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"Guardians Against Crime": Doll Man's most recent victory against a dangerous criminal has brought with it an unexpected reward, in cash. Doll Man recommends that this money be spent to build an anti-crime research laboratory, and that Darrel Dane should run it.

Quote1 Perhaps, since it's my reward and my idea, I can name the man to handle this research headquarters of law and order. Quote2
Doll Man

Doll Man #31 is an issue of the series Doll Man (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1950.

Synopsis for "Guardians Against Crime"

Doll Man's most recent victory against a dangerous criminal has brought with it an unexpected reward, in cash. Doll Man recommends that this money be spent to build an anti-crime research laboratory, and that Darrel Dane should run it.

One day at the new lab, Darrel Dane overhears two punks talking themselves into shooting a stray dog just for kicks, so he gets small, beats the stuffings out of them, chases them away, and adopts the dog. The poor beast is starving and ill, so Dane treats it with an experimental ray, which massively increases the dog's size, strength, vitality, and intelligence. Darrel names him Elmo.

Elmo encourages Doll Man to track down the two punks, who turn out to be in an office-burglary gang, led by Miss Tiller, the secretary at an investment company. She has equipped them with a metal-melting corrosive spray, shot from a squirt gun, and their first big crime is at her employer's office, the Epperson Investment Company. Doll Man and Elmo arrive in time to disrupt the burglary. In the resulting fistfight, the squirt gun is dropped, and Miss Tiller surreptitiously hides it. The two burglars escape, and Elmo becomes suspicious of Miss Tiller. Doll Man recovers a fragment of the chemically-treated safe, for analysis. From this, he's able to develop a counter-agent to it. But Elmo gets very excited and is trying to tell him something, and bumps him into spilling the counter-agent all over himself.

Elmo encourages Darrel to re-visit Mr. Epperson, so they go to his house, at midnight. Meanwhile the escaped burglars rendezvous at their hide-out, where their masked, lady boss scolds them, gives them back the metal-eating squirt gun, and sends them to Mr. Epperson's house. They all get there, and there's a fight. One punk sprays Doll Man with the super solvent, but it has no effect on him, and soon the burglars are beaten down and trussed up. Then Miss Tiller arrives. Elmo has figured out that she's behind the plan, and jumps at her, but Doll Man stops him. She makes enough angry remarks for Mr. Epperson to figure out that she is the planner behind these crimes, and soon she is under arrest.

Appearing in "Guardians Against Crime"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Miss Tiller
    • her gang

Other Characters:

  • Police Commissioner
  • Mr. Epperson

Locations:

  • New York City
    • Darrel Dane's Laboratory Against Crime
    • Epperson Investment Company

Items:

  • Dane's Vitality-enhancing Ray
  • Tiller's Corrosive Spray Liquid


Synopsis for "Mr. Revenge"

Mr. Revenge is released from prison after serving a 20-year sentence, during which he studied mathematics, engineering, chemistry, and judo. He gives an impromptu sidewalk press conference, and after the reporters leave, he is approached by Leda Lorn, daughter of a famous gang chief who died two years earlier. Dane and Elmo are nearby, and Elmo the Dog is suspicious of both Revenge and Lorn, but Darrel argues with him, that no court had proven anything against Leda Lorn. Leda tries to recruit Mr. Revenge into rejoining her father's organization, which she now runs, and when he rebuffs her, she sics two of her gorillas onto him. He thrashes them, and departs unrecruited.

Back at Darrell's anti-crime lab, he's working on a grain blight control formula, and Elmo is trying to tell him something. Meanwhile Mr. Revenge visits Leda Lorn's luxurious headquarters, and tries to recruit Leda into joining his organization. He's brought along a jet-propelled suit, which he puts on and demonstrates, by crashing head-first thru a heavy wooden door. He flies across town and causes an explosion and a fire at the College of Science, then returns to Lorn's mansion. The point of the attack on the College was revenge; twenty years earlier some of Mr. Revenge's professors had testified against him. Leda and her goons are very impressed by all this; they join up.

