Dr. Will Carver was a successful cosmetic surgeon working in Dick Tracy's city. He was a prominent citizen, known for his work with the rich and famous. However, he had several vices, including gambling and adultery, which involved him in the underworld.
Carver was a man of slim build with dark hair. He often smoked cigarettes. He was married and had a young daughter.
Fixing Haf-and-Haf[]
Years after Tulza Tuzon (aka Haf-and-Haf) was put in prison for the attempted murder of his fiancee and murder of his wife, the state granted Tuzon parole. It was also arranged for Tuzon to be given a new face at the state's expense under the care of Dr. Carver. Carver's job on Tuzon was flawless and Tuzon had his old face back (except for discolored hair on one side).
Tuzon tried to kill his ex-fiancee Zelda, who later escaped from the hospital and poured drain cleaner on Tulza's face in revenge. This caused Tuzon to revert to his Haf-and-Haf identity once again. Tuzon invaded Dr. Carver's home, demanding at gunpoint to be given another operation. Carver told Tulza it would cost him $50,000 to get his face repaired again. This angered Tuzon, but he soon agreed.
While Tuzon was holding Willis (along with wife and daughter) at gunpoint, Dick Tracy and Lizz arrived to question Carver in his penthouse. Tuzon hid while the Carvers spoke to police, not revealing Tuzon's presence. As the detectives were leaving, Tuzon saw an opportunity. He assaulted Tracy, then abducted Lizz and fled. The Carvers were not implicated in Tuzon's activities.
"Cloning" Mumbles[]
The next time Carver was seen was during the Mumbles cloning case. Dr. Zy Ghote had Mumbles undergo plastic surgery to look 20 years younger to pass as his own clone in order to get funds to do legitimate cloning research. Mumbles attempted to cover up for Ghote's fraud by luring Carver to a bar, where Mumbles hit him with in his car.
In critical condition, Carver was hospitalized and put under police guard. After Tracy and Sam Catchem came to question Carver about Mumbles, Carver hurled his cigarette in Sam's face and told them to leave, which prompted Tracy and Sam to state that they would remove Carver's police protection. Tracy had the guard moved down the hall and disguised as an orderly.
Fearing for his life, Carver called Tracy to apologize and chose to cooperate. Carver asked that he be granted immunity, which wasn't in Tracy's power. When Mumbles disguised himself as a doctor and attempted to kill Carver again, he instead found Tracy disguised as a bandaged Dr. Carver. Tracy placed Mumbles under arrest. Carver refused to testify, but Tracy was convinced they had enough other evidence to charge Mumbles with attempted murder and fraud.
The Deadly Angeltop[]
Later, Carver's handiwork resurfaced again. This time his patient was Angeltop Jones, who had been severely burnt after the fire on the Santa Maria replica where she was presumed dead. Carver had performed a series of reconstructive surgeries, and once he had finished with Angeltop, she killed him (February 13th, 1982). Carver's body was placed in an alley, and made to look like a suicide. Sam Catchem (filling in for Tracy as Chief of Detectives while Tracy was accompanying Diet Smith on his Fusion Now tour) didn't believe that Carver had killed himself and began an investigation into the death as a murder case. Angeltop was later arrested after she attempted to kill everyone at Junior Tracy's wedding.
Carver's Legacy[]
Even in death, Carver's work affected the lives of Dick Tracy and his associates. A villain known as "The Man of a Million Faces" robbed various banks disguised as Sam Catchem, Ronald Reagan, David Letterman, and Albert Einstien. After posing as Diet Smith, Tracy confronted the criminal only to be knocked out. The new villain posed as Tracy, and shot his own gang members.
One of the gangsters was found to be in critical condition but still alive. After being admitted into the hospital, the gunman became delirious and started muttering, "Putty Puss don't shoot! Carver already dead!" Tracy and the Major Crime Squad paid a visit to Carver's widow, who thought highly of Tracy. She allowed them access to Carver's computer files, where they learned about the disfigurement of an actor named Harley Niav alias Norman Harley. Carver had subjected Niav to an experimental reconstructive surgery which failed, and Niav's face became like putty, which could be molded into any shape (though it would start to "melt" after approximately one hour). Carver had Harley committed to an institution under a false name in order to avoid the humiliation over his failure. Naiv later escaped and killed his psychiatrist and several others before being apprehended.
Notes[]
- Carver's first name has alternately been given as "William" and "Willis". "William" appeared in the strip first, on his business card.
- Carver's middle initial was A.