The Freedom Fighters Return: Punching Nazis on Earth-X

Doll Man, by Daniel Acuña (Courtesy DC Comics)

Doll Man

Billed as “The World’s Mightiest Mite” by Quality Comics, scientist Darrel Dane premiered in 1939 considered the first shrinking superhero. Doll Man teamed with his fiancée Doll Girl and Elmo the Wonder Dog to defeat foes, and occasionally flew a bird to get around. It sounds quaint now but it was a winning formula: Doll Man’s comic ran for over a decade.

After being bought by DC Comics in the late 50s, Doll Man returned to fight Nazis on Earth-X along with the rest of the Freedom Fighters in 15-issue series written by Gerry Conway (Spiderman) and Martin Pasko (Dr. Fate, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm), and later Bob Rozakis (‘Mazing Man). After the series cancellation, DC relegated Doll Man to small appearances in All-Star Squadron.

In the early 2000s, Doll Man was reimagined by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Permanently miniaturized soldier Lester Colt defected from the nefarious espionage organization S.H.A.D.E. (Super Human Advanced Defense Executive) to join the new Freedom Fighters. Later a third Doll Man separate from previous versions, Dane Maxwell, was part of the 2012 Phantom Lady & Doll Man series, again by Gray and Palmiotti. This version was also permanently shrunk, and the miniseries featured a more conventional superhero story with some self-aware humor. Press for the upcoming Earth-X series shows that Doll Man will be reimagined as Doll Woman, no word if she will be based on the original character’s fiancée Martha Roberts.