Dr. Plague

Doctor Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly was a medicinal chemist who took up the mantle of the villainous Dr. Plague. He specialized in creating mutated pathogens through the use of alchemy.

"Never disturb a man and his alchemy."

History

Early Life

Kevin O'Reilly was born in 1981 to a single mother, Teresa O'Reilly, in San Francisco, California. He grew up an only child. Despite his poor upbringing and social setbacks, he turned out to be an intelligent young man that grew a passion for helping people. His mother's health declined early into his high school years, suffering from a terminal illness, and she died shortly after he graduated. Kevin's suffering gave him a sympathetic cause, and he soon realized he wanted to get into medicine to cure others, as the medicine of his day was inadequate.
He specialized in Medicinal Chemistry at University of Sacramento. After graduating, he caught the eye of Horace Palmer, the director of Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS), a medicinal company founded by Dr. John Keller (famous for his hospitals in the Pacific Northwest) and had it's headquarters in Seattle, Washington. O'Reilly was enthusiastic to join the team of AMS. He had hoped his brilliance in chemistry and his position with the company would allow him to help people. However, it was not what he imagined it to be.
Though he secured a high position after working at AMS for 18 years, O'Reilly found that the head of the company, John Keller, was a corrupt man. The medicine industry was not what he expected, where the cures they made never worked and kept people spending hundreds to keep returning to the hospitals and buying medicine that never helped them. O'Reilly found the entire system disturbing.

FR-20 Virus

O'Reilly felt it was his time to shine when AMS was given government funding to developing a vaccine for the FR-20 Virus that was sweeping the nation. Dr. O'Reilly was to be the spearhead of the project along with Dr. Henry Odonata (a friend and close associate with him). However, he uncovered that Keller wanted a faulty vaccine to fuel his medicine industry. This was where O'Reilly first learned of the secrets of alchemy. He used some of his unproven theories to make a vaccine that not only cured the FR-20 Virus but also further variants, unknown to John Keller. So when the vaccine went out, the virus was completely eliminated, and no further variants rose up in the populace. This drew suspicion on O'Reilly, and many companies believed AMS had done something unethical with their vaccine.

AMS came under many lawsuits, with Dr. Keller blaming O'Reilly. Soon, the scientific community turned on O'Reilly, believing he was using unproven "quack" science and endangered the populace. Soon, O'Reilly found himself at criminal charges for defying FDA regulations, and Horace Palmer, his former boss and associate, betrayed him and gave him to the police on March 6th of 2022.

Attacks as Dr. Plague

O'Reilly came under Seattle Police Custody, but little did they know the man had planned to evade police capture. As he was riding with the police, their car became filled with gas and crashed into a ditch. O'Reilly escaped, was picked up by an unmarked vehicle, and then intercepted a CDC transfer truck and stole many of it's specimens and chemicals. He disappeared into obscurity afterward. A manhunt went down Interstate 5 looking for him.
On March 29th his whereabouts came known to the Portland Police Department as Horace Palmer was found dead in his apartment, apparently at the hands of an "accelerated" version of Anthrax through his mail. A figure called "Dr. Plague" left a threatening note to the PPD: that further attacks would happen. Then, on March 30th, at a gala hosted by Dr. John Keller, the mad Dr. Plague staged an attack on the event. He filled the dance floor with a sleeping gas mixed with his experimental "Bubonic X" that he invented. The hero Emerald-Man would try to intercept him, but Dr. Plague gave Emerald-Man an additional dosage of the chemical. He then approached the paralyzed Dr. Keller and killed him with an overdose.
Dr. Plague gave a proposition to Emerald-Man: that him, and all the attendees of the gala would die from Bubonic X unless they paid a sum of money for a cure. Dr. Plague would escape the scene of the crime before the police showed up. He opted to use a body double to throw off the trail of the police, which would have worked if not for his confrontation with Emerald-Man. The sick Emerald-Man outsmarted Dr. Plague by using a decoy of his own.

Dr. Plague then was lured into a feeling of safety to enact his final part of the plan: to infect the entirety of the Keller Medical Center. He took a ride on the aerial tram. However, he would be confronted by Emerald-Man there, who demanded the cure. The two got into a fight, where Dr. Plague shot the window, and managed to push Emerald-Man out. However, Emerald-Man managed to save himself from falling through power of levitation and returned to deal with Dr. Plague. Emerald-Man promptly turned Dr. Plague over to the authorities. He was unveiled to have undergone mutations due to his alchemical experiments, and was promptly arrested for his terrorist deeds.

Physical Description

Apparel & Accessories

Dr. Plague wears a modified plague doctor mask that doubles as a gas mask to keep himself safe from toxic fumes. He also wears a plague doctor uniform to keep his body tightly secure against any deadly diseases that come out of his control. This helps him with his alchemical experiments.

Specialized Equipment

Dr. Plague uses the black art of alchemy to create specialized diseases of lethal power. He will often inject these through needles towards people. He also wields a cane to walk and fight with, he utilizes gas pellets that cause people to sleep or infect them with diseases, and he carries a brief case with his supplies.

Year of Birth

1981 AD 41 Years old

Sex

Male

Height

5'7''

Weight

110 lbs.

First Appearance

The Mystical Emerald-Man #4 (mentioned)

The Mystical Emerald-Man #6 (physical appearance)