Real Name: Anthony Druid
Occupation: Psychiatrist, occult expert
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Former Aliases: None (Note: His name has erroneously been reported as "Dr. Droom.")
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Amergin (10th Century ancestor)
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Modern Appearance: WEIRD WONDER TALES # 19

History: Anthony Druid got his medical degree from Harvard, then went on to study psychiatry. He retired from his psychiatric practice after several years to devote more time to his growing interest in the occult. He supported himself by writing popular books on psychology and related matters and by lecturing. In the midst of his research for a second book on the occult, Druid was summoned by an ailing Tibetan lama apparently in need of medical aid. The lama put Druid through a series of bizarre mystic and spiritual tests to ascertain Druid's worthiness. Finding him worthy, the dying lama opened Druid's mind to its hidden powers and taught him the mastery of certain mystic arts. He has thus become a practioner of the occult arts.

Druid had remained in seclusion for several years, investigating occult matters personally and in secret. At one point, he teamed up with other clandestine "monster-hunters", including Bloodstone and the Eternal Makkari, in stopping a threat from the Deviants. Soon, the Fantastic Four appeared, ushering in Earth's Age of Marvels, and later, Druid would find himself aiding the hero team Avengers against the Celtic monsters known as the Fomor.

Doctor Druid was instrumental in freeing Avengers Mansion from its occupation by the fourth Masters of Evil, and he applied successfully for Avengers membership shortly thereafter. Not long after joining, Druid fell under the mental control of Ravonna (then called Nebula, later Terminatrix), who used Druid's mental powers to manipulate the Avengers into aiding her search for an ultimate weapon. Druid manipulated the other Avengers into electing him chairman to this end, but the Avengers soon discovered the plotters and opposed them in a conflict that ended with Druid and Ravonna being lost in the time stream.

Druid eventually escaped, free of Ravonna's influence, rejuvenated into a younger version of himself, and with a renewed purpose. He renewed his association with the Avengers as an occasional inactive reservist in hopes of mending fences with the group. For a time, he led the occult adventurers called the Shock Troop and later served with the Secret Defenders as the team's puppet leader under the auspices of Doctor Strange.

Recently, he embarked on an obsessive quest to augment his magical powers, one which eventually led to his death at the hands of his then-lover, the villainous Nekra.

Height: 6 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 310 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Heir: Slack

Strength Level: Doctor Druid possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.

Known Superhuman Powers: Doctor Druid is a master of certain special disciplines of the mystical arts. His abilities are derived from two major sources: personal powers of the body and mind developed under the tutelage of the Tibetan lama, and the employment of the arcane lore of his Celtic forefathers. Because he does not manipulate ambient and extradimensional magical energy, Druid cannot be considered a sorcerer. His use of ritualistic Celtic Earth magic does qualify him as a mystic, however.

Doctor Druid possesses a number of yogic physical powers. He has control over the involuntary functions of his body, such as his heartbeat, respiration, bleeding, and reaction to pain. He has also developed certain mental powers generally classified as psionic (utilizing an unknown form of energy generated by the mind). Druid has great telepathic capacity, enabling him to broadcast and receive thoughts. He is able to scan virtually any mind or project his thoughts to anyone on Earth, provided he knows where to reach the mind he seeks. He also possesses the ability to mesmerize people to his will, controlling what they see, hear, or do. This mental domination is only possible over those minds who are less adept than his own. His control over a person (or persons) persists until such time as the subject completes the task he or she was given, until Druid willfully releases him or her, or until the effect of the hypnosis loses its potency (generally a matter of hours for most minds). By means of hypnosis, Druid is able to achieve a number of illusory effects: invisibility, power-bolts, transformation, sudden materialization, etc. He also has certain psychokinetic powers, enabling him to levitate objects at will. The maximum weight he can lift with his mind is equivalent to the weight he can lift with his body, approximately 300 pounds. He can even levitate himself off the ground while in meditation, but he does not have sufficient skill to use this levitation to fly to any real extent.

Possessing the racial memories of his Celtic ancestors, Doctor Druid employs the knowledge and skills of the ancient Druids after whom he was named. These skills are those of the natural or earth variety, employing candles, potions, mystic symbols, chants, runes, and other elaborate preparations. By such rituals, Druid is able to accomplish any number of specific magical feats, although the lengthy preparations required generally prohibit their more frequent use. Earth magic is designed to tap the inherent mystical energy in natural objects and materials, and is not as efficient as the tapping of the ambient mystical energy in the environment as a whole.

Druid's other ancestrally derived knowledge is that of astrology. By a mystic awareness of the stars' and planets' positions, Druid has limited precognitive insights as well as a sensitivity to the balance of mystic forces. He can sense the presence of recent use of all forms of magic (even those he cannot employ) and trace them to their source.

Limitations: Druid's Druidic powers have a special vulnerability to iron, as did that of his ancestors. Iron tends to act as a "lightning rod" for the magical forces he employs, sometimes disrupting its effects.