DOLLY

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (race unrevealed)

Occupation: None

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Cathy Jones, Timothy Jones

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: Unidentified parents

Aliases: Dolly (as called by Cathy Jones); "The Dangerous Doll" (in story title)

Base of Operations: The Jones home, somewhere in America;
   originally from another unidentified planet

First Appearance: Journey into Mystery I#63/3 (December, 1960)

Powers/Abilities: An extraterrestrial child, he resembled a fully-articulated toy figure. His full abilities are unrevealed, but he could project a beam of "pure cosmic" energy from his hands, which induced humans to fall asleep. He also seemed to have a psychic rapport with his parents, because he was able to sense their nearness.

   Although appearing to be somewhat robotic/mechanical in nature, he was actually a living, breathing creature that needed food and water to survive.

Height: 14" (by approximation)
Weight: 5 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Black
Hair: None

History:
(Journey into Mystery I#63/3 (fb) - BTS) - The past of this extraterrestrial is unrevealed, but he was somehow separated from his parents and became lost when he came to explore Earth (see comments). He fell asleep in a grassy field outside the home of Timothy Jones.

(Journey into Mystery I#63/3) - One night, the unemployed Timothy Jones was saddened because he didn't have any money to buy his daughter Cathy a birthday present. Unable to sleep, Jones went for a walk outside his shack and discovered what he thought was a strange looking doll laying in the grass. Since the "doll" was in good condition, Jones thought it would be the perfect gift for Cathy, so he put it in his coat pocket and excitedly headed home--he never noticed the smile that appeared on the "doll's" face.

   The next morning, Jones gave his handicapped daughter her birthday present; Cathy--who used a crutch, because her right leg was lame since birth--had never been happier, for she loved the strange toy, which she named "Dolly". Each day, Cathy played with the doll she loved so much, and each night she took it to bed with her--but Dolly never slept, for he was waiting for his parents.

(Journey into Mystery I#63/3 - BTS) - When Jones left his daughter alone so he could look for work, Dolly revealed to Cathy that he was a living being who needed sustenance to stay alive, so Cathy fed him.

(Journey into Mystery I#63/3) - Once again left alone, Cathy saw Dolly moving on his own, so she asked him what he wanted--Dolly demanded more food and water, so Cathy obediently obliged.

   Many times, Cathy tried to tell her father that Dolly could move, and talk, and even eat, but Timothy Jones just discounted his daughter's claims as make-believe. Dolly breathed a sigh of relief, for he knew that while child Earthlings were naive, adult Earthlings were smart and suspicious.

   One night, Dolly sensed the approach of his parents, so he climbed out of the bed, which awakened Cathy; Dolly directed an energy beam from his hand at the little girl, to put her back to sleep. Dolly then went into Timothy's bedroom and also put him in a deep trance-like sleep, so the adult Earthling wouldn't see his parents arrive.

   Dolly went outside just as a spaceship landed, then he ran over to be reunited with his parents. After his father scolded him for running off by himself, his mother asked him where he had stayed and how he survived. Dolly pointed to Timothy Jones' shack and told them about the child Earthling who took care of him. Dolly explained that he was careful not to reveal himself to the adult Earthling, because the man might have been suspicious and think he came to Earth to harm him.

   When Dolly's father asked if there was any way that they could reward the Earth child for her kindness, Dolly told him that Cathy was lame and very poor. Moments later, while Cathy slept, Dolly's father bathed the girl with electromagnetic energy...

(Journey into Mystery I#63/3 - BTS) - After rewarding Cathy, presumably Dolly and his parents returned to their homeworld.

   When morning came, Cathy and her father awoke to a miracle--Cathy was now able to walk freely, because her leg was healed, and she didn't need her crutch anymore! And on her bed, Cathy found an ingot of pure gold!

   That night, as Timothy and Cathy Jones looked up gratefully to the stars above, Timothy decided he would use the gold ingot to go into business, then he'd be able to provide for his daughter again, and he promised Cathy that she'd have all the dolls she wanted. But Cathy told her father that no doll would ever be as wonderful as the one she had, and that she'd never forget Dolly...

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

During most of this 5-page story--The Dangerous Doll--the reader was led to believe that Dolly was an alien invader with sinister intentions, and it wasn't until the last page that he was revealed to be just a lost child. Dolly joins the ranks of other lost extraterrestrial children, such as the "Howler", Monsteroso, the Infant Terrible, and Gog.

