Mysterious Doctor Satan (also known as Doctor Satan's Robot) is a 1940 Film Serial originally meant to be a Superman serial, but Republic Pictures were unable to acquire the rights. The hero has blatant aspects of both Bruce Wayne and The Lone Ranger, but it's still one of the better superhero film serials given Eduardo Ciannelli's gleefully hammy performance as the title character.
Governor Bronson plans to call in the National Guard as the only way to deal with the deprivations of Doctor Satan, a Mad Scientist supervillain who has killed all who oppose him. Fearing that he's next on the list, Bronson reveals a family secret to Bob Wayne, whom he has raised since the death of Bob's father. Turns out Bob's father was the notorious outlaw known as The Copperhead who was actually a Hero with Bad Publicity, righting wrongs and delivering justice as a masked vigilante. Bronson is murdered by one of Dr. Satan's agents shortly after this conversation, so Bob dons the chainmail cowl of The Copperhead to bring Dr. Satan to justice. Meanwhile, Dr. Satan schemes to steal a device that will enable him to remotely control an army of killer robots to further spread his power.
In 1972 a Foreign Remake was made in Turkey called The Deathless Devil (Turkish: Yılmayan Şeytan).
This film serial has the following tropes:
- Ambiguous Syntax: Dr. Satan uses his "Robot Room" to trap the D.A's men. Instead of his Killer Robot attacking them, sliding doors seal the exits and the room fills with Knockout Gas. In this case "robot" refers to the automated systems in the room that set off the doors and gas bombs.
- Artistic License – Law Enforcement: The police chief thinks nothing of deputizing Bob Wayne when Bob says he has a personal stake in the hunt for Doctor Satan. You'd think for that reason alone he'd keep Bob clear of the investigation, but it's just a handwave to explain how Bob can keep sticking his nose into what's going on.
- As You Know:
- Handwaved by Governor Bronson saying he can reveal the truth about Wayne's father easier if he reminisces a little during his exposition.
- Doctor Satan often reiterates to minions why he needs the remote control cell, for the benefit of audience members who missed previous chapters.
- Big Electric Switch: Dr. Satan is a big fan of these.
- Calling Card: The Copperhead uses a small copper model of a coiled snake.
- Can't Use Stairs: The robot is Immune to Bullets, but when it tries climbing a mine ladder after Bob the rungs break off under its weight and it falls into a flooded mine shaft, fusing it out.
- Cops Need the Vigilante: Even though his predecessor was a notorious outlaw the current Copperhead is regarded from the start as a good guy, with no attempt by the police or D.A.'s office to expose his Secret Identity or curb his illegal activities.
- Cliffhanger: The Once More, with Clarity version. The early chapters also have a variation in that while the hero is shown to have survived last week's cliffhanger, he's often not out of the woods and has to deal with some additional problem.
- "Chapter 01 - Return of the Copperhead." The Copperhead races to evacuate the crew from a booby-trapped yacht before it blows up. As he grabs Lois Scott in a Bridal Carry, we cut to the yacht exploding! The next episode shows they jumped into the water in time, though Miss Scott is stunned and nearly drowns before the Copperhead rescues her again.
- "Chapter 02 - Thirteen Steps." Bob has Dr. Satan and his minions at gunpoint, but is unaware that's he's walked under the Mad Scientist's electrocution device. Cue the lights flickering as he dies a horrible death! Once More, with Clarity as Bob shoots the device before Dr. Satan can throw the switch, which is what caused the lights to flicker. Unfortunately Bob only had One Bullet Left and Satan's henchmen rush him.
- "Chapter 03 - Undersea Tomb". When a porthole breaks in their diving chamber it becomes a Drowning Pit for Lois and Bob. Justified; our heroes are saved by the air pocket formed as the water rushes in. Of course they're still stuck underwater until their friends above can rescue them.
- "Chapter 04 - The Human Bomb". The Copperhead drives into a Vapor Trail of burning petrol and his car explodes when it crashes into the guardrail. He bailed out beforehand.
