Dabney Donovan

Dabney Donovan is a fictional character from the DC Comics Universe. He is primarily a Superboy and Superman villain.[1]

Dabney Donovan
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #142 (October, 1971)
Created byJack Kirby
In-story information
Team affiliationsProject Cadmus
Intergang
AbilitiesGenius-level intellect
Expert at genetics

Publication history

Dabney Donovan first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #142 and was created by Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography

Dabney Donovan was the eccentric scientist and geneticist who is the former head and co-founder of the Cadmus Project. Believing that there should be no limits in experimenting with the human gene, Donovan has given birth to countless genetic experiments. Donovan's first experiments, the Hairies, were a group of mentally enhanced hippies who developed a unique habitat that blended super-science with lush greenery. Among Donovan's most notable creations is the DNAliens, which are genetically-altered beings that look alien in appearance and have extreme paranormal abilities, like Dubbilex.

Another of Donovan's experiments was the creation of the miniature planet Transilvane which he filled with microscopic creatures duplicating classic monsters based on Donovan's favorite horror films. The inhabitants of Transilvane were led by Count Dragorin. Around this time, he creates the two monstrosities, Simyan and Mokkari. These entities, scientific geniuses in their own right, would go on to cause separate troublesome incidents.

One of Donovan's gifts was in cloning. Donovan used his cloning expertise in aiding Intergang, creating young bodies for Moxie Mannheim and his henchmen. He created the clones of Moxie's original henchmen Ginny "Torcher" McGee, Mike "Machine" Gun, Noose, and Rough House while giving them superpowers.[2]

He once helped the ailing Lex Luthor clone himself a new body, in the guise of Lex Luthor II, when he was dying of a kryptonite-induced cancer. Lex Luthor tried to kill Donovan to protect his secret, but Donovan, of course, used his talents to create multiple clones of himself. However, Donovan would later get his revenge by helping Luthor's ex-wife Contessa Del Portenza and sending a Bizarro after Luthor. Donovan caused trouble with a clone plague that would cause clones to deteriorate and die. Luthor, still within his cloned body, sent his forces to battle Cadmus for the cure. Donovan eventually had to kill Cadmus's director Paul Westfield in order to keep his agenda hidden.[3] However, the cure was eventually found through the DNA of Guardian and given to those who needed it, beginning with Superboy. Around this time, Donovan led another attack on Cadmus, putting multiple high-level employees through gladiatorial style games.[4]

When the original directors left the Project, and Mickey Cannon was put in charge, Donovan was reinstated as an imprisoned "advisor". Despite the security safeguards in place he did succeed in causing trouble, including briefly taking control of the place during the 'Evil Factory' storyline.[5]

Donovan's current status is unknown as he has continued to defy death with his clones. Donovan Prime always finds a way to escape death, but his genetic monsters continue to plague Metropolis and Cadmus, who has made it their mission to protect people against these monsters.

Powers and abilities

Dabney Donovan possesses genius-level intellect. He is also an expert geneticist.

Other versions

Amalgam Comics

Another alternate Donovan appears in the Amalgam Comics one-shot Spider-Boy. Unlike most characters in the Amalgam books, he was not merged with a similar character from Marvel Comics. He is a staffer at the Project, a version of Cadmus located inside Fantastic Mountain (which merges Challenger Mountain from Challengers of the Unknown with the various headquarters used by the Fantastic Four). Donovan at the time had been feeding Project head Reed Richards a form of "evil DNA" in an attempt to take what he felt was his rightful place. The plot was discovered and Richards was cured [6] before the second round of Amalgam Comics were released, allowing him to lead the Challengers of the Fantastic against Galactiac.

Elseworlds

An alternate Donovan appears in the Elseworlds story The Superman Monster, a Frankenstein pastiche. In this story, he is ironically part of the University board that decries Viktor Luthor's experiments as blasphemous and unholy (the other members of the board are Cadmus Director Westfield and Professor Hamilton).[7]

In other media

Television
  • In Young Justice season 3 episode "Overwhelmed", Dubbilex hides in plain sights. Armed with a phase shifting device, he has been disguising himself as an African-American human calling himself Dabney Donovan, the mayor of Geranium City that the Genomorphs reside in.

Film

Video games

References
  1. Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  2. Adventures of Superman #550. DC Comics.
  3. Superman Vol 2 #90 (June, 1994). DC Comics.
  4. Guardians Of Metropolis #1-4 (1994). DC Comics.
  5. Superboy #70-75 (Jan.–May 2000). DC Comics.
  6. "Spider-Boy" One-shot (1996). Amalgam Comics.
  7. The Superman Monster (1999). DC Comics.
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