Golden Age Body Count: Doctor Fate
Filed under: Comics
Stories from the Golden Age of comics generally had a great deal more death than comics today where super-heroes have their vows against killing. More often than not, Golden Age villains died at the end of the story (especially if they were mad scientists or crime bosses), often in a poetic manner. Even Batman and Superman, while they usually didn’t kill the villains outright, often did nothing to stop their easily preventable death.
However, of all the Golden Age heroes, Doctor Fate had the highest body count. Here’s a quick tally of all the opponents he killed in just his first year of appearances:
| Appearance | Comic | Body Count |
| 1 | More Fun Comics #55 | 1 mad scientist |
| 2 | More Fun Comics #56 | (no one)1 |
| 3 | More Fun Comics #57 | 1 sorcerer |
| 4 | More Fun Comics #58 | 1 sorcerer + “thousands” of fish |
| 5 | More Fun Comics #59 | large alien spaceship |
| 6 | More Fun Comics #60 | medium-sized enemy spaceship2 |
| 7 | More Fun Comics #61 | an entire planet3 + 1 mad scientist |
| 8 | More Fun Comics #62 | 1 mad scientist |
| 9 | More Fun Comics #63 | 1 sorcerer |
| 10 | More Fun Comics #64 | 1 Mayan god + 1 unfortunate explorer |
| 11 | More Fun Comics #65 | underwater city |
| 12 | More Fun Comics #66 | 1 criminal |
Notes:
1. While not killed outright, Wotan was chained to a rock for eternity within a hidden cavern deep in the earth — like Loki, only without the venomous snake.
2. It was piloted by tiny men, so that counts double, right?
3. An entire inhabited planet destroyed, forty years before Phoenix was essentially put to death for the same actions.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Details on that planet, man! Details!
January 20th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Moral of the story. Don’t piss off Dr. Fate. He will END you and the planet you’re on.
That Mayan god had it comin’.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:10 am
What did he heave against fish?
Werre they evil fish?
January 20th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Dang. The doctor adds whole new layers of meaning to the phrase “collateral damage.”
January 20th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Since Dr. Fate killed a Mayan god, are we safe for the world not ending in 2012?
January 20th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Unfortunately, the Mayan god he killed was Annual Blossom Reborn, God of Extending Calendars, thus dooming us all. If ABR had survived, he would’ve extended the Mayan calendar another zillion years. He also would’ve taken care of that Y2K think by ‘94, ‘95 at the latest. The 2038 Unix time problem would’ve been handled, too.
Thanks, Fate! Way to go.
January 20th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Have you been reading “What Were They Thinking?” lately, Scott? he’s been posting clips of some of those body counts.
http://luchins.com/
January 24th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
You know that unfortunate explorers are going to get it. That may have been what actually set me against becoming an explorer: They always get killed in the sci fi shows, sci fi books and also (it seems) comic books. And it’s always by evil aliens or superheroes, they never fall off of a mountain or get the bends.
Oh Well. . .
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