DOCTOR GROITZIG

Real Name: Dr. Hans Groitzig

Identity/Class: Human (German) (World War II)

Occupation: Nazi scientist

Group Membership: Presumably Nazi Party

Affiliations: Scharrolla (first name unrevealed)

Enemies: Patriot (Jeff Mace), Mary Morgan, two Nazi agents (Ludwig & unidentified partner)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: His laboratory, abandoned lighthouse, Long Island shore, United States

First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5 (December, 1943)

Powers/Abilities: Knowledgeable in the field of chemistry, Groitzig was trying to develop a serum to aid the Nazi cause, although his experiment apparently didn't work as expected (see comments).  Not one who seemed to be too concerned about his physical appearance, Groitzig had a scraggily beard, unkempt hair, and the bad habit of drooling.

Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 165 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unknown
Hair: Black

History: (Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5 (fb) - BTS) - Their past is unknown, but Dr. Groitzig and Scharrolla set up a laboratory at "Horror Light," an old abandoned lighthouse, where they worked on creating a serum to help the armies of the Third Reich conquer the world.

(Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5) - One evening, their work was completed, so Groitzig and Scharrolla drove into the city to find a test subject.  They came upon reporter Mary Morgan, who was standing outside the newspaper office, waiting for Jeff Mace to pick her up for their date (see comments).  The fiendish pair abducted Mary and put her in their car just as Mace came walking by.  As Groitzig and Scharrolla drove off with Mary, Mace climbed in a taxi and followed them to the lighthouse.

   In their lab, Groitzig and Scharrolla blindfolded Mary and tied her to an operating table, then injected her with the experimental serum, but Groitzig saw that it was not working on Mary as it should.  Believing their experiment to be a failure, Groitzig ordered Scharrolla to destroy all their papers and manuscripts before Nazi agents arrived to collect the serum.  Leaving Mary behind, the two were ready to flee, but as they opened the door, they were confronted by the Patriot.  The hero plowed into the two scientists and fought them--Mary was able to warn the Patriot about Scharrolla sneaking up from behind, even though she was still blindfolded.  After a brief skirmish, the Patriot eventually knocked the scientists unconscious, then freed Mary.  Through the walls of the laboratory, Mary saw a Nazi submarine offshore, and she explained to the Patriot that she had been injected with a serum and she could now see through things and hear what people were saying from a distance, even as she now saw and heard two Nazi agents come ashore.  The Patriot sent Mary to summon the Coast Guard while he hid in a closet and waited for the Nazis to arrive.

   Groitzig and Scharrolla revived just as the two Nazi agents came in the lab and demanded the serum.  The scientists told them the experiment was unsuccessful and they needed more time to work on it, and one of the Nazi agents shot and killed Groitzig and Scharrolla for their failure.  The Patriot rushed out of concealment and knocked out the two Nazi agents, just as members of the Coast Guard arrived to take them into custody.  One of the soldiers told the Patriot that Mary had somehow been able to direct a plane to the enemy submarine's exact location (no doubt, by using her newfound powers), and it was blown out of the water.

   As he drove her back to the city in Groitzig's car, the Patriot thanked Mary for her help on this case, and said he was sure the two of them would meet again soon.

(Captain America: Patriot#1 - BTS) - Jeff Mace wrote a Daily Bugle article about the incident.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Syd Shores (artist)

Groitzig and Scharrolla each spoke in terribly stereotypical German and Italian accents--"Ach du lieber, somptink vent wrong!"/"Oh mama mia, whata we do now?"

Groitzig never specified exactly what the serum was supposed to do, but his reaction after he injected Mary with it implies he was probably expecting her to undergo some physical change.  My guess is that he was working on a variant of Dr. Erskine's Super Soldier Serum (which transformed the skinny Steve Rogers into Captain America), and when Groitzig saw that Mary wasn't suddenly bursting with muscles, he believed his experiment to be a failure, but the faulty serum caused other unforeseen mutagenic changes in Mary instead.

Setting up their experiment on enemy soil doesn't jibe with that objective. I wonder, instead, if it was intended to change her mind or personality? Imagine being able to create fifth columnists out of loyal citizens like Mary.
--Darci

Although Mary seemed to be endowed with the enhanced senses of "telescopic/x-ray vision" and "super-hearing," I'd guess that her powers were actually psionic in nature and were more akin to the psychic phenomenon known as remote viewing.
 

Mary Morgan was a supporting character in the Patriot feature, and she was first introduced in Marvel Mystery Comics I#21 (July, 1941).  But this particular story--"Introducing Miss Patriot"--is her first appearance with superpowers.  Unfortunately, she had a less-than-stellar super-career.

According to Spider-Man: Back in Black Handbook's profile for the Daily Bugle, both Mary Morgan and Jeff Mace worked for that newspaper in the 1940s.

Groitzig's first name was revealed in Captain America: Patriot#1 (November, 2011). Thanks to Gammatotem for pointing this out.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Doctor Groitzig has no known connections to:

Scharrolla has no known connections to:

Ludwig has no known connection to:

Scharrolla

A short, chubby and balding Italian scientist, Signore Scharrolla was Groitzig's assistant.  He worked with Groitzig to create a serum to help the Nazis.  When they completed their work, Scharrolla and Groitzig drove into the city to find a test subject, and they happened to abduct reporter Mary Morgan.  But their experiment did not work as planned, so the scientists were preparing to flee before Nazi agents arrived to collect the serum.  Scharrolla and Groitzig were confronted by the Patriot, and were later shot by the Nazi agents.

--Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5















Nazi agents

Coming to America aboard a Nazi U-boat, Ludwig (who wore an eye-patch) and his monocled cohort came ashore on a mission to retrieve a serum developed by Groitzig and Scharrolla.  When they went into the scientists' lab, they learned that they were unsuccessful in developing the serum, so they shot Groitzig and Scharrolla.  The Nazis were then confronted by the Patriot, knocked unconscious, and taken into custody by the Coast Guard.

--Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5














images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5, p2, pan1 (main image, Groitzig; wearing safety goggles in his lab)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5, p3, pan3 (head shot)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5, p2, pan3 (Scharrolla grabbing Mary Morgan)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5, p6, pan2 (unidentified Nazi and Ludwig)

Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics I#50/5 (December, 1943) - unidentified writer, Syd Shores (artist)
Captain America: Patriot#1 (November, 2011) - Karl Kesel (writer), Mitch Breitweiser (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)

Last updated: 08/16/15

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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