TheCrime Doctor is the name of differentsupervillains that appears inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. The Crime Doctor is an underworld medical expert who caters exclusively to criminals, originally an enemy ofBatman.[1]
The first Crime Doctor first appeared inDetective Comics #77 (July 1943), and was created byBill Finger andBob Kane.[2]
| Crime Doctor | |
|---|---|
 The Crime Doctor as depicted on the cover ofDetective Comics #77 (July 1943). Art byBob Kane. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #77 (July 1943) |
| Created by | Bill Finger (writer) Bob Kane (artist)(writer) Michael Gaydos (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dr. Matthew Thorne |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Abilities | Skilled surgeon Expert torturer Use of injector gun and scalpel |
OnEarth-Two,Matthew Thorne is a doctor who started treating criminals. His consultation with his patients have attracted the attention of Batman and Robin. Thanks to Batman's tracer invention, they were able to find his hideout. Because of an injured man showing up during the confrontation. Batman and the Crime Doctor had to work together to save the man's life. Afterwards, the Crime Doctor traps Batman and Robin where he has them tied up. He and his assistant target a formula that can change the atomic order of objects. Upon obtaining it, the Crime Doctor heads to Eastington Atom Smasher to turn the base metal there into gold. After escaping from their bondage, Batman and Robin were able to catch up to the Crime Doctor. They defeated the Crime Doctor and his assistant where they were arrested by the police.[3]
Shortly after this, the Crime Doctor escaped prison and once again opened his crime clinic, but this time he traveled across the country. Batman andRobin learned of his escape and they chased the Crime Doctor all the way to California, where the Crime Doctor saved Robin's life after he was shot by one of the doctor's henchmen. In the end, the Crime Doctor was betrayed by one of his own men, who shot him in the back. Before succumbing to the bullet wound, the Crime Doctor apologized to Batman for his criminal actions.[4][5]
The Crime Doctor appears inVillains United, where he tortures theSecret Six for the identity ofMockingbird. After escaping,Catman knocks him out with a metal tray.[6]
InBirds of Prey, the Crime Doctor attempts to leave theSecret Society of Super Villains. In response, the Society sendsPrometheus to torture his daughter Bethany. After a battle, the Birds of Prey subdue Prometheus while the Crime Doctor kills himself.[7]
InInfinite Frontier continuity,Deathstroke brings a mortally wounded Respawn to the Crime Doctor in the hope that he can be saved.[8]
| Crime Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #494 (September 1980) |
| Created by | Michael Fleisher (writer) Don Newton (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dr. Bradford Thorne |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Abilities | Skilled surgeon Expert torturer Use of injector gun and scalpel |
OnEarth-One,Bradford Thorne was a notorious physician who provided criminal services as the Crime Doctor. Thorne assisted criminals using his medical knowledge in return for a small percentage of the stolen loot. His modus operandi stumped the authorities of Gotham City and causedBatman to turn his attention on his crimes. Thorne eventually learned Batman's secret identity when Bruce Wayne went to see him, seeking his medical support. When the underworld learned that Thorne knew Batman's secret, Thorne was kidnapped by businessman Sterling T. Silversmith, who poisoned Thorne to make him reveal the truth. Batman stopped Silversmith, but Thorne's body had been damaged by themercury poisoning and the diagnosis given to him was not positive, as he was most likely to remain in a comatose state for life and in the case of an eventual recovery, his memory would be completely wiped out.[9]
During the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, the Crime Doctor was among the villains assembled byBrainiac.[10]
Sometime after the "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Bradford Thorne took his career as a doctor seriously and would not commit crimes that conflicted with hisHippocratic Oath. In later appearances however, he seemed to abandon this principle.[11]
The Crime Doctor was later used byTwo-Face to help disfigure Paul Sloan leading to his transformation into Charlatan.[12]
Crime Doctor later targeted a child in Portsmouth City and ends up defeated byDoctor Mid-Nite.[13]
| Crime Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Manhunter (vol. 3) #32 (September 2008) |
| Created by | Marc Andreyko (writer) Michael Gaydos (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dr. Anica Balcescu |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
| Abilities | Skilled surgeon Expert torturer Use of injector gun and scalpel |
Following Matthew Thorne's death, a new Crime Doctor namedAnica Balcescu, is introduced. She is aRomanian widow and a survivor ofNicolae Ceaușescu's regime who later joins the Secret Society.[14]
When working forCheetah's Secret Society of Super Villains, Crime Doctor grafted the Lasso of Truth that was stolen fromWonder Woman ontoGenocide.[15]
The original Crime Doctor had no superhuman abilities, but was a skilled physician and expert torturer. He sometimes wielded an injector gun orscalpel.
