Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index "They LAUGHED at my theories at the institute! Fools! I'll destroy them all!" —Origin unknown A mad scientist is a scientist who is insane or at the least very eccentric. The mad scientist is a stock character who usually appears in fiction as a villain; some have claimed this character is increasingly portrayed as the protagonist (see scientists in film). He is usually working with some utterly fictional technology, either to do his science or to create new technology. A stereotypical Mad Scientist caricature. Table of contents 1 History 1.1 Before 1945 1.2 Since 1945 2 Fictional Mad Scientists since 1945 3 Common Defining Characteristics 4 Fields of Research 5 Untouched Fields 6 Real-life Prototypes 7 References 8 External Links History Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers Before 1945 The stereotype originated in literary works in the nineteenth century to depict the dangers of science. The perceived conflict between science and religion during this period informed the earliest depictions of the stereotype. The prototypical mad scientist was Doctor Frankenstein, creator of Frankenstein's monster, who made his first appearance in 1818, in the novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. Though Dr. Frankenstein is a character of some sympathy in his first appearance, the critical elements of conducting forbidden experiments that cross "boundaries that ought not to be crossed", heedless of the consequences, are present in Shelley's novel. Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) portrays the essentially humane experimenter driven to madness and suicide by the nature of his science. H. G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) carried Frankesteinian experimentation a step further, contrasted with an idyllic 'natural' South Sea island setting. The film is The Island of Lost Souls (1933) ("From his house of pain they came remade... "What is the law? Not to spill blood; not to chase other men; not to go on all fours; not to eat flesh. This is the law. Are we not men?"") The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) is a silent film featuring the mad hypnotic Doctor and his sonambulating assistant. C.A. Rotwang in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) Dr. Frankenstein in several movie versions. Dr. Jack Griffin, in the film The Invisible Man (1933). Dr. Griffin makes a discovery on how to become invisible but in the process is sent into murderous insanity. Dr. Janos Rukh, in the film The Invisible Ray (1936). Dr Rukh discovers a radioactive ray that cures blindness but causes him to develop a murderous paranoid rage against other scientists accused of stealing his discovery. Dr. Throkel, in the film Dr. Cyclops (1940). Dr. Throkel shrinks opponents of his unorthodox experimentation with radium. Nevertheless, the essentially benign and progressive nature of science in the public imagination continued without a check, exemplified by the optimistic 'Century of Progress' exhibition in Chicago, 1933, and the 'World of Tomorrow' at the New York World's Fair of 1939. Since 1945 Mad scientists had their heyday in popular culture in the period after World War II. The sadistic medical experiments of the Nazis and the atomic bomb gave rise in this period to genuine fears that science and technology had become forces out of control. Mad scientists frequently figure in science fiction and motion pictures from the period. The movie Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which Peter Sellers plays the title Dr. Strangelove, is perhaps the ultimate expression of this fear of science out of control. In more recent years, the mad scientist as a lone searcher of the forbidden unknown has tended to be replaced by mad corporate executives who plan to profit from defying the laws of nature and humanity regardless of who suffers; these people hire a salaried scientific staff to pursue their twisted dreams. This shift is typified by the revised history of Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor: originally conceived in the 1930s as a mad scientist in the lone-searcher-of-the-forbidden-unknown, a major retcon of the character's origins in the early 1980s made him the head of a mega corporation who also plays a leading role in his R & D Department. Still, the pose has been used whimsically by popular science writers to attract readers (things are more interesting if they are somehow dangerous). Fictional Mad Scientists since 1945 Carl Foutley (aspiring), on As Told By Ginger Dr. Scratchensniff, from Animaniacs The Brain, from Pinky and the Brain Dr. Frankenstein (in the film versions, at least) various parodies in Terry Pratchett, including Igor the manservant Dr. Strangelove Dr. No, and various other characters from the James Bond series of novels and films Dr. Evil, from the Austin Powers film series Lex Luthor, Sivana and Doctor Doom Davros and The Rani, from Doctor Who NamTar, from Farscape Hugo A Go Go, from the cartoon series Batfink rotcoD daM, from the cartoon series Sinbad the Sailor The Professor, from the cartoon series Felix the Cat characters in Gary Larson's cartoon The Far Side Dr. Edward Morbius, in the film Forbidden Planet (1956) Dr. Charles Girard, in the film Terror Is a Man (1959) Dr. Otto Frank, in the film Monstrosity (1964) Dr. Duran Duran, in the film Barbarella (1968) Dr. Lorca, in the film Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) Professor Wendland, in the film Superargo (1968) Michael Sharrington, in the film Graveyard of Horror (1971) Dr. Kurt Leopold, in the film Zaat (1972) Dr. Susan Harris, in the film Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) Professor Nolter, in the film The Mutations (1973) Dr. Carl Stoner, in the film Sssssss (1973) Dr. Paul Holliston, in the film Embryo (1976) Dr. Hans Reinhardt, in the film The Black Hole (1979) Dr. Emilio Lizardo, in the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984) Dr. Emmett Brown in the film Back to the Future (1985). Dr. Herbert West, in the film Re-Animator (1985) Sir August De Wynter, in the film The Avengers (1998) Miguelito Loveless, in the 1960s TV series The Wild Wild West Dr. Arliss Loveless, in the film Wild Wild West (1999) Sebastian Caine, in the film Hollow Man (2000) Septimus in Blake & Mortimer Simon Bar Sinister, from the Underdog cartoon (1964) Zorglub in Spirou Dexter and Mandark, of Dexter's Laboratory Dr. Seth Brundle in David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly. Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls Dr. Forrester from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Common Defining Characteristics Mad scientists are typically characterized by obsessive behaviour and the employment of extremely dangerous methods. Their laboratories often hum with Tesla coils, Van de Graaff generators, perpetual motion machines, and other electrical oddments that make lots of sparks and pops, or are decorated with test tubes and complicated distillation apparatus containing strangely-coloured liquids - often irrespective of whether the scientist in question is doing work that would require such equipment. The general rule to follow when you encounter mad scientist experiments is 'do not attempt this at home!' pursuit of science without regard to its ethical implications such as violating the Nuremberg Code self experimentation playing God Fields of Research archaeology, at least where magical artifacts are involved astrophysics biochemistry biology, especially genetics botany electrical engineering physics, especially nuclear physics relativity theory Untouched Fields Fields that are largely untapped by mad scientists include: entomology metallurgy geology social sciences Contrast: List of heroic fictional scientists Real-life Prototypes Some real-life scientists, not necessarily madmen, whose personalities have contributed to the stereotype: Gerald Bull Thomas Alva Edison Albert Einstein Dr. Ishii Shiro Trofim Lysenko Stanley Milgram Dr. Josef Mengele Jack Parsons Edward Teller Nikola Tesla Wernher Von Braun References Haynes, Roslynn Doris (1994). From Faust to Strangelove: Representations of the Scientist in Western Literature. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4801-6. Tudor, Andrew (1989). Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-15279-2. External Links An online site for mad scientist supplies: http://www.villainsupply.com/ The International Society of Mad Scientists homepage This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.