History: (Detective Comics I #469, 470) - Dr. Sartorius was a wealthy member of Gotham City's exclusive Tobacconists' Club who invested his life savings with city council chair Rupert Thorne, who was constructing a private nuclear power plant in Gotham. The people of Gotham rioted, not wanting the plant in their backyard, and Thorne was forced to move the plant three miles offshore in the Atlantic. The builders cut corners on the project, and when Sartorius inspected it he noticed a crack in the reactor core. As it exploded he dove behind a pile of sandbags, causing millions of red-hot sand grains to be driven through his body. The radiation changed the sand from silicon to phosphorus, and Sartorius' body was mutated into a pure phosphorus form. His mind became unhinged, and calling himself Dr. Phosphorus he began a campaign of terror against Gotham City. Dr. Phosphorus soaked himself in the Gotham Reservoir, poisoning the water and causing dozens of people to fall ill in Gotham City. Batman’s butler Alfred collapsed and fell into a coma, and he had to drive him to the hospital in his Batmobile because there were no ambulances available in Gotham. The doctors told Batman 50 other people had fallen ill with the same mysterious sickness in the last hour. Commissioner Gordon was at the hospital, and presented Batman with a note the police station had received from Dr. Phosphorus. Phosphorus stated that the people of Gotham city had earned his wrath, and would pay for their sins against him with their lives. Batman returned to Wayne tower, trying to figure out the source of the illness, and realized it was the drinking water. It was still nighttime, and Batman feared that by morning most of Gotham would be sick. He called up Gordon, who told Batman he’d just drank some water and felt sick himself. Before passing out Gordon told Batman not to let him down. Batman traveled to the Gotham Reservoir, where he was confronted by Dr. Phosphorus. Batman and Phosphorus fought, and Batman had a rough go of it because he burned at Phosphorus’ touch. Phosphorus wrapped his hands around Batman’s neck, and they tumbled into the reservoir. Underwater Phosphorus no longer burned, and Batman was able to escape his grasp. Phosphorus told Batman he was a worthy for, and it would be a shame to kill him during their first battle, so he fled. Dr. Phosphorus visited Dr. Bell, who’d introduced him to the Tobacconists' Club, and said that while he’d have his revenge on the city council for having created him he’d spare Bell’s life if he kept Batman from interfering with him. Thorne was more than happy to go after Batman, he’d been trying to crack down on Batman for years, nervous of someone who wasn’t in his back pocket, but commissioner Gordon had always stood in his way. With Gordon in the hospital after drinking tainted water Chief O’Hara and the GCPD were ordered to have no further contact with Batman, and Batman was issued a subpoena to appear before a grand jury. Phosphorus visited the Sprang Memorial Arena during a rock concert, and allowed the toxic fumes from his body to get in the air-conditioning system. He sealed the arena exits, poisoning the hundreds of concert-goers. Dr. Phosphorus hid out in the offshore power plant, with Thorne providing longshoremen as security. Batman saw the entire city council was against him, and as Bruce Wayne he threw a yacht party, inviting Thorne and the rest of the council so they’d be distracted. Bruce slipped away from the party, changed into Batman, and confronted Dr. Phosphorus. The fight went badly for Phosphorus, who seemingly died after falling into the power plant’s rebuilt nuclear core.