Princess Maru (Earth-Two)
In 1942, Japanese Imperial Princess Maru became Doctor Poison, disguising her gender via a bulky hooded costume and mask, to become the leader of a German spy ring whose ultimate goal was to wreak havoc in the US Army by contaminating the army's water with "Reverso," a drug that "confuses the brain centers… [making] soldiers do the exact opposite of what they are told."
This plan was foiled by the Amazon heroine Wonder Woman and Doctor Poison was imprisoned, but she later escaped and, in 1943, now working directly for Japan, grounded all US planes along the front of China via a "green gas" which "enter[ed] the carburetor and stop[ed] the engine." Wonder Woman halted this scheme as well, and Doctor Poison was imprisoned on Transformation Island, the Amazon penal colony. She was not seen again until 1948, when she and seven other female super-villains escaped and pooled their talents as Villainy Inc., led by the Saturnian slaver Eviless. The evil eight were again defeated by Wonder Woman.
Throughout most of her first appearance Doctor Poison was believed to be a male due to her disguise, and she retained this "drag king" garb in her later appearances; whether this guise was simply a necessity of assuming power within the male-dominated Axis governments or indicative of something else is difficult to say at this late date.
Notes[edit]
This version of Doctor Poison, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
Appearances[edit]
- Adventure Comics Vol 1 416
- The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia
- Sensation Comics Vol 1 2
- Sensation Comics Vol 1 24
- Wonder Woman Vol 1 18
- Wonder Woman Vol 1 28
- Wonder Woman 80-Page Giant
Links[edit]
- Princess_Maru_(Earth-Two) (DC Fandom)