| Doctor Hurt | |
|---|---|
 Simon Hurt as depicted inBatman and Robin #14 (October 2010). Art byFrank Quitely. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Unnamed:Batman #156 (June 1963) As Simon Hurt:Batman #673 (June 2008) |
| Created by | Sheldon Moldoff (writer) Charles Paris (artist) 2008 revision byGrant Morrison |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Simon Hurt |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Black Glove Club of Villains Religion of Crime |
| Notable aliases | The Hole in Things, Mangrove Pierce, Dr. Hurt, El Penitente, Thomas Wayne, Barbatos |
| Abilities | Possible immortality Master ofpsychology Highly intelligent Expert strategist and tactician |
Dr. Simon Hurt, commonly known simply asDoctor Hurt, is a fictional character from theDC Comics universe. First appearing as an unnamed character inBatman #156 (June 1963), the character was retroactively revived in 2008 by writerGrant Morrison and established asThomas Wayne, a distant relative of Bruce Wayne and his fatherThomas Wayne.
Visually, Doctor Hurt is based on an unnamed scientist who appears inBatman #156 (June 1963), in a story titled "Robin Dies at Dawn".[1] The character made behind-the-scenes appearances throughout Morrison's run before appearing fully in the first chapter of "Batman R.I.P."[2][3]
The character was first called "Doctor Simon Hurt" inBatman #674.[4] He is a brilliant psychologist whose true identity and nature is an enigma. Has been implied to be the devil, the demonBarbatos, a supernaturally-empowered ancestor of Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne's long-lost twin brother, Bruce Wayne's father, an instrument ofDarkseid, 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 inBatman,The Return of Bruce Wayne, andBatman and Robin, as well as behind-the-scenes inFinal Crisis.
Apsychiatrist, Doctor Hurt is involved in a program that creates three "replacement Batmen" with the participation of theGotham City Police Department. Sometime after the replacements are trained, Hurt joins theDepartment of Defense to oversee an isolation experiment. During this process, he givesBatman a post-hypnotic trigger connected to the phrase "Zur-En-Arrh".
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 theBlack Glove when they decide to target Batman and his allies.[5] Hurt is presumed dead after a helicopter explosion, but survives and resurfaces in Mexico.[6] WithJoker working as an unreliable ally, Hurt releases a drug into Gotham's air to drive its citizens insane. Hurt shootsDick Grayson in the head and attempts to forceDamian Wayne to swear allegiance to him. However, Dick survives and eventually recovers while Batman defeats Hurt.[7][8] Hurt escapes before the Joker subdues him.[9]
Hurt also appears inConvergence, where he is killed in battle with Batman.[10]
In theDC Rebirth relaunch, Hurt's immortality is derived from the Hyper-Adapter, a time-traveling device created by Darkseid.[11][12]
Hurt claims to beDr. 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 theJoker 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 "Batman R.I.P.", however, Batman begins to wonder whether Hurt reallyis the devil. Batman states that Darkseid is attempting to "incarnate" in Hurt.[13]
Following numerous hints and plot threads throughoutBatman and Robin andBatman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, the mystery of Hurt's identity was seemingly resolved inBatman and Robin #16, in which he was identified as a devil-worshipping ancestor of Bruce Wayne's named Thomas Wayne (first mentioned inBatman and Robin #10 and appearing inBatman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #4). The issue reveals that centuries beforehand, Hurt attempted to summon the demonBarbatos but instead was confronted by the Hyper-Adapter, a hyper-dimensional creature tasked byDarkseid 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.[14] This was previously referenced in Morrison'sBatman #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.[15] Grant Morrison explains the ambiguity during an interview inWizard Magazine:[16]
There's a doctor who's got some good lines in the original storyRobin Dies At Dawn, and he's never named. I thought, "What if he's a bad guy?" That became Dr. Hurt. I thought, "Wow...there was a guy who had access to Batman's psychology for 10 days. That's my villain!" I also thought it was a way to sort of reinvigorate those old stories, as a service to DC, to sell some more of the older books and collections.
The minute I say who he is...it will stop people talking. I was trying to do a definitive Batman story. Batman's stories tend to put Batman against a diabolical mastermind. I thought, "Who's the ultimate diabolical mastermind?" This is a story about Batman's Black Casebook which is all the mysterious cases, the ones that are supernatural or bizarre. So for me, this is the ultimate supernatural Batman story. There are clues, there are places in fact, where they actually state who's he up against in the story. But people don't want to accept the supernatural explanation. But yes: This is the story of how Batman cheats The Devil.— Grant Morrison, "Batman: RIP Director's Commentary",Wizard #211 (May 2009)
Hurt appears in the "Batman in Bethlehem" alternate future where Damian Wayne became Batman. InBatman Incorporated (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.[17]
