Doctor Dan, The Science Man[1] is the father of Sammy Velez and a scientist with a large following on Youtube.
History[]
Before Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest[]
Doctor Dan always said they were descended from the pirate Captain Kidd but Sammy never believed it.[2] He later took down the Cursed Saber of Captain Kidd from above the fireplace to hang a picture of the Horsehead Nebula then stored it in the basement.[3] Dan accepted his son changing pronouns from "he" to "they/them" but came off as too analytical and asked too many questions, some Sammy did not have an answer for yet and made it feel like they did something wrong. Sammy just wanted to be accepted for what they were. Things became strained between the two.
Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest[]
A couple of years later, in December of 2022, Sammy and Dan got into a disagreement about something. The next day, Sammy was absent from school and Dan was notified. He remembered Sammy mentioning a "Phoebe, the Ghostbuster" and went to the Firehouse hoping his child would be hanging out there. He entered and asked for Phoebe. Gary Grooberson recognized him as "Doctor Dan, The Science Man" and got excited. He shook Dan's hand and told him his dismantling of the Flat Earth Theory with nothing but LEGO bricks and pop rocks was nothing short of exhilarating. Callie Spengler reminded Gary to keep it together. It was in vain. Gary explained Dan had a "bazillion" subscribers on Youtube and posted videos called "Putting The You In The Universe." Callie shook his hand, too, then asked about the reason for his visit. Gary hoped for an autograph. Dan explained he was looking for his child.
Callie admitted she had not seen Phoebe lately and went to grab her phone. Dan thought they sounded like excellent parents. Gary boasted they were not into helicopter parenting. Callie joked they were more like the subway system, out of sight and semi-reliable. She checked her "find my Phoebe" app and saw she was at Ray's Occult Books and presumed Sammy was there, too. She then noticed a lot of texts from Trevor Spengler claiming he was going to die, they needed to bring all the Traps, and he was starting a group chat with child services. Trevor happened to call Callie's phone at that moment and reiterated he needed the team "here" right now. Callie asked where he was. Trevor exclaimed he was at the Statue of Liberty and pointed out it was on the news. Callie had no idea what he was talking about. Gary checked and saw a MNN live report of a Kraken Ghost. They quickly suited up and went to Ecto-1. Dan asked about Phoebe and Sammy. Callie replied she would text Phoebe to meet them there and bring Sammy along. Gary invited him to hop in and promised to show him how their equipment worked. Dan was not so sure about getting in. Gary promised it would be fun and hyped it a a "Families versus Monster" thing. Dan was even more hesitant but got in anyway. On the ride over, Gary asked Dan if it was true he always said, "Good, bad, or just plain boring... the universe doesn't care!" in all of his videos. Dan confirmed he did. Gary countered with puppies but Dan replied the universe did not care. Gary brought up rainbows. Dan called rainbows an optical illusion and fake magic for the feeble minds of peasants. Gary asked about dad jokes then joked they better get Kraken. Dan did not get it. Gary explained he said "cracking" like the sea monster, the "Kraken." He then quoted the phrase, "Release the Kraken!" to Callie's dismay. Dan realized he tried very hard. Gary told him he had no idea.
Trevor clung to a tentacle regretted aloud thinking they could handle the ghost, Gary fired at the ghost by himself, and Callie was unable to get the Drone Trap to fly and wondered where Phoebe was. Trevor eventually "landed" on the ground. Dan wondered if their busts were always so chaotic. Trevor joked this was going pretty well. Gary, Trevor, and Lucky Domingo fired upon the ghost. Callie finally managed to get the Drone Trap operational but she was hit in the back the head by a tentacle. Gary was naturally concerned but Trevor pointed out they had to either trap the ghost or let it go. Dan grabbed the drone controller and asked which button he had to push. Trevor and Lucky both shouted to him it was the red one. Dan successfully trapped the ghost. Gary called him a natural and suggested he could totally join the team. Trevor noticed a fleet of ghost ships approaching them.