The coloring of Dolly was inconsistent--sometimes rusty-brown, sometimes dark purple--which I'll just attribute to a coloring error, rather than some chameleon-like ability.

It was never explained exactly how Dolly got to Earth, and he didn't mention having his own spacecraft; my guess is that earlier, he was with his parents, and they temporarily landed their spaceship to check a star-map or something, during which Dolly sneaked off while their attention was diverted.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Dolly has no known connections to:

• Dolly, vampire-hunter @ X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Blade#1
• Nathan Dolly, alias Mister Doll, later the Brothers Grimm @ Tales of Suspense I#48
• Priscilla Dolly, alias Madame Doll, wife of Nathan Dolly @ Spider-Woman I#3
• any other characters with similar names, or any other dolls

Timothy and Cathy Jones have no known connections to:

• Albert "Slow-Motion" Jones, speedster, associate of the Whizzer (Bob Frank) @ USA Comics I#6
• Davy Jones, legendary demon of the sea @ Journey into Unknown Worlds#22
• Gulliver Jones, warrior of Mars @ Creatures on the Loose I#16
• Hugh Jones, former president and CEO of Roxxon Energy Corporation @ Captain America I#180
• Reno Jones, hero of the Old West @ Gunhawks#1
• Ricardo Jones, Thing imposter @ Fantastic Four I#50
• any other characters with similar names

Dolly's parents They (names unrevealed) were an extraterrestrial couple whose son was lost; they eventually located him and landed their spacecraft on Earth. Their son told them about the handicapped Cathy Jones (who called him "Dolly") and how she had taken care of him and gave him all the food he wanted. Before leaving Earth, Dolly's grateful father rewarded the little girl for her kindness by healing her lame leg, and he also left her with an ingot of pure gold. --Journey into Mystery I#63/3

Cathy Jones The daughter of Timothy Jones, Cathy had been disabled since birth--her right leg was lame, and she needed a crutch to move about. She and her father lived in a shack--they were impoverished because Timothy lost his job when the factory where he worked shut down. For Cathy's eighth birthday, her father gave her a doll that he found outside their home. Cathy loved the toy, which she called "Dolly"--she later learned that her "doll" was actually a living, breathing being! Cathy diligently took care of Dolly and fed him when he was hungry. She tried to tell her father that Dolly was alive, but Timothy discounted her claims as make-believe. One night, Dolly's parents came to reclaim their child, and because Cathy took such good care of him, they rewarded her by healing her lame leg, and also left her with an ingot of pure gold. --Journey into Mystery I#63/3

Timothy Jones A single parent, the impoverished Jones lived in a shack with his handicapped daughter Cathy--he had previously been employed at a factory until it shut down. When Cathy's eighth birthday was approaching, Jones was saddened because he had no money to buy her a gift. But when he found what he thought to be a doll laying in the grass outside his home, he gave it to his daughter--unbeknownst to Jones, the "doll" was actually a living extraterrestrial child. When the "doll's" parents came to reclaim him, they rewarded Cathy for taking care of their child by healing her lame leg, and also left her an ingot of pure gold--Timothy planned to use the gold ingot to go into business, then he could once more be able to provide for his daughter. --Journey into Mystery I#63/3

images: (without ads)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p1, pan1 (Main Image - Dolly (presumably being held by Timothy Jones' hand) )
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p4, pan2 (Headshot - Dolly senses his parents arrival)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p3, pan3 (Dolly eating, as Cathy Jones watches)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p4, pan7 (Dolly directs a beam of energy to put Timothy Jones to sleep)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p5, pan1 (Dolly watches as his parents' spaceship lands)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p5, pan2 (Dolly reunited with his parents)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p5, pan4 (Dolly with his parents)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p2, pan5 (Cathy Jones (using crutch) receives Dolly as a gift)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p2, pan7 (Cathy Jones sees Dolly move)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p5, pan6 (with her leg healed, Cathy Jones brings gold ingot to her father)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p1, pan2 (Timothy Jones standing over the sleeping Cathy)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p2, pan3 (Timothy Jones finds Dolly)
Journey into Mystery I#63/3, p2, pan6 (Timothy Jones)

Appearances:
Journey into Mystery I#63/3 (December, 1960) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), George Klein (inks)
Monsters on the Prowl I#20 (December, 1972) - reprint