House of Mystery #164 (1966)
by Dave Wood & Jim Mooney
After a few issues that tweaked the formula for the cover, we’re back to the classics.
We begin with a new supervillain: Dr. Cyclops. Terrible costume, but not a bad name!
Confusingly enough, he has magnetic powers that work on money.
How does THAT work!?!?
Robby hears this over the radio, so he uses the H-Dial to become “Zip Tide”. I think “Human Wave” would’ve been a better name.
Silly name aside, he can both transform into water AND control water. So he’s like a better version of Hydro-Man but SOMEHOW has a worse costume!
Okay THOSE are powers that I can understand for a character named Dr. Cyclops.
The only reason why he doesn’t kill the guy driving the truck is thanks to Zip Tide cooling it down.
Remember how two issues ago Gramps finally got to do something? We’re back to him interacting with Robby only when he skips lunch.
Seriously, 90% of Robby’s civilian scenes are about him running away right after eating.
Robby’s next transformation is Super Nova. Notice that, while the idea that he instinctively knows the names of the heroes was already introduced, sometimes he still has to think of the names by himself.
And we’re back to Dr. Cyclops having bizarre optic powers.
Great job, Robby!
Too bad super-speed has been in the counter since House of Mystery #160.
Dr. Cyclops freezes him, because of course he can also shoot freezing rays, but Super Nova can generate Super Powr Atomic Power to free himself. And presumably to give cancer to the whole block.
I assume Super Nova is powered by the Sun? Otherwise why would he be weakened by this? At this point in the series there is no time limitation on the transformations.
So he transforms into Robby Robot.
And that’s not me coming up with a nickname!!!
He may look like crap, but Robby Robot is ridiculously versatile. Even if both radar and sonar senses have been in the list since House of Mystery #157.
For example, when Dr.Cyclops pulls out his Anti-Metallic Glasses™…
…Robby TRANSFORMS INTO WOOD!!!
This scene ALONE counts as three superpowers: self-transmutation, wood body and wood creation.
Okay I’m glad that we have an explanation for how Dr.Cyclops keeps escaping, but… those glasses JUST RAISE MORE QUESTIONS!!!
Of all super-powers they could come up with for a robot, even one made of wood, I would never have guessed “super-smell”.
He tracks down Dr.Cyclops’ lair, but he falls prey to his freezing ray. That’s a DIFFERENT freezing ray from the one he used before, by the way.
He’s not the first one to have a metallic body as a superpower, but he’s still FAR better thank King Coil from last issue.
And just like King Coil, he can also stretch his limbs.
Also, it probably wasn’t clear from the other scans, but Dr.Cyclops is LITERALLY a cyclops!!!
So… Dr.Cyclops is definitely a criminal, but is he REALLY a crackpot if all his inventions actually break the laws of physics?
With all the focus on glasses, I’m honestly surprised the entire story went through without even mentioning that Robby wears glasses in his human form.
Historical significance: 1/10
Exactly like Bug Baron, Dr.Cyclops is in the same issues of “52” and Doom Patrol in 2006 and 2011, as part of the same squad of generic mad scientists.
But he also shows up in the 2014 version of the Super-Friends that nobody read, where he arguably fits better.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Only in the Silver Age you could get a random throwaway villain so many absurd powers.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
Way too formulaic. Dr.Cyclops has a passable look and a standard gimmick, but he has absolutely no personality. Having to switch glasses every single time he needs to use a different power really hurts his credibility as a threat.
Not much more to say, pretty much interchangable with several other Dial H stories.
Dial S for SOCKAMAGEE! : 52
Six uses of the catchphrase.
Dial I for superhero identities: 24
Zip Tide, Super-Nova and Robby Robot
Dial C for the superpowers count: 41
Zip Tide adds both the ability to turn into water and to control water, Super Nova can generate radiation, but shockingly Robby Robot adds a whopping four powers: self-transmutation, wood body, wood creation and super-smell!
To give you a sense of where we are now: Jimmy Olsen only reached 49 super-powers.