History
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Doctor Howard
Dr. Howard worked on an island hospital off the southern shores of the United States. He worked closely with Dr. Gibson, the owner of the hospital and had hopes that when Gibson passed away, the late doctor would will the hospital over to him. Unfortunately for Howard, the hospital would instead be willed to Gibson's nephew, Dr. Roster. Furious, Howard hatched a scheme to try and drive the doctors and patients from the hospital so that he might buy the hospital cheaply. To this end, he created a mask molded after the late Dr. Gibson and covered it with phosphorescent paint. He then started stalking the halls of the hospital as the "Gleaming Ghost", causing hysteria among hospital staff and patients alike. By day, he scoffed at the idea of a ghost stalking the hospital in order to cover himself.
Howard's scheme came to an end the night that a patient attempted to flee the hospital by swimming away. Nearly drowning, the man was rescued by the Sub-Mariner who happened to be swimming by. Bringing the man back and hearing how the hospital was supposedly haunted, the monarch of the deep feigned passing out and be admitted into the hospital.
By then, Howard as the Gleaming Ghost stepped up his haunting by throwing a patient out a window. Spying, Howard investigated the Sub-Mariner and realized he was faking his illness. So, the Ghost attempted to murder him as well. However, Namor's superior strength won out the struggle, forcing Howard to flee the scene. The following night, as the Ghost, Howard attacked Dr. Roster himself, landing a strong blow to the head. During the struggle, Roster managed to lift up the Ghost's mask and saw his true identity before being knocked out. Once more opposed by the Sub-Mariner, Howard fled, quickly changed back into his normal identity, and came in the back way. Saying that Roster needed immediate surgery, Howard took him to the operating room. There, he hoped to kill Roster on the operating table, making it look like an accident, before Roster could come around and expose him. The Sub-Mariner however noticed a small amount of phosphorescent paint that Howard neglected to clean off his hands, prompting him to realize that Howard must be the "ghost". Finding the mask in Howard's room, the Sub-Mariner burst into the operating room and stopped Howard from killing Roster.
Fleeing the scene, Howard set the hospital on fire, keeping the Sub-Mariner occupied saving the patients and remaining staff. When Namor dispatched nurse Ruth Prentis, Howard stowed away aboard the ship and took her hostage. Namor eventually tracked Howard down and easily subdued him, forcing a confession out of him before leaving him with Ruth to take to the authorities.[1]
The fate of Dr. Howard is unrecorded.