next character >
next character (alphabetically) >
next Non-Religious character >
next Nazi character >
< previous character
< previous character (alphabetically)
< previous Non-Religious character
< previous Nazi character
Religion: skeptic of supernaturalism; Nazi 
Name: Dr. John Radick
Classification:
villain
Publisher(s): 
First Appearance: The Doom Patrol (vol. 1) #94 (Mar. 1965): "The Nightmare Fighters"
Creators: Arnold Drake, Bob Brown
Super? (Has Super Powers/Special Abilities/Technology): Yes
Number of Appearances: 1
Enemy of: Rama Kara, The Doom Patrol
Ally: Dr. Janus
Occupation: writer
Gender: male
Note: wrote best seller "Illusion and Reality"
On a TV interview show, Dr. John Radick appeared. He was identified as the author of "Illusion and Reality," a supernaturalist-debunking book. Radick purported himself to be a skeptic of Indian mysticism.
Later, the Doom Patrol confronted strange phenomena and the apparent visitation of an Indian deity. They ultimately found that Radick was behind it all, using technology developed by his father, the evil Nazi war criminal Dr. Janus.
There seems to be no particular reason to believe that Radick was insincere identifying himself as a skeptic of the supernatural. After all, he did take the time to write a whole book abou the subject and he spoke with conviction from this position. It seems odd, though, that he is also using technology to make generate fake sightings of the very beings he debunks. Perhaps he felt that if or when the fakery was discovered, it would further his anti-supernatural position. Whatever the case, he used his technology to create havok and commit crimes. Another possibility is that Radick was trying to frame the Hindu deity (Osra) for villainous acts (such as destroying a warehouse) by creating illusions of the being doing these things. But this theory is problematic because Radick's main point in his book and his TV appearance was that Osra doesn't exist, not that Osra was evil. Why would Radick want to convince people that Osra is real, but does evil things? Ultimately, Radick purports himself to be the rational sketpic, but his behavior doesn't seen entirely rational.
Radick's father was a notorious Nazi war criminal. We believe Radick was heavily influenced by his father's Nazi beliefs as he was influenced in so many other ways by his father. Radick's behavior in this story seems to be attributable to him trying to father in his father's footsteps or avenge his father against the world and the Doom Patrol. He seems unwilling to face that fact that his father was evil.
The Doom Patrol (vol. 1) #94 (Mar. 1965): "The Nightmare Fighters"
Suggested links for further research about this character and the character's religious affiliation:
- http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Doom_Patrol_Vol_1_94
- http://www.rpi.edu/~bulloj/Doom_Patrol/dp94.html
- https://www.comics.org/issue/19006
- http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=120269