PROFESSOR THORNTON

Real Name: Thornton (first name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human mutate (1950s era)

Occupation: Scientist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Moore, unidentified police lieutenant

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "The Man Who Can't Be Stopped" (in story title)

Base of Operations: His lab, somewhere outside an unidentified American city; his apartment, somewhere within that same city

First Appearance: Mystical Tales#7/6 (June, 1957)

Powers/Abilities: Although a scientific genius, Thornton was a normal older man with no paranormal physical abilities (...although he could still throw a mean left-hook).

Secretly lusting to enslave the world, Thornton invented a brain stimulator machine (see comments); he used it to amplify the power of his own brain and gave himself the ability to read the mind of any human being in the world.

Unfortunately for Thornton, the machine worked too well--he eventually began receiving the thoughts of everyone on Earth, and with the billions of thoughts crowded into his mind, he was left in a catatonic state.

Height: 5' 10" (by approximation)
Weight: 180 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Gray

History:
(Mystical Tales#7/6 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Professor Thornton is largely unrevealed, but with his assistant Moore, he built the brain stimulator machine--unbeknownst to Moore, Thornton planned to use the device for his own personal gain.

(Mystical Tales#7/6) - After work on the machine was completed, Thornton misspoke and unintentionally revealed to Moore that he intended to use it for his own malicious purposes. Moore was understandably alarmed, for a man who could read minds would have the power to enslave the world; determined to stop Thornton, Moore lunged at him, but the professor threw a punch and rendered him unconscious.

   Leaving his insensate assistant on the floor, Professor Thornton eagerly connected himself to the machine and activated it--in just a few seconds, he'd have more power than any man who ever lived!

(Mystical Tales#7/6 - BTS) - The brain stimulator successfully amplified the power of Thornton's mind. After smashing the machine so no one else could use it, Thornton left his lab.

(Mystical Tales#7/6) - Moments after Thornton was gone, Moore revived, staggered to his feet, and saw the wrecked machine. Realizing that Thornton's mind-reading power made him the most dangerous person alive, Moore went to notify the authorities, for if Thornton put his plan into operation, the whole world would suffer.

   Racing to the police department, Moore told a lieutenant about the events that had transpired, and Thornton's plans. The entire city was alerted, and Moore joined the lieutenant to investigate Thornton's apartment--the professor wasn't there, and Moore pointed out that with his mind-reading ability, they'd never be able to catch him, because Thornton would always know what they were doing.

   All that night, the manhunt continued, but it seemed hopeless, because Thornton would always be one step ahead of his pursuers.

(Mystical Tales#7/6 - BTS) - The power of Thornton's stimulated brain continued to grow, until his mind was overwhelmed by all the thoughts he was receiving; he was eventually found by the police.

(Mystical Tales#7/6) - The next morning, Moore received a telephone call from the lieutenant, informing him that they had caught Thornton, who was being held at the city hospital.

   When Moore got to the hospital, he found the catatonic Thornton silently laying in a bed. The lieutenant explained to Moore that Thornton was harmless, because his machine had worked too well--the professor's mind was now crowded with the billions of loves and hates and fears of everyone on Earth...

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Joe Orlando.

And assuming this story took place in the year that it was published, the population of the world in 1957 was estimated to be 2.87 billion.

Moore was mainly the central character of this story.

Professor Thornton never referred to his invention by any particular name, so I just identified it as a brain stimulator.

This 4-page story would be reprinted in Frankenstein#8 (January, 1974).

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Professor Thornton has no known connections to:

Professor Thornton's brain stimulator machine has no known connections to:

Moore has no known connections to:

The unidentified police lieutenant has no known connections to:

Professor Thornton's brain stimulator machine

Built by Thornton and his assistant Moore, it consisted of a transparent helmet that was connected with cables to various supporting equipment.

When a user donned the helmet and activated it, the brain stimulator increased the power of the user's mind, and thus gave that person the ability to receive the thoughts of others.

Wanting to use the device for his own personal gain, Thornton gave himself the power to read other people's minds, then he destroyed the machine.

But the brain stimulator machine had worked too well--Thornton's own mind was eventually overwhelmed because he was receiving the thoughts of the entire population of the world, and he was left in a catatonic state.

--Mystical Tales#7/6

Moore

Professor Thornton's lab assistant, Moore (first name unrevealed) helped him build the brain stimulator machine, a device which could increase the power of a person's mind, and thus give that person the ability to read other people's thoughts.

But when he learned that Thornton planned to use his machine for his own malicious purposes, Moore realized that a person who could read the minds of others would be able to enslave the world.

Moore was determined to stop Thornton, so he lunged at his employer, but Thornton threw a punch and knocked him out; while Moore lay unconscious on the lab floor, Thornton used the machine on himself and increased the power of his mind.

When Moore revived, he found Thornton gone and the machine destroyed; realizing that Thornton was now the most dangerous person alive, Moore went to the police station to notify the authorities.

The next morning, Moore got a phone call from a police lieutenant, informing him that they found Thornton and were holding him at the city hospital.

When Moore got to the hospital, he found Thornton laying in a catatonic state--Thornton's plan had backfired, for the machine had amplified the power of his mind to such an extent that the professor was now receiving the thoughts of everyone on Earth.

--Mystical Tales#7/6

unidentified police lieutenant

A plain-clothes police detective, he was on duty at a precinct in an unidentified American city. He had heard of Professor Thornton, and knew that he was a scientific genius.

One day, Thornton's lab assistant Moore came to him with some alarming news: Thornton had used his brain stimulator machine to give himself the power to read other people's minds.

Realizing that Thornton was now the most dangerous person alive, the lieutenant put out a general alarm to alert the entire city, and a massive manhunt began.

The next morning, the lieutenant telephoned Moore to report that they had caught Thornton and were holding him at the city hospital.

Later, the lieutenant explained to Moore that Thornton's brain stimulator had worked too well--Thornton was now laying in a catatonic state because his mind was crowded with the thoughts of everyone on Earth.

--Mystical Tales#7/6

images: (without ads)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p1, pan1 (Main Image - Professor Thornton; brain stimulator (background))
Mystical Tales#7/6, p1, pan3 (Headshot - Professor Thornton, explaining his brain stimulator)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p2, pan6 (Professor Thornton; Moore, laying unconscious on floor (background))
Mystical Tales#7/6, p4, pan7 (catatonic Professor Thornton in hospital bed; unidentified doctor, unidentified police lieutenant, Moore)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p2, pan7 (Professor Thornton using brain stimulator)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p3, pan1 (revived Moore finds brain stimulator smashed)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p1, pan2 (Moore (left) questions Professor Thornton)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p2, pan5 (Moore, getting punched by Professor Thornton)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p3, pan7 (Moore speaks to unidentified police lieutenant on telephone)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p3, pan3 (unidentified police lieutenant)
Mystical Tales#7/6, p4, pan4 (unidentified police lieutenant)

Appearances:
Mystical Tales#7/6 (June, 1957) - unidentified writer, Joe Orlando (pencils and inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 12/04/2021
Last updated: 12/04/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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