Doctor Psycho
Doctor Psycho | |
---|---|
Harry G. Peter | |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Edgar Cizko Cyril Psycho Leon Zeiko |
Species | (Zeiko): Human (Cizko & Psycho): Metahuman |
Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains Legion of Doom Cabal Suicide Squad |
Notable aliases | Carlo Montez Steve Trevor Captain Wonder |
Abilities | (All):
(Pre & Post-Crisis):
(New 52):
|
Doctor Psycho is a fictional character appearing in
Over the decades, Dr. Psycho has undergone several minor updates as comics continuities have shifted and evolved, though his distinctive physical appearance has remained largely faithful to artist
Doctor Psycho made his animation debut as a regular in Harley Quinn, voiced by Tony Hale.
Background
The character of Doctor Psycho was created by William Moulton Marston, creator of Wonder Woman and author of her original adventures, as an allegory of the folly of abnormal emotions such as misogyny and other hatreds, as well as to be another embodiment of what he called "less actively developed men" (emotionally misaligned) who needed emotional reform by a love leader (Wonder Woman). William Moulton Marston's creation of Doctor Psycho drew upon his interest in metaphysics and spiritualism. Marston, a psychologist, created Doctor Psycho as a murderous psychopath with an intense hatred of women. The character was partly inspired by actor Lon Chaney ("Man of a thousand faces") and partly by Marston's undergraduate advisor Hugo Münsterberg, who was opposed to women's suffrage and feminism.[3] Doctor Psycho was also one of several villains created for Wonder Woman who were occultists, beguiling the masses for their own self-enriching purposes.
As Wonder Woman's
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
Doctor Psycho first appears as a pawn of the Duke of Deception. God of War, Mars, enraged that women were gaining power in Earth society and potentially threatening his ability to engulf the world in war, ordered Deception to discredit women. Deception called upon Doctor Psycho to set about eliminating women from the war effort.[5]
Doctor Psycho, known as Cyril Psycho was revealed in flashback to have been a medical student who was frequently humiliated by his peers.[6] He discovered that his fiancée Marva Jane Gray was in love with college athletic champion Ben Bradley. Bradley removed him as a rival for Marva's affections by stealing $125,000 worth of radium from the college lab and hunching down in disguise so that Marva would think she saw her diminutive fiancé as the culprit.
Convicted on the basis of Marva's testimony, Psycho seethed behind bars for years, planning his revenge while developing an intense hatred of all women.[7] Upon his release, he tortured and killed Bradley, who falsely confessed that Marva was his willing accomplice. Psycho then kidnapped and tortured Marva, hypnotically compelling her to marry him, and then subjecting her to daily occult experiments.
Learning that he could use Marva as a medium for summoning ectoplasm he could use at will to fashion and animate human forms around his own misshapen body, he created a new career for himself as an occultist and sham psychic who developed a following of millions.
At Deception's urging, he used his fame as an occultist to campaign for eliminating women from the war effort by creating an ectoplasmic form purporting to be the spirit of George Washington, claiming that women were hindering the war effort. He also disguised himself as Colonel Darnell of Military Intelligence to frame female staff of military intelligence for espionage.
With the aid of Steve Trevor and the Holliday College girls, Wonder Woman disrupted his plot but was forced to let him go, unable to prove any of his crimes in a court of law.[8] Doctor Psycho fixated his pathological hatred of women into fantasies of revenge against Wonder Woman.
Freed from Psycho's influence, Marva joined the WAACs and helped Wonder Woman expose Nazi saboteur Stoffer, who had disguised himself as General Scott.[9]
Psycho was eventually imprisoned but escaped by faking his own death, kidnapping Marva and then his former secretary, Joan White, to use as mediums for his ectoplasmic power. He attempted to court Etta Candy in a disguise, but his cover was blown by Etta's suitor Oscar Sweetgulper and he was returned to prison.[10]
In the Golden Age, Psycho's brother
Psycho eventually realized that he could use Steve Trevor as a medium. Kidnapping Trevor, he fashioned an ectoplasmic dream of power from Trevor's unconscious mind and became the powerful "Captain Wonder", who teamed up with the Silver Swan to destroy Wonder Woman. His powerful form was destroyed when Trevor awakened from his slumber.
