Doctor Spectrum is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There have been five versions of the character to date—three supervillains from the mainstream Marvel Universe belonging to the team Squadron Sinister (Earth-616) and two heroes from different alternate universes. The two heroes each belong to a version of the team Squadron Supreme, the Squadron Supreme of Earth-712 and the Squadron Supreme of Earth-31916 respectively). Doctor Spectrum is a pastiche of DC's Green Lantern. Publication history Squadron Sinister The first version of the character, Kenji Obatu, appears in The Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969), and is created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema. The story arc introduced the supervillain team the Squadron Sinister, whose four members were loosely based on heroes in DC Comics' Justice League of America, with Doctor Spectrum based on Green Lantern. The Squadron Sinister are created by the cosmic entity the Grandmaster to battle the champions of the time-traveling Kang—the superhero team the Avengers. Doctor Spectrum battles the Avenger Iron Man, and is defeated when the hero deduces that the villain's Power Prism (a sentient entity called Krimonn) is vulnerable to ultra-violet light. The Avengers eventually defeat the Squadron and they in turn are abandoned by the Grandmaster. Doctor Spectrum reappears in the title Iron Man and after a series of battles is defeated when Iron Man crushes the Power Prism. A powerless Obatu is arrested and deported back to his native Uganda. During a subsequent battle with The Thing, Black Panther and Brother Voodoo, Obatu accidentally falls to his death. Unknown to Iron Man, the Power Prism reforms and is found by a sanitation worker, who eventually brings it to evangelist Billy Roberts, who after learning of the Prism's abilities becomes the second Doctor Spectrum. The Squadron reappear in the title Defenders, reunited by the alien Nebulon (although the team is unaware of the fact that this a new Doctor Spectrum). The villains receive greater power in exchange for the planet Earth, and create a giant laser cannon in the Arctic to melt the polar ice caps, thereby covering the entirety of the Earth's surface in water. The superhero team the Defenders prevent the scheme and defeat the Squadron (and Nebulon), with Doctor Strange defeating Doctor Spectrum. After this defeat Doctor Spectrum and his two remaining teammates are teleported off world by Nebulon, returning with an energy-draining weapon.