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Detective Chimp There it was shown how he was captured in Equatorial Africa in 1953 by Fred Thorpe, who sought to train him for his carnival act: "Bobo the Detective Chimp". For the act, the Detective Chimp was trained to answer some detective-related questions using a combination of signals and rewards, giving the illusion that he could "discover the deepest secrets of the public". Bobo formed a strong bond with Thorpe, because he took care of him, and gave him a simpler life than in the jungle. He then acted as a "helping mascot" for the local sheriff, after helping him to solve the murder of his chimpanzee trainer, Fred Thorpe. He could not speak, but being very intelligent he could understand humans, and make himself understood.

Rex the Wonder Dog and Fountain of Youth

During a trip in Florida, Rex, the Wonder Dog took him to the Fountain of Youth, where he gained the ability to speak to all living creatures, even humans, in their own language along with eternal youth and all together Bobo intelligence was raised to genius human intellect (This fountain would later be boiled away by the Spectre). He appeared briefly with Sam Simeon in Gorilla City during Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Bureau of Amplified Animals

At some point after this, Bobo was employed by the Bureau of Amplified Animals Detective Chimp exhibits not only Brilliant detective skills and the genius of a true tactician. . It is not known how he left, or if the Bureau still exists.

He began to work for himself by opening Chimpanzee Investigations. Initially he did quite well, as a chimp detective was seen as a novelty. During this successful period he was visited by another detective, John Jones (actually the Martian Manhunter, during the JLApe crisis), who thought Bobo's agency seemed to be doing better than his own. he had also a long-standing partnership with four other detectives, among them Ralph Dibny, as the Croatoan Society. But being an ape, without civil rights and being unable to stand as a juridical person, he could not enforce unpaid bills. When the public began to forget him, he became an alcoholic. He also has a smoking habit.

Day of Vengeance

During the gap in time between the down fall of his business and The Day Of Vengeance he spent his time heavily drinking in the other dimensional tavern for magic users in the DC Universe the Oblivion Bar.

Shadowpact

When the Spectre tried to destroy all magic and began killing wizards during the events of "Day of Vengeance," Detective Chimp, while still mostly drunk, coerces a group of mystical characters in the Oblivion Bar, into battling the Spectre. This would be the beginning of the group Shadowpact.

Benefiting from the counsel of the Phantom Stranger (newly turned into a mouse), he devised a plan to use the powers of Black Alice and Nightshade to confront the combined menace of Eclipso and the Spectre.

Bobo helped clean up the demonic damage left when the Rock of Eternity exploded over Gotham City. He captured the sin of "Sloth," which had possessed his long-time friend Rex the Wonder Dog. After the Rock was reformed, the sins re-imprisoned, and all magical influence cleaned out of Gotham, the dying Doctor Fate gave Detective Chimp the powerful Helmet of Fate. After finding it did not fit him, Detective Chimp convinced Captain Marvel to throw it to Earth, to let fate choose its next bearer.

Since this first adventure, he has remained with the team. He personally stuck around the Oblivion Bar. The team are asked by the Phantom Stranger to travel through a mystical shield surrounding the town of Riverrock, Wyoming. There they confronted the murderous villains known as the Pentacle. Detective Chimp was captured separately by his Pentacle "counterpart" Kid Karnevil, but manages to escape and free the team. During the resulting magical battles, Detective Chimp (and everyone else in town) sacrificed one full year of their life inside of one moment in order to bring down the barrier. Later, he discovers he was part of a Shadowpact statue that others had erected in Metropolis in order to honor the seemingly-dead team.

When the helmet of fate returned to Earth, knocking out Bobo. For a brief time Detective Chimp bonded with the helmet, which granted him additional powers that he used to assist the Gotham City police in apprehending the villain Trickster. After struggling against the temptation of the helmet, Bobo sent it on to another journey.

Bobo has remained with Shadowpact, and has fought alongside them during several adventures.

Powers

  • Immortality
    • Enhanced Intellect: It has been revealed that Detective Chimp is a member of Mensa, which entails that his Intelligence Quotient has been estimated to be higher than 98 percent of the adult (human) population.

Abilities

  • Investigation: He is one of the most highly skilled investigators in the world, with detective skills rivaling those of Batman and Ralph Dibny.
  • Occultism
  • Multilingualism: He is capable of conversing with all animals, regardless of origin, in their own language, including all spoken and written human languages.

Weaknesses

Equipment


  • Detective Chimp's online screen name is "JPHRED52."[1]
  • Recently, it has been shown that Bobo occasionally assists Batman in his cases by way of a chat room where they swap theories. The Riddler is also known to chat with them, but he is unaware of the identity of the other two.
  • Detective Chimp's real name is apparently unpronounceable but it translates to "Magnificent Finder of Tasty Grubs".

Related

Footnotes


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