Dead & Let Spy is a story in Scooby-Doo #106.
Premise[]
Young British spy J.Z. Bang is being stalked by monsters everywhere he goes on his missions. He needs the help of MI-5, the five members of Mystery Inc., that is.
Synopsis[]
Teenage spy J.Z. Bang skis down a mountain chased by yetis, but is rescued by one of his handlers. As he is constantly chased by monsters, his uncle, Director G, asks Mystery Inc. for help, suspecting the freelance agent Cadaver for the monster attacks. Mystery Inc. meets Agent Bang on a train, who reveals his mission to find six parts of a device scattered around the world, invented and hidden by Dr. Ooh for only the agents to find. Bang finds the first part concealed in a fire extinguisher on the train, but a band of zombies appear, chasing them off the train.
As they escape, Agent Bang reveals he has an irrational fear of monsters; though he is deeply ashamed of the fear, it makes him much weaker against the monster attacks. Bang and Mystery Inc. gather the pieces around the world, but various monsters appear each time to attack them. So, as they meet Dr. Ooh at an abandoned casino for the final piece, a monster attacks them. Noticing the monsters always found and attacked them despite the missions being confidential, Mystery Inc. and Bang realize the culprit must be from the spy headquarters. Bang tackles the monster to the ground and unmasks it.
The culprit is revealed to be Professor Bits, the inventor of Agent Bang's gadgets. Bits was frustrated with Bang's recklessness as he constantly destroyed his inventions on the field. Wanting to protect his inventions, he sent Bang on a fake mission, hoping to eliminate him. Bits learned of Bang's monster phobia and took advantage of it to weaken him. As Mystery Inc. had summoned Director G to the scene, Director G thanks Mystery Inc. and congratulates his nephew for overcoming his fear, planning to send Professor Bits to a village for punishment.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- J.Z. Bang (only appearance)
- Director G (only appearance)
Villains:
- Professor Bits (only appearance)
- Yetis (only appearance)(no lines)(disguises)
- Zombies (only appearance)(no lines)(disguises)
- Ninjas (only appearance)(no lines)(disguises)
- Demon can-can dancers (only appearance)(no lines)(disguises)
- Shark man (only appearance)(no lines)(disguise)
- Werewolf (only appearance)(no lines)(disguise)
- Astro Turf (only appearance)(Professor Bits' disguise)
Other characters:
- Helicopter pilot (only appearance)
- Cadaver (only appearance)(photograph)
- Dr. Ooh (only appearance)(photograph)
- J.Z. Bang's parents (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)
Locations[]
- Arctic
- Snowy mountain
- United States Spy Service headquarters
- Train
- Dining car
- Baggage car
- Barn
- Japan
- Bottom of the sea
- Old abandoned riverboat
- Roy and Al's Casino
Vehicles[]
- Helicopter
- Train
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Director G | Knew his nephew was afraid of ghosts and ghouls. |
| Cadaver | Director G thought the ghosts and ghouls his nephew kept running into were all hired by him. |
| Professor Bits | Angry at J.Z. Bang for destroying his equipment. |
| Dr. Ooh | Needed J.Z. Bang to retrieve the parts of his secret device, but he didn't say why. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Professor Bits as the Astro Turf | Angry at J.Z. Bang for destroying his equipment. |
Notes/trivia[]
Reprints[]
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #29 (January 2013).
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #114 (February 2022).
Cultural references[]
- J.Z. Bang is a nod to James Bond. Professor Bits is like Q, his gadget-maker.
- Mystery Inc.'s codename, MI-5, is a parody of MI6, the secret intelligence service of the United Kingdom.
- In the end, Bang's superior says that Bits will be sent to a village for a rest. This references the British TV show The Prisoner, where the protagonist is imprisoned in a coastal village for resigning as a spy.
Coloring mistakes[]
- None known.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]
- None known.
Reception[]
Ray Tate of Line of Fire Reviews said, "I'm sure the score to Scooby-Doo will come as a shock to everybody familiar with my reviews. It well comes as a shock to me. Breaking formula can often lead to an effervescent surprise. The two Scooby-Doo movies broke with the formula of fake monsters. The threats Scoob and the Gang faced were very real and very supernatural. This issue of Scooby-Doo breaks formula and leaves behind a smelly mess. The first story by the usually reliable Alex Simmons "Dead & Let Spy" almost seems like a back door pilot for James Bond Jr.--a real show, I kid you not, that was completely and utterly vile. The Gang's detective skills are unnecessary since already the agency knows that the spook in question is merely a charlatan interested in world domination. The resourceful spy in the story is just too good, and he steals the spotlight from Mystery Inc. At least Robert Pope throws in a gag about the Yeti that refers back to the original series Scooby-Doo Where Are You."[1]
References[]
- ↑ Ray Tate in Line of Fire Reviews