Why Are the Good Psychiatrists Always Evil?
I read Countdown to Mystery and I have to say that I am not excited by the new Dr. Fate. A failed psychiatrist is the new Doctor? Come to think of it, has there ever been a successful good guy psychiatrist in comics?
Doc Samson probably comes the closest. When written by Peter David, he had his brief moments of competence. Other than that, his history is made up of failures and of non-psychiatric-related adventuring and inventing.
Dr Wolper? He didn’t have a great deal of success with either Harvey Dent or the Joker.
Dr. Arkham? Has anyone at Arkham Asylum actually been cured — or even helped?
The bad guys, on the other hand, have their share of successful psychiatrists. Some of them are so successful at being villains because they’re competent psychiatrists (Moonstone, for example). Dr. Psycho, Hugo Strange, Harley Quinn, Maxilla Yale are all good villains and proficient psychiatrist.
This good/evil competent psychiatrist dichotomy just reinforces my belief that comic book writers use “psychiatrist” as shorthand for denoting a character who is shady or sinister, but it would be nice to see an effective heroic psychiatrist every once in a while.
September 24th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Most heroes follow the “Fisher King” archtype of a Great Man with a Dramatic Wound. Since most heroes are also physical paragons, this means that the wound is most often mental. A psychiatric villain is best suited to exploit suck a weakness. (An efficient psychiatric hero would also be able to “cure” their opponents, like the Golden Age Wonder Woman, and then be left with no continuing Rogue’s Gallery, doomed to be forgotten or live off of other heroes’ greatness. Like the GA WW…)
Not that I don’t think comic writers don’t use “Psychiatrist” as shorthand for “Mind Manipulator of Dubious Moral Character”. But then, that and the the Physical Hero/Mental Villain dichotomy are all just part of the way that intelligence is held suspect in comics. Yes, all heroes are “geniuses” as the plot demands. But the ones that are supposed to be really smart are also really messed up. Bruce Banner and Hank Pym are full on nuts. Hank McCoy has Dark Beast. Reed Richards is a borderline Sociopath. And nobody trusts Batman. If you have a Doctorate, or heck, just wear a lab coat, you are going to turn out to be the villain sooner rather than later.
September 24th, 2007 at 11:34 am
I’ve known my fair share of psychiatrists (or aspiring psychiatrists), and yes, they’re all bad. ;p
September 24th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
I agree with your overall thesis but think you’re being premature about the new Dr. Fate. There’s no indication in the story that he wasn’t a good psychiatrist. We see how Kent Nelson failed one patient — with catastrophic results — because he didn’t recognize or get help for his own depression following the collapse of his marriage. This is not necessarily a sign of incompetence. Possibly it’s a sign of excessive pride or arrogance that he wasn’t seeking adequate therapy for himself, but if so he wouldn’t be the first heroic figure in literature to be punished for hubris with tragedy and loss of status. A classic beginning to a story, I’d say! And it surely happens in real life to real psychiatrists.
Gerber is the writer in comics who’s done the most to give psychiatry a fair depiction in his stories and has tried to elevate the realism of psychological states throughout his career, so it’s wrong to just lump him in with everyone who reflexively uses the cheap stereotypes you rightly deplore.
September 24th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Unfortunately the stereotype has more truth in it than one might care to admit.
September 24th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Isn’t Xavier potraited as psychiatrist? Even though he doesn’t have a degree, one could claim that he had some natural talents on the field..
September 24th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
“A psychiatric villain is best suited to exploit such a weakness.”
Ooh - you do realize that this means one of the best possible additions to a rogues’ gallery fro Marvel’s Sentry would be Dr. Faustus, currently appearing in Captain America.
September 24th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Wasn’t the Scarecrow from Batman a psychiatrist as well?
or was that just in the movie? he’s scary..
September 24th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Hah, Sentry’s such a mess that Dr Faustus would probably 0wn him.
Oh, and according to Wikipedia, Dr Crane is a former professor of psychology or a psychiatrist, depending on the writer. I won’t critique too much though, I can’t keep psychiatrist/psychologist straight, either.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:57 am
What about the Suicide Squad’s shrinks? They were fairly ethical and often stared down Amanda Waller herself!
September 26th, 2007 at 4:58 am
As your own site says “Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatrist who managed to make it through both college and medical school relying on her personal charms and womanly wiles rather than any actual skill or ability”
September 26th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Official Comment
Hmmm, doesn’t make me sound very consistent, does it?
Harley Quinn, as generally portrayed, and as notably memorialized in the classic Mad Love graphic novel, has little discernible psychiatric skill.
On the other hand, the Harleen Quinzel seen in the Harley Quinn series was shown to be quite a good psychiatrist, both from a clinical practice and a criminal enterprise point of view.
When I wrote the first HQ post, I had yet to read her solo series. I have since collected it and read it (and unlike some other internet comic pundits, found it quite enjoyable) and changed my opinion of her skills (though it would nice if the main Bat-books also recognized those abilities).
September 26th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Wouldn’t Batman be classified under good psychologist heroes? A lot of his fighting style comes from manipulating his enemies. He actively tries to terrorize his opponents, enrage them into making mistakes, and generally just play with thier heads to make his life easier. It’s his ability to get inside the villains and cause them to self destruct that makes up for his lack of powers.
That and plot armor.
September 27th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
“What about the Suicide Squad’s shrinks? They were fairly ethical and often stared down Amanda Waller herself!”
Contrast “Dr.” Pym in Avengers: Initiative, who can’t even remember enough of the Hippocratic Oath to tell wimpy Gyrich to back off when he asks Pym to inject Gauntlet with a stimulant that could cause a coma.
Of course, Pym also tells some teens that they’re in a ‘pact of silence’ about the death of MVP, when in fact they were simply ordered by Gyrich not to say anything. Being given illegal orders isn’t the same as entering a pact…
September 27th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Lucy Van Pelt mixes the two. She is evil and a poor psychiatrist.
September 29th, 2007 at 2:30 am
I don’t think they can have a good guy shrink because most comics still come from the perspective that there is nothing wrong with their characters. The “wound” of the Fisher King archetype (which I agree is common) typically provides only backstory, or a page and a half of angst here or there. If there was a superhero shrink, Batman would go to him and get over his paranoia, and then he wouldn’t have to go out and beat up criminals just to make himself confident that he can beat the monster in his closet. Superman would get over his alienation and constant need to prove his humanity, and would only go out saving the world on weekends if there wasn’t a game on. Parker and Punisher and Captain America would get over their survivor’s guilt. If comic books admit that talking about your issues is a healthier way of handling your feelings than punching people, there would be no comic books left to write.
September 30th, 2007 at 6:34 am
The psychiatrist from Watchmen [Malcolm?] was a good guy…
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Query, is Dr. Druid ever shown practicing as a psychiatrist? The Wikipedia article lists him as a Psychiatrist (and includes him on the list of fictional psychiatrists) but I noticed he didn’t come up on your prior list of psychiatrist heroes nor the current one.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
As a psychiatrist myself, I try to avoid behaving badly when I can. Actually, I’m too damn busy to behave badly.
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