Doctor Spectrum (Character)

Created by: Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema

1st appearance: Avengers #69          Death: Marvel Two In One #41

Nationality: African

Team Affiliations: Squadron Sinister

Legal Status: Criminal

Eyes: Brown     Hair: Black

Height: 5’10”   Weight: 200lbs

Relatives:  none

Skills and abilities: college graduate; very intelligent, Ugandan Finance Minister

Powers/Weapons: Kinji wields the Power Prism given to him by the Grandmaster when he joined the Squadron Sinister as Dr. Spectrum. The prism grants Kinji various energy based powers including the ability to create energy constructs and energy shields. He also can absorb and manipulate energy, as well fire energy blast. It grants him the ability of flight, which includes flight into outer space, increased durability, intangibility, and increased speed. The prism is also powerful enough to revert the Hulk into Bruce Banner (Giant Size Defenders, 1974). The prisms only weakness is ultraviolet light. The prism wielded by Kinji was really a Skrull named Krimonn, who was ordered into a crystalline form,

Biography

Dr. Kinji Obatu was the acting Finance Minister for Uganda when he was granted the Power Prism by the Grandmaster and became a member of the Squadron Sinister. Kinji, as a member of the Squadron, was now called Dr. Spectrum. The Squadron was created to fight the Avengers in a contest between the Grandmaster and Kang the Conqueror (Avengers #69). Dr. Spectrum next appeared in Detroit battling Iron Man (Iron Man #63-67). He attacks Iron Man twice, and upon the second attack, Iron Man uses ultraviolet light to weaken and defeat Dr. Spectrum. As Kinji Obatu, he goes to Stark and asks if Iron Man could act as his bodyguard. At that moment, Kinji was attacked by a being called Rokk.  Rokk kidnaps Kinji and draws Iron Man into a fight. After bringing Iron Man close to defeat, Rokk vanishes and Dr. Spectrum appears. Kinji contacts Luke Cage in New York and asks him to be his bodyguard, but Cage turns him down (Iron Man #65, 1973). The entity which resides in the prism possesses Iron Man for a while, and when Thor arrives to help, the entity possesses him as well. The entity is defeated and the prism is smashed into pieces. Kinji is taken into custody and deported back to Uganda. He was tried and sentenced to death for crimes he committed and was due to face a firing squad, but escaped and allied himself with a witch doctor named W’Sulli. W’Sulli controls a creature called a Zavembie, which was used to attack and kidnap prominent members of the black community, including the Black Panther (teaching under the alias “Luke Charles”), who was investigating the disappearances (Marvel Two in One #40, 1974). The Black Panther and the Thing battle and defeat the creature, but the next day when the Thing goes to visit the Black Panther he sees that he has been kidnapped and runs into Brother Voodoo, who is also investigating the disappearances. They find out that Kinii Obatu, now powerless, W’Sulli, and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin are responsible for the kidnappings. They follow them to Uganda, where they confront them and Kinji falls over a balcony to his death (Marvel Two In One #41, 1974).