Karl Hellfern, aka Doctor Death, developed a deadly pollen extract and used it to blackmail the wealthy of Gotham City. He worried that this would attract the attention of Batman, and sent men to kill the vigilante. Batman found Doctor Death's hideout and defeated his servant Jabah. They struggled, and Doctor Death accidentally set his own laboratory on fire. It was believed that Doctor Death perished with Jabah in this inferno.
He escaped the fire, but not unscathed. Soon after, his face heavily bandaged, he sent another servant, the Cossack Mikhail, to retrieve some jewels he'd left in another location. When Batman finally arrested him, he found that Doctor Death was hideously scarred by the fire.
