History ComicBook / PlagueDoctor

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Was Igor's dream in Issue #6 a supernatural vision, or just a stress (and head injury)-induced nightmare? The dream does seem to correctly spell out [[spoiler:Razumovsky]]'s motivations and his plans for St. Petersburg (which Grom didn't know previously), and other BUBBLE publications (as well as future issues of the series itself) confirm the existence of the supernatural. However, Grom is highly detail-oriented, and already knew that the Plague Doctor had a fixation with the Middle Ages (and that had recently burned the "London City Mall"), so it's entirely possible that he made the connection on his own and inferred [[spoiler:Razumovsky]]'s intentions whilst in a deep sleep.

* DistressedDude: In Issue #7, Igor is rendered unconscious by [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] [[TapOnTheHead hitting him on the head with a shovel]]. In the following issue, he wakes up naked in the basement [[spoiler:of Razumovsky's mansion]], where he's injected with a lethal dose of Promedol before being forced to navigate [[spoiler:Razumovsky's]] maze of [[DeathTrap death traps]].

Unorthodox police Major Igor Grom and his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin, take up the case. Grom quickly assesses that the Plague Doctor is targeting high-powered individuals who previously evaded justice. Unfortunately, the investigation turns up one dead end after another; to further complicate matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante: they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and are willing to do whatever it takes to assist their new "savior" and spread his message.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Was Igor's dream in Issue #6 a supernatural vision, or just a stress (and head injury)-induced nightmare? The dream does seem to correctly spell out Razumovsky's motivations and his plans for St. Petersburg (which Grom didn't know previously), and other BUBBLE publications (as well as future issues of the series itself) verify the existence of the supernatural. However, Grom is highly detail-oriented, and already knew that Razumovsky had a fixation with the Middle Ages (and that the Plague Doctor recently burned the "London City Mall"), so it's entirely possible that he made the connection on his own and inferred Razumovsky's intentions whilst in a deep sleep.
* MistakenForMurderer: Several examples:

* NotWhatItLooksLike: When Dima and Yulia arrive at Razumovsky's mansion, Igor is completely naked and has Sergey (who is clad in nothing but a dressing gown) pinned to the ground, straddling him and shouting, "YES! YES!" As Dima and Yulia look on in shock, Igor says this verbatim.

* PresidentEvil: Discussed: [[spoiler: Razumovsky]]'s [[EvilPlan grand scheme]] is to provoke a StagedPopulistUprising, overthrow the current president, and rally his supporters on social media to vote for him en masse in a snap election; once he's secured the office, he plans to use his authority to reshape society on a grand scale -- starting by rounding up society's riffraff (and anyone who opposes him) and herding them into [[TheGulag prison camps]].
* PrisonRape: Played With in ''Metamorphosis'' (Issue #10). [[spoiler: After Sergey is sent to prison, he's accosted by a huge, rough-looking inmate who looks at him appreciatively, calls him "sugar" and "pretty", says he "looks like a girl", and states that he'll be "first in line" to "claim" Sergey. When Seryozha tries to fight him off by biting his hand, the man beats him into submission and then hauls him to his feet, proclaiming that he's not finished with him; the next time we see Seryozha, he's glowering with rage and sporting a slightly bruised face and a split lip. While WordOfGod states that Sergey wasn't raped, many readers believe otherwise based on the visual evidence. (Many also noted that The Bird emerges in ernest after this incident[[note]]sexual trauma is one of the primary catalysts for Dissociative Identity Disorder[[/note]], which lends credence to the theory.
* RaceAgainstTheClock: [[spoiler: Razumovsky]]'s victims (aside from [[spoiler: his co-conspirators]]) are injected with a massive dose of Promedol, which kills them in 15 minutes if they fail to retrieve the antidote from a triple-padlocked chest on the opposite side of his DeathTrap-laden garden. Only Igor Grom manages to successfully navigate the "Garden of Sinners" -- and it turns out [[spoiler: he was never in any danger in the first place (having taken the antidote before he arrived at Razumovsky's mansion)]].
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Most the Plague Doctor's high-profile villains live by this motto (with Sorokin, a police officer, being the only exception):
** Gretchkin is a rich party boy who enjoys brothels, illegal hunting trips, and gambling on sporting events at neo-nazi clubs (one of which he sponsors). He avoids going to prison for a double hit-and-run thanks to his family's wealth.
** Zilchneko got rich selling drugs (stolen from his own treatment center) on the black market, while selling his cancer patients placebos. When his crimes are exposed, he scoffs that people have always died from medical treatments, and that more people used to die in the Middle Ages.
** [[spoiler: Razumovsky]] himself believes that he's entitled to "improve" Russia by murdering the dregs of society, simply because he happens to be a wealthy, powerful sophisticate.

* SnobsVersusSlobs: There is an element of this in the final act of the story, with the wealthy, sophisticated businessman Razumovsky pitted against blue collar bruiser police detective Igor Grom. It's downplayed, however, as Razumovsky is NouveauRiche (and overestimates his own sophistication), while Igor himself is a sharp intellect (and highly educated in his own right).

