Chief Douglas Parker is a supporting character in stories published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
featuring
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...
, the younger version of
Superman.
Publication history
Chief Douglas Parker first appeared in ''
Adventure Comics'' #225 (June 1956) and was created by
Alvin Schwartz and
Curt Swan.
Fictional character biography
Pre-Crisis
Douglas Parker first encountered the future Superboy as a rookie officer on the
Smallville Police Department (although Parker remained unaware of this fact). Parker apprehended the Pumpkin Gang while being secretly assisted by Clark Kent, who was still a toddler at the time. The capture earned the officer a promotion to
police captain
A police captain is a police rank in some countries, such as the United States and France and in the Philippines.
By country France
France uses the rank of ''capitaine'' for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. Th ...
. He would steadily advance in the ranks, eventually becoming Smalllville's
chief of police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the b ...
.
Chief Parker was a staunch ally of the Boy of Steel. In fact, Superboy entrusted him with a signal device linked to a lamp in the Kent home. The lamp would flicker whenever Superboy was being summoned. Lana Lang's father Professor Lewis Lang and the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
were given similar devices.
As the chief law enforcement official in Superboy's hometown, Parker often encountered the Boy of Steel's allies and enemies. He helped restore Superboy's reputation after a rash of incidents engineered by the
Kryptonian teenager
Dev-Em
Dev-Em is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics. He first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #287 (June 1961), created by Jerry Siegel and George Papp. Various versions of the Dev-Em character has appeared over the years in '' Legion of Su ...
. Chief Parker and his wife Leah briefly welcomed teenager "Marie Elkins" into their home, unaware that she was actually
Duo Damsel
Triplicate Girl (Luornu Durgo) is a fictional character, a superhero in the 30th and 31st centuries of the and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She has also had the aliases Duo Damsel, Triad, Una, Duplicate Damsel and Duplicate Girl.
P ...
, a member of the futuristic
Legion of Super-Heroes who was hiding from the sorcerer
Mordru
Mordru (also known as Mordru the Merciless) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan, Mordru first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #369 (June 1968).
Considered ...
. Most notably, Parker was frequently forced to contend with Superboy's most persistent enemy, the teenage scientific genius
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...
.
After the deaths of
Jonathan and Martha Kent
Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent, often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent (respectively), are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman. They live in the rural town of Smallville, ...
, an eighteen-year-old Superboy left Smallville for
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big ci ...
and eventually changed his name to Superman. Parker retired from law enforcement, occasionally visiting the vacant Kent home to ensure that it did not fall into disrepair.
Post-Crisis
Following the ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...
'' limited series, Superman's history was revised, such that Clark Kent did not begin his public superhero career until adulthood, and thus never operated as Superboy. While most of the Boy of Steel's supporting characters (Lana Lang,
Pete Ross
Peter Joseph Ross is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Publication history
The character was created by Leo Dorfman and George Papp and first appeared in ''Superboy'' #86 (January 1961).
Fictional c ...
, the Kents) were reinterpreted for the revised continuity, Chief Parker was not. He has made almost no comic book appearances since the conclusion of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' in 1986. However, it has been established that — in post-''
Infinite Crisis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...
'' continuity — Parker was indeed the Smallville Police Chief during Clark's childhood. He was the one who told a younger
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...
that his father had died.
['' Superman: Secret Origin'' #2 (December 2009). DC Comics.]
In other media
* Chief Parker makes his only live-action appearance in the pilot episode of ''
The Adventures of Superboy'' TV series that was produced in 1961, portrayed by
Robert Williams. The pilot was never picked up for broadcast, but is available today on various websites, and was included in the DVD box set ''Smallville: The Complete Series'' (which was released in November 2011).
* On the long-running ''
Smallville'' television series, the Kansas town is identified as part of the fictitious Lowell County and law enforcement is overseen by the county sheriff instead of Chief Parker. The position of county sheriff was first held by Ethan Miller (portrayed by
Mitchell Kosterman
'' Smallville'' is an American television series developed by writer/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and was initially broadcast by The WB. After its fifth season, the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which was the second broadcaster ...
). After Miller was arrested for the attempted murder of
Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor is a fictional character portrayed by John Glover in the television series ''Smallville''. The character was initially a special guest in season one, and became a series regular in season two and continued until being written out o ...
and the framing of Jonathan Kent, he was succeeded by Nancy Adams (portrayed by
Camille Mitchell
Camille Janclaire Mitchell is an actress, writer and director.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Canada, she is the daughter of Cameron Mitchell and trained at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and at The Royal Central School of Sp ...
) who appears in 22 episodes until the episode "Lockdown" when she is killed by Deputy Harris at the time when she and her fiancé Greg Flynn was search for the black ship.
References
External links
Douglas Parker (Earth-One)at DC Comics Wiki
Douglas Parker (New Earth)at DC Comics Wiki
{{Superboy
DC Comics characters
Comics characters introduced in 1956
DC Comics police officers
Fictional characters from Kansas