Charles "Doiby (Derby)" Dickles is a fictional character from
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 ...
. He was the original sidekick for
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and the first character to bear the name Green Lantern. He fights evil with the aid of a magical ring which grants him a variety of powers. He was created by Mar ...
(the first
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
), appearing in comic book stories starring that hero from 1941 to 1949.
The character was created by writer
Bill Finger
Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatu ...
and artist
Irwin Hasen
Irwin Hasen (July 8, 1918 – March 13, 2015) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator (with Gus Edson) of the ''Dondi'' comic strip. He also had a significant run on DC Comics' original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, in the 1940s as well ...
. In an interview, Hasen said:
Kurt Mitchell and
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
wrote that Doiby was "the first of the comic relief sidekicks that came to define the
ll-Americanapproach to super-heroics in the early '40s".
Fictional character biography
Doiby's first adventure with Green Lantern occurs when Doiby follows the Lantern while he was trailing a group of thugs. After Green Lantern was supposedly killed by the thugs, Doiby confronts them in a Green Lantern costume in an attempt to stop them. Soon after, the actual Green Lantern appears and, with the help of Doiby, saves the day. After that adventure, Green Lantern sent Doiby a quaint letter: "Doiby, I could use a good man like you to help me in my fight against all evil — How about it? -The Green Lantern". After that, Doiby began working with Alan Scott on a regular basis eventually learning that the Green Lantern and Alan Scott were one and the same.
Doiby and Alan later try to assist the creature known as
Solomon Grundy during his first appearance. It does not go well as Grundy goes on a murderous rampage and must be destroyed. He seemingly meets his end under the wheels of a train. This adventure also has a backup
Hop Harrigan
Hop Harrigan (also known as The Guardian Angel and Black Lamp) is a fictional character
published by All-American Publications. He appeared in American comic books, radio serials and film serials. He was created by Jon Blummer, and was a popular h ...
story, as did many of Doiby's 'All American Comics' adventures. This adventure is re-told in 2002, with a focus on another close friend of Alan Scott, newswoman Irene Miller.
Doiby and the Green Lantern had many adventures together, including taking on the Nazis in the
WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era. With his thick Brooklyn accent, Doiby invariably addresses Green Lantern as "Lan'trin". As a cab driver, Doiby's slogan is "Soivice that don't make youse noivice". He refers to his cab as 'Goitrude'. Doiby often assists in battle with a skilled swing of a pipe wrench. Alan Scott later becomes the head of Gotham Broadcasting, a radio station based out of Gotham City. He brings in Doiby as his personal assistant. Doiby becomes involved with Princess Raima of Myrg, an alien who flees to Earth to escape a forced marriage to an evil man named Prince Peril. He gets his friends involved, who help rescue her but not before Doiby serves time as a court jester.
As the
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
began to fade, Doiby was sent into space to marry Princess Ramia, the aliens enjoying his vast wisdom, and Alan Scott went on with his solo career. Myrg comes to resemble Doiby's beloved Brooklyn.
He briefly returns to Earth to assist the Green Lanterns in a new problem:
Sinestro
Thaal Sinestro () (or simply Sinestro) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Sinestro is a former Green Lantern Corps member who was dishonorably discharged for abu ...
has possessed his taxi. He had left it behind in
Hal Jordan's garage when he went to Myrg. The threat is eventually neutralized but Goitrude is destroyed. Doiby had traveled to Earth with a 'dimension-change' but this device is lost in the confrontation. Later, Goitrude is repaired.
Doiby continues to live as king until his position was usurped by the evil Prince Marieb.
Sometime later, Doiby joins a group called "Old Justice". It is made up of the 'sidekicks' of many Golden Age heroes. There is
Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite is a fictional character, a teen-aged superhero published by DC Comics. He was the young sidekick to the character TNT, and was created by Mort Weisinger and Hal Sharp in 1942. TNT and Dyna-Mite made their debut in ''Star Spang ...
,
Merry Pemberton
Merry Pemberton, also known as Gimmick Girl and Merry, Girl of 1000 Gimmicks is a fictional character in the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. She is the adoptive sister of Sylvester Pemberton. Merry Pemberton first appeared in ''Star-Spangled Comic ...
,
Neptune Perkins
Paintball
Paintball is a DC Comics supervillain who first appeared in ''Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.'' #2 and was created by Geoff Johns and Leo Moder.
Paul Deisinger is an art teacher who was transformed into a paint-themed criminal and became a mini ...
and the two children of
Ma Hunkel. They are convinced that the younger superheroes are not responsible enough to be involved in 'the game'.
During the ''Sins of Youth'' storyline, one of Doiby's alien devices combines with the magic from
Klarion the Witch Boy
Klarion the Witch Boy is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, having first appeared in '' The Demon'' #7 (March 1973) and was created by Jack Kirby. The character is typically portrayed as a powerful but mischie ...
. This serves to alter the ages of dozens of superheroes and supervillains. Older characters become much younger and the teens become adults. Doiby and other members of Old Justice find themselves having to herd and baby-sit adults-turned-kids, many of whom have become vastly irresponsible. They are assisted by some of the now-adult super-beings. Basing themselves out of the old JLA headquarters in
Happy Harbor
This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics.
Sites
* the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy.
* Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for ...
, the adults and kids eventually find a way to blackmail Klarion into working with Doiby to reverse the changes. This incident convinces Old Justice that Young Justice can take care of themselves.
Back to Myrg
Doiby reunites with the team because of the coincidence of Young Justice using the older hero's meeting spots. He convinces them to take him back to the planet Myrg.
Impulse
Impulse or Impulsive may refer to:
Science
* Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time
* Impulse noise (disambiguation)
* Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...
had recently received a spaceship in return for helping a rich sultan. While traveling through space, a younger version of
Lobo talks his way into joining the mission. As is usual for Lobo, he is in it for the violence.
After arriving, the team realizes Marieb had caused Doiby to be exiled from Mryg. Ramia had married the villain for the guarantee Doiby would be left alive. Marieb is defeated but the threat of the alien Slag arrives.
The Slag race enjoys the game of baseball and agrees that they would face down Young Justice and Doiby for the sake of the planet. The Young Justice team wins by blatant cheating. Doiby and his Queen are able to go back to ruling Myrg.
Doiby appears one more time to see Young Justice off in friendly terms. They use another form of transport, accidentally leaving Impulse's ship on Myrg.
Doiby made a brief appearance in ''DC 1st'' with Alan Scott.
A three-parter in ''Detective Comics'' features a flashback of Alan Scott and Doiby investigating murders in 1948.
[''Detective Comics'' #784-786 (September - November 2003)]
Powers and abilities
Doiby Dickles has no superpowers but he's a skilled street fighter and driver. He used his taxi to drive Green Lantern to any location and/or during car chases. Sometimes, while fighting, he used a pipe wrench as a weapon which allowed him to knock out his enemies. He has a
New York accent
The phonology, sound system of New York City English is popularly known as a New York accent. The New York metropolitan area, New York metropolitan accent is one of the most recognizable accent (sociolinguistics), accents of the United States, ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickles, Doiby
Comics characters introduced in 1941
Characters created by Bill Finger
DC Comics sidekicks
DC Comics male characters
Fictional characters from New York City
Fictional taxi drivers