SURFER GHOST
Earth-77536

Real Name: Hodad (full name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-77536) human

Occupation: Head of the Sunshine Surf Club

Group Membership: The Sunshine Surf Club (Rowby Goren, George Greeber, Lorne Frohman)

Affiliations: W.W. Shmidlap

Enemies: Captain Caveman, George Greeber, Mystery Inc. (Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Fred Jones, Shaggy Rogers, Scooby-Doo), Teen Angels (Brenda Chance, Taffy Dare, Dee Dee Skyes)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Malibu, California, USA

First Appearance: Scooby-Doo  I#9 (February, 1979)

Powers/Abilities: Despite his frail appearance, Hodad was a masterful surfer with pro-level skills. He mastered tricks that only three other surfers in Malibu could master, allowing him to act as the Surfer Ghost and remain undetected.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 141 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:
(Scooby-Doo I#9 (fb) - BTS) - Hodad was the head of the Sunshine Surf Club in Malibu. He loved his job and was a keen surfer himself. He studied videos of three of Malibu's top surfers--Rowby Goren, Lorne Frohman and George Greeber--entering Breakwater Cave professionally while surfing, each time coming within a hair's breadth of death. Hodad studied, practiced and eventually mastered their tricks but kept it a secret. He was hired by oil magnate W.W. Shmidlap, who had built an illegal offshore drilling platform, to act as his cover and ward off unwanted individuals disguised as the Surfer Ghost. Donning a costume, Hodad successfully accomplished his task for some time and the Surfer Ghost became a local legend, his frequent appearances leading to a warning sign being put up on the beach. The Surfer Ghost phenomenon attracted the attention of a man named Higgins, who hired Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels to investigate. Rumors of a ghost on the beach also prompted Mystery, Inc. to visit Malibu.

(Scooby-Doo I#9) - The Surfer Ghost appeared in the sea when Mystery, Inc.'s Fred Jones and Scooby-Doo were paddling away from shore on a surfboard. He approached them at high speed and destroyed their board by crashing into it then turned around and disappeared while Fred recovered and rescued Scooby. Hodad later met Mystery, Inc. when they visited the Sunshine Surf Club early in their investigation into the Surfer Ghost and he introduced Fred Jones and Daphne Blake to Rowby Goren, Lorne Frohman and George Greeber. When Shaggy Rogers found a surfboard suspiciously similar to the one the Surfer Ghost was riding, Hodad claimed there was nothing suspicious about it, as everyone at the Sunshine Surf Club used a board of that type. He then showed Mystery, Inc. a video of Lorne Frohman surfing near the area where Fred and Scooby encountered the Ghost and entering the dangerous Breakwater Cave. Thanking Hodad for his help, Mystery, Inc. left the club and decided to explore Breakwater Cave.

    The next morning, Hodad, again disguised as Surfer Ghost, was in Breakwater Cave when Mystery, Inc., Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels arrived on a raft. Upon seeing the Ghost, everyone jumped out of the raft and Captain Caveman managed to grab the Surfer Ghost by the leg. The Surfer Ghost couldn't shake him off, leading him to drag Captain Caveman away as he exited the cave on his surfboard. Hodad quickly retreated to Shmidlap's offshore drilling platform and brought Captain Caveman there. Mystery, Inc. returned to the Sunshine Surf Club and suggested to Hodad that Rowby Goren, Lorne Frohman or George Greeber might be hiding behind the Surfer Ghost mask since they were the only surfers known to navigate Breakwater Cave. Hodad planned to take advantage of the situation and "help" the visitors with their investigation. He gave them the addresses of Goren and Froham and volunteered to check Greeber's apartment but, in reality, he was going to set Greeber up. Hodad subsequently hid the Surfer Ghost costume behind an armchair in Greeber's apartment.

    Goren and Frohman, whom Mystery, Inc. visited in person, had plausible alibis, prompting Mystery, Inc. to visit Greeber's apartment next, where they encountered Hodad. Hodad claimed to have peeked through the keyhole and witnessed Greeber removing his Surfer Ghost costume. They rang the doorbell and pressed charges that George Greeber denied, at which point Hodad revealed the ghost costume he had hidden behind an armchair. George still denied guilt and claimed he had never seen the costume before. Mystery, Inc. headed to the police station with Hodad and George Greeber. After analyzing the situation, Fred Jones concluded that George Greeber was indeed innocent and that Hodad had been lying all along and was the Surfer Ghost. Hodad tried to counter this by claiming to have seen Greeber in the Surfer Ghost costume with his own eyes but Fred argued that Hodad had claimed to have looked through the keyhole, which was impossible due to the key being in the keyhole at the time, thus blocking Hodad from seeing anything. Realizing he'd been exposed, Hodad said he needed to see a lawyer.

Comments: Created by Mark Evanier and Dan Spiegle.

    Scooby-Doo I#9 was a crossover with Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, another mystery-themed Hanna-Barbera property. This wasn't the first time in Marvel's Hanna-Barbera continuity that Mystery, Inc. had crossed paths with Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, as they had previously appeared together in the Laff-A-Lympics series.

    This profile was completed 03/10/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event.

Profile by Mike Castle.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-77536's Surfer Ghost should be distinguished from:

• SILVER SURFER (Norrin Radd) - Reality-616 former herald of Galactus turned cosmic adventurer--Fantastic Four I#48
• other "Surfer" or "Ghost" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

Appearances:
Scooby-Doo I#9 (February, 1979) - Mark Evanier (writer), Dan Spiegle (art), Chase Craig (editor)

First posted: 09/18/2026
Last updated: 03/10/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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