* TakenOffTheCase: After Igor pursues multiple false leads and makes a fool of himself twice -- once by accidentally shoving the mayor's face into his own birthday cake, and once by barging into the mayor's office and accusing him of being The Citizen -- Prokopenko forces him to take a two-week mental health break (even offering to pay for his vacation out-of-pocket).
* UndressingTheUnconscious: In Issue #9, Igor awakens naked and bound in the basement of [[spoiler: Razumovsky's mansion]]. His captor explains that he needed to make sure Igor wasn't equipped with any hidden weapons or microphones (and, indeed, that he found Igor's service weapon). However, [[AmbiguouslyGay he]] also makes it clear that he thoroughly enjoyed the process, and compliments Igor's physique while stroking his body--stopping just shy of his crotch.
* VigilanteMan: The Plague Doctor/The Citizen seemingly targets corrupt individuals who would otherwise go unpunished due to their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], power, and connections. [[spoiler:This is ultimately revealed to be a smokescreen to conceal his real motives (and encourage the citizens to rise up and overthrow the current governing body).]]

In Saint Petersburg, the son of a city prosecutor is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found with his [[TongueTrauma tongue cut out]], his body eaten by rats. And an [[DeadlyDoctor unethical doctor]] is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit behind these brutal crimes: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a PlagueDoctor’s mask. The masked killer claims that Russia’s cultural capital is infected by “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and the purification process has begun.

* AllAreEqualInDeath: The Plague Doctor's notes suggest this philosophy, with allusions to the Danse Macabre. This is supported by his modus operandi, which targets wealthy and powerful individuals who are seemingly untouchable. This is ultimately revealed to be a smokescreen, as he only really cares about the sins of the wealthy and powerful inasmuch as they relate to his own criminal activities.

* {{Backstory}}: Sergey provides his to Igor in Issue #8: he grew up an orphan, and was a loner and an outcast, finding serenity and solace in the beauty of classical art (which, as we further learn in the Issue #10 story "Metamorphosis", caused him to be bullied by his peers and teachers alike). He also realized that he cared little for the hedonistic activities (drugs, sex, drinking) in which most you people indulge; as such, he hates both the common folk, and those he deems "beneath" him -- particularly people who are a drain on society.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: For the third test of character in the Garden of Sinners, the prisoner is seemingly forced to tear open live mice with their bare hands in order to retrieve the last key needed to access the antidote. The point of the exercise is to prove that the prisoner is inherently cruel, because he would be willing to inflict a horrible, unnecessary death on cute, innocent animals. Grom, who is both clever and ''not'' cruel, realizes that the key is actually hidden in a hole ''shaped'' like a mouse, and spares the animals.
* BaitAndSwitchGunshot: During the ride to the police station, Razumovsky points out that Grom has no solid evidence tying him to the Plague Doctor's crimes or the many deaths at his mansion, adding that he will frame Grom for his crimes. Igor replies that he's left him no choice; dragging Sergey out of the car, he puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger...only to play Sergey's confession from earlier. The gun wasn't loaded; Igor only carried it so he could hide Yulia's recorder and use it to get Sergey's EngineeredPublicConfession.
* BatmanGambit: Igor puts Yulia's recording device in the empty barrel of his service weapon and carries it with him to Razumovsky's mansion; he then allows himself to be captured, knowing that Razumovsky will search him for weapons -- and, given the villain's [[LargeHam personality]], that he will start monologuing at some point, providing Igor with the confession he needs to convict him of both the Plague Doctor's crimes and the murders at the mansion.

* TheBlackDeath: The arc's BigBad (who is a medieval history aficionado) bases his public crime spree around Plague-related symbology: he compares the crime, corruption, and societal decay of Saint Petersburg to the Black Plague, himself to a Plague Doctor (even wearing a plague doctor's mask as part of his disguise), and his crimes as "purification". His methodology also references the Black Plague, with the first victim being burned like a victim of Bubonic Plague (with a note left at the crime scene referencing the "Danse Macabre"), the second eaten by rats (a major catalyst of the Plague), the third disemboweled (a medieval execution method), and the fourth stabbed crucifixion-style and burned at the future site of the London Mall (referencing both the role of the Church during the Plague and the 1666 London Fire[[note]]widely believed to have contributed to the Plague dying out[[/note]]).

** Averted with the Rainbow Orphanage fundraising gala: Grom attends as an invited guest, after he's already been TakenOffTheCase. (He donated money to the cause six months earlier, which puts him on the guest list). Ironically, he ends up identifying the Plague Doctor at the event purely by accident after matching Razumovsky's body language to the Plague Doctor's.

* ConstructionZoneCalamity: The Plague Doctor murders Bekhtiev at the construction site of the London Mall. When Igor catches him stringing up the body, the two of them face off, with Igor attacking the Plague Doctor with [[NailEm a nail gun]] (among other things).
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Albert Bekhtiev is a construction mogul, and one of the wealthiest men in Russia; he made his fortune building shopping malls on historical sites (which he acquires by [[BribingYourWayToVictory bribing public officials]]) and gentrifying low-income neighborhoods. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Sergey Razumovsky helped grease the wheels for Bekhtiev with his power and influence; Bekhtiev thanked him by selling him the land to build his mansion, and constructing the house — and the Garden of Sinners. This is why Razumovsky [[HeKnowsTooMuch kills him]].
** Razumovsky himself also qualifies, as he's the founder and CEO of Vmeste and a deranged, elitist SerialKiller.

