Dr. Destructo[2] was the archenemy of Captain Steel, a popular comic book superhero. Both were created by Len Wolfman. He was a mad scientist who wore golden robotic armor.
History[]
In the 1980s, the Captain Steel comic books were not as popular as they used to be, so Len Wolfman was working on the last issue.[3] Unfortunately, Captain Steel did not like the idea of having his series canceled, so he entered the real world.
Dr. Destructo soon followed Captain Steel into the real world in a plot to conquer it. He had a device called the Mental Neutralizer that would turn people into mindless zombies, but he needed energy to power it.[4] Destructo detected a suitable power source in all places, the Firehouse and took Janine Melnitz hostage. He erected a force field, powered by nucleonic energy, around the Firehouse so that no one could interfere with his plans.[5] As he tried to adapt the power grid that fed the energy to the Ghostbusters' Containment Unit, the Ghostbusters and Captain Steel went to Wolfman for help. They broke down the force field and stormed the basement. Dr. Destructo found himself surrounded but threatened to activate his weapon. Ray Stantz quickly pressed a button on the storage facility's computer, capturing Destructo and using the grid to imprison him in the containment unit with the other ghosts. Since Destructo didn't have superpowers like Captain to resist the grid, he was easily sucked in like a standard ghost.[6] Captain Steel returned to the pages of his comic series after learning that his presence in the real world drummed up enough publicity to make the press change their minds about canceling the comic.
Trivia[]
- Dr. Destructo is a parody of the stereotypical mad scientist villain, and he may also be based on the Superman villain Lex Luthor, just as Captain Steel is based off Superman. This seems likely, because Dr. Destructo wears robotic armor and by the time the episode aired, Lex Luthor also wore robotic armor.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Captain Steel Saves the Day" (1986).
- ↑ Len Wolfman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Captain Steel Saves the Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 3:26-3:31). Time Life Entertainment. Len says: "Dr. Destructo zaps Cap with a laser, knocking him off the roof."
- ↑ Len Wolfman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Captain Steel Saves the Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 6:27-6:32). Time Life Entertainment. Len says: "It wasn't selling anymore. Kids are too hip nowadays to believe in a do-gooder like Captain Steel."
- ↑ Dr. Destructo (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Captain Steel Saves the Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 17:29-17:35). Time Life Entertainment. Dr. Destructo says: "It will turn every man, woman, and child on Earth into mindless zombies under my control!"
- ↑ Len Wolfman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Captain Steel Saves the Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 18:01-18:07). Time Life Entertainment. Len says: "Dr. Destructo uses nucleonic energy to power his force field. So this Quasitronic Nuclear Inverter ought to weaken it."
- ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Captain Steel Saves the Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 20:11-20:22). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "You see Dr. Destructo and Captain Steel aren't real, at least not like we are. In the comic, Dr. Destructo doesn't have any super powers so he didn't have the sheer strength to resist our weapons like Captain Steel does."
Gallery[]