At the College and the Police Records Department, using both of his identities, Doll Man and Darrel Dane, and Elmo, investigate the fire, and have it pretty much figured out when by seeming coincidence they are near the Merchant's Bank when Mr. Revenge, aided by Leda Lorn's gang, stages a destructive robbery there. Doll Man and Elmo show up, and after a brief fight, the gang is defeated, and Mr. Revenge is under arrest.

Appearing in "Mr. Revenge"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Janitor, College of Science

Locations:

  • New York City
    • Darrel Dane's Laboratory Against Crime
    • Leda Lorn's mansion
    • College of Science
    • Merchants Bank

Items:

  • Mr. Revenge's Jet Suit

Synopsis for "The Plot To Kill Lyn Hastings"


Appearing in "The Plot To Kill Lyn Hastings"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Harkin
  • Croppy (same size, weight, & hair color as Darrel Dane)
    • some hoods

Other Characters:

  • Lyn Hastings
  • C.C. Chadwick (Dead) (Mentioned only)
    • Chadwick & Harkin, patent-developing firm

Locations:

Synopsis for Sir Roger: "Welcome To Sir Rogerville"


Appearing in Sir Roger: "Welcome To Sir Rogerville"

Featured Characters:

  • Sir Roger

Supporting Characters:

  • half a dozen other hobos

Antagonists:

  • Better Citizen Good-Behavior Committee
    • Mr. McWille
    • Mr. Goodyface
    • Mr. McSmith
    • Mr. Crumly
      • many more civic improvers
  • A-1 Reform Club
    • Lem
      • many more civic reformers
  • Mayor of Billville

Locations:

  • Sir Rogerville, a hobo camp
  • Billville
    • City Hall

Synopsis for "One Hour In Nordrillo"


Appearing in "One Hour In Nordrillo"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Chalca (Apparent Death)
  • Limey (Apparent Death)
  • Khorr (Apparent Death)

Other Characters:

  • Gonder
  • Vagabond's Captain

Locations:

  • Nordrillo, harbor town, has no extradition treaties with any other nations.

Items:

  • Chalca's submarine blueprints (Destroyed)

Vehicles:

  • Vagabond, freighter
  • Chalca's specialized submarines (not built)

Notes

  • All Quality Comics characters and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof were originally Trademarked & Copyright © 1951 Quality Comics. The characters and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof were acquired by DC Comics in 1956. While some of the properties acquired did not have copyright and trademarks renewed, some of those depicted here are Trademarks & Copyright © 1973-2008 DC Comics, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Guardians Against Crime
    • This issue begins a more formal alliance between Doll Man and the police, and establishes his "Laboratory Against Crime". A caption calls it that on panel 6 of page 8, and Darrel Dane calls it that on panel 7 of page 12.
    • This issue introduces Elmo the Dog, who will appear in at least one story per issue until Doll Man #40.
    • This story is reprinted in DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #14
  • Mr. Revenge and Leda Lorn both smoke cigarettes in long holders.
  • The Plot To Kill Lyn Hastings:
    • Elmo gets a superficial bullet wound in this story, and is knocked unconscious by it.
    • Darrel Dane gets head-konked unconscious with a pistol butt. Waking afterward, he is groggy and in pain from the blow, but by becoming Doll Man he shakes all that off.
    • Elmo is now famous enough to get mentioned by name in the radio news story about the Doll Man's latest exploit.
  • One Hour in Nordrillo: All three villains are inside a shack when the explosive briefcase blows up, but no bodies are visible.
  • Also appearing in this issue of Doll Man were:
    • "The Age Machine" (text story)

Trivia

  • For ten years now, nobody has noticed that the maskless Doll Man looks exactly like a scaled-down Darrel Dane.
  • Last issue of Doll Man for Sir Roger, by Bart Tumey, a comedy hobo character who wore a monocle.


See Also


Links and References

Superboy Vol 4 69
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