* DeathTrap: Razumovsky kills the people he deems the "dregs" of society in the Garden of Sinners: a giant garden behind his mansion, laden with death traps. In order to escape, the prisoner -- while drugged with Premedol -- must survive both standard booby traps (such as pits full of spikes and bladed pendulums) and [[SecretTestOfCharacter tests of character]]; thus proving that they are fit, intelligent, and aren't enslaved to the vices that plague most of society.

** The second key is in "Fatuitous" ("[[IdiotBall Stupidity]]"), an aquarium room where a ping pong ball lies at the bottom of a steel pipe; the prisoner must make the ball float to the surface by filling the pipe with liquid -- with a needle and catheter provided for the task. Grom realizes that [[spoiler: [[ExactWords Razumovsky said "liquid" rather than "blood"]], and breaks open one of the tubes supplying water to the fish tank. He successfully obtains the second key, but the tank breaks and floods the room with water]]. [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] explains with exasperation that it wasn't necessary to destroy the tank: there was a jug provided to scoop water out of a nearby pond (which Grom had ''just waded through'' minutes earlier).
* DefiantStrip: After Igor accuses him of being the Plague Doctor in front of all the attendees of the Rainbow Orphanage Gala, [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] confirms his suspicions by stripping down to the waist onstage, exposing the cross-shaped scar on his chest that Igor gave him during their fight. Surprisingly, the ploy works: the Plague Doctor's supporters come to his aid and attack Igor.

** Grom himself is mistaken for The Citizen at the start of Issue #5, when Dima finds him in his trashed office, wearing a plague doctor mask and spouting menacing catchphrases. It turns out Igor was just trying to get inside the killer's head; Dima isn't amused.

** Two issues later, he gets struck on the head with a liquor bottle hard enough to knock him unconscious, yet doesn't get a concussion, waking up in Yulia's apartment the following day with just some mild disorientation. The following issue, it happens again at Razumovsky's mansion -- this time with a ''shovel'' -- with a similar end result.
** Deconstructed in the final issue: Igor seemingly survives being injected with a lethal dose of Premedol...but not under his own strength: he knew that Razumovsky was using the drug on his victims, and took the antidote in advance.
* MotiveRant: Once he has Igor Grom captive, Razumovsky proceeds to lay out his ''entire'' ''[[{{Backstory}} life story]]'', from childhood to the present. Grom encourages him, in order to make sure his confession is recorded, in full, by the bug he planted in his firearm.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: This appears to be the Plague Doctor's M.O., as he only targets people who have wronged society through their actions. (However, this turns out to be a smokescreen to allow him to eliminate his accomplices.)
* PieInTheFace: At Deputy Mayor Kamenny's birthday gala, Igor (believing The Citizen will make his move at the party) mistakes a waiter with a cake knife for an attacker and jumps the table to apprehend him, accidentally shoving Kamenny's face into his own birthday cake. [[spoiler:Razumovsky still [[NeverLiveItDown laughs about it years later]].]]
* PlagueDoctor: The titular killer of the series (who is a medieval history aficionado) adopts this as his persona, wearing the mask of a plague doctor and referring to St. Petersburg as being consumed by a "plague" of crime and corruption (with himself as the physician who will "purify" the city).

** Igor Grom himself is certainly not adverse to roughing up suspects. However, unlike Sorokin, he only gets physical with people who truly deserve it.
* PresidentEvil: Discussed: [[spoiler: Razumovsky]]'s [[EvilPlan grand scheme]] is to provoke a StagedPopulistUprising, overthrow the current president, and rally his supporters on social media to vote for him en masse in the next election; once he's secured the office, he plans to use his authority to reshape society on a grand scale -- starting by rounding up society's riffraff and herding them into [[TheGulag prison camps]].
* PrisonRape: Played With in ''Metamorphosis'' (Issue #10). [[spoiler: After Sergey is sent to prison, he's accosted by a huge, rough-looking inmate who looks at him appreciatively, calls him "sugar" and "pretty", says he "looks like a girl", and states that he'll be "first in line" to "claim" Sergey. When Seryozha tries to fight him off by biting his hand, the man beats him into submission and hauls him to his feet, exclaiming that he's not "through" with him; the next time we see Seryozha, he's glowering with rage and sporting a slightly bruised face and a split lip. While [[WordOfGod the writers stated that Sergey wasn't raped]], many readers didn't believe them based on the visual evidence. (Many also noted that The Bird emerges after this incident; sexual assault is one of the primary catalysts for Dissociative Identity Disorder.)]]
* RaceAgainstTheClock: Razumovsky's victims (aside from [[spoiler: his co-conspirators]]) are injected with a massive dose of Promedol, which kills them in 15 minutes if they fail to retrieve the antidote from a triple-padlocked chest on the opposite side of his DeathTrap-laden garden. Only Igor Grom manages to successfully navigate the "Garden of Sinners" -- and it turns out [[spoiler: he was never in any danger in the first place (having taken the antidote before he arrived at Razumovsky's mansion)]].
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Most the Plague Doctor's high-profile villains live by this motto (with Sorokin, a beat cop, being the only exception):
** Gretchkin is a rich party boy who enjoys brothels, illegal hunting trips, and gambling on sporting events at neo-nazi clubs. He avoids going to prison for a double hit-and-run thanks in part to his family's wealth.
** Zilchneko got rich selling cancer drugs on the black market (while selling his patients placebos). When called out on his crimes, he scoffs that people have always died from medical treatments.
** Sergei Razumovsky himself believes he knows what's best for Russian society, simply because he's a wealthy, powerful sophisticate.