Trevor drove Ecto-1 while Callie and Gary commandeered a ghost ship. Trevor came to a stop at Earthy / Crunchy Health Foods at Wall Street and Pearl Street. Trevor asked if they missed anything. A nauseous Dan stepped out and pointed out he missed the last red light. Gary apologized and handed him an Ectoplasm sample bag. Callie snatched the keys away from Trevor and warned him he was going to miss his license if he kept driving like that. Dan tried to ask Sammy if they were okay but they only replied "Fine" and went into the car. Gary tried to downplay it as kids being kids. Dan hurled into the sample bag. They all returned to the Firehouse to come up with a plan. Dan got worried to learn Captain Kidd was involved in the paranormal surge. Dan told Callie and Gary he embraced it when Sammy changed pronouns from "he" to "they/them" but as a physicist, he looked for order in the universe, explanations, and reasons. He believed he should keep trying to understand but blamed himself for not doing a better job in making Sammy feel safe. Callie told him no parent ever really understood their kids but they still loved and supported them. She admitted it took everything in her to keep up with hers. Gary joked it was a wonder they don't maim themselves then almost on cue, Trevor zapped himself again. Gary told him to shake it off.
Ecto-1 was pursued by a ghost pirate ship while on route to the Financial District. Callie told Gary he should probably hurry. Doctor Dan was all for slowing down but believed they should keep going. Gary got an idea and slammed the brakes. The ship's cannon fire missed. Gary asked Dan why pirates can't drive cars. Dan asked if it was the time for jokes. Gary replied it was because the gear shift always got stuck on Arrrgh! He reversed past the ship. Dan continued to barf.
Outside Kidd Mansion, Callie wanted to come up with a plan first before anyone went in. Dan wanted to go inside, too, to save his child, Sammy, but Callie advised him to stay outside since they had the equipment and the experience. Dan pointed out they were only in business for six months. Gary claimed that was a whole decade in "ghost time." Dan questioned the logic and figured the opposite to be true but stated there was no such thing as "ghost time." Gary pointed out they were standing in front of a three-century-old spectral house and asked if that was really where he drew the line then began to doubt he had a Ph.D. Dan asserted he had two. Lucky volunteered to stay outside with Dan and added she wanted to bust at least one pirate ghost. Phoebe got an idea.
Some time later, Phoebe gave Lucky the signal then yelled at everyone to get down. Lucky fired several cannonballs from a ghost pirate ship and blew a hole into the mansion. Dan was impressed. Ray Stantz operated the Drone Trap outside and trapped Kidd. The mansion reverted back to the Earthy / Crunchy Health Foods store but the big gaping hole remained. Dan asked Sammy if they were okay. Sammy mused they would live. Dan apologized for not being there for them and promised to figure things out together. Sammy told him they did not need to be figured out and just needed him to come along for the ride. Dan promised he would and they would always be his kid. They hugged.
Trivia[]
- Dan has two Ph.D.s.[4]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Gary Grooberson (2025). Dark Horse Comics- "Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest Issue #2" (2025) (Comic p.8). Gary Grooberson says: "You're Doctor Dan, The Science Man!"
- ↑ Sammy Velez (2025). Dark Horse Comics- "Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest Issue #2" (2025) (Comic p.14). Sammy Velez says: "My dad said we're descended from Captain Kidd, but I never really believed him."
- ↑ Sammy Velez (2025). Dark Horse Comics- "Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest Issue #2" (2025) (Comic p.14). Sammy Velez says: "He took down the sword down a couple of years ago so he could hang a photo of the Horsehead Nebula."
- ↑ Doctor Dan, The Science Man (2025). Dark Horse Comics- "Ghostbusters: Dead Man's Chest Issue #4" (2025) (Comic p.9). Dr. Dan says: "It's two, actually."
Gallery[]
