Dr. Satan™

Character History

History & Public Domain Status

Dr. Satan™ first appeared in The Mysterious Dr. Satan (1940), a 15-chapter Republic Pictures serial originally planned for Superman before licensing fell through. The villainous doctor battled the masked hero Copperhead with a blend of mad science, robotics, and ruthless schemes.

Under the Copyright Act of 1909, which was in effect at the time, works were granted an initial copyright term of 28 years. To secure the full protection, the copyright had to be renewed during the last (28th) year of that first term, 1968. No such renewal was filed as far as we have been able to determine.

Unlike characters with ongoing comic or publishing appearances, he has remained untouched in modern media, leaving his pulp-era imagery and stories free for reinterpretation.

Current Incarnation (PDSH)

In our stories, Dr. Satan, AKA Anton Saetanov, is reinvented as a chilling figure with roots in wartime atrocities and scientific corruption. Cold, precise, and disturbingly articulate, he manipulates both machines and minds. His schemes extend beyond simple villainy, pulling threads of conspiracy, addiction, and control into a larger, evolving web.

Our Dr. Satan remains a scientist of nightmares, but reframed for modern readers — a figure whose menace lies not only in robots and gadgets, but in his unsettling ability to turn society’s progress against itself.

Trademark Note:

Public Domain Super Heroes has filed a Trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as of November 2025 on "Dr. Satan™" to protect our use of the character. Our work uses only the public domain character and in no way infringes on any trademark held by anyone else.