** After watching Dima knock out a much larger opponent with one punch at the fight club, Igor calls him [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Petrosyan "Petrosyan"]].

* SplitPersonality: Razumovsky seemingly develops one in the epilogue, embodying "The Bird" (who represents Razumovsky's murderous tendencies and confidence: the forces that inspired the Plague Doctor's crimes).
* SpreadWingsFrameShot: Razumovsky (appropriately enough) gets one as he begins monologuing to Grom, courtesy of his pet raven, Margo, casting a shadow on the wall behind him.

* VigilanteMan: The Plague Doctor/The Citizen seemingly targets corrupt individuals who would otherwise go unpunished due to their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], power, and connections. This is ultimately revealed to be a smokescreen to conceal his real motives (and encourage the citizens to rise up and overthrow the current governing body).

Unorthodox police Major Igor Grom takes up the case, along with his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin. Grom quickly assesses that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who evaded justice thanks to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, his investigation turns up one dead end after another; to further complicate matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante: they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and are willing to do whatever it takes to assist their new "savior" and spread his message. How does one go about stopping a killer who has technology and most of the city on his side?

* HeKnowsTooMuch: The real impetus behind the Plague Doctor's murders: [[spoiler: each of his high-profile victims was an accomplice in creating and operating the Garden of Sinners, and he doesn't want them to rat him out (or their crimes to lead the authorities back to him)]].

* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: While Igor, Dima, and Yulia are escorting [[spoiler:Sergey]] back to the police station, the latter begins gloating that Igor has no way of proving his guilt, and that he will frame Igor for his own crimes. Igor orders Dima to pull over, and he drags [[spoiler:Sergey]] out of the car, putting his gun to the killer's head. Yulia and Dima are horrified, and remind him of his personal oath against killing criminals. [[spoiler: However, it turns out to be a fake out: Igor was actually just revealing the recording he made of Razumovsky. with the bug hidden in his (empty) firearm.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Was Igor's dream in Issue #6 a supernatural vision, or just a stress (and head injury)-induced nightmare? The dream does seem to correctly spell out [[spoiler: Razumovsky's]] motivations and his plans for St. Petersburg (which Grom didn't know previously), and other BUBBLE publications (as well as future issues of the series itself) verify the existence of the supernatural (as well as hinting that Razumovky's dark side has bizarre, potentially supernatural origins). However, Grom is highly detail-oriented, and already knew that Razumovsky had a fixation with the Middle Ages (and that the Plague Doctor recently burned the "London City Mall"), so it's entirely possible that he made the connection on his own and inferred Razumovsky's intentions whilst in a deep sleep.

** Later during the ''same event'', the lights abruptly go out, and Igor sees a strange man advancing on the Deputy Mayor with a knife. He dive-bombs the man--only for him to reveal himself as a waiter carrying a cake slicer (which he was about to use on the deputy mayor's birthday cake).
** In Issue #6, Igor bursts into the Deputy Mayor's office and loudly accuses him of being The Citizen. His logic is that each of The Citizen's victims had a personal connection to the man (namely, Kemenny's son died of cancer after seeking treatment It turns out he's wrong.
* MistakenForRacist: Dubin trails Grom one evening and catches him exchanging information with a Neo-Nazi; later, he catches Grom at a bar frequented by the same group. Much to Dubin's relief, it turns out that Igor just agreed to a fight in exchange for information related to the Plague Doctor case.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Most the Plague Doctor's high-profile villains live by this motto (with Sorokin being the only exception):
** Gretchkin is a rich party boy who enjoys brothels, illegal hunting trips, and gambling on sporting events. He avoids going to prison for a double hit-and-run (in his expensive sports car) thanks in part to his family's wealth.
** Zilchneko got rich selling cancer drugs on the black market.
**
** Sergei Razumovsky himself

** Dubin compares Grom to Franchise/SherlockHolmes.

* SnobsVersusSlobs: There is an element of this in the final act of the story, with the wealthy, sophisticated businessman Razumovsky pitted against blue collar bruiser police detective Igor Grom. It's downplayed, however, as Razumovsky is NouveauRiche (and overestimates his own sophistication), while Igor himself is a sharp intellect.
* SplitPersonality: Razumovsky seemingly develops one in the epilogue, embodying "The Bird" (who represents Raumovsky's murderous tendencies and confidence: the forces that inspired the Plague Doctor's crimes).
* SpreadWingsFrameShot: [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] (appropriately enough) gets one as he begins monologuing to Grom, courtesy of his pet raven, Margo, casting a shadow on the wall behind him.