- "Chapter 05 - Doctor Satan's Man of Steel". The Copperhead is being crushed in the metal arms of Dr. Satan's Killer Robot! Professor Scott is able to free himself from his bonds and presses the button to turn the robot off.
- "Chapter 06 - Double Cross". The Copperhead races to stop Lois from being killed by a Death Trap, but he's knocked off the fire ladder and Deadly Gas erupts in front of her. The Copperhead wasn't knocked out by his fall; he raced up the ladder to the room and was able to rescue Lois before she inhaled a lethal dose.
- "Chapter 07 - The Monster Strikes". The robot knocks out The Copperhead and tips a shelf full of acid bottles on top of him. The Copperhead woke up and rolled away before the shelf landed on him.
- "Chapter 08 - Highway of Death". During a car chase The Copperhead is thrown onto the road, and another car driven by his friend comes around the corner too fast to stop. He lies flat out of the way of the wheels so the car drives harmlessly over him.
- "Chapter 09 - Double Jeopardy". Hollywood Torches + Powder Trail = Stuff Blowing Up and The Copperhead pinned under a spar as the mine collapses. He gets out from under the spar in time and dives into a Convenient Cranny.
- "Chapter 10 - Bridge of Peril". The Copperhead is chasing a henchman across a precarious plank, so he swings a block & tackle at the Copperhead, causing him to fall. The Copperhead grabs the pulley's rope and swings to safety.
- "Chapter 11 - Death Closes In" ends with The Copperhead falling into a Death Trap and our hero collapses as The Walls Are Closing In! He uses a shiny cigar case to show him where the electrical board controlling the mechanism is, and does a trick shot with his pistol to destroy it, shutting down the Advancing Wall of Doom. Apparently Bob 'collapsing' was him doing so out of relief, but this is a Cliffhanger Copout as we don't see him do that in the next chapter.
- "Chapter 12 - Crack-Up". Bob Wayne crashes his airplane into a mountain. He had a parachute and bailed out beforehand.
- "Chapter 13 - Disguised". While rescuing a Kidnapped Scientist, The Copperhead steps around a corner and is shot by a guard waiting in ambush. It was actually the scientist who got shot, having moved past the Copperhead as he stopped to check behind them.
- "Chapter 14 - The Flaming Coffin". The Copperhead tries to smuggle himself into Dr. Satan's lair in a crate, only for the crate to be placed in a furnace. Of course he got out of the crate well before this, and weighed it down with sacks of tungite ore to make them think it was occupied.
- Come Alone: Lois is kidnapped, and Dr. Satan leaves her unguarded in a room with a telephone, knowing she will call The Copperhead directly. Satan then cuts into the phone call and tells him to come alone if he wants her released. Bob does so but leaves his Copperhead mask off, successfully convincing Dr. Satan that he saw his henchmen kidnapping Lois and is making a bumbling attempt to free her.
- Cut the Juice: Bob proposes a citywide Big Blackout to stop Dr. Satan setting off a remote-controlled Explosive Leash. The Chief gets the power company to turn it off for just thirty seconds.Bob Wayne: If the electric power here were to go off, Dr. Satan's control board would turn off and he couldn't set off his bomb.Police Chief: Why that's impossible—think of the consequences! People trapped in elevators, traffic stalled, lights out in operating rooms! It would be a catastrophe to the whole city!Bob Wayne: It will be a catastrophe to the whole nation if Dr. Satan succeeds with his plans!
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Dr. Satan doesn't suggest a partnership to Professor Scott so they can sell remote-controlled Mecha-Mooks to the US Army. Then again it's obvious that he's doing all this for fun as much as profit.
- Damsel out of Distress: Alice Brent never plays the Neutral Female. The Copperhead should have made her his sidekick instead of Speed Martin.
- In Chapter One, Alice is left tied up in a barn, so she works loose the ropes on her legs, then mounts a horse With My Hands Tied, holding the reins in her teeth and getting the horse to do a Super Window Jump and leap a fence, then ride on until she finds help.
