superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
first appearing in
American comic books
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'', ...
from the
Golden Age of Comics
The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known chara ...
, originally published by
Quality Comics
Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...
and currently part of the
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 ...
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
of characters. Doll Man was created by cartoonist
Will Eisner
William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...
and first appeared in a four-page story entitled "Meet the Doll Man" in ''
Feature Comics
''Feature Comics'', originally ''Feature Funnies'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Quality Comics from 1939 until 1950, that featured short stories in the humor genre and later the superhero genre.
Publication history
T ...
'' #27. He was Quality's first super-powered character.
The issue's December 1939
cover date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
indicates that Doll Man is the first comic book
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
with a shrinking power. He notably predates the more-famous
Ray Palmer Ray Palmer may refer to:
* Raymond A. Palmer, science-fiction writer and editor
* Raymond F. Palmer, medical professor
* Ray Palmer (pastor), American pastor and author of hymns
* Ray Palmer (Arrowverse), a TV show character based on his comic boo ...
(DC's the Atom) and
Hank Pym
Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in ''Tales to ...
(
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 ...
' Ant-Man) by two decades.
Quality Comics publication history
The
secret identity
A secret identity is a person's alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalen ...
of Doll Man, "The World's Mightiest Mite", is research chemist Darrel Dane, who invents a formula that enables him to shrink to the height of six inches while retaining the full strength of his normal size. He was the first example of a shrinking superhero, and also one of the few that was unable to change to a height in between his minimum and maximum sizes (though artists would fail to keep his scale visually consistent). His first adventure in ''Feature Comics'' #27 involves the rescue of his fiancée, Martha Roberts, from a blackmailer. He subsequently decides to fight crime and adopts a red and blue costume sewn by Martha. Years later, somehow Martha's wish to be able to join him in his small size comes true, and now possessing the same shrinking powers, she becomes his partner known as Doll Girl in ''Doll Man'' #37. He also has the aid of Elmo the Wonder Dog, a
Great Dane
The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the world ...
who serves as his occasional steed and rescuer, and the "Dollplane", which was deceptively presented as a model airplane in his study when not in use. In his adventures published during
World War II
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 ...
, Doll Man was also frequently depicted riding a
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
.
The covers of Doll Man's comics frequently portrayed him tied in ropes or other bindings, in situations ranging from being tied crucifixion-style to a running sink faucet, to being hogtied to the trigger and barrel of a handgun. The persistence of this male bondage motif in Doll Man comics among others can be contrasted with other comic books which historically portrayed women in positions of vulnerability and submission.
Doll Man was the lead feature of the anthology series ''Feature Comics'' through #139 (October, 1949), with Eisner writing the early stories under the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
William Erwin Maxwell, and art contributed first by
Lou Fine
Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine at the United States
. Doll Man's own self-titled series ran from 1941 until 1953, for forty-seven issues. After the cancellation of ''Doll Man'', original stories involving the character were not published again for two decades.
Doll Man in DC Comics
Darrel Dane
After Quality Comics went out of business in 1956, DC acquired their superhero characters. Doll Man and several other former Quality properties were re-launched in ''
Justice League of America
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' #107 (October 1973) as the Freedom Fighters. As was done with many other characters DC had acquired from other publishers or that were holdovers from Golden Age titles, the Freedom Fighters were located on a parallel world, one called
Earth-X
''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...
where Nazi Germany had won
World War II
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 ...
. The team were featured in their own series for fifteen issues (1976–1978), in which the team temporarily leaves Earth-X for
Earth-1
Earth-One (also Earth-1) is a name given to two fictional universes (The Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis versions of the same universe) that have appeared in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. The first Earth-One was given its name ...
(where most DC titles were set). Doll Man was an occasional guest star in ''
All-Star Squadron
The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its se ...
'', a superhero team title that was set on Earth-2, the locale for DC's WWII-era superheroes, at a time prior to when he and the other Freedom Fighters are supposed to have left for Earth-X. Doll Man then appeared with the rest of DC's entire cast of superheroes in ''
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 March ...
'', a story that was intended to eliminate the similarly confusing histories that DC had attached to its characters by retroactively merging the various parallel worlds into one. This erased Doll Man's Earth-X days, and merged the character's ''All-Star Squadron'' and ''Freedom Fighter'' histories so that he is primarily a member of the Squadron, of which the Freedom Fighters are merely a splinter group.
Until the relaunch of the ''Freedom Fighters'' characters in 2006, Doll Man was little used by DC except for the retelling of his origin from ''Feature Comics'' #27 in ''
Secret Origins
''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters.
Publication history
''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...
'' #8 (November 1986). According to ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'' #5 (January 2007), Darrel Dane is currently alive and confined to an unnamed mental institution.
In ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'' v2 #3 (November 2007) Dane (whose given name is given as "Darryl" or "Darrel") appears as the leader of a subersive group of doll-sized soldiers. He reveals that the years spent at compressed size have damaged his mind, leaving him mentally unstable.
