InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Who ate all the pies?"

batcookies (batcookies) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-04-17 14:07:00

Entry tags:

char: doctor poison, char: etta candy, char: steve trevor, char: wonder woman/diana of themyscira, creator: william moulton marston, publisher: dc comics, series: world of wondy

Wonder Woman Villains - Doctor Poison
Before the Great Disaster, I had a few posts covering some of the lesser known Wonder Woman villains. May as well try again.

Doctor Poison was Wonder Woman's arguably Wonder Woman's first costumed/recurring villain (some argue that Ares or Hercules fit that bill).

You can check out Michael May's Adventureblog for a more in-depth analysis of Dr. Poison's first appearance. I have shamelessly "borrowed" some of his images (I have the tpb, and while I'm not a real fan of it, I'm not about to bend my copy if I can help it!).

Suffice to say, Doctor Poison is an evil Japanese mad scientist.

There's some bondage (of course! It's Golden Age Wonder Woman!)

A shocking discovery

And it ends with spanking (of course! It's Golden Age Wonder Woman!)

(I really have to go with Alan Moore in saying Marston wrote with one hand in his pocket)

We had Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then in Wonder Woman 151 Eric Luke and Matthew Clark gave us a new Dr. Poison.

Dr. Poison's "virus" has magical properties. In fact, it's derived from the blood of a demigod. Poison's an arcanobiologist, specializing in studying the biology of things far from mainstream science, like gods, techno-organic viruses, myths...

Pity about that reference to Hippolyta's tenure as Wonder Woman. Dengit, Byrne...

She most recently showed up in the crowd of Wonder Woman villains that we saw back in Heinberg's run, but it wasn't important, wasn't in character, and the less said about it the better.

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	icon_uk 2009-04-17 03:38 pm UTC (link)
	I like the idea of the DCU actually having scientists who have devoted their careers to impossible sciences which are real there; arcanobiologist is a new one on me though! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	batcookies 2009-04-17 03:44 pm UTC (link)
	Clark Kent's old girlfriend Carolyn Llewellyn is said to be "the world's foremost arcanobiologist". (Reply to this) (Parent)

	hyperactivator 2009-04-17 04:03 pm UTC (link)
	Now that is one classic mad scientist. Okay so Wonder Woman's Rouges Gallery consists of a cheetah woman,a mind control midget,any evil god or mythical creature or figure,a bird woman,a giant genius redhead, and a the only villain I've ever seen combine science and Magic other than Doctor Doom. Impressive. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	thandrak 2009-04-17 07:24 pm UTC (link)
	And a shyster who's always got a perspective on something. There'll be something coming, I think, to show some real Golden Age love. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dustbunny105 2009-04-17 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	I would boggle over the "delicate hands" bit but I'm too distracted by Dr. Poison's green upper arm. (Reply to this)

	bluefall 2009-04-17 04:52 pm UTC (link)
	Best part of Luke's run by far was the art. I love Poison's trenchcoat like burning. (Though the perma-grin I could most assuredly do without - Joker's got a well-established monopoly on that look and anybody else trying it now just comes across like a lame copycat. A black surgical mask she never takes off or something would be much better IMO.) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	batcookies 2009-04-17 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	Well it was meant to be wide-open eyes and permanently bared teeth, not a grin. I think sometimes it comes across as the former and works well, but when it ends up looking like the latter, it definitely makes me go "Joker did it better". (Reply to this) (Parent)

	killermoth1 2009-04-17 05:02 pm UTC (link)
	That's actually quite cool, I love how he studies poisons beyond regular science, a nice twist there. I only wish he had a better face mask, the smile and design just don't work for me, I'd rather have something that fitted in with the rest of his costume. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	thandrak 2009-04-17 07:25 pm UTC (link)
	... It's the _same_ look as her grandmother, you didn't notice? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	perletwo 2009-04-17 09:32 pm UTC (link)
	Who is that in silhouette speaking with Dr. Poison Jr. in the last scan? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	interrobamf 2009-04-18 12:39 pm UTC (link)
	Devastation, Eric Luke's anti-Wonder Woman, and a very lame character. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	retro_nouveau 2009-04-17 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	Bleh. I don't like this Dr. P any more than the other. I'm thinking Diana's rogues, except for Giganta and Cheetah, are pretty lame. I hope Achilles is going to be worthy. Shouldn't she sound like Arnold Wesker if she can't move her lips? (Reply to this) (Thread)

bluefall
2009-04-17 10:45 pm UTC (link)

Aw, c'mon, Retro. Arcanobiologist! She studies the very stuff of myth, and weaponizes it! People are always like "well why is this rogue particularly a Wondy rogue," and motivation is a huge, huge problem for most of them, and Poison is just completely ready-made on both those points. Why is she a Wondy rogue? Because Diana's the only one who knows what's going on when she does something! What's her motivation to come into contest with Diana? Diana is mythstuff, the very resource she uses and the very epitome of her field of study! I mean, Luke didn't do much of anything special with her, but think of the potential. The weird plagues she could create, the bizarre shit she could wake up and set loose on the world either deliberately or as a side-effect of her study, the potential to really explore the intersection of science and magic in the DCU in a way that no other character has ever touched.

Though the whole "Granddaughter of the original" is a major turn-off. If we could quietly excise that I'd like her much better.