When the
Post-Crisis
Post-
Dr. Psycho's plans are foiled and he subsequently spends some time as a patient in a mental facility, confined to a padded room and a straitjacket. Several members of the time-lost Legion of Super-Heroes were in telepathic range. When Saturn Girl mentally shouts for a lost member, this awakened Dr. Psycho enough for him to attack several staff members and flee. The call brought him to the Legion, whom he also attacks.
In the
After the events of the 6th issue of
One Year Later, Doctor Psycho is arrested and put on trial with Kate Spencer (Manhunter) as his defense attorney. Following his arrest, he is abandoned by the Society. During the trial, he uses his mind-controlling abilities to make Spencer dream of herself dressed as Wonder Woman in a scene reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum. Before the trial verdict could be revealed, his powers are returned to him as a result of his ties to the Society who had constructed the machine that was blocking them. He uses his telepathy to hold the people in the courtroom hostage.
This forces Spencer to try to put on her uniform but she instead reveals herself to Doctor Psycho as Manhunter. Psycho then makes Kate put on her suit, but drops his guard to sneak a kiss with her, resulting in him being stabbed in the stomach and head. This causes him to forget about Kate's alter-ego and lose his powers.
Doctor Psycho has lately been shown still in a position of authority with the Society in the Secret Six miniseries. He has been working with former enemy Cheshire for Vandal Savage and hiring various villains to put out hits on other Secret Six members. In the final issue of Secret Six (December 2006), he is stabbed repeatedly and seriously injured by the Mad Hatter.
He resurfaced with his powers restored and amplified by
On the cover of Justice League of America vol. 2 #13, it shows Doctor Psycho as a member of the latest
During the Final Crisis storyline, Genocide was sent to the DMA (Department of Metahuman Affairs) Headquarters to retrieve Doctor Psycho, who is held captive there.[14]
The New 52
In September 2011,
After learning of Superboy's origin, which remains unknown to Superboy, he attempts to befriend him. The two are attacked by agents of H.I.V.E, which they defeat. They form an alliance against the organization.[16] During their investigation, they run into a girl with psionic powers named Sarah, her powers manifest into a being called Decay; she had been previously experimented on by the H.I.V.E.[17]
He later appears in Teen Titans vol. 4 #11, where he is on the Metropolis prison talking with Psimon. Then he appears in Teen Titans vol. 4 #13, where he is trying to get Raven's powers, but he accidentally looks into her mind, where he sees her killing him.
Later during the "
During the "
DC Rebirth
After the events of DC Rebirth, Doctor Psycho's history had been altered. Using his illusions to pose as a scientist for A.R.G.U.S. named Dr. Edward Carne, Doctor Psycho was first seen after Vanessa Kapatelis was defeated and brought into custody by Wonder Woman. As Doctor Carne, Psycho told Wonder Woman that when Vanessa woke from her comatose state that he would be there for her.[20]
Doctor Psycho later appeared as a member of the Cabal alongside Per Degaton, Queen Bee, Amazo, and Hugo Strange.[21]
Later, Doctor Psycho was one of several powerful psychics kidnapped by Amanda Waller to hack into Brainiac's mind.[22]
In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Doctor Psycho is among the villains that attend an underground meeting held by the Riddler, where they talk about the Superman Theory.[23]
When the Sovereign conspired to turn the world against the Amazons, Sarge Steel recruited Doctor Psycho and several other villains to kill Wonder Woman.[24]
Powers and abilities
Doctor Psycho is a skilled
In The New 52 continuity, Doctor Psycho possesses
Other versions
Wonder Woman: Earth One
Doctor Psycho appears as a primary antagonist in the second volume of Wonder Woman: Earth One by writer Grant Morrison and artist Yanick Paquette. This version of the character is of average height and named Dr. Leon Zeiko, a hypnotist and pick-up artist who manipulates Wonder Woman.
In other media
Television
- Doctor Psycho appears in the Powerless episode "Emergency Punch-Up", portrayed by an uncredited Ronnie Zappa.