* DeadlyDoctor:

** Gennady Zilchneko's cancer treatment center causes the deaths of multiple patients by giving them placebos (while selling the real drugs on the black market). His press statement is, "So what? More people died from medicine in the middle ages." The Plague Doctor ties him up crucifixion style in front of his cancer treatment center and disembowels him.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Was Igor's dream in Issue #6 a legitimate supernatural vision, or just a stress (and head injury)-induced nightmare? The dream does seem to correctly spell out [[spoiler: Razumovsky's]] motivations and his plans for St. Petersburg (which Grom didn't know previously), and other BUBBLE publications (as well as future issues of the series itself) verify the existence of the supernatural (as well as hint that [[spoiler:Razumovky's dark side has bizarre, potentially supernatural origins)]]. However, Grom is highly detail-oriented, and already knew that [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] had a fixation with the Middle Ages (and that the Plague Doctor recently burned the "London City Mall"), so it's entirely possible that he made the connection on his own and inferred [[spoiler:Razumovsky's intentions]] whilst his mind was being refreshed in a deep sleep.

** Later in the same issue, while Igor and Dima are [[BlackTieInfiltration infiltrating the Deputy Mayor's birthday gala]], Igor nearly causes a commotion when he sees Yulia hiding under the politician's table with a suspicious-looking object in hand (actually her recorder).

* MistakenForRacist: Dubin trails Grom one evening and catches him exchanging information with a Neo-Nazi; later, he catches Grom at a bar frequented by the same group. Much to Dubin's relief, it turns out that Igor had just agreed to a fight in exchange for information pertinent to the Plague Doctor case.

** Two issues later, he gets struck on the head with a liquor bottle hard enough to knock him unconscious, yet doesn't get a concussion (and wakes up in Yulia's apartment the following day with just some mild disorientation). The following issue, it happens again at Razumovsky's mansion -- this time with a ''shovel'' -- with a similar end result.
** Deconstructed in the final issue: Igor seemingly survives being injected with a lethal dose of Premedol...but not under his own strength: he knew that [[spoiler: Razumovsky]] was using the drug on his victims, and took the antidote in advance.

* BlackTieInfiltration: Igor Grom and Dima Dubin attend Deputy Mayor Kamenny's birthday jubilee, believing that The Citizen will crash the event. Much to their surprise, they discover that Yulia has infiltrated the same event (as part of her investigation into Kamenny's alleged criminal activities).
** Averted with the Rainbow Orphanage fundraising gala: Grom attends as an invited guest after he's already been TakenOffTheCase (he donated money to the cause six months earlier, which puts him on the guest list). Ironically, he ends up identifying the Plague Doctor at the event purely by accident after matching Razumovsky's body language to the Plague Doctor's.

* CompromisingCall: Dima's mother calls him on his cell phone as he's trying to pass undetected through a neo-nazi boxing club -- [[FromBadToWorse right as Igor is in the middle of a bout with one of the club's members]]. As punishment, Dima is forced to fight a member of the club himself. (Fortunately, he's a skilled martial artist, and easily defeats his opponent.)

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Albert Bekhtiev is a construction mogul, and one of the wealthiest men in Russia; he made his fortune building shopping malls on historical sites (which he acquires by [[BribingYourWayToVictory bribing public officials]]) and gentrifying low-income neighborhoods. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Sergey Razumovsky helped grease the wheels for Bekhtiev with his power and influence; Bekhtiev thanked him by selling him the land to build his mansion and constructing the house — and the Garden of Sinners. This is why Razumovsky [[HeKnowsTooMuch kills him]].

''Plague Doctor'' is a 2012-2013 story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. Written by Artëm Gabrelyanov and Evgeny Fedotov, with artwork by Konstantin Tasarov and Anastasia Kim, it is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky. The story ran from issues #1-#10; it was later collected into two volumes.

In Saint Petersburg, Kirill Gretchkin, the son of a city prosecutor, is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found eaten by rats, with his [[TongueTrauma tongue cut out]]. And an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit behind these brutal crimes: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a PlagueDoctor’s mask. He claims that Russia’s cultural capital is infected by “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and the purification process has begun.

Police Major Igor Grom quickly realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who evaded justice thanks to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, his investigation turns up one dead end after another. Further complicating matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante: they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and they're willing to do whatever it takes to assist their new "savior" and spread his message. How does one stop a killer who has technology and most of the city on his side?

In Saint Petersburg, Kirill Gretchkin, the son of a city prosecutor, is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found eaten by rats, with his [[TongueTrauma tongue cut out]]. And an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit behind these brutal crimes: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a PlagueDoctor’s mask.
He claims that Russia’s cultural capital is infected by “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and the purification process has begun.

As the bodies pile up, Grom realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who evaded justice thanks to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, his investigation turns up one dead end after another. Further complicating matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante; they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and they're willing to do whatever it takes to the city's new "savior" and spread his message. How does one stop a killer who has technology and most of the city on his side?

* BaitAndSwitchGunshot: During the ride to the police station, Razumovsky points out that Grom has no solid evidence tying him to the Plague Doctor's crimes or the many deaths at his mansion, adding that he will frame Grom for his crimes. Igor replies that he's left him no choice; dragging Sergey out of the car, he puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger...only to play Sergey's confession from earlier. The gun wasn't loaded; Igor only carried it so he could hide Yulia's recorder and use it to get Sergey's EngineeredPublicConfession]].

''Plague Doctor'' is a 10-issue story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. Written by Artëm Gabrelyanov and Evgeny Fedotov, with artwork by Konstantin Tasarov and Anastasia Kim. It is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky. The story was first published in October 2012. It was collected into two books.

As the bodies pile up, Grom realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who evaded justice thanks to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, the investigation only turns up one dead end after another. Further complicating matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante; they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and they're willing to do whatever it takes to protect the city's new "savior".