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retro_nouveau
2009-04-18 05:49 pm UTC (link)

Well, I hate these very rare occasions when I don't immediately think, "oh, of course, Blue's right as usual", but here's my perspective...

Diana is mythstuff, cool. But she's also a warrior who rarely has to fight any other warriors. She has sneaky mind-controllers, magicians, speedster cat people, whatever you call Angle Man, and here's a freeky Dr. Mengele. Step 1, close with villain; step 2, tap on the chin and villain is out like a light; step 3, clean up bizarre icky mess. Either that or she's got to go up against gods demi-gods, demons, etc. where she really should have Zatanna and Dr. Fate by her side -- but she gets by on her own, ok, cool again. But whether it's a stand-up, knockdown dragout, or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (your idea has a lot of merit. Of course!), I'd like Diana to think, "Oh, good! If I have to interrupt dinner and pull on my boots, I'm glad it's these people again. Another chance to flex the skills that Phillipus taught me," as she flies in to extend the chance to resolve peacefully. A tiny part of her hopes they'll decline, but that might just be Darkseid's contamination of a little bit of her soul, she easily dismisses it and begins to speak. One regularly-appearing, mega-powerful warrior is all I ask.

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bluefall
2009-04-18 08:43 pm UTC (link)

But she's also a warrior who rarely has to fight any other warriors.

Oh, for sure. My absolute fondest hope with Achilles is that he'll be a lasting martial enemy - BIRDS demonstrated that Gail has some knowledge of martial arts, so it seems not implausible to me that we might get an actual scripted fight here, a regular, powerful physical foe who will perpetuate the meme of Diana as a warrior rather than a brawler by routinely engaging her in weapons combat (improvised or formal) and showcasing blocks, throws, and actual skill. Diana getting to regularly beat the crap out of someone who's a challenge to her other than poor Clark would surely do her good.

I don't see that as a reason to dismiss Poison, though; sure she's still failing to fill that particular hole in Diana's gallery, but that doesn't mean she has nothing unique to offer of her own. So Diana has too many manipulators and not enough meatshields already - well, true. But what nobody in the entire DCU has is a particularly thorough exploration of the intersection of magic and technology, and given how key a concept that is to Diana's culture post-Jimenez, I think that too is a hole in the mythos. She could be the balance to Wacky Alkyone in the long, long-neglected exploration of Diana's culture - if Wacky Alky showcases the social aspects of Themyscira, Poison could reflect further the mechanics and environment those social aspects take place in.

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retro_nouveau
2009-04-18 10:32 pm UTC (link)

Heh, we're definitely on the same page with Alky and Achilles. I'll give Dr. Poison a chance, as long as she's not torturing some third party to death for ~~kicks~~ research and development each time she shows up.

I'm totally in if I can get just one team-up with Dr. Pamela Isley, where Diana's challenges include first -- motivating Pam to give a flip about Diana's situation, and second -- keeping Pam from turning on her at a critical moment. Ok, Dr. Poison does have potential...

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puregibberish
2009-04-17 10:35 pm UTC (link)

Dr Poison has what it takes to be that rarity in comic: a genuinely scary villain. First of all her dedication to the experiment above all has some nasty callbacks to some genuine real-life cases, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Young

Secondly, the fixed grin and wide-open eyes could potentially be even more disturbing than the Joker's. When the Joker smiles it's largely voluntary (this can vary, but for the most part), but with Dr Poison, she's going to have the same expression no matter what. If you play up the drooling a little it emphasises the sheer inhumanity of the character.

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	killermoth1 2009-04-18 03:09 am UTC (link)
	... It's the _same_ look as her grandmother, you didn't notice? -------- Heck, I didn't even notice she was a woman! I agree that she could totally be a scary and threatening Wonder Woman villain though, plus she'd actually be a lot more fun and easy to write than normal scientists because you don't have to write accurately, instead you get to Break Science! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	mysteryfan 2009-04-18 02:28 pm UTC (link)
	I like the bit about Reverso's effect. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bencaldwell 2009-04-18 03:28 pm UTC (link)
	dr poison is the most undeservedly neglected villain ever. but that might be because her costumes are always so over-the-top lame. all they are missing is a twirly mustache and top hat. (Reply to this) (Parent)

psychop_rex
2009-04-19 04:48 pm UTC (link)

Creeeeeeeeeeeepy. Say what you will about Dr. Poison, but in either the past or present versions, she is one disturbing mammajamma. The fixed rictus snarl/grin... the staring, unblinking eyes from beneath a mask... As the current version points out, such an expression is thoroughly inhuman, and expresses nothing, and anyone who is capable of achieving such an expression is not someone you'd care to hang around with. If you woke up on an operating table with THAT face staring down at you, you'd know you were in deep, deep trouble.
Also, it's mildly disturbing just how many cross-dressing villains Wonder Woman used to have. I've seen a panel from one Marston story where 'Evil, Inc.', an all-female team of villains, is summoned to combat Wonder Woman, and over half of them are in drag, including Dr. Poison here. (Also 'The Blue Snowman', who is not only in drag, but in drag as a SNOWMAN! Someone has just gotta post something involving 'The Blue Snowman', 'cause I'll go CRAZY if I don't find out what her deal was!)

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