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Doc Savage is a pulp magazine hero, one of the most popular and successful of all time. He was created by Lester Dent, who wrote the heroes adventures for years. Doc Savage is a non-super hero, a physically superior brain surgeon who travels around the world helping those in need.

While naturally gifted (he stands approximately 2 meters or 6 feet, 6 inches tall), his special abilities also come from his unusual upbringing. After Doc's mother dies, his father (himself an explorer), brings in specialists to tutor him in a variety of mental and physical disciplines. Even as an adult, Doctor Clark Savage, Jr., engages in a daily routine designed to train his body, mind, and senses.

In his first adventure, The Man of Bronze (March 1933), Doc is not hesitant to kill enemies. However, he quickly develops a “no-kill” policy. Instead, he deploys nonlethal weapons, such as guns that fire “mercy bullets,” and breakable glass globes that contain an anesthetic gas that disperses in 60 seconds.

He carries these and other gadgets in a vest. He possesses a variety of vehicles, including an autogyro and a submarine. Doc Savage was very wealthy, and had almost unlimited resources at his disposal.

He is typically assisted by one or more members of a group of five men with whom he served in the Great War (now more commonly known as World War I). Each of them has a specialty: Andrew “Monk” Mayfair is a chemist; Theodore “Ham” Brooks is a lawyer; Thomas “Long Tom” Roberts is an electrical engineer; William Harper “Johnny” Littlejohn is an archaeologist and geologist; and John “Renny” Renwick is a civil engineer. Each were the greatest expert in the world in their field - except for Doc Savage himself.

Their opponents often seem to be supernatural. Only one villain, John Sunlight, ever appeared more than once in the 181 original stories. This quickly gave Sunlight arch nemesis status.

The original pulps were reprinted in paperback by Bantam Books in the 1960s and 1970s. Recently, a company called Nostalgia Ventures Inc. has been reprinting the Doc Savage pulp novels in a large softcover format resembling the original format with excellent articles and introductory pieces. Each contains 2 pulp novels and much of the original art and are priced at about $12.95.

Hero Comparisons

Superman: Both heroes are named Clark. Doc was the “Man of Bronze,” Superman was the “Man of Steel.” Both had a Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic Circle. Both had blonde female cousins who featured in the stories (Supergirl and Patricia "Pat" Savage). Both had a code against killing. All of these elements appeared first in the Doc Savage pulps.

Batman: Both heroes are millionaire philanthropists. Both have trained extensively, but have no superpowers. Both have a variety of special vehicles they use, which they keep in hidden hangars. Doc Savage has a utility vest full of gadgets. Batman has a utility belt full of gadgets.

Despite these similarities to Batman, it has been remarked that Doc Savage and The Shadow are the pulp hero equivalents to Superman and Batman in the comic book world.

Fantastic Four: Both adventure series concerned a team of heroes led by a genius whose headquarters was located in a Manhattan skyscraper.

These similarities are not coincidental. It is felt that many comic book and action heroes are literary descendants of the original pulp heroes.

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