Doctors in Wizard
The latest issue of Wizard (#170, December 2005) has a two-page spread designed to help readers determine which comic book doctors are “real doctors.”
The art by Ty Templeton is funny. The actual article by Chris Ward is less so. The humor is juvenile and mostly of the “gee-I’m-so-clever” variety, but Ward does poke fun at both Dr. Phil and Tom Cruise, so I’ll give him points for that.
First off, he stole my Dr. Doom joke. OK, I admit it’s a rather blatant joke, so I’m sure he came up with it on his own, but still…mine’s funnier.
The only woman mentioned is Night Nurse, go figure…
Ward gets full credit for knowing that a psychiatrist is a medical doctor; however, he then loses points for confusing the two Dr. Mid-Nites (thankfully, he doesn’t mention Dr. Midnght). I also suspect he’s mistaken in his belief that Dr. Octopus is not a doctor, stating that Octavius is “an ex-atomic research consultant.” You wouldn’t get that position without a Ph.D., so I’m sure Doc Ock has a doctorate in physics lying around somewhere.
Overall, it’s a mixed bag. It’s too slight of an article to pick up Wizard for, but clever enough to read through if you already have the magazine (particularly for the art).
(For the record, the following “doctors” are mentioned: Dr. Doom, Doc Samson, Dr. Mid-Nite, Night Nurse, Dr. Polaris, Dr. Light, Dr. Psycho, Dr. Phil, Dr. Druid, Dr. Octopus, Dr. Strange and Dr. Fate.)
November 7th, 2005 at 4:34 am
What’s Dr. Phil a doctor of?
November 7th, 2005 at 6:17 am
Is the article talking about Doctors via a M.D. degree or of the Ph.D. flavor? I really can’t handle reading Wizard anymore so I don’t intend to pick it up to find out.
And from your list, I do wonder why Dr. Fate was called a Dr. Yeah, I suppose Kent Nelson had his Ph.D. in Archaeology or Physical Anthropology but does that translate really to the magician/sorcerer side? Hmm….
November 7th, 2005 at 9:15 am
Official Comment
The article gives credit to both M.D.s and Ph.D.s, which is the way it should be. Dr. Phil is there solely for humorous purposes (now watch Marvel come out with a Dr. Phil book and prove me wrong). Apparently, Kent Nelson was a medical student before he changed his mind and switched to archaeology…
November 7th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Yeah, but what about Hector Hall, the current Dr. Fate?
November 7th, 2005 at 11:24 am
I’m pretty sure that Doc Ock has been referred to as “Doctor Otto Octavius” for a long time - I don’t have my Essential Spider-man with his first appearance handy, so I don’t know if its in the actual origin, but I know its been there for a while.
As for Dr. Fate - I wouldn’t think that Hector Hall has had the time to earn an advanced degree, so I doubt he should really have the title of “Doctor”. Of course, by that same logic, Billy Batson has never been in the military, nor has he ever been in command of a sailing vessel, so he shouldn’t have the title of “Captain” either. Perhaps they should change both of their names to Mister Fate and Mister Marvel.
November 7th, 2005 at 11:28 am
Official Comment
Jer,
I looked up Doc Ock’s first appearance and he is called “Dr. Octopus” by his co-workers, but it’s unlcear whether the “Dr.” is a title or a jibe. He is also referred to as an “atomic researcher” and the “best in the nation,” so I will contimue to maintain that he has a doctorate.
I’ll post the panels in question later tonight.
November 7th, 2005 at 10:37 pm
I agree that your Doom joke was funnier. In my post on nearly the same subject as the Wizard article back in May, I come to the same conclusion you do that Octavius has a Ph.D as well.
Also, mine has Dr. Demonicus which is my favorite Doctor name ever!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Doctor Octopus has a Ph.D in Science.
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