Dr. Karl Hellfern, a.k.a. Dr. Death, was the first recurring villain Batman ever faced. He appeared in the third Batman story ever written. In the previous two stories, Batman had faced fairly ordinary crooks, but Dr. Death was a whole new ballpark. Admittedly, in his early years, Dr. Death was nothing too special: a generic mad scientist in a goatee and monocle who sought wealth and power. However, it was still a much more colorful character than previous antagonists had been, and unlike those previous antagonists, who were finished off promptly, Hellfern returned to bedevil the Dark Knight again.
Ever since his first appearance, Dr. Death has continually popped up throughout Batman’s history. What’s interesting about the villain is that every time he shows up, the writers reimagine him. In the Bronze Age, a remake of Death’s first story was made, which featured a new take on Hellfern who looked more or less the same as he had in the Golden Age, but was given more complexities to his character, as he was disabled and stuck in a wheelchair, his physical impairments partially responsible for his resentment towards mankind.
Later, he was reimagined as a criminal scientist who would sell his inventions and poisons to the highest bidder, coming up with all kinds of crazy schemes, usually acting as support for a larger antagonist. Initially, this version of the character seemed to be set up as something of a nemesis for Batgirl, and was given a kooky personality and colorful visual design. However, this same version of the character – at least in terms of depiction – would quickly darken and shift again.
This leads to my favorite incarnation of the villain (the one pictured here): in this take, Hellfern was still an evil scientist who sold his concoctions and creations on the black market, often working for more well-known rogues, like Hush and Black Mask. However, he had a much more serious and unsettling personality, matched by an equally unnerving visual design. I really loved the almost Kroenen-esque trenchcoat-and-gas-mask look this take on Dr. Death had; it was so simple yet so effective, and harkened back to the character’s “Age of the Pulps” origins while not being a redesign of his more stereotypical look from years past.
Most recently, in the New 52, a drastically different take on Hellfern was presented as the secondary antagonist of the story arc “Zero Year” (the Riddler was the main villain there). In this version, we got a much more sympathetic take on Dr. Death: a chemist and surgeon who, due to personal tragedy, tries to find a way to strengthen the human body. The formula he tests on himself is meant to improve bone growth and structure…but the experiment goes horribly awry, causing him to transform into hideous monster as his bone matter grows at an exponential rate.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Dr. Death, especially in his late 2000s “Gas Mask Look.” My main problem with him, however, is that there’s very little consistency to him. He’s always a mad scientist who uses chemicals, but that’s kind of a vague set up. And while it’s easy for me to say what my personal favorite interpretation is, I really dislike it when characters are so frequently reinterpreted. It’s the same problem I have with characters like King Shark: they just keep changing over and over, and it’s hard for me to really figure out who and what they are supposed to be.
However, while with King Shark I don’t think there’s any one take I really enjoy 100%...I can safely say I know how I like Dr. Death, and the other interpretations all have their own merits, too. He has yet to appear in other media, and his appearances in comics are somewhat sporadic, so despite his status as Batman’s canonical first nemesis, he’s often overlooked or unheard of by mainstream audiences and readers. I hope someday that changes.
The countdown continues tomorrow, where I’ll be covering my 28th Favorite Batman Villain…or, rather Villains.
HINT: Three is a Magic Number.