- In Chapter 3 the villains board their boat while the hero is unable to help because he's below in a diving bell, so Alice does a rope swing worthy of Errol Flynn to knock out a mook and get all the other sailors fighting them.
- In Chapter Eight a mook takes Alice and Lois prisoner. She knocks him off his horse and steals it, enabling Lois to ride off. When the mook fires at Alice she pretends to fall backwards (while still riding the horse and leaping a fence). The mook smiles and lowers his gun, only to see Alice slide back into the saddle again once she's out of range. He chases after her on another horse, only to get the gun shot out of his hand by a trick shot performed by Alice while she's hanging off her saddle backwards.
- Death Trap:
- The first time Lois is in danger, Dr. Satan has planted explosives on the remote control yacht she is testing for her father, and it will explode once it reaches a certain speed. Satan anticipates that Professor Scott will refuse to cooperate at first, but knows that setting up an elaborate deathtrap will weaken his resistance once he has time to consider the peril his daughter is in.
- Lois is tied to a chair in front of a tray of acid into which pellets will be dropped When the Clock Strikes Twelve, filling the room with Deadly Gas. If the Copperhead turns up before then to save her, he'll be electrocuted when he opens the door. Dr. Satan helpfully explains all this to Bob Wayne whom he assumes is an innocent bystander despite the fact that he's expecting the Copperhead to turn up.
- Dr. Satan has a Trap Door leading to The Walls Are Closing In version, though he implies he mostly uses it to scare people into talking.
- In the final episode Dr. Satan refuses to flee as his supervillain lair is rigged with "fiendish deathtraps", though he only captures the men sent to arrest him, so he can have them tied to chairs and crushed by his robot.
- Disney Villain Death: As its control panel is damaged, instead of crushing Dr. Satan as usual, the robot picks him up and smashes through the window where they fall to the rocks below.
- Everyone Knows Morse: One of Dr. Satan's agents has planted a remote control cell on an airplane and sabotaged the radio, so Bob flies ahead of it and blinks his taillights to let the pilots know what happened, and that they should consult a scientist who's one of their passengers on how to regain control.
- Explosive Leash: Dr. Martin is drugged and sent to Professor Scott wearing a remote control collar with a bomb attached. Dr. Satan threatens to explode it if Scott doesn't give him the plans he's after. Bob Wayne convinces the police chief to shut off all the power in the city for thirty seconds so the control device for the bomb will be shut down long enough for them to remove it.
- Evil Is Hammy: Eduardo Ciannelli plays supervillain Dr. Satan with gleeful malice.
- Evil Plan: Dr. Satan wants the remote control cell to control an army of Mecha-Mooks to gain wealth and power across the country. He's a foil to Professor Scott, who only wants to use his remote control cell to enable the US military to remotely drop bombs on people. Umm...
- Faint in Shock: Seeing a mechanical man clunking down the corridor towards her, the night nurse faints instead of
bursting into laughter. - Friend or Foe?
- A henchmen on the street sees The Copperhead fighting with another henchmen at the top of a tall building and opens fire. Given that he's using a snubnose revolver, it's no surprise that he hits the wrong man.
- Dr. Satan opens fire on The Copperhead as he walks through a door, but a Dramatic Unmask of the corpse reveals it as one of his own men whom the real Copperhead had captured and forced to wear his cowl. The Copperhead (wearing a handkerchief to hide his face) then enters and takes Dr. Satan prisoner.
- Bob and Speed capture a couple of henchmen and force them to show where Dr. Satan's mine is. However the guards there have been told to shoot our heroes before they get near the mine, so open fire and end up shooting the captured henchmen—unfortunately one is only wounded and shouts a warning.
- And finally Dr. Satan is Hoist by His Own Petard when The Copperhead puts his cowl on the supervillain after he's knocked unconscious, so his goons will sic the Killer Robot on him.
- Genre Mashup: The Western with the newly established Super Hero genre, with elements drawn from Batman (Bob Wayne), Superman (the reporter Lois Scott) and The Lone Ranger (The Copperhead's origin story, plus half the things that happen during the tungite mine arc could have been taken from any Western serial).
