Fear-Master I

Dr. Arthur Levitt was one of the country’s most respected psychologists, and his every scribbling was required reading for anyone wanting to be taken seriously in the profession. He specialized in the study of phobias, but even his encyclopedic knowledge of what terrified the minds of men couldn’t answer one recurring question. Since he was a child, Levitt had wondered why he couldn’t feel–not empathy, euphoria, terror, or grief. Everything from his bar mitzvah to meticulously pulling the wings off flies left him utterly cold.
Within the limits of his dispassion, Levitt became fascinated with what made others feel, especially that which humans seemed to feel most strongly: fear. He put his genius to work developing biochemical devices to induce terror, but found himself unable to experiment on human subjects because of the silly ethics of the sentimental fools around him. Undaunted, Levitt tested his theories disguised as a costumed supervillain—the last thing anyone would expect of a respected academic.
By night Levitt became Fear-Master, a terrorist in the truest sense of the word. He struck without warning or pattern, and without financial gain as his prime motivation (unlike many villains). The Fear-Master simply appeared wherever there were test subjects, and then watched coldly as people were tormented by visions of what they most feared.
The man who became his most implacable foe, Duncan Summers, the original Raven, ended Fear-Master’s initial reign of terror. This exposed Dr. Levitt’s double life, and his now-evident sociopathic behavior led to his commitment in Freedom City's Providence Asylum. Like all his incarcerations there, it didn’t last for long—Levitt knew the facility and its staff too well for it to be otherwise. Time and again during the 1960s, Fear-Master reemerged to harrow the people of Freedom City.
Levitt was declared cured and sane in 1971 after undergoing “primal scream” therapy. The public at large bought into his supposed rehabilitation, and Levitt found himself much in demand as a consulting psychologist. In reality, primal therapy was a trendy cover for him to continue his diabolical experiments out of costume and on a smaller scale calculated to avoid detection.
His covert activities reached their peak during Franklin Moore’s tenure as mayor of Freedom City, a time during which costumed heroes were outlawed in Freedom City. With no—or at least fewer—capes to trip him up, Levitt made a killing doing occasional work for organized crime, and selling the results of his “research” to Grant Conglomerates (and through them, The Labyrinth). Levitt was incapable of being happy, but with nearly unlimited cash and access to test subjects, he was as close as he could get.
The turning point in Levitt’s life came in 1991 when was diagnosed with cancer, likely as a side effect of prolonged and repeated exposure to the chemicals used in his fear-inducing concoctions. For the first time in his life, Levitt actually felt something. In the face of his own impending mortality, Fear-Master was the one who was afraid.
As he endured chemotherapy, a scared Dr. Levitt came to realize fully what he’d been inflicting on others for so many years, and his new sense of empathy overwhelmed him. By the time his cancer finally went into remission, Levitt was a changed man who vowed to atone for his past. He remains sincere in these efforts, despite much skepticism from those who knew about his earlier sham reformation.
Recently, Dr. Levitt encountered Melvin Blume, the current bearer of the Fear-Master name. The irreverent Blume hatched an elaborate gaslight scheme to drive Levitt mad by convincing him he was secretly the new Fear-Master. Callie Summers, the second Raven, thwarted Blume’s plans, but not before he stole Levitt’s terror-inducing technology.
As a result of this incident, Levitt and the new Raven developed an unlikely but cordial working relationship. Callie Summers is convinced Levitt truly walks the straight and narrow, and the Doctor feels tremendous gratitude towards her for saving his sanity. Appreciating the trust she showed in him, Levitt readily offers his expertise and advice to the Raven whenever she asks.
The one person capable of pulling Levitt back into a life of crime is the current Fear-Master. Formerly emotionless, Levitt focuses a lifetime of hatred on Melvin Blume. It’s likely if the two meet again, Levitt’s vengeance would far exceed anything he ever did as a dispassionate researcher. Whatever else might occur in their clash, the world would likely have only one Fear-Master left in it at the end.