Doctor Occult (b. circa 1899) is a supernatural investigator and powerful magus who uses his magical and deductive abilities to aid the forces of good. He and his lover, Rose Psychic, share the same body but can only manifest one at a time. As a result, they are only able to touch one another when separated from the physical realm (such as being inside another person's psyche).
Appearance and personality[]
Although he was born around 1899, Doctor Occult still appears to be in his mid-40s, and has done so for decades, having attained immortality in the 1940s. He is a dark-haired Caucasian man who dresses in traditional private detective gear, with a suit, trilby hat and tan trenchcoat. In terms of his personality, Occult is a level-headed, heroic and compassionate man, unafraid to stand up to creatures considerably more powerful than him.
Fictional biography[]
Doctor Occult was originally born to a god-fearing American couple in 1899, but was taken from them as a baby by a Satanic cult who intended to sacrifice him on the eve of the new century, along with another, female child. They were saved by Zator, a disciple of a supernatural group named The Seven, who spirited them away to The Citadel of the Seven. There, they learned the ways of magic and grew attracted to one another - although The Seven forbade any sexual encounters between the two. Upon reaching puberty, they were given the names of Doctor Occult and Rose Psychic, and sent out into the wider world to battle evil.
They ended up in New York in the 1920s, where they opened up a supernatural detective agency and battled various dangerous foes. During World War II they joined the superhero group The All-Star Squadron, which fought all manner of unearthly threats to America and the world. In 1945 Doctor Occult sacrificed himself to stop a creature known as The Stalker. To save him, Rose bonded his soul with hers. Since then they have lived in the same body, unable to both exist in the physical realm simultaneously. Another explanation has Rose dying and being bonded to Occult, but is most likely apocryphal.
In the early 1990s Occult, Mister E, The Phantom Stranger and John Constantine - sarcastically referred to by the latter as 'The Trenchcoat Brigade' - joined together to introduce Tim Hunter, potentially the world's most powerful mage, to the world of magic, and also to encourage him to use his talents for good. Occult (and Rose) took Tim to the lands of Faerie and The Dreaming. (The Books of Magic minseries issue one-four, 1991)
The Trenchcoat Brigade joined forces again in 1999, when Pyotr Konstantin, an ancestor of John Constantine, accidentally caused the end of the world. Occult helped the team defeat the cancer god M'Nagalah, but not before becoming trapped in the mind of Mister E, where he saw some of the crusader's dark past. Occult's own past was glimpsed by The Phantom Stranger, who - having experienced what it is like to be joined to someone you love but never able to touch them, began to despair. Occult was able to reassure him that there is always hope, however. (The Trenchcoat Brigade issue one-four, 1999)
Powers and Abilities[]
- Sorcery
- Magical Force Manipulation
- Magical Energy Replication
- Magical Energy Negation
- Mystical Senses
- Mystical Awareness
- Mystical Invulnerability
- Divine Sources
- Divine Invoking
- Divination
- Eldritch Blasts
- Occultism
- Enchantments
- Exorcism
- Banishment
- Binding
- Conjuration
- Summoning
- Scrying
- Spell Casting
- Spell Deflection
- Spell Amplification
- Precognition
- Postcognition
- Premonitions
- Pyschometry
- Clairvoyance
- Hypnosis
- Mind-Control
- Mental Manipulation
- Mental Possession
- Mental Domination
- Illusion Casting
- Astral Projection
- Empathy
- Telepathy
- Telekinesis
- Teleportation
- Portal Creation
- Force-Fields
- Dimensional Travel
- Enhanced Physiology
- Self-Sustenance
- Multilingualism
- Transformation
- Metamorphosis
- Size-Alteration
- Density Control
- Intangibility
- Invisibility
- Immortality
- Phasing
- Matter Transmutation
- Elemental Control
- Weather Control
- Levitation
- Flight