- Doctor Psycho appears in Parademon army. Furious over this, he quits the crew and joins forces with the Riddler to obtain a mind control helmet so he can enslave the Parademons that Harley left behind and most of her crew and strikes a deal with Darkseid to kill Harley in exchange for an army large enough to take over the world. After he is ultimately foiled by Harley, Ivy, and the Justice League, he is subsequently sent to Arkham Asylum, where he gains better control of his emotions with help from the recently elected Mayor Joker's rehabilitation program and has started an anger-management podcast that he runs from within his cell in the third season.
Video games
- Doctor Psycho appears in LexCorp-funded experimental facility within Metropolis General Hospital. In the villain campaign, the players help him capture Supergirl so he can study her DNAon Lex Luthor's behalf. In the hero campaign, the heroes defeat Psycho and rescue Supergirl.
- Doctor Psycho appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
Miscellaneous
- Doctor Psycho appears in Dr. Psycho's Circus of Crime, by Paul Kupperberg and published by Capstone as part of their DC Super Heroes line of illustrated children's books.[30]
- Doctor Psycho appears in a flashback depicted in Teen Titans Go! #54.
- Doctor Psycho appears in All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #4. He and several Wonder Woman villains join forces with an assortment of Batman villains to crash their respective enemies' wedding, but are swiftly defeated by the Justice League and the Amazons.[31]
- Doctor Psycho appears in Wonder Woman '77 Special #1. This version possesses telepathic machines and is imprisoned in a mental institution.[32]
- An alternate universe incarnation of Doctor Psycho appears in issue #2 of the Justice League: Gods and Monsters tie-in comics. This version is Dr. Jackson Alpert, a former member of the CIA's MKUltra program who disagreed with his superiors and conducted experiments on unwilling and unaware subjects using psychotropic drugs so he could "set them free" and bring them to the next stage of human evolution. After leaving the CIA, Alpert traveled to New York to continue his experiments, turning his subjects into wild, violent creatures in the process. After acquiring Bekka / Wonder Woman's Mother Box's crystal gems, Alpert accelerated his research, founded the Eternity Institute in Switzerland, became a recluse, developed extraordinary advances in science, medicine, and technology, and secretly harvested the Justice League's DNA over the course of the next 40 years. Additionally, he created the Forever People as a result of his efforts to further develop humanity and lead them to a new world of peace and order. In his dying years, he evolves into Imperiex using the League's DNA and the Forever Formula, but is killed by Bekka.[33]
See also
References
- ^ OCLC 213309017.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Lepore, Jill (2014). "The Last Amazon". The New Yorker.
- ISBN 978-1605490557.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- ISBN 978-0345501073.
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ Wonder Woman #5
- ^ Sensation Comics #20
- ^ Wonder Woman #18
- ^ Wonder Woman #323
- ^ Wonder Woman Vol 2 #54
- ^ Wonder Woman vol. 3 #1
- ^ Wonder Woman vol. 3 #27
- ^ Superboy vol. 6 #18 (May 2013)
- ^ Superboy vol. 6 #20 (July 2013)
- ^ Superboy vol. 6 #21 (August 2013)
- ^ a b Justice League Dark #22
- ^ Justice League of America vol. 3 #7
- ^ Wonder Woman vol. 5 #40 (April 2018)
- ^ Plastic Man vol. 5 #4. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League: No Justice #1 (2018)
- ^ Doomsday Clock #6 (July 2018). DC Comics.
- ^ Wonder Woman #4-5 (2024). DC Comics.
- ^ Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol 1 #7 (September 1985)
- ^ Wonder Woman: Secret Files and Origins Vol 1 #3 (May 2002)
- ^ Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace Vol 1 #10 (July 2020)
- ^ "'Harley Quinn': Alan Tudyk Explains How His Joker Is Different Than Mark Hamill's". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
Here's a funny story, Tony Hale plays Psycho, Doctor Psycho (...)
- ^ "Harley Quinn animated series supporting character breakdowns revealed". Flickering Myth. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
- ^ "Dr. Psycho's Circus of Crime". Capstone. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ^ All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #4
- ^ Wonder Woman '77 Special #1 (2015). DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League: Gods and Monsters #2. DC Comics.