Lester Colt
A new Doll Man, alias Lester Colt was introduced in ''Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for
Blüdhaven
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 ...
'', a mini-series published by DC in 2006.
Lester Colt is a famous U.S. special operator, holding a B.A. in international politics and advanced degrees in the sciences. He is an "Operational Management and Strategic Adviser" to
S.H.A.D.E.
The following is a list of fictional government agency, government agencies, comic book organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints.
A Agency
The Agency was formed by Amanda Waller to serve as a small, quasi-independe ...
Colt seems to be highly trained in the martial arts, as well as being a very capable battlefield leader. Lester has a series of action figures named in his honor. However, he follows an "ends justifies the means" policy in his mission, and in ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'' #1 is shown cold-bloodly killing a drug dealer in front of the man's young son at the boy's birthday party (he had infiltrated the drug dealer's home disguised as one of his own action figures). This action earns his a severe rebuke from the revived Uncle Sam in later issues when he detects from S.H.A.D.E. and joins the new Freedom Fighters.
Colt is a highly decorated "old soldier", and his personal decorations include the
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
, six
Silver Stars
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an en ...
for gallantry, fourteen
Bronze Stars
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
for Valor, and seventeen Purple Hearts.
Colt is romantically involved with scientist and former S.H.A.D.E. employee, Emma Glenn. Eager to contribute to his country, in something other than war, Lester agreed to an experiment created by Emma's father, which reduced him to his present height. A S.H.A.D.E. squad, masquerading as a terrorist group, killed Emma's father and destroyed the lab. Now stuck at a permanent height of six inches tall, Colt attempted to distance himself from Glenn, hoping to spare her the pain of a miniaturized boyfriend. Despite this, there are still strong feelings between the two and they are learning to cope with their new situation. This is aided by trips to The Heartland, the current Freedom Fighters' extradimensional home base, where colt is mystically restored to full height for brief periods.
In the new ''Freedom Fighters'' series (2007-08), Lester undergoes a procedure with several other shrunken people, including Darrel Dane, to be returned to normal size. The experiment goes horribly wrong, and the group are fused together into a human-sized monstrosity. Lester is eventually freed and returned to his normal size.
Powers and abilities
By willing himself, Doll Man can shrink to the
height
Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is).
For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is abou ...
of six inches and a proportionate weight or return to his normal size. At his six-inch height, Doll Man retained the strength and athletics of a full grown man. In recent years, he have developed psionic powers, enabling him to levitate objects or destroy them with a mental blast. He has apparently aged a little, but not at all for decades, perhaps due to the mysticpresence of Uncle Sam. Dane wears a special costume that changes size as he does. As Doll Man, he possesses a brilliant mind, as well as unarmed combat skills.
The second Doll Man has similar powers and access to high-tech equipment.
Other versions
* A version of Doll Man and Doll Girl about whom little has been revealed briefly appeared in '' Titans Secret Files'' #2.
* DC has another unrelated character called Doll Man, a non-powered criminal who encounters
Batgirl
Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...
.
* In the final issue of '' 52'', a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-10". As a result of
Mister Mind
Mister Mind is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, he made a cameo appearance in ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' #22 (March 1943) before making his full f ...
"eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-X, including the Quality characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but a character visually similar to the Darrel Dane Doll Man appears. Based on comments by
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...
, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-X.
In other media
Television
* A super-villain called Dollman made a one-shot appearance in the 1968 Filmation cartoon series featuring
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
and Robin. He was, however, more reminiscent of the Puppet Master (a Golden Age Bat-foe from ''Detective Comics'' v.1/#212).
* The Darrel Dane version of Doll Man appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Cry Freedom Fighters", voiced by
Jason C. Miller
Jason Charles Miller is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for his solo career as well as being the lead vocalist and guitarist of the industrial rock band Godhead. He is a voice actor, appearing in various animation and video gam ...
. He appears as a member of the Freedom Fighters and accompanies them,
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
, and
Plastic Man
Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the first superheroes to ...
when freeing
Qward
Qward is a fictional world existing within an anti-matter universe that is part of the . It was first mentioned in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #2 (October 1960).
Fictional history
Krona, an Oan scientist from the planet Maltus, performed a fo ...
from the government oppression caused by the Supreme Chairman of Qward. He is also shown to have distrust toward Plastic Man when he said Plastic Man had no knowledge of patriotism.
* In the ''
Peacemaker
Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to:
Individuals and groups
* UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators
* Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...
'' episode "Better Goff Dead", the titular character mentions Dollman.
Web
An Earth-X version of Doll Man appears in the
Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed. ...
-adjacent
CW Seed
CW may stand for:
Science and technology
* centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt
* Cω, a programming language
* CW complex, a type of topological space
* Carrier wave, in radio communications
* CodeWarrior, an integrated development environ ...
Matthew Mercer
Matthew Christopher Miller (born June 29, 1982), better known as Matthew Mercer, is an American voice actor. He is best known for his work with Studiopolis, Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, and NYAV Post in anime, cartoons, and ...
.
Miscellaneous
Doll Man appears in ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...