Nick Peron

View Original

Lightning Comics (Vol. 2) #1

Doctor Nemesis

Credits

Mike Johnson, a construction foreman, is on the job when suddenly a brick falls on his head causing him to fall from the girders. His coworkers quickly call for an ambulance to get him medical attention. Riding the ambulance is Doctor James Bradley who is appraised of the situation on the way.

Back at the scene of the accident, a police officer arrives asks Mike what happened. Mike tells the officer that someone was trying to silence him but this is quickly dismissed by Max McNulty, the contractor, and his partner Al Mirch who insists that he Mike is delusional due to his injuries. Soon the ambulance arrives and Doctor Bradley stabilizes the patient before moving him inside the ambulance. Deciding to keep things quiet, both McNulty and Mirch approach James and try to bribe him to keep his mouth shut. Insulted, James refuses the money and leaves, leaving Max to hope the doctor still keeps his mouth shut. On the way to the hospital, Mike begins mumbling about being silenced again. James becomes suspicious and injects Johnson with his truth serum. Once it kicks in, Mike tells James that McNulty and Mirch are using shoddy materials in their construction projects in order to make bigger profits. When Mike learned this he was about to blow the whistle when the pair tried to silence him.

Later at the hospital, Mike Johnson goes into surgery and is expected to survive if he gets a needed blood transfusion. As he has a matching blood type, James volunteers to give the transfusion needed. Although weakened from the transfusion, James refuses to rest when he hears that an apartment building suddenly collapsed and doctors are needed on site.

While treating the survivors, Doctor Bradley learns that they were concerned about the building started showing cracks that were dismissed as the structure settling. After seeing that there are have been fatalities, James overhears how this building was one of the many projects built by McNulty and Mirch. James has heard enough and decides to pay McNulty and Mirch a visit… as Doctor Nemesis.

Going to Mirch’s mansion, Doctor Nemesis ambushes Al and one of his henchmen. With the battle over, Doctor Nemesis injects Mirch with the truth serum and forces him to make a confession to the police over the phone. That’s when McNulty walks in on the confession and tries to flee Doctor Nemesis. The masked hero chases McNulty up one of his own construction projects where, while trying to get away McNulty trips and falls from the girders. Grabbing for a pipe, Max becomes victim of his own shoddy construction when the pipe slides out of the concrete and he falls to his death.

Recurring Characters

Doctor Nemesis