Dummy (DC Comics)

Dummy is the name of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

Publication history

The first Dummy first appears in Leading Comics #1 and was created by Mort Weisinger and Mort Meskin. He is not to be confused with Scarface, the ventriloquist dummy/alter-ego operated by Arnold Wesker.

The second, known as Danny the Dummy, first appears in Batman #134 (Sept 1960) and was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff.[1]

Fictional character biographies

The Dummy
Dummy
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceLeading Comics #1 (Winter 1941)
Created byMort Weisinger (script)
Mort Meskin (art)
In-story information
Team affiliationsMonster Society of Evil
Injustice Unlimited

The Dummy is an archenemy of the Golden Age Vigilante, and a skilled inventor of weapons. As the leader of a criminal gang, the Dummy pretends to be a ventriloquist's dummy through whom the gang's supposed "true" leader conveys instructions, the gang never suspecting that the Dummy himself is their leader. The Dummy's secret identity is never revealed; in fact, it is never made clear whether the Dummy is a very short human being or an actual wooden dummy that has somehow been brought to life. The Dummy was a member of a group of villains brought together by the Hand to cause crimes around the nation, which led to the first case of the Seven Soldiers of Victory; his particular efforts were prevented by the Vigilante, with whom he had apparently already clashed in untold stories, since he was already a known Vigilante enemy.[2]

The Dummy returned to challenge the Seven Soldiers on his own.[3] In addition to his Leading Comics appearances, the Dummy fought the Vigilante in four Golden Age stories: Action Comics #58 (March 1943), #63 (August 1943), #75 (August 1944), and #87 (August 1945); although the Vigilante remained a regular Action Comics feature until #198 (November 1954), #87 was the Dummy's final appearance for many years.

The Dummy was shown to be responsible for the death of the Vigilante's sidekick Stuff the Chinatown Kid.[4] However, after the reality alteration caused by the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the 1995-1996 mini-series Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice (1995–1996) depicts Stuff having been killed by mobster Bugsy Siegel.

The Dummy also appears in All-Star Squadron, where he is recruited for Mister Mind's Monster Society of Evil (pre-Crisis). In the course of this storyline, the Dummy passes through Green Lantern/Alan Scott's energy force-field unimpeded, implying that the Dummy is made of wood (which would make him immune to Scott's power) and is indeed a living ventriloquist's dummy.[5]

In modern times, the Dummy returned and took over the criminal organization Injustice Unlimited to battle Infinity, Inc..

In "DC Rebirth," a new depiction of Dummy is seen. This version is described by Mister Mind to be a Victorian man who was turned into a wooden dummy by a wizard's curse and was imprisoned in a location in the Magiclands called the Monsterlands following a fight with the "heroes of yesterday." Dummy introduces himself as Exile #413 and directs Mister Mind and Doctor Sivana to a boat that would take them to the Dungeon of Eternity. He can't go with them to the Dungeon of Eternity because he can't deal with water due to him being made of wood.[6] When the Monster Society of Evil was freed, Dummy had to swim to the Dungeon of Eternity and was displeased that he was left behind as Mister Mind promised him freedom. Superboy-Prime states to Dummy that he can get him out in exchange for removing the little red sun outside of his prison. Dummy does so and is double-crossed by Superboy-Prime who uses his heat beams on Dummy.[7]

Danny the Dummy
Dummy
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBatman #134 (September 1960)
Created byBill Finger
Sheldon Moldoff
In-story information
Alter egoDanny the Dummy

Danny the Dummy, a pint-sized ventriloquist in a top hat and suit, has a hit act in which he plays the dummy to a normal sized "ventriloquist" Matt (who is revealed as the real dummy at the end of each show). But the fact that people invariably refer to Danny as "the Dummy" infuriates him, and inspires him to use dummies for crime to make dummies out of the law.[8]

In other media

References
  1. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 105–106. ISBN 9780345501066.
  2. Leading Comics #1. DC Comics.
  3. Leading Comics #8. DC Comics.
  4. World's Finest #246. DC Comics.
  5. All-Star Squadron #51-54. DC Comics.
  6. Shazam (vol. 3) #10 (January 2020). DC Comics.
  7. Shazam (vol. 3) #11 (February 2020). DC Comics.
  8. Batman #134. DC Comics.
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