Thinker (DC Comics)
| Thinker | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance |
(DeVoe) All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943) (Carmichael) Firestorm #1 (1978) (as the Thinker) Firestorm, The Nuclear Man #99 (July 1990) (Connor) Batman: Shadow of the Bat #67 (October 1997) (AI) JSA #9 (April 2000) |
| Created by |
(DeVoe) Gardner Fox E.E. Hibbard (Carmichael) Gerry Conway Al Milgrom |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Clifford DeVoe Cliff Carmichael Desmond Connor Artificial intelligence (AI) |
| Team affiliations |
(DeVoe) Injustice Society Suicide Squad (Carmichael) Suicide Squad Secret Society of Super Villains (AI) Injustice Society Secret Society of Super Villains Checkmate |
| Notable aliases | White King's Bishop |
| Abilities |
(DeVoe, Carmichael) Technologically derived telekinesis and mind control (Connor) Telepathy, fear projection (AI) Binary intelligence capable of integrating into and controlling computerized and electronics systems |
The Thinker is the name of four supervillains in the DC Comics universe.
The Clifford DeVoe version of Thinker first appeared in All-Flash #12 and was created by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard.
The Cliff Carmichael version of Thinker first appeared in Firestorm #1 and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom.
Clifford DeVoe was a failed lawyer who bitterly ended his career in 1933. Realizing that many of the criminals he had encountered had the skills but not the brains to rule Gotham City's underworld, he started a new career as the brain behind small-time villains. As the Thinker, he was defeated by the original Flash, who soon became his most recurrent foe. He always sought out new scientific devices to use and his most important was the "Thinking Cap", a metal hat that could project mental force. The Thinker would use this device repeatedly over the years.
The Thinker was a member of the Injustice Society, leading an army of prison escapees like the other members. In Plateau City, the police nab a shabbily dressed man who is trying to shoot the Governor. They discover that this man is a dead ringer for the Governor and also claims to be the real Governor! The Flash arrives on the scene to overhear this, but moves on to confront the hoodlums attacking the city. The Thinker appears on the scene, firing a ray at the Crimson Comet, causing him to gain weight and crash through a roof. Recovering, the Flash speeds over the Governor's mansion, only to overhear the Governor ordering all police forces to surrender. Flash enters his office and discovers the Governor to be a dummy/machine, which flees through an open door. Flash attempts to warn the police that a phony Governor put out the message, but the Thinker shows up and tells the Fastest Man Alive that he is speaking into a dead mic, then snares him with invisible wires.
The Thinker appeared as a judge in the 'trial' of the JSA, but was revealed as the Green Lantern in disguise, having captured the real Thinker after escaping Brain Wave. This led to the Injustice Society's defeat. Together with the Fiddler and the Shade, the Thinker was the man behind the decades-long "abduction" of Keystone City and the original Flash, after which he was defeated by the Flashes of two eras. His "suspended animation-time" in Keystone kept the Thinker young over the years, and he continued his criminal career in modern times.
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