| Doctor Psycho | |
|---|---|
.png) Edgar Cizko as Doctor Psycho as depicted from a splash page ofWonder Woman #789. Art byWade Von Grawbadger. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Wonder Woman #5 (June / July 1943) |
| Created by | William Moulton Marston 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 inDC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superheroWonder Woman.[1] Doctor Psycho first appears inWonder Woman #5 (1943), written by Wonder Woman creatorWilliam Moulton Marston. Doctor Psycho has been one of Wonder Woman's most persistent enemies, reappearing throughout theGolden,Silver,Bronze, andModern Age of Comics.[2]
Over the decades, Doctor Psycho has undergone several minor updates as comics continuities have shifted and evolved, though his distinctive physical appearance has remained largely faithful to artistHarry G. Peter's original 1943 design. After DC Comics rebooted its continuity in 1985 (in a publication event known as theCrisis on Infinite Earths), Wonder Woman, her supporting characters and many of her foes were re-imagined and reintroduced. Prior to this reboot, Psycho demonstrated a command over the occult and was able to harness supernatural energies to project illusions. Since his post-Crisis reintroduction, the character has been presented as an extremely powerfultelepath andtelekinetic. Despite these changes, Psycho has consistently been portrayed as amisogynisticperson of short stature who has mental illness (ranging from mild obsessiveness to full-blowndissociation).
Doctor Psycho made his animation debut as a regular in the TV seriesHarley Quinn, voiced byTony Hale.
The character of Doctor Psycho was created byWilliam 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). Marston's creation of Psycho drew upon his interest inmetaphysics andspiritualism. Marston, a psychologist, created Psycho as a murderous psychopath with an intense hatred of women. The character was partly inspired by actorLon Chaney ("Man of a thousand faces") and partly by Marston's undergraduate advisorHugo Münsterberg, who was opposed to women's suffrage and feminism.[3] Psycho was also one ofseveral villains created for Wonder Woman who wereoccultists, beguiling the masses for their own self-enriching purposes.
Wonder Woman's rogues andsupporting cast were largely jettisoned during the period that Robert Kanigher wrote and edited the issues, but Doctor Psycho remained one of the few villains to appear in theGolden,Silver, andBronze Age adventures.[4] The character was also one of the few such villains to be modernized in the early issues of the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Wonder Woman.
Doctor Psycho first appears as a pawn of theDuke of Deception.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 Psycho to set about eliminating women from the war effort.[5]
Doctor Psycho, known asCyril 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 ofradium from a college laboratory 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 summoningectoplasm 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 ofGeorge 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 release him, 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 courtEtta 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 brotherIronsides was a brilliant geologist who was also a villain. Ironsides invented the Iron Giant's disguise. He did not, however, display any superpowers.
Psycho eventually realized that he could use Steve Trevor as a medium. Kidnapping Trevor, he fashioned an ectoplasmic dream of power from Trevor'sunconscious mind and became the powerfulCaptain Wonder who teamed with theSilver Swan to destroy Wonder Woman. His powerful form was destroyed when Trevor awakened from his slumber.
When theMonitor was testing heroes and villains in the run-up to the Crisis on Infinite Earths, he set up Doctor Psycho to retrieve ectoplasmic machinery from military intelligence and to fight with several of Wonder Woman's other rogues, but they were defeated by the combined might of Wonder Woman and Etta Candy, who used the ectoplasm machine to create a superpowered version of herself patterned after Wonder Woman.[11]
Post-Crisis Dr. Psycho is introduced asEdgar Cizko, a telepath with the ability to enter and sometimes shape other people's dreams.[12] Psycho was enlisted byCirce to create disturbing dreams for Wonder Woman's close friend,Vanessa Kapatelis, with the result that Wonder Woman would be forced to separate herself from her closest allies. This was part of a plot intended to leave Wonder Woman isolated and create widespread public fear of her fellow Amazons. Psycho later helps warp Kapatelis' damaged psyche to turn her into the new Silver Swan.[1]
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-lostLegion of Super-Heroes were in telepathic range. WhenSaturn 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 theVillains United miniseries leading up toInfinite Crisis, Psycho appears as a core member ofLex Luthor'sSecret Society of Super Villains. Working withTalia al Ghul, he recruits many supervillains for the Society, but he is rejected and successfully rebuffed byCatman. He threatens to have Catman kill himself. The presence of the man's loyal pack of lions convinces Psycho that he might be eaten if he forces Catman to harm himself. This rejection angers him, causing much grumbling for some time afterwards. He also spends time working withDeathstroke to capture one of theMarvel Family. Other members of the Society realize that Psycho is trying to mentally influence them. Unaffected, they dismiss it as something to be expected.
