DEREK McDOWELL
Real Name: Dr. Derek McDowell
Identity/Class: Human, mad scientist
Occupation: Neurosurgeon
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Former controller of Frankenstein monster;
Former ally of Dr. Owen Wallach; Former fiance' of Tisha;
Enemies: James, the Master (James Sinoda), and Dr. Owen Wallach
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Formerly Manhattan,
New York City, and Chicago, Illinois
Appearances: Monsters Unleashed#2 (September, 1973)
Powers: None. He is extremely intelligent, and an extraordinary neurosurgeon, able to successfully perform complete brain transplants. He is also hot-headed, abusive, and willing to do anything to accomplish his goals
History: I'm not sure where McDowell
went to school, but he billed himself as the "Boy Wonder
Neuro-Surgeon." His interests tended a little out of the
ordinary. Derek had read Mary Shelly's book,
"Frankenstein," and became obsessed with finding the
monster. He drug his girlfriend, Tisha, out to a carnival in
Illinois, where he had heard that the inert form of the monster
had been unearthed. Derek tried to force them to sell the monster
to him. When they refused, he came back to his hotel room and
took his anger out on Tisha. Feeling that Derek's obsession with the monster was
the source of problems in their relationship, she sneaked onto
the carnival grounds and attempted to torch the monster. However,
she had used too much gasoline, and was instantly engulfed in the
flames, as well. She was rescued by carnival-workers, but was
taken to a hospital in shock, and severely burned over most of
her body. The monster itself was awakened by the heat from the
flames, and went on a brief rampage until it was again
incapacitated by a bazooka blast and a fall from the top of a
Ferris wheel. The inert monster was taken in police custody.
Derek learned of this and bribed the cops to gain custody of the monster. He flew it back to his laboratory in Manhattan, leaving his critically injured girlfriend behind. Derek shared the news with his associate, Dr. Owen Wallach, and briefly demonstrated his ability to awaken and control the monster. Wallach was dying, and convinced Derek to use the monster to obtain a young, healthy, male specimen into which Derek could transfer his brain. After a few attempts, in which Derek could not control the monster well enough to prevent it from crippling or killing the "specimens," Derek decided to transfer Wallach's brain into the monster itself. Wallach awakened, and less than pleased with his new, 8' tall, grotesque body, choked Derek to death and then threw him in the harbor.
Derek was not done, quite yet. Another pyscho, known as the Master, sought the body of Frankenstein's monster for his own purposes. Possessing some training in voodoo, the Master somehow revived the dead and decayed form of McDowell, and sent it, still possessing its own mind and will, back to retrieve the monster. Unaware of what had gone one while he was dead (see Wallach, below), Derek found the unconscious form of James, and used Wallach's Molecular Transponder to transfer his mind with James's. Derek, now in a strong and healthy form, used a tranquilizer gun to subdue the monster, and brought it back to the laboratory. Derek used the Transposer to remove the new brain from the monster (thinking it was Wallach's), and return its own brain to its rightful body. Derek was bewildered when he saw the tiny brain (from the rat) that had been transferred out of the monster's body. He was intently trying to figure it out when the monster removed itself from its restraints, and smashed Derek from behind, killing him again.
Comments: Created by Gary Friederich and
John Buscema. This is a crazy, crazy story. It definitely
keeps your attention, but perhaps some hallucinogens were
involved? I think the burnt Tisha should revive, locate
Derek's old lab, and seek some revenge on the Frankenstein
monster. These stories are actually supposed to have
taken place during 1973-1974, prior to modern/sliding Marvel
continuity (ie. Fantastic Four#1). This is why Frank, aka
Frankenstein's Monster, appears as a character in Marvel: The
Lost Generation. Good ol' brain transplant! Works every time.
Derek was so good, he didn't even need to use sterile technique! Not that anything else is rational, but if the
brains were actually being transferred from one being to another,
then why didn't the rat's head explode, or Wallach's brain get
squished into mush? See the entries on the Owen Wallach and James
below, and the separate entry on the Master for the continuation
of this freaky saga. The entries intertwine somewhat. Yes, this story was done in black and white. Clarifications:
The Master is not to be confused with: --Monsters Unleashed#4 (5/8, 6(fb) --Monsters Unleashed#5/8 (7(fb), 5/8, 6, 7, 8 Appearances: Last updated:
01/07/14 Any Additions/Corrections? please
let me
know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
Dr.
Owen Wallach was another mad
scientist. After McDowell transplanted his brain into the body of
the Frankenstein monster, he killed his innocent nurse, Ruthie,
accusing her of always teasing him. He then sought a new, normal
and healthy body for himself. He targeted a trapeze artist,
James, and forcibly took him from the circus in which he worked.
He used the Molecular Transposer, a device of his own creation
able to electronically transfer the brain of one person into
another, planning to swap his own for James's. However, while he
was held inert in the transfer process, one of his laboratory
rats escaped, ran up James's leg, and underneath the transfer
helmet. Instead of his intended switch, Wallach's brain was
switched with the rat's. The rat, disoriented in the monster's immense frame, swatted
(but didn't kill) James, and then smashed its old body, killing
Wallach in the process. The rat then broke out of the laboratory
and went on a rampage in the city of Manhattan. (the rat's brain
was later removed by McDowell using the Molecular Transposer, and
it presumably remains within the nutrient tank in that
laboratory)
James, the trapeze artist, grew up in poverty, teased and
abused by other kids for his worn out clothes and other
differences. When he was still in elementary school, his dad died
of pneumonia after getting sick when they couldn't pay the
electric bill. He was forced to take a job and work to pay the
bills, and over the years built himself into excellent condition
from the difficulty of the physical labor he performed. He
eventually took a job as a cage cleaner in a circus. He was
fascinated by the trapeze artists, and took up training on his
own when no one else was around. Eventually he demonstrated his
skill to the circus owner, and was given a job performing
alongside a female artist, Gretchen. Gretchen and James fell in
love, and were soon married. However, Dr. Owen Wallach, in the
form of the Frankenstein Monster, came to the circus in search of
a healthy body for himself. Gretchen was distracted by the
monster's appearance, missed her timing with James, and fell to
her death. Wallach then clubbed James from behind and abducted
him to become his new body. The transfer process went awry, and
Wallach's brain was switched with a rat's. James' unconscious
form, however, was then used by the resurrected (and decomposed)
Derek McDowell, who used Wallach's Transposer to swap his own
brain for James'. The Frankenstein monster killed McDowell, and
befriended the despondent James, who was trapped in McDowell's
decomposed body. James told the monster how it had worked his
whole life to maintain a strong body, and had finally achieved
happiness and love, when it had all come crashing down. McDowell
had been resurrected by the Master, who then chose to
influence James' mind to have him lead the monster back to the
Master's base. Upon arriving there, the Master had no use for
James or his reanimated form any more, and so discontinued his
influence on the body. James promptly dropped dead.
Monsters Unleashed#2 (September, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#4 (February, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#5 (April, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Win Mortimer (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#6 (June, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#7 (August, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#8 (October, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
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