A brilliant geneticist studying the mutating effects of radiation, Dr. Douglas Birely tried to gain powers by radiating himself in his lab. He gained no powers from his exposure, but he did contract a deadly skin cancer. Due to his destructive experiments, Birely was fired from his employer.

Birely later discovered a meteor that achieved the mutation effects he had hoped to create in his lab. He developed a suit that held off the effects of his cancer and renamed himself Doctor Demonicus.