Crime Doctor

CRIME DOCTOR

Real Name: Bradford Thorne

Class: Human villain

Occupation: Physician and part-time criminal

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Gotham City

First Appearance: Detective Comics #494 (September, 1980)

Powers: Crime Doctor’s chief weapon was his injector gun, which could gas his opponents to sleep without harming them. He also occasionally used scalpels as weapons.

History: (Detective Comics #494, 495)-Dr. Bradford Thorne was a prominent Gotham City physician who turned to crime for a thrill in life. He found himself addicted to committing crimes, even though he would never take a life in accordance with the Hippocratic oath. He built a Crime Clinic in a secret sub-basement of his town house, offering criminals medical services, a place to hide, or advice on upcoming crimes. He turned over almost all of this money over to charities, since his intention was in the thrill of crime, not its’ rewards. Called on one day to treat an injured Bruce Wayne, he was shocked when, as the Crime Doctor, he encountered Batman II and discovered them to be the same man. Batman deduced Crime Doctor’s secret identity as well. Crime Doctor decided to flee Gotham City, but a medical emergency came up, and he could not in good conscience turn away from it. Crime Doctor was then kidnapped by the eccentric crimeboss Sterling Silversmith, who demanded to know Batman’s identity. Crime Doctor refused, so Silversmith fed him quicksilver and told him he would only be saved if he gave in to Sterling’s demand. Before he could respond, Batman burst in, defeated Sterling and rushed Crime Doctor to the hospital. Crime Doctor’s life was saved, but his mind was destroyed by the quicksilver; he was left a helpless vegetable.

(JSA #59) - Crime Doctor set up one of his clinics in Portsmouth, andkidnapped homless people and harvested their organs. He was caught by Dr.Mid-Nite, who defeated Crime Doctorand sent him to Arkham.

Comments: Created by Don Newton & Michael Fleisher