- Go Fast or Go Boom: Inverted when Doctor Satan puts Scott's daughter on a motorboat packed with explosives, set to go off when the speed indicator hits 25 knots.
- High-Altitude Interrogation: Bob threatens to throw Bronson's murderer off a balcony if he doesn't reveal who sent him.
- High-Voltage Death: Dr. Satan's favourite method of killing before he perfects his Killer Robot.
- Hollywood Torches: Despite Dr. Satan's fondness for electricity (and note that the Secret Underground Passage under his lair uses lightbulbs) burning brands are used to light the tungite mine presumably because this entire arc is channelling The Western. Naturally a barrel of blasting powder gets spilled near one of these torches, leading to the requisite cliffhanger peril for our hero.
- Horseback Heroism: Whenever Alice Brent gets on a horse she's bound to do something awesome; unsurprising as actress Dorothy Herbert worked as a circus trick rider. She looks great in jodhpurs as well.
- I Control My Minions Through... Fear: Professor Scott offers a bribe to one of Dr. Satan's henchmen to help him escape. The henchman pulls open his suit to reveal that he's wearing one of the remote control monitoring devices. Scott uses his scientific skills to deactivate the device, but when they try to take Dr. Satan hostage to get past the other guards, Dr. Satan activates his Killer Robot to dispose of the errant henchman.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Several examples of Blasting It Out of Their Hands, but the most impressive is in Chapter 8 with Alice firing a rifle while hanging backwards off the side of a horse, shooting the pistol from the hand of the man chasing after her on horseback.
- Improvised Zipline: The Copperhead escapes the henchmen searching for him in a skyscraper by forcing open the elevator shaft doors and sliding down the lift cable. He doesn't appear to be wearing gloves, either—ouch!
- In the Hood: The Copperhead's only costume is a chainmail cowl, which at least means he doesn't have to waste time finding a phone booth every time he wants to change.
- Invisible Wall: At one point The Copperhead tries to shoot Dr. Satan only to find he's standing behind a door made of bulletproof glass.
- Kidnapped Scientist: Professors Scott (to force him to build remote control cells for Dr. Satan) and Williams (who's trying to work on a countermeasure). As Williams' face is bandaged from an earlier failed attempt to kidnap him, Dr. Satan uses the opportunity to take his place, hidden behind a Bandaged Face.
- Like a Duck Takes to Water: Bruce Wayne might have spent most of his life gaining the skills to become a Vigilante Man, but there's never any mention of how Bob Wayne gained the ability to brawl with henchmen, shoot guns from hands, or climb the side of a skyscraper like a human fly.
- Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: Dr. Satan kidnaps Professor Scott and orders him to build the remote control cell. Scott uses the equipment to covertly establish a radio connection to his daughter, then talks loudly to his guards about how he needs a particular transformer and tells them the electronic store where it's sold. The Copperhead goes there and follows them back to where Scott is being held.
- MacGuffin: The remote control cell. Dr. Satan's plots involve stealing either the cell or the plans for the cell, kidnapping the scientist who invented the cell, or acquiring the rare element tungite in order to build more cells.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Satan, though apparently he's not smart enough to invent the remote control cell himself, despite inventing killer robots and devices that can monitor the wearer remotely.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Lois Scott is the good version as a Kidnapped Scientist's Beautiful Daughter. Then again in one scene she does talk enthusiastically about the deadly poison gas her father is trying to perfect...
- Mind Control: When Dr. Satan tires of Scott's disobedience he uses a drug to keep him in line. By the final chapter the drug has worn off, but Scott does the Pretend to Be Brainwashed trope to help bring about his captor's demise.
- Murder by Cremation: The Copperhead decides to hide himself inside the crate used to deliver the robot so he'll be taken to Dr. Satan's lair. However Dr. Satan is suspicious and orders the crate loaded into the furnace instead for the requisite cliffhanger. Ironically he doesn't think the hero is inside, but a cylinder of poison gas that Lois Smith had shown to him earlier, which can be neutralized by extreme temperature. He rings up Lois and gloats about how he didn't fall for her trick, hanging up before she can explain his mistake.
