Meet Doorman, the Living Portal to the Darkforce Dimension

DeMarr Davis first appeared alongside the Great Lakes Avengers, functioning as the team’s teleporter under the codename, Doorman. Though the misfits of the GLA did not often get the same adulation as their namesake, the Avengers, Doorman proved time and time again to be just as heroic.

With Doorman making his MCU debut in Marvel Television’s Wonder Man, let’s break down the character’s comics history, from his teleportation powers and adventures with the GLA to DeMarr’s complicated relationship with his father.

Who is Doorman?

DeMarr Davis, A.K.A. Doorman, first appeared in the pages of WEST COAST AVENGERS (1985) #46 by John Byrne. A mutant teleporter, Davis' body acts like a portal—or door—to the extra-dimensional Darkforce Dimension, transporting anyone through his body to another nearby place.

After Davis completed college and attended graduate school, he found his calling in a newspaper ad summoning costumed adventurers. Alongside Mister Immortal, Big Bertha, Flatman, and Dinah Soar, Doorman established the Midwestern branch of the Avengers, the Great Lakes Avengers. However, DeMarr received his father’s ire who viewed his son’s heroic pursuits as a waste of money spent on his higher education. Thankfully, Doorman’s GLA teammates were sympathetic to his plight.

A Foot Through the Great Lakes Avengers’ Door

Operating out of Milwaukee, Doorman and the Great Lakes Avengers made their public debut after successfully diffusing a hostage situation. The team then investigated a building experiencing a strange light event. However, the Great Lakes Avengers did not find any real trouble upon their arrival, but rather Bobbi Morse, A.K.A. Mockingbird, and Clint Barton, A.K.A. Hawkeye. The veteran super heroes had laid a trap to chastise the rising heroes for using the Avengers name without permission, but soon saw their potential and trained the GLA to be a legitimate team.

In AVENGERS (1963) #309 by Byrne and Paul Ryan, Doorman participated in a training session led by Hawkeye and Mockingbird. The session proved revelatory when Mister Immortal was knocked into Doorman and disappeared, shocking everyone. Previously, Doorman had only experienced such a passthrough when in front of a wall or door. Dinah Soar dove into Doorman’s body and rescued Mr. I, who emerged from Doorman shivering from extreme cold. Hawkeye demanded a bevy of tests to learn more about Doorman’s teleportation abilities.

Deadpool’s Doorway Through Time 

Doorman’s teleportation powers soon extended to time travel, as seen in DEADPOOL (1997) #10 by Joe Kelly, Shannon Denton, and Pete Woods. A freak interaction between Deadpool's teleportation technology and Doorman’s power cast the mercenary and his ally Blind Al back in time. As Deadpool tried to return to the present with his time-travel device, Doorman suffered terrible indigestion. The mercenary’s weapons supplier, Weasel, attempted to extract his allies by reaching in and out of Doorman’s body until he recovered Deadpool and Blind Al.

Doorman, Oblivion’s Angel of Death

In G.L.A. (2005) by Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier, the maniac Maelstrom killed Dinah Soar. To face their foe, the GLA lineup was in dire need of some new blood, so Doorman helped Flatman recruit members. They asked a host of famous super heroes to join their ranks, but all refused. Exhausted by rejection, Doorman and Flatman rested on a park bench when they were suddenly faced with armed muggers. Thankfully, the ever-positive and nearby Doreen Green, A.K.A. Squirrel Girl, swept in to the rescue. The GLA heroes had finally found their newest teammate.

They next recruited Doug Taggert, A.K.A. Grasshopper, who was mid-battle with Batroc’s Brigade. Unfortunately, his tenure on the GLA was short-lived when a dagger went through Doorman’s body and into his head. Feeling guilty about his part in Doug’s death, Doorman created a display at GLA headquarters honoring the team’s fallen members. The display also included Hawkeye and Mockingbird… but they had merely left the team for other pursuits.

When Maelstrom returned, Doorman sacrificed himself to prevent the villain from destroying the universe. In the afterlife, he encountered Oblivion, the cosmic entity that embodies the literal void and end of creation. While posing as Death, Oblivion viewed DeMarr’s access to the Darkforce Dimension as a boon. The entity presented Davis with a new gig as his Angel of Death, tasking Doorman with retrieving the souls of the dead. With this new arrangement set, Oblivion resurrected Doorman.

At His Father’s Doorstep

In the GLX-MAS SPECIAL 1 (2006) #1 by Dan Slott, Georges Jeanty, and Mike Wieringo, Doorman continued working with his GLA friends (now the Great Lakes X-Men) and fulfilled his duties as Oblivion’s herald. In this new role, he collected the souls of the recently deceased, which he referred to as his “pickups.” Doorman was summoned to one such pickup on Christmas Eve, but he decided to first stop by his father’s house. The holiday spirit did not bring any cheer, as his dad remained unimpressed by all that DeMarr had accomplished as a hero.

As Davis worked the graveyard shift, he ran into Santa Claus, who also used the Darkforce Dimension to travel. Doorman asked Santa if he had a gift that would help him bond with his father, but Mr. Claus had nothing to offer. Meanwhile, DeMarr’s father fell to his death when putting up Christmas lights. Upon Doorman's return, he spoke to his father’s soul, revealing that he had become the Angel of Death when he sacrificed himself to save the world. With his father finally impressed with his achievements, Doorman escorted his dad to the great beyond.

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

Following his father’s death, Doorman’s heroic pursuits led him to register as a super hero when the U.S. government passed the Superhuman Registration Act, which led to another clash with the Merc with a Mouth in CABLE & DEADPOOL (2004) #30 by Fabian Nicieza and Staz Johnson. But Doorman soon set old feuds aside and fought alongside Deadpool when the shape-shifting alien Skrulls invaded Earth in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE (2007) #19 by Christos Gage, Dan Slott, Bong Dazo, and Harvey Tolibao.

In GREAT LAKES AVENGERS (2016), Doorman continued working alongside his friends in the GLA against the likes of Nain Rogue and Dr. Nod. With his GLA compatriots in AVENGERS UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC (2022) #26, Doorman fought and defeated the behemoth Aleksei Sytsevich, A.K.A. Rhino, learning to juggle life as Oblivion’s Grim Reaper and an online influencer.

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