Dummy (DC Comics)
Dummy is the name of several characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Publication history
[edit]The original Dummy first appears in Leading Comics #1 and was created by Mort Weisinger and Mort Meskin. He is not to be confused with Scarface, the ventriloquist dummy/alter-ego operated by Arnold Wesker. In addition to his Leading Comics appearances, the Dummy fought the Vigilante in six Golden Age stories: Action Comics #58 (March 1943), #63 (August 1943), #69 (February 1944), #75 (August 1944), #87 (August 1945) and #96 (May 1946); although the Vigilante remained a regular Action Comics feature until issue #198 (November 1954), issue #96 was the Dummy's final appearance for many years.
The second, known as Danny the Dummy, first appears in Batman #134 (September 1960) and was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff.[1]
Fictional character biographies
[edit]Original Dummy
[edit]| Dummy | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Leading Comics #1 (December 1941) |
| Created by | Mort Weisinger (writer) Mort Meskin (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Monster Society of Evil Injustice Unlimited |
| Abilities | Skilled inventor |
The Dummy is an archenemy of the Golden Age era Vigilante, and a skilled inventor of weapons. As the leader of a criminal gang, the Dummy pretends to be a ventriloquist dummy through whom the gang's supposed "true" leader conveys instructions, the gang never suspecting that the Dummy himself is their leader. The Dummy's secret identity is never revealed, and it is never made clear whether he is a human or living dummy.[2]
The Dummy later joins Mister Mind's Monster Society of Evil and Injustice Unlimited.[3][4] In the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot, he is killed in battle with Vigilante.[5]
In DC Rebirth, the Dummy is reimagined as a Victorian man who was magically transformed into a living dummy.[6][7]
Danny the Dummy
[edit]| Dummy | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Batman #134 (September 1960) |
| Created by | Bill Finger (writer) Sheldon Moldoff (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Danny the Dummy |
Danny the Dummy, a pint-sized ventriloquist in a top hat and suit, has a hit act in which he plays the dummy to a normal-sized "ventriloquist" named Matt (who is revealed as the real dummy at the end of each show). But the fact that people invariably refer to Danny as "the Dummy" infuriates him, and inspires him to use dummies for crime to make dummies out of the law.[8]
Powers and abilities
[edit]The original Dummy is a skilled inventor. He wields a cane in battle that can fire powerful force beams.
In other media
[edit]Television
[edit]The first incarnation of the Dummy makes minor non-speaking appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.
Film
[edit]- The first incarnation of the Dummy makes a cameo appearance in Justice League: The New Frontier.
- The first incarnation of the Dummy appears in Lego DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters, voiced by James Arnold Taylor.[9] This version is a member of the Monster Society of Evil.
Miscellaneous
[edit]The first incarnation of the Dummy appears in a flashback depicted in issue #4 of the Arrowverse tie-in comic miniseries Earth-Prime, in which he joins several supervillains in fighting Pat Dugan and the Star-Spangled Kid.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 105–106. ISBN 9780345501066.
- ^
- Leading Comics #1 (December 1941). DC Comics.
- Action Comics #58 (March 1943). DC Comics.
- Action Comics #63 (August 1943). DC Comics.
- Leading Comics #8 (September 1943). DC Comics.
- Action Comics #69 (February 1944). DC Comics.
- World's Finest #246. DC Comics.
- ^ All-Star Squadron #51-54. DC Comics.
- ^ Infinity Inc. #51-53. DC Comics.
- ^ Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #4. DC Comics.
- ^ Shazam (vol. 3) #10 (January 2020). DC Comics.
- ^ Shazam (vol. 3) #11 (February 2020). DC Comics.
- ^ Batman #134. DC Comics.
- ^ "Dummy Voice - LEGO DC: Shazam! Magic and Monsters (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 2, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Earth-Prime #4. DC Comics.
External links
[edit]- Comics characters introduced in 1941
- Comics characters introduced in 1960
- Characters created by Bill Finger
- Characters created by Mort Weisinger
- Characters created by Sheldon Moldoff
- DC Comics supervillains
- Fictional characters from the 19th century
- Fictional dolls and dummies
- Fictional inventors in comics
- Vigilante characters in comics