ...

film ''

'', played by

Rudy Mancuso Rodolfo Mancuso (born 1992) is an American Internet personality, musician, writer, filmmaker, and actor. He is known for making comedy skits with his friends on YouTube and Vine as well as for being behind many voices in the YouTube channel ''A ...

Publication history

The character of Albert Desmond, created by John Broome and

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

, first appeared in ''Showcase'' #13 (April 1958) as Mister Element. His second, and more frequently used, identity of Doctor Alchemy first appeared in ''Showcase'' #14 (June 1958). The Alchemist made his first appearance in ''The Flash'' (vol. 2) #71 (Feb. 1992) and was created by writer

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Da ...

and artist

Greg LaRocque Greg LaRocque (born February 24, 1954) is an American comics artist best known for his work on the ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''The Flash''. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, LaRocque worked as an assistant teacher at the Professional I ...

. The character of Alexander Petrov made his first appearance in ''The Flash'' (vol. 2) #202 (Nov. 2003) and was created by

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash (comics), Flash, and Superman has drawn critical accl ...

and Alberto Dose.

Fictional character biography

Albert Desmond

Albert Desmond is a lowly chemist who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Desmond has two distinct personalities: one major driving personality and another criminally inclined one. Under his darker personality, he applies his knowledge of chemistry to create the identity of Mister Element. He creates elemental weapons such as bulletproof silicon to shield his cars, and discovers a new element, Elemento, a magnetic light with which he sent the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

into space. After being sent to jail as a result of his first encounter with the Flash, he learns of the

Philosopher's Stone The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to mak ...

from his cellmate. He escapes jail, finds the Philosopher's Stone, and uses its power to transmute elements to restart his criminal career under a new identity – Doctor Alchemy. Eventually his good personality resurfaces, causing him to quit crime and hide the Philosopher's Stone. Shortly after, a new Doctor Alchemy appears and is revealed to be his astral twin "Alvin" Desmond, with whom he shares a psychic link. It was later revealed that "Alvin" was a construct of the Stone created by Albert's criminal personality. When Albert confronts and defeats Alvin, he resumes the identity of Doctor Alchemy.''Who's Who in the DC Universe'' #6 (Aug. 1985) While he was incarcerated, both of his costumed identities were used by others: Curtis Engstrom using the Philosopher's Stone as the Alchemist and Alexander Petrov using the Mister Element identity.

Curtis Engstrom

Dr. Curtis Engstrom is an advisor on a S.T.A.R. Labs project that involved using the Philosopher's Stone to power a medical computer. He stole the computer with the help of a small-time crook, Moe "Mouthpiece" Miglian, but he was later arrested. After escaping from prison, Engstrom donned his own Dr. Alchemy costume and set out to retrieve the microchip that had been taken from him by Miglian, calling himself the Alchemist. After being defeated, Engstrom and Miglian were both arrested.

Alexander Petrov

Alexander Petrov is a

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

working for the

Keystone City This page lists the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites Arrowcave The Arrowcave is the former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. Avernus Cemetery Avernus Cemetery is a hidden burial gro ...

Police Department who used an ice-based weapon created by Mister Element to commit crimes and further his career. His plan comes undone when profiler Ashley Zolomon enters his office as he is putting on his mask. The

stops him from killing Zolomon, but

Captain Cold Captain Cold (Leonard Snart) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in '' Showcase'' #8 (June 1957). In his comic book appearances, ...

interrupts them before the Flash can take him into custody and kills Petrov for breaking one of the rules of the Rogues' code of "ethics" – not framing other Rogues for crimes.

Powers and abilities

As Mister Element, Desmond dons a suit equipped with an

oxygen mask An oxygen mask is a mask that provides a method to transfer breathing gas, breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover only the nose and mouth (oral nasal mask) or the entire face (full-face mask). They may be ma ...

and selects the model of

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

as his suit emblem. Doctor Alchemy possesses the Philosopher's Stone which once belonged to

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

. By pressing the stone in various points, he has the ability to transmute any substance into any other substance (e.g., steel into rubber, or oxygen into carbon monoxide) and also possesses the power to transform the molecular structure of the human body, having once turned the Flash into a being of water vapor. Albert Desmond can also control the Philosopher's Stone from a distance via telekinesis.

In other media

Television

* Doctor Alchemy and Mister Element make non-speaking cameo appearances in the ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' episode "Flash and Substance". * Julian Albert Desmond / Doctor Alchemy appears in the third season of ''

'' (2014), portrayed by Tom Felton and voiced by

Tobin Bell Tobin Bell (born Joseph Henry Tobin Jr.; August 7, 1942) is an American actor. Appearing in over 100 titles during a five-decade career, he is most recognized for his role as John Kramer / Jigsaw in the ''Saw'' franchise. Bell started his a ...

. This version is a British forensic scientist,

Barry Allen Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second character known as the Flash, following Flash (Jay Garrick), Jay Garrick. The character first appeared in ''Showcase (comic ...

's rival in the Central City Police Department (CCPD), and was created by a time aberration caused by the creation and erasure of the " Flashpoint" timeline. In the past, Desmond led an archeological team to locate the

philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to mak ...

, intending to use it to resurrect his dead sister. While Desmond finds the stone, his team was killed and he began to experience blackouts, during which Savitar forced him to work for him and restore the Flashpoint timeline's inhabitants. After being saved from Savitar, Desmond makes amends with Allen and works with him to defeat Savitar before returning to the United Kingdom.

Film

Albert Desmond appears in ''

'' (2023), portrayed by

. This version is a member of the Central City Police Department and co-worker of

and

Patty Spivot Patricia "Patty" Spivot is a fictional character who appears in various DC Comics publications and was created by writer Cary Bates and artist Irv Novick. She is a friend and partner of the second Flash, Barry Allen. She first appeared in "Five ...

. Additionally, an alternate reality variant of Desmond who became Allen and Spivot's roommate makes a minor appearance.

Video games

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

References

External links

* Doctor Alchemy/Mister Element I at DC Database * Mister Element II at DC Database *

Alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

at DC Database
Doctor Alchemy
at Comic Vine {{Flash Groups of fictional characters Characters created by Carmine Infantino Characters created by Geoff Johns Characters created by John Broome Characters created by Mark Waid Comics characters introduced in 1958 Comics characters introduced in 1992 Comics characters introduced in 2003 DC Comics male supervillains DC Comics metahumans DC Comics police officers DC Comics telekinetics Fictional characters who use magic Fictional avatars Fictional British people Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder Fictional characters with elemental transmutation abilities Fictional chemists Fictional criminologists Fictional murderers Flash (comics) characters