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Title Character
Doctor Druid
Doctor Druid
Alter Ego: Anthony Ludgate Druid
Notable Aliases: Druid, Doctor Droom
Team Affiliations: The Avengers
First Appearance: Amazing Adventures #1 (June, 1961)
Doctor Druid was a psychiatrist who was attracted to the mystic arts. After being trained by a Tibetan Lama, Druid gained mastery over some mystic arts.
- Alliterative Name: Doctor Druid.
- Bestiality Is Depraved: His son Sebastian Druid appears as a member of Nick Fury's Secret Warriors, and is said to have monster blood in him.
- Back from the Dead: In Dr. Strange, Surgeon Supreme, he left Weirdworld and came back for real.
- Brainwashed and Crazy:
- His Avengers membership was tainted when he was mind controlled by supervillainess the Terminatrix (at the time impersonating the space pirate Nebula) into manipulating the team on her behalf. While in this state, he even assumed chairmanship of the team for a very short period, though only because he rigged the election by controlling the minds of other members and forcing them to vote for him. When "Nebula" was cast into Limbo, Druid followed, as he was still under her thrall. He eventually regained control of his own mind and returned to Earth.
- As leader of the Secret Defenders, he was once again victimized by a villain's mind control, this time by the demon Slorioth.
- Druid: He was said to carry with him the ancient powers/knowledge of the Britons.
- Enlightenment Superpowers
- Fallen Hero: In the time leading up to Daimon Hellstrom's murder of Druid, he'd become a murderous psychopath and cult leader. During his time on Weirdworld, Druid had become a tyrant.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: During Stern's run on the Avengers, pretty much any interaction with him had everyone coming away thinking what an ass he was.
- Geas: When he gained his new powers in the Druid (1995) series, they were accompanied by a geis that he must not break. However, as his own powers couldn't see the nature of the geis, and Ludgate was the last druid, with no colleagues who could tell him, he didn't learn what it was until he hooked up with the witch Nekra Sinclair — at which point he lost his magics and discovered that he's not supposed to love witches. Nekra, a Love-Interest Traitor working for Daimon Hellstrom, had seemingly known this all along.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: In Druid (1995) he snapped and became a Sociopathic Hero, leading to his murder by Nekra and Daimon Hellstrom. Then he was among the reanimated Avengers who rebelled against both the Grim Reaper and Amatsu-Mikaboshi. In the 2016 Squadron Supreme series. One always thought he was a self important asshole, but this combined with his reputation as the worst Avenger, and the general disrespect his former teammates had for him after his death lead to him taking over Weirdworld as a cruel tyrant. When he reappeared in 2019's Dr. Strange, Surgeon Supreme, he once again seemed to be on the side of the angels, but the series ended before it could be confirmed to be true.
- Hunter of Monsters: He was a member of the pre-Fantastic Four team the Monster Hunters (alongside Ulysses Bloodstone, Makkari, Zawadi of the Wakandas, and Gorgilla), who combatted the assorted giant monsters who were stomping around the Marvel Universe in those days.
- Jerkass: The guy could be quite a prick.
- Kryptonite Factor: Druidic magic is affected by iron.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: His son Sebastian Druid is a far nicer person than Anthony ever was.
- Mind over Matter: Druid was capable of levitating himself or other objects.
- More than Mind Control: His manipulation at the hands of Ravonna did include some brainwashing, but also just playing on Druid's general toolishness as was.
- Not Quite Dead: Killed by Hellstrom in the Druid (1995) series, but in Squadron Supreme (2015), it revealed that despite being dead, his soul took on a corporal form when it encountered Weirdworld, and that as long as he remained in the magical realm, he was essentially alive. Then he seemed to come back for real in Dr. Strange, Surgeon Supreme, though the end ended before it could be revealed how.
- Occult Detective / Proto-Superhero: Back before Fantastic Four #1, when Marv... er, Atlas Comics wasn't publishing super hero stories, Dr. Druid was a plainclothes hero with mystic powers who investigated assorted weird phenomena. He was originlly called "Doctor Droom," but this was later changed so readers wouldn't confuse him with Doctor Doom. Roger Stern brought him back after decades of obscurity to join the Avengers.
- Precursor Hero: He was this to Doctor Strange, both in-universe and out, according to this link
. - The Starscream: As an Avenger, he started undermining or sniping at Monica Rambeau at every opportunity. Then Terminatrix got in his head, and Druid became willing to leave her for dead so he could be leader, and basically usurped control via brainwashing everyone in the room while standing over her in hospital.
- Telepathy: He possesses some degree of telepathy.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: After he abandoned his superhero identity in Druid (1995), he devoted himself to the triple-goddess, acquiring nature powers and truly becoming the last druid. Unfortunately, this also harmed his already fragile sanity. Daimon Hellstrom swiftly decided that this new version of Druid was too dangerous to live.
