Doctor Diehard
Encyclopedia
Doctor Diehard is the name of three fictional
DC Comics
supervillain
s.
. He was based on the Marvel Comics
supervillain Magneto
, and like him has the ability to generate powerful magnetic fields.
used the robot duplicates to re-create his villain team, the Extremists. After traveling to Earth, the Extremists almost took over the world before being defeated by Justice League Europe
. The Extremists robots were then exhibited in Madame Clouseau's Wax Museum
in Paris
. They were later used by Dreamslayer a second time on the island of Kooey Kooey Kooey
, and still later as pawns of Twilight
in a battle with Supergirl
. The Diehard robot had all the powers of the original.
tie-in series Lord Havok
and the Extremists, A new version of Diehard is introduced on Earth-8. Hans Leckter runs a school for Metahuman
s, and chooses the best students to join his special team, the Zen Men
, much like Marvel's Professor X
. Diehard is the most openly rebellious member of the Extremists, constantly challenging Lord Havok's decisions. His school is destroyed by Monarch's
forces in #4, killing his students and wife, causing him to lash out at Havok in his grief, and after unsuccessfully trying to rally the Extremists against him, is killed by his teammates.
In #5, how Diehard came to join the Extremists is revealed. His school was deemed too dangerously powerful by the government, and was laid siege to by the Meta-Militia. Rather than risk a fight, Hans, then a man of peace, willingly surrendered. He and his students were placed in an internment camp, where they was power-dampening chips were planted in their palms, and they were given the choice to live in the camp's squalor, or join the Meta-Militia, which some of Hans' students, like One-Eye
, agreed to. Some time later, Hans' daughter, Anna
, was killed by a guard who had tried to force himself upon her, and his son, Jack
, was killed trying to avenge her. Their death caused Hans to throw off the reins of peace, and, after a repentant One-Eye destroyed his chip, lead his students in a rebellion. Their first escape attempt failed miserably, but the second, with help from Lord Havok, succeeded. In gratitude for Havok's assistance, Hans joined the Extremists.
Doctor Diehard is a robotic construct and has been deactivated and reactivated on numerous occasions.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s.
First Diehard
The first Doctor Diehard was part of the evil gang called the ExtremistsExtremists (comics)
The Extremists are a team of supervillains in DC Comics Justice League titles, they were introduced in Justice League Europe issue #15.-History:...
. He was based on the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
supervillain Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, and like him has the ability to generate powerful magnetic fields.
Diehard Robot
The second Doctor Diehard was a robotic duplicate of the first, one of many robots created by the inventor Mitch Wacky on the otherdimensional world of Angor, as part of a theme park attraction. After the death of virtually all heroes and villains on the planet, the evil DreamslayerDreamslayer
Dreamslayer is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain, and part of the evil gang called Extremists. Like the other Extremists, he is a homage to a Marvel Comics character, in this case Dormammu...
used the robot duplicates to re-create his villain team, the Extremists. After traveling to Earth, the Extremists almost took over the world before being defeated by Justice League Europe
Justice League Europe
Justice League Europe was a DC Comics book run that was a spin-off of the comic book Justice League America ....
. The Extremists robots were then exhibited in Madame Clouseau's Wax Museum
Wax museum
A wax museum or waxworks consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses....
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. They were later used by Dreamslayer a second time on the island of Kooey Kooey Kooey
Kooey Kooey Kooey
Kooey Kooey Kooey is a fictional country in the DC Universe.Kooey Kooey Kooey is an island in the South Pacific. It was featured prominently in Justice League International as written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis...
, and still later as pawns of Twilight
Twilight (comics)
Twilight is a fictional character from the DC Comics series Supergirl. She first appeared in Supergirl # 15, 1997.-History:A girl named Molly and her twin Jane were born on Apokolips and meant to become members of the Female Furies...
in a battle with Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
. The Diehard robot had all the powers of the original.
Countdown
In the Countdown to Final CrisisCountdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
tie-in series Lord Havok
Lord Havok
Lord Havok is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain, part of the supervillain team called the Extremists. He is based on the Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom, and, like him, is a genius equipped with powered armor...
and the Extremists, A new version of Diehard is introduced on Earth-8. Hans Leckter runs a school for Metahuman
Metahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
s, and chooses the best students to join his special team, the Zen Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, much like Marvel's Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
. Diehard is the most openly rebellious member of the Extremists, constantly challenging Lord Havok's decisions. His school is destroyed by Monarch's
Monarch (comics)
Monarch is the name of three fictional DC Comics supervillains. The first Monarch is Hank Hall, formerly Hawk, who later renames himself Extant for the Zero Hour crossover. The second Monarch is Nathaniel Adam, a U.S. Army Captain. The third Monarch is Captain Atom, a former superhero...
forces in #4, killing his students and wife, causing him to lash out at Havok in his grief, and after unsuccessfully trying to rally the Extremists against him, is killed by his teammates.
In #5, how Diehard came to join the Extremists is revealed. His school was deemed too dangerously powerful by the government, and was laid siege to by the Meta-Militia. Rather than risk a fight, Hans, then a man of peace, willingly surrendered. He and his students were placed in an internment camp, where they was power-dampening chips were planted in their palms, and they were given the choice to live in the camp's squalor, or join the Meta-Militia, which some of Hans' students, like One-Eye
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
, agreed to. Some time later, Hans' daughter, Anna
Silver Sorceress
The Silver Sorceress is a DC Comics character and member of the Champions of Angor. She first appeared in Justice League of America #87, , and is an homage to the Scarlet Witch.-Fictional character biography:...
, was killed by a guard who had tried to force himself upon her, and his son, Jack
Quicksilver (comics)
Quicksilver is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
, was killed trying to avenge her. Their death caused Hans to throw off the reins of peace, and, after a repentant One-Eye destroyed his chip, lead his students in a rebellion. Their first escape attempt failed miserably, but the second, with help from Lord Havok, succeeded. In gratitude for Havok's assistance, Hans joined the Extremists.
Powers and abilities
Doctor Diehard is capable of manipulating and channelling magnetic fields. He can manipulate iron and iron-based alloys to his whim. He can explode metal constructs, and manipulate ferrous objects with nearly unlimited range. He can also fly under this own power.Doctor Diehard is a robotic construct and has been deactivated and reactivated on numerous occasions.