For the 2021 film based on the arc, see [[Film/MajorGromPlagueDoctor here]].

!!Tropes relevant to Major Grom: Plague Doctor include:

* AllAreEqualInDeath: The Plague Doctor's notes suggest that he espouses this philosophy, with allusions to the Danse Macabre. This is supported by his modus operandi: he targets wealthy and powerful individuals who are seemingly untouchable. This is ultimately revealed to be a smokescreen, however, as [[spoiler: he only really cares about the sins of the wealthy and powerful inasmuch as they relate to his own criminal activities]].

* {{Backstory}}: [[spoiler:Sergey]] provides his to Igor (and the readers) in Issue #8: he grew up an orphan, and was a loner and an outcast, finding serenity and solace in the beauty of classical art (which, as we further learn in the Issue #10 story "Metamorphosis", caused him to be bullied by his peers and teachers alike). He also realized that he cared little for the hedonistic activities (drugs, sex, drinking) in which most people indulge. As such, he hates the common folk and those he deems "beneath" him -- particularly people who are a drain on society.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: For the third test of character in the Garden of Sinners, the prisoner is seemingly forced to tear open live mice with their bare hands in order to retrieve the last key needed to access the antidote. The point of the exercise is to prove that the prisoner is inherently cruel, because he would be willing to inflict a horrible, unnecessary death on cute, innocent animals. [[spoiler:Grom, who is both clever and ''not'' cruel, realizes that the key is actually hidden in a hole ''shaped'' like a mouse, and spares the animals.]]
* BaitAndSwitchGunshot: During the ride to the police station, [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] points out that Grom has no solid evidence tying him to the Plague Doctor's crimes or the many deaths at his mansion, adding that he will frame Grom for his crimes. Igor replies that he's left him no choice; dragging [[spoiler:Sergey]] out of the car, he puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger...[[spoiler: only to play Sergey's confession from earlier. The gun wasn't loaded; Igor only carried it so he could hide Yulia's recorder and use it to get Sergey's EngineeredPublicConfession]].

** Averted with the Rainbow Orphanage fundraising gala: Grom attends as an invited guest after he's already been TakenOffTheCase (he donated money to the cause six months earlier, which puts him on the guest list). [[spoiler:Ironically, he ends up identifying the Plague Doctor at the event purely by accident after matching Razumovsky's body language to the Plague Doctor's]].

* CensorShadow: After his clothes are removed [[spoiler: by Razumovsky]] in the final act, Igor's nether regions are conveniently obscured by shadows as he navigates the Garden Of Sinners.

* ConstructionZoneCalamity: The Plague Doctor murders Bekhtiev at the construction site of the London Mall. When Igor catches him stringing up the body, the two of them face off for the first time, with Igor attacking the Plague Doctor with [[NailEm a nail gun]] (among other things).
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Albert Bekhtiev is a construction mogul, and one of the wealthiest men in Russia; he made his fortune building shopping malls on historical sites (which he acquires by [[BribingYourWayToVictory bribing public officials]]) and gentrifying low-income neighborhoods. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Sergey Razumovsky helped grease the wheels for Bekhtiev with his power and influence; Bekhtiev thanked him by selling him the land to build his mansion and constructing the house — and the Garden of Sinners. This is why Razumovsky [[HeKnowsTooMuch kills him]].]]
** [[spoiler: Razumovsky]] himself also qualifies, as he's [[spoiler:the founder and CEO of Vmeste and a deranged, elitist SerialKiller]].

* DeathTrap: [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] kills the people he deems the "dregs" of society in the Garden of Sinners: a giant garden behind his mansion, laden with death traps. In order to escape, the prisoner -- while drugged with Premedol -- must survive both standard booby traps (such as pits full of spikes and bladed pendulums) and [[SecretTestOfCharacter tests of character]]; thus proving that they are fit, intelligent, and aren't enslaved to the vices that plague most of society.

''Plague Doctor'' is a 10-issue story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. Written by Artëm Gabrelyanov and Evgeny Fedotov, it is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky. It was first published in October 2012. It was eventually collected into two books.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f8119ade0bd58f221e412312116d4924.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250: The danse macabre has begun...]]

As the bodies pile up, Grom realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who evaded justice thanks to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, the investigation only turns up one dead end after another; to further complicate matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante: they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and they're willing to do whatever it takes to protect the city's new "savior".

* FanDisservice: Igor Grom, a handsome, extremely fit to young man, spends three issues completely nude! ...Except he's being forced to navigate a dark, shadowy death maze, where he's dodging giant blades, explosions, pits of spikes, and swarms of crazed birds. Outside. In the middle of winter.

* HypocriticalHumor: Igor Grom chides a couple of investigating officers for leaning against Kirill Gretchkin's burned car ("Don't lean on the material evidence, please!") immediately after he handles the note left at the scene of the crime with his bare hands; the same hands he's also using to handle a shawarma.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: While Igor, Dima, and Yulia are escorting [[spoiler:Sergey]] back to the police station, the latter begins gloating that Igor has no way of proving his guilt, and that he will frame Igor for his own crimes. Igor orders Dima to pull over, and he drags [[spoiler:Sergey]] out of the car, putting his gun to the killer's head. Yulia and Dima are horrified, and remind him of his personal oath. [[spoiler: However, it turns out to be a fake out: Igor was actually just revealing the recording he made of Razumovsky. with the bug hidden in his (empty) firearm.]]

