Lemuel Dorcas is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. He is notable for playing a part in the origins of

Namor Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. ...

villains

Tiger Shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...

, Orka, and

Piranha A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, ...

Publication history

Dr. Lemuel Dorcas first appeared in ''Sub-Mariner'' #5-6 (September-October 1968), and was created by

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 ...

and

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

. The character subsequently appeared in ''Sub-Mariner'' #15 (July 1969), #23-24 (March-April 1970), #33 (January 1971), ''Marvel Team-Up'' #14 (October 1973), and ''Super-Villain Team-Up'' #1-3 (August-December 1975). The character made a posthumous appearance in ''Marvel Tales'' #249 (May 1991), and his body was later dumped into the ocean in ''Namor'' #42 (September 1993). Doctor Dorcas received an entry in the '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #17.

Fictional character biography

Dr. Lemuel Dorcas was a marine biologist, genetic engineer, inventor, and would-be conqueror. Dorcas was responsible for transforming injured Olympic swimmer Todd Arliss into the superhuman

by blending his DNA with the DNA samples of

and a

tiger shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...

. Dorcas planned to use Tiger Shark as a pawn in his schemes of world conquest. Dorcas formed an alliance with the

Atlantean As an adjective, Atlantean (or Atlantian) means "of or pertaining to Atlas or Atlantis". Atlantean may also refer to: * Atlantean figures, a type of ancient artifacts * ''Atlantean'' (documentary series), a trilogy of TV films discussing the ori ...

Warlord Krang. Krang provided his follower Orka as a test subject and Dorcas endowed Orka with the powers of a

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

. Warlord Krang and Dorcas used Orka and a fleet of killer whales to attack

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

, but were thwarted by Namor and interference by Tiger Shark. Dorcas and Warlord Krang later formed a secret alliance with

Byrrah ''Homo mermanus'' is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the inhabitants of Atlantis in the Marvel Universe. Namor the Sub-Mariner is the most n ...

in a plot to keep Namor from being crowned prince of Atlantis and allow Byrrah to take the crown. Namor captured Dorcas and Warlord Krang, who revealed Byrrah's involvement in the plot, thus ruining his bid for power. Dorcas was also responsible for the creation of

when a normal piranha was exposed to the remaining radiation from Dorcas' previous experiment.

Attuma Attuma is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an Atlantean nomadic warlord who is usually depicted as an enemy of Namor the Sub-Mariner, and is the father of the superhero Andromeda. He believes he i ...

, Dorcas, and Tiger Shark captured

Hydro-Base The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

and took Namor prisoner there. Namor regained his freedom with the help of the Hydro-Men and attacked the conspirators, throwing Tiger Shark into one of Attuma's war machines. As Dorcas was able to fire a lethal blast from his hand weapon at Namor, the machine toppled on top of Dorcas and crushed him to death. Namor and

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...

pushed the Octo-Mek and Dorcas's corpse into the ocean. The Octo-Mek later developed slight sentience and became a robot based on Dorcas. Lemuel Dorcas turns up alive, having survived due to the

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

-related experiments he had conducted upon himself and kept his survival secret. Upon setting up a base in Tetiaroa Atoll, Doctor Dorcas mutated several creatures to serve him and kept them under his control with neuroleeches. He also hired the handsome Kei to bring him women. Lemuel Dorcas then developed an obsession for

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

where he kidnapped her and repaired her vocal cords as he intends to make Songbird his slave. However, Songbird was able to escape from Doctor Dorcas's clutches, as with the surgery restoring her persuasive powers as well, she turned Doctor Dorcas's henchmen against him.''Thunderbolts'' #171 (May 2012). Marvel Comics.

Powers and abilities

Lemuel Dorcas did not have powers at first, but he does possess scientific knowledge. He employed many devices ranging from the Morphotron to laser guns and

nuclear bombs A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

. Upon resurfacing following his apparent death, Dorcas mutated himself with starfish tissue, which allows him to breathe underwater or regrow lost limbs.

Other versions

A version of Dorcas appears in the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters in ...

reality. This version is an Atlantean who serves as an advisor to Namora. During the "

Ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...

" storyline, the

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during ...

, and Dr. Arthur Molekevic fight Doctor Dorcas alongside Namora and

in Atlantis and defeat him.''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' #60. Marvel Comics.

References

External links

Dr. Lemuel Dorcas
at Marvel Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorcas, Dr. Lemuel Characters created by John Buscema Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1968 Fictional biologists Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics hybrids Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics supervillains