- Murder by Remote Control Vehicle: An obligatory trope given the MacGuffin. Dr. Satan plants the remote control cell in an airplane and tries to crash it. Fortunately a scientist is on board who knows how to disable it. Earlier he steals the panel used to control the remote cells and takes control of the yacht being used to test the device.
- Never Bareheaded: Dr. Satan's henchmen wear their fedoras even when they're working in his ore mine!
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Speed Martin is supposed to be a reporter yet leads a team of District Attorney men, even getting into car chases and shootouts. Likewise Lois Scott who's introduced as a top "sob sister", but just acts like the typical Kidnapped Scientist's Beautiful Daughter, getting into jeopardy and relaying information to the hero so Bob Wayne can act on it. We never see her filing human interest reports or trying to uncover The Copperhead's Secret Identity for a big scoop, except for a few lines at the very end of the serial.
- Pocket Protector: Doctor Satan shoots Bob Wayne with a silent air pistol that fires a poisoned dart, leaving him for dead. After he leaves, Bob gets up and reveals the dart was caught in the chainmail Copperhead cowl he had tucked into his coat pocket. It's this experience that first makes him put on the cowl as The Copperhead.
- Right in Front of Me
- The first time Bob Wayne meets his Arch-Enemy is when he turns up to warn Professor Scott that Dr. Satan is after him. Unfortunately the man he's talking to is Dr. Satan, who's just used Knockout Gas on Scott and hid him in a cupboard.
- After The Copperhead foils Dr. Satan's initial plan to steal his work, Professor Scott tells Bob Wayne that he wishes he knew this man so he can thank him. He gets his wish in the final chapter when Bob reveals his Secret Identity to his friends. Speed Martin claims he knew all along.
- Scream Discretion Shot: Anyone killed by the robot, presumably because they're crushed to death.
- Surveillance as the Plot Demands: Averted with Dr. Satan's remote control belts which have a camera that can only see what's in front of them, which is a plot-point in one chapter. Played straight with the scanner on the remote control device he stole from Professor Scott, which puts up an image of whatever is being controlled which clearly isn't mounted on the device being controlled.
- Trap Door: Done for a Rule of Three. The first time Dr. Satan activates his own trapdoor to escape The Copperhead, and the next time to trap him. The third time it's The Copperhead who activates the trap so the robot will fall into it.
- Unobtanium: Tungite, a rare and crucial element in the remote control cell. It comes from The Acme Mine, would you believe. As the mine is too well guarded, Dr. Satan decides to buy an ore deposit so they can smelt the stuff themselves.
- Vapor Trail: In "The Human Bomb", Bob Wayne shoots a hole in the gas tank of the villain's car, leaving a trail of petrol that he can follow and forcing them to stop and steal a gasoline truck. The truck is too slow when climbing a mountain road, so they open the valve at the back pouring petrol all over the road. Somehow it ignites and the hero drives into the flames for the requisite end-of-chapter cliffhanger.
- You Have Failed Me:
- After the assassin who kills Governor Bronson is captured, Dr. Satan establishes his villainous credentials by revealing that he's been listening to everything the assassin has been saying to the authorities on the remote control belt he was forced to wear, which is then used to electrocute him.
- After Bob jumps his guard and escapes, Dr. Satan has the man put under his electrocution device, which serves as a Chekhov's Gun when Bob accidentally wanders under it himself.
- You Killed My Father: Well Bob's father has been dead for some time, so it's You Killed My Parental Substitute.
- You Know Too Much
- Panamint Pete is killed as he's about to tell Lois and Alice where the tungite mine that he sold to Dr. Satan is located. You'd think the local government would have records of that from when Pete first made his claim.
- When Fallon, one of his agents, is injured after fighting with The Copperhead, Dr. Satan worries he might talk and sends his robot to do a Sickbed Slaying.