In Saint Petersburg, Kirill Gretchkin, the son of a city prosecutor, is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found eaten by rats with his [[TongueTrauma tongue cut out]]. And an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit behind these brutal crimes: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a PlagueDoctor’s mask.

As the bodies pile up, Grom realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting those who have evaded justice thanks to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, the investigation just turns up one dead end after another. Further complicating matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the masked vigilante: they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and they're willing to do whatever it takes to protect the city's new "savior". How does one go about stopping a villain who has power, technology, and most of the city on his side?

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Albert Bekhtiev is a construction mogul and one of the wealthiest men in Russia; he made his fortune building shopping malls on historical sites (which he acquires by [[BribingYourWayToVictory bribing public officials]]) and gentrifying low-income neighborhoods. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Sergey Razumovsky helped grease the wheels for Bekhtiev with his power and influence; Bekhtiev thanked him by selling him the land to build his mansion, and constructing the house — and the Garden of Sinners. This is why Razumovsky has him killed.]]

In Saint Petersburg, the son of a city prosecutor is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found eaten by rats with his [[TongueTrauma tongue cut out]]. And an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit behind these brutal crimes: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a PlagueDoctor’s mask. He claims that Russia’s cultural capital is infected by “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and the purification process has begun.

Unorthodox police Major Igor Grom and his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin, take on the case. Grom quickly realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who have evaded justice due to their wealth and power. Unfortunately, their investigation turns up one dead end after another. To further complicate matters, the citizens of the city have embraced the vigilante: they're using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune -- and are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their new "savior". How does one go about stopping a villain who has power, technology, and most of the city on his side?

* ExposedToTheElements: [[spoiler:Razumovsky]]'s prisoners are stripped naked, depriving them of any potential weapons and tools before they're forced to navigate the Garden of Sinners. This is intended to test their resourcefulness as well as prevent them from cheating. To enforce the lesson, one of the booby traps in the Garden is an open room stocked with supplies and weapons; attempting to take any one of them causes an explosion.

''Plague Doctor'' is a 10-issue story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. Written by Artëm Gabrelyanov and Evgeny Fedotov, it is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky. It was first published in October 2012. It was eventually collected into two books.

* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Issue #__ contains two self-contained stories -- both of them flashbacks. The first one, "Butterflies In the Stomach", follows Igor Grom on his first case out of the academy; the second, "

''Plague Doctor'' is a 10-issue story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. Written by Artëm Gabrelyanov and Evgeny Fedotov, it is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky. It was first published in October 2012. It was eventually collected into two books.

* ConstructionZoneCalamity: The Plague Doctor murders Igor and the Plague Doctor meet

* EvilPlan: Razumovsky intends to rally his supporters to overthrow the current government, then vote him into power in a snap election; once he's secured the presidency, he will reshape society according to his whims -- starting with rounding up all the dissidents and dregs of society and tossing them into prison camps.

* ShamefulStrip: While he's held captive by Razumovsky, Grom is stripped naked and has to endure Razumovsky caressing and complimenting the various parts of his body (thankfully stopping when he reaches his crotch–though he does remark that Igor has "other impressive parts") and navigate the Garden of Sinners in the nude. Igor, being [[SuperCop who]] he is, treats the whole ordeal as more of an inconvenience than anything.

* VigilanteMan: The Plague Doctor/The Citizen seemingly targets corrupt individuals who would otherwise go unpunished due to their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], power, and connections. This is ultimately revealed to be a smokescreen to conceal his real motives (and encourage the citizens to rise up and overthrow the current governing body).

''Plague Doctor'' is a 10-issue story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. It is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky.

In Saint Petersburg, the son of a city prosecutor is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found eaten by rats. And an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit behind these brutal crimes: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a [[PlagueDoctor plague doctor]]’s mask. He claims that Russia’s cultural capital is infected by “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and the purification process has begun.

Unorthodox police Major Igor Grom and his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin, take on the case. Grom quickly realizes that the Plague Doctor is targeting individuals who escaped justice due to their wealth and power. Much to Grom's dismay, however, the citizens of the city have embraced the vigilante -- whom they've nicknamed "The Citizen" -- and are using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his rallying point. How does one go about stopping a villain who has power, technology, and most of the city on his side?

* EvilPlan

** Deconstructed in the final issue: Igor seemingly survives being injected with a lethal dose of Premedol...but not under his own strength: he knew that Razumovsky was using the drug on his victims, and took the antidote in advance.

In Saint Petersburg, the son of a city prosecutor is burned alive in his sports car. A DirtyCop is found eaten by rats. And an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a [[PlagueDoctor plague doctor]]’s mask. He claims that Russia’s cultural capital is buried in “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and the purification has begun.

Unorthodox Police Major Grom and his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin, take the case. Much to Grom's dismay, they find that the citizens of the city have embraced the vigilante -- whom they've nicknamed "The Citizen" -- and are using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his rallying point. How does one go about stopping a villain who has power, technology, and most of the city on his side?

