Doctor Occult ( Richard Occult, sometimes nicknamed the Ghost Detective, and one time referred to as Doctor Mystic) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (the creators of Superman), Doctor Occult is an occult detective, private investigator and magic user who specializes in cases involving the supernatural.
Publication history
Mainstream version
Golden Age titles
Doctor Occult first appeared in the sixth issue of the
anthology comic books series
New Fun in October 1935.
(New Fun was retitled
More Fun beginning with issue #7 and again to
More Fun Comics with issue #20.) The character was credited to "Leger and Reuths" — partial anagrams of Siegel and Shuster's surnames.
Later, Siegel and Shuster left the character for the more popular
Superman.
Occult was depicted as a supernatural detective whose detecting style was in the style of Sam Spade, but with supernatural abilities. Supporting characters in the strip included Rose Psychic and Occult's butler.
Renamed to "Dr. Mystic", Occult also appeared in Centaur Publications' The Comics Magazine #1 (May 1936), with that story continuing in DC's More Fun Comics #14-17. In this story, he travels to a mystic realm where he flies and wears a cape, making him the first caped comic book superhero.
Bronze Age revival
After years of obscurity, the character was revived in the 1980s, appearing in issues of
All-Star Squadron,
[ All-Star Squadron #49, 50, 53, 54, 57, 59 and 60] Swamp Thing,
[ Swamp Thing #49 and 50] and
Crisis on Infinite Earths.
[ Crisis on Infinite Earths #11 and 12]
Modern Age revivals
The character had a featured
origin story in
Secret Origins #17 (1987).
He later appeared in comics such as
Neil Gaiman's
The Books of Magic (1991),
[ Books of Magic #1-4] The Trenchcoat Brigade (alongside
Mister E, the
Phantom Stranger, and
John Constantine) (1999),
[ Trenchcoat Brigade #1-4] and "Day of Judgement" (1999) as part of the Sentinels of Magic.
[ Day of Judgment #1-5]
Reboot
In The New 52 continuity reboot, Doctor Occult appears in
Justice League Dark,
Constantine,
Secret Six, and
The Books of Magic series.
Other versions
Doctor Occult appears in comic books outside of the mainstream
DC Universe in what is referred to as the multiverse. Many are adaptation tie-ins, including
Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #14,
#9, and #1.
Occult also appears in issue #2 of the Elseworld comic series .
Fictional character biography
The fictional character's origin was revealed in
Secret Origins (vol. 2) #17. (August 1987) by E. Nelson Bridewell and Roy Thomas. They depicted him and his partner Rose Psychic being slated as human sacrifices at the hands of a demonic cult, but were rescued by a shadowy group called "The Seven". The two were later trained in the use of occult magics themselves. Thirty-six years later, Doctor Occult establishes a detective agency and joins the All-Star Squadron during World War II. After Occult sacrifices his soul to defeat the Stalker, Rose fuses with him to save his life.
Occult has used sorcery to halt his aging, causing him to appear middle-aged despite being born in the late 1800s.
In 1991, Occult appeared in The Books of Magic, written by Neil Gaiman. He, Mister E, the Phantom Stranger, and John Constantine mentor Timothy Hunter and guide him to become a powerful magician.
In Day of Judgment, Occult joins the Sentinels of Magic, a group created to prevent artifacts such as the Spear of Destiny from falling into the wrong hands.
Occult appears as a main character in Reign in Hell, where he enters Hell to find Rose Psychic.
In The New 52, Occult is depicted as the keeper of the House of Secrets.[ Justice League Dark #12] In the DC All In series Justice League Unlimited (vol. 2), he joins the expanded Justice League.
Powers and abilities
Doctor Occult has the powers of astral projection, hypnosis, illusion creating, and telekinesis. He wields a powerful talisman, a sphere or disc with a black and white pattern, called the Mystic Symbol of the Seven. It grants him the powers of clairvoyance, exorcism, deflection, and force field projection.
In other media
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Doctor Occult appears as a non-playable character in DC Universe Online.
-
Doctor Occult appears as a character summon in .
Reception
Bill Reed of Comic Book Resources praised the character saying that
DC Comics could portray more of him despite him not having the staying power as other supernatural heroes such as
Phantom Stranger or
John Constantine.