FollowingInfinite Crisis, Psycho travels withWarp to freeDoomsday from captivity near the center of the Earth. He takes control of Doomsday and uses him to spearhead a supervillain assault on Metropolis. The villains lose this battle.[1]
DuringOne Year Later, Doctor Psycho is arrested and put on trial withKate Spencer (Manhunter) as his defense attorney. Following his arrest, he is abandoned by the Secret Society of Super Villains. 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 compels Kate to put on her suit, but he 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 was subsequently shown in a position of authority with the Society in theSecret Six miniseries. He worked with former enemyCheshire forVandal Savage, hiring various villains to put out hits on other Secret Six members. In the final issue ofSecret Six (December 2006), he is stabbed repeatedly and seriously injured by theMad Hatter.
He resurfaced with his powers restored and amplified by Circe in the Wonder Woman series beginning in 2006. He was assistingCheetah andGiganta.[13] On the cover ofJustice League of America (vol. 2) #13, it shows Doctor Psycho as a member of the latestInjustice League.
During theFinal Crisis storyline,Genocide was sent to the headquarters of the Department of Metahuman Affairs (DMA) to retrieve Doctor Psycho, who was held captive there.[14]
In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Doctor Psycho first appears inSuperboy; a con man psychic who practicesseance, using his telepathy tosteal the identities of customers inManhattan. The purpose of this guise is to hide fromH.I.V.E., who are hunting those with telepathic abilities. He first encountersSuperboy after hearing about aliens in the city. Hisastral form is unintentionally pulled into the mind of Superboy, who is fightingPlasmus.[15]
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 encounter Sarah, a girl with psionic powers that manifest into a being calledDecay; she had been previously experimented on by H.I.V.E.[17]
Doctor Psycho later appears inTeen Titans (vol. 4) #11, where he is at the Metropolis prison talking withPsimon. Then he appears inTeen Titans (vol. 4) #13, where he is trying to acquireRaven's powers, but he accidentally looks into her mind, where he sees her killing him.
Later during the "Trinity War" storyline,Question gives Superman a newspaper clipping stating that Doctor Psycho was sighted inKhandaq the day whenDoctor Light was killed. This causes Superman, Question, and the Justice League to go after Doctor Psycho.[18] Superman, Question, and the others arrive in Pittsburgh to confront Doctor Psycho.Martian Manhunter looks into Doctor Psycho's mind and learns that he was sent to Khandaq by the Secret Society but did not do anything to control Superman's mind.[19]
InForever Evil, Doctor Psycho is among the villains recruited by theCrime Syndicate to join the Secret Society of Super Villains.[18] Then he appears inJustice League (vol. 2) #29, where he is sent by the Society, along with theFearsome Five andHector Hammond, to fight againstCyborg and theMetal Men. He ends up being defeated by the Metal Man, Gold.
After the events ofDC Rebirth, Doctor Psycho's history had been altered. Using his illusions to pose as a scientist forA.R.G.U.S. named Dr. Edward Carne, Doctor Psycho was first seen afterVanessa 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 appears as a member of the Cabal alongsidePer Degaton,Queen Bee,Amazo, andHugo Strange.[21]
Later, Doctor Psycho is one of several powerful psychics kidnapped byAmanda Waller to hack intoBrainiac's mind.[22]
InDoomsday Clock, Doctor Psycho is among the villains who attend an underground meeting held by theRiddler to discuss the Superman Theory.[23]
When the Sovereign conspires to turn the world against the Amazons,Sarge Steel recruits Doctor Psycho and several other villains to kill Wonder Woman.[24]
Doctor Psycho is a skilledoccultist and utilizes psionic powers to traumatize or terrify those who stand in his way. In two original appearances, he hypnotizes his victims to drawectoplasm into the physical world, which Psycho shaped into various disguises.[25][26]
InThe New 52 continuity, Doctor Psycho possessespsychokinetic capabilities, although Edgar has stated that he had possessed every one of them imaginable. However, he does not have the enough energy required to use his abilities in their fullest capacity.[27] He can overcome this weakness by siphoning mental energies from other psychic individuals, such as Superboy.
Doctor Psycho appears as a primary antagonist in the second volume ofWonder Woman: Earth One by writerGrant Morrison and artistYanick Paquette. This version of the character is of average height and namedLeon Zeiko, a hypnotist and pick-up artist who manipulates Wonder Woman.
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