[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f8119ade0bd58f221e412312116d4924.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325: The danse macabre has begun...]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f8119ade0bd58f221e412312116d4924.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: The danse macabre has begun...]]
''Plague Doctor'' is a 10-issue story in Creator/BUBBLEComics' series ''ComicBook/MajorGrom''. It is the debut story of the series, and marked the introduction of many of the main characters of the series, including Igor Grom, Dmitry Dubin, Yulia Pchelkina, and Sergey Razumovsky.

In Saint Petersburg, the son of a city prosecutor is burned alive in his sports car; a DirtyCop is found eaten by rats; and an unethical doctor is crucified and gutted in front of his clinic. The culprit: a mysterious, cold-blooded SerialKiller who hides under a [[PlagueDoctor plague doctor]]’s mask. He claims that Russia’s cultural capital is buried in “the plague of unlawfulness and injustice” -- and he's begun the process of purification.

Unorthodox Police Major Grom and his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin, take the case. Much to their dismay, they find that the citizens of the city have embraced the vigilante -- whom they've nicknamed "The Citizen" -- and are using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune. Is it possible to stop a villain who has power, technology, and most of the city on his side?

* AllAreEqualInDeath: The Plague Doctor's notes suggest that he espouses this philosophy, with allusions to the Danse Macabre. This is supported by his modus operandi: he targets wealthy and powerful individuals who are seemingly untouchable. This is ultimately revealed to be something of a smokescreen, however, as [[spoiler: he only really cares about the sins of the wealthy and powerful inasmuch as they relate to his own criminal activities]].

* TheBlackDeath: The arc's BigBad (who is a medieval history adficionado) compares the crime, corruption, and societal decay of Saint Petersburg to the Black Plague, himself to a Plague Doctor (even wearing a plague doctor's mask as part of his disguise), and his crime spree as "purification". His methodology also references the Black Plague, with the first victim being burned like a victim of Bubonic Plague (with a note left at the crime scene referencing the "Danse Macabre"), the second eaten by rats (a major catalyst of the Plague), the third being disemboweled (a medieval execution method), and the fourth stabbed crucifixion-style and burned at the future site of the London Mall (referencing both the role of the Church during the Plague and the 1666 London Fire[[note]]widely believed to have contributed to the Plague dying out[[/note]]).

** Averted with the Rainbow Orphanage fundraising gala: Grom attends as an invited guest after he's already been TakenOffTheCase; he donated money to the cause six months earlier, which puts him on the guest list. [[spoiler:Ironically, he ends up identifying the Plague Doctor at the event purely by accident after matching Razumovsky's body language to the Plague Doctor's]].

* AmbiguousSituation: Was [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] [[PrisonRape sexually assaulted in prison]]? While [[WordOfGod the writers have stated]] that he wasn't assaulted (and that it isn't "that kind of story"), the evidence seems to suggest otherwise: [[spoiler:Sergey]] is roughly manhandled by a much larger, male prisoner, who looks at him with [[SayItWithHearts a heart symbol in his speech bubble]], calls him "pretty" and "sugar", and asks if he's been "claimed" yet (stating that he will personally be "first in line"); when [[spoiler:Sergey]]tries to fight him off, the prisoner gives him a beating and hauls him to his feet, proclaiming, "I'm not finished with you!" When next we see [[spoiler:Sergey]], he's disheveled and sporting a bruised face, a split and bleeding lip, and rage-filled eyes. That The Bird emerges after this and takes control for the first time lends further credence to the theory.[[note]](Sexual trauma is one of the main causes of Dissociative Identity Disorder.)[[/note]] [[spoiler: Sergey]], for his part, only gives a vague mention of enduring "hardships" behind bars, with no further details provided.

* EmbarrassingNickname: [[spoiler: Razumovsky]] dislikes being called "The Citizen" (the nickname that the public created for him) and states that he finds it ridiculous.

* VigilanteMan: The Plague Doctor/The Citizen targets corrupt individuals who would otherwise go unpunished due to their [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], power, and connections.

Unorthodox Police Major Grom and his rookie partner, Dmitry Dubin, take the case. Much to their dismay, however, they find that the citizens of the city have embraced the vigilante (whom they've nicknamed "The Citizen"), and are using the popular social network Vmeste[[note]]Together[[/note]] as his tribune. Is it possible to stop a villain who has power, technology, and most of the city on his side?

* AmbiguousSituation: Was [[spoiler:Razumovsky]] [[PrisonRape sexually assaulted in prison]]? While [[WordOfGod the writers have stated]] that he wasn't assaulted (and that it isn't "that kind of story"), the evidence seems to suggest otherwise: [[spoiler:Sergey]] is roughly manhandled by a much larger, male prisoner, who looks at him with [[SayItWithHearts a heart symbol in his speech bubble]], calls him "pretty" and "sugar", and asks if he's been "claimed" yet (stating that he will personally be "first in line"); when [[spoiler:Sergey]]tries to fight him off, the prisoner gives him a beating and hauls him to his feet, proclaiming, "I'm not finished with you!" When next we see [[spoiler:Sergey]], he's disheveled and sports a bruised face, a split and bleeding lip, and rage-filled eyes. That Bird emerges after this -- and takes control for the first time -- lends further credence to the theory.[[note]](Sexual trauma is one of the main causes of Dissociative Identity Disorder.)[[/note]] [[spoiler: Sergey]], for his part, only gives a vague mention of enduring "hardships" behind bars, with no further details provided.