Doctor Mist

Doctor Mist
Doctor Mist from Secret Origins #27, art by Tom Artis
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Historical: Super Friends #12 (June 1978) In Continuity: DC Comics Presents #46 (June 1981)
Created by	E. Nelson Bridwell (writer) Ramona Fradon (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Nommo
Species	Homo Magi
Team affiliations	Global Guardians Leymen
Notable aliases	Maltis
Abilities	Immortality and the ability to cast spells of illusion and enchantment.

Doctor Mist is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics.^[1] He was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon, first appearing in a cameo in Super Friends #12 (June–July 1978). Doctor Mist is based on both the Guardian of the Gate and the character of King Noot introduced in Chapter 18 of Wisdom's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard.^[2]

Publication history

Doctor Mist has appeared in the pages of Super Friends, DC Comics Presents, Infinity, Inc., Justice League International, Justice League Quarterly, Blue Beetle^[3] and Primal Force.

Fictional character biography

Origin

Nommo, the wizard-king of the African empire of Kor, stood in the Pillar of Life and was endowed with immortality. He later took the name Doctor Mist.^[1]

Global Guardians (Pre-Crisis)

Doctor Mist gathers a number of international heroes to help the Super Friends battle the Conqueror.^[4] Later, Superman teams with several international heroes at Doctor Mist's request. He is the one who first gives them the name The Global Guardians. Superman and several of the Guardians would team up to fight against the threat of Thaumar Dhai and the squad of powerful wizards who worship him. Dhai was defeated when his objects of power turned out to be Superman-created fakeries. The team later fights against the Shadow Demons in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Most of the Pre-Crisis history of the Global Guardians is no longer in the mainstream continuity of the DC Comics universe.

Global Guardians (Post-Crisis)

In 1957, the newly-formed European Economic Community established the Dome, a supra-national police organization. At some later point Doctor Mist formed the Global Guardians to serve as a task force for the Dome.^[1]

Decades later, the Dome lost its funding when, in part because of the political machinations of Dr. Klaus Cornelius, the United Nations decided to close the Dome and instead fund the new Justice League International. The Global Guardians then fractured with Doctor Mist and his assistant Belphegor, disappearing. Queen Bee of Bialya rebuilt the Dome in her country. She then brainwashed the Global Guardians into her service also creating an android Doctor Mist to lead the team.

Later on, Doctor Mist reappeared and helped Guardian members Jack O'Lantern and Owlwoman escape Bialya. Doctor Mist recruited a team to free the rest of the Guardians from Bialya mind control and then reformed the Global Guardians, building a new Dome headquarters somewhere in the Pacific.

Primal Force

An eternal, Mist's physical body was slain by an ancient force. Nonetheless, he did turn up alive and seemingly well after the Zero Hour crisis. At this time, calling himself Maltis, he formed a new team of heroes known as the Leymen. The group was short-lived. Maltis' time on the team even shorter as he had a heart attack soon after the team formed. Later, he was seemingly killed after being thrown into a pool of acid by the evil Modrus.

Powers and abilities

As a result of his exposure to the Pillar of Life, Doctor Mist was endowed with immortality. He can also cast spells of illusion and enchantment, and according to one of his origins used to craft magical gems.

Notes

• When Dr. Mist first appeared he called himself Nommo. The Nommo are ancestral spirits (sometimes referred to as deities) worshipped by the Dogon tribe of Mali, Africa. The word Nommo is derived from a Dogon word meaning, "to make one drink". The Nommos are also referred to as “Masters of the Water”, “the Monitors”, and "the Teachers”. Nommo can be a proper name of an individual, or can refer to the group of spirits as a whole.

• As initially intended by writer Jean-Marc Lofficier, Nommo's adversary in Kor was not Felix Faust but the Golden Age Doctor Fate villain, Wotan.^[5][6]

See also

• African characters in comics

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jimenez, Phil (2008), "Doctor Mist", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 105, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017 
2. ^ http://www.gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200181.txt
3. ^ Wein, Len (w), Andru, Ross (p), Bulanadi, Dan (i). "Iran Scam!" Blue Beetle 20: 21 (January, 1988), DC Comics
4. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Global Guardians", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 138, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017 
5. ^ In the original plot, Nommo, a sorcerer from the Empire of Kor in Ancient Africa, (from H. Rider Haggard's "She") created the Flame of Life from the life forces gathered after the sinking of Atlantis. Nommo later fought Wotan (changed to Felix Faust by DC), unwittingly causing the destruction of Kor when he absorbed the full power of the Flame. Changing his name to Dr. Mist, Nommo embarked on a breeding plan to foster the creation of a race of sorcerers known as "Homo Magi". As part of his centuries- spanning scheme, Dr. Mist created the various Stones of Power used by Arak, Sargon, Zatara, etc. and the Global Guardians after World War II. Zatanna is the final product of Dr. Mist's plan for a perfect mate. But Wotan (Felix Faust) returns to steal his power and revenge himself.
6. ^ Secret Origins

External links

• DCU Guide: Doctor Mist
• DCU Guide: Doctor Mist chronology