Doctor Olsen (Earth-616)

Doktor Olsen was a Norwegian physicist who had been recruited (likely by force) to aid the cause of the Third Reich active during World War II. Specifically, he was ordered to find a means of summoning the gods and other creatures from Norse mythology to Earth to fight on the side of Germany, Adolf Hitler having been inspired by reports of aliens assuming the identities of Teutonic gods while under the influence of one his mad scientists, Brain Drain.^[1] Assisted by a man named Hans, who always appeared with his head covered in bandages due to some ill-defined lab accident, Olsen succeeded, building his "Dimensional Gateway" apparatus which was kept in the Chancellery building. During a demonstration, Olsen and Hans were able to show a battle between Thor and some Trolls outside of Asgard. Impatient for victory, Hitler ordered them to bring the thunder god to Earth, where he was able to delude the naïve Asgardian into pledging his aid to the Nazis' cause.^[2]

Thor was thus sent on a mission to assassinate Marshall Stalin, rival tyrant of the Soviet Union, during which he fought the Invaders. Back in Berlin, however, Hitler demanded that Olsen bring more gods and monsters to Earth with which to conquer the world and slaughter all of his enemies. Already realizing the horrible mistake he'd made, the added pressure only caused Doktor Olsen to suddenly have a fatal heart attack. Dismissing the late scientist as having already outlived his usefulness, Hitler ordered Hans to complete the project, only for the bandaged man to send electrical signals to Thor which revealed Hitler's murderous ranting. He followed this up by causing the the transporter apparatus to overheat and explode, resulting in a collapse of the building that housed Olsen's equipment. Both Hans and Hitler survived, although the latter was buried under rubble, causing enough of a distraction for the former assistant to escape.^[3]

What happened to Doktor Olsen's body and any notes he had on the gateway device is unknown.

Attributes

Powers

None.

Abilities

Dr. Olsen was a brilliant physicist and technologist, able to successfully develop a means of bridging the gap between separate dimensions.

Weaknesses

Dr. Olsen suffered an apparent heart condition; this and his conscience, which did not blind him to the likely outcome of his deeds, resulted in his unexpected death.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Dimensional Gateway: Created by Olsen (with presumably no little aid from Hans), this set-up of equipment could tune into the realm of Asgard, and likely other extra-dimensional realities. A massive video screen displayed what sounds and images the gateway could pick up, and with some adjustments could also serve as a portal with which to transport targeted beings to Earth. Further adjustments could also send electrical signals that could be picked up by Mjolnir much like a radio broadcast.

Trivia

Doktor Olsen's assistant Hans was actually Doctor Doom. At the time of the story's original publication, continuity placed von Doom as a young man during the events of World War II, and had worked with Dr. Olsen while refining his research with which to contact his deceased mother in one of the Hell realms. Due to the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, however, this was later retconned so that Dr. Doom had used his time machine to test his mettle against the Invaders to gain experience against a superhuman community, just prior to his first encounter with the Fantastic Four.
Doktor Olsen is completely unrelated to the American Doctor Olsen, a bigoted surgeon who appeared a few issues earlier in Invaders #26 and Invaders #27.

Links and References

Doktor Olsen at the Marvel Appendix

References

[Invaders_Vol_1_1-2-1] Invaders #1–2

[Invaders_Vol_1_32-2] Invaders #32

[Invaders_Vol_1_33-3] Invaders #33

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[2]

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