Super Commando Dhruva is an Indian comic book superhero character appearing in comic books published by Raj Comics. The character, created by writer and illustrator Anupam Sinha, first appeared in GENL #74 Pratishodh Ki Jwala published in April 1987 and since then, has appeared regularly in many issues published by Raj Comics. Super Commando Dhruva, whose complete name is Dhruva Mehra, is additionally referred to as Captain Dhruva by the cadets of his Commando Force.
Super Commando Dhruva operates in the fictional Indian city of Rajnagar. He is the founder of the fictional government-approved crime-fighter organization Commando Force. Dhruva's outfit is yellow and sky blue with brown boots and a utility belt with a star-shaped buckle. The star has almost become a trademark of the character. Dhruva does not have an alter ego and or any superpowers; but he makes up for that with his intellect, detective skills, ability to talk to almost every kind of animal, scientific knowledge, martial arts and acrobatic skills, unparalleled willpower and a determination to eliminate evil from this world.
Dhruva became a very popular character soon after he was introduced. He is one of Raj Comics' most successful characters. Over the years, Dhruva has acquired iconic status in the Indian comic book superhero genre. Fans have often raised the demand to convert Dhruva into a Bollywood movie character
Publication history
Creation In the late 1980s, after the initial success of Nagraj, Raj Comics wanted another superhero for its titles. It was in this period that writer Anupam Sinha came up with the idea of Super Commando Dhruva.
Dhruva's original design, as created by Sinha back in 1987, was an adolescent boy standing beside his bike wearing a yellow-blue trapeze artist costume, buttoned shirt collar, a black belt with star buckle, shoes (instead of boots), and with no gloves, mask, or cape, holding a helmet in his hand. The background of the image had a big star and behind his left shoulder was a box containing . Sinha wanted Dhruva to wear a helmet, making him a biker hero, but later on many changes were incorporated to the character's look, including the removal of the helmet.
Sinha wanted to break away from the cliché of superheroes with super-natural powers and alter egos. He wanted to create a superhero out of a normal adult human. Sinha, during the 2012 Indian Comic Con festival, recalled: "Children see the world very differently, and there is a reason for it. Every person seems like a giant to them and people can do something that they cannot. Like taking out a jar of toffees from the cupboard. And the adult is thus a superhero, because they can do something that the child cannot do. Kids see every person as a superhero. They are heavily dependent on other people. Tell me, when do you move out of reading comics? When you are an independent human being. Fantasy does not interest you all that much. The psychology of being dependent, of 'I must have a person along with me to protect me from any impending danger,' is essentially a child's psyche. That's why I wrote this character Super Commando Dhruva."
Sinha's first two characters, Space Star and Private Detective Kapil did not become very popular, but served as the early drafts for Super Commando Dhruva. The name Dhruva and the star symbol given to the character was inspired by Dhruva Taara (Hindi: ध्रुव तारा meaning Pole Star) which means someone who is determined, firm, and does not succumb to rough circumstances.
Thus, Super Commando Dhruva was born: a normal adult with no supernatural power but a strong determination and will to fight against the odds much along the lines of Batman of DC Comics. Most fans feel that Dhruva's character is a mix of Batman and Robin. On one hand, his crime-fighting style is very similar to that of Batman's and, on the other hand, his origin resembles to that of Robin's. In spite of these similarities, there are a lot of differences as well, most notably being the fact that Dhruva does not have an alter ego. Other similarities to the Batman series are, Dhruva does not kill anyone and his girlfriend Natasha is the daughter of a major villain Grand Master Robo. Batman's girlfriend Talia al Ghul is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul.
When questioned about the comparisons between characters of the Raj Comics universe and DC/Marvel universe at the 2012 Indian Comic-Con Festival, Sanjay Gupta replied, "We had to devise a character from our own imagination that didn't have anything to do with them (Superman and Batman). Because if we had kept in mind how powerful Superman and Batman are... We would've reacted to it and somehow allowed that to play a part in our creative process. Our first goal was to make a total Indian character. We didn't want to copy. That wasn't going on in our heads. But we were definitely inspired by them. We are still inspired by them. Even today we don't copy... We are inspired by them. After all, everything has an origin."
Publication
GENL #74 "Pratishodh Ki Jwala"
Super Commando Dhruva made his first appearance in GENL #74 "Pratishodh Ki Jwala", published in 1987 priced at Indian Rupees MRP Rs.4. A general (GENL) issue used to be a 30- to a 32-page issue. Dhruva's first issue dealt with the origin of the character.
GENL #79 "Roman Hatyara" In the next most important issue, GENL #79 "Roman Hatyara" ("Roman Assassin" in English) priced at MRP Rs. 4, Dhruva founded a government-approved crime-fighter organisation Star Commando Force. This is the second issue of Super Commando Dhruva series originally published in 1987. This second issue of Dhruva was Dhruva's first official case after his origin story (Pratishodh Ki Jwala). It's also notable as the first solo issue of Super Commando Dhruv where his picture is not featured on the cover art but antagonist Roman soldier assassin. In fact, the creator of Super Commando Dhruv revealed that Roman Hatyara "Roman Assassin" was the actual first comic book of Super Commando Dhruv to be published but he changed his mind, stopped its printing and re-wrote and released "Pratishodh ki Jwala" as first issue. This issue is considered one of the most significant initial all time successful comic book of Super Commando Dhruv. The story is a blend of history and mystery that grabbed and glued the mind of readers right at the first 2 pages. The story begins at a museum where a priceless artifact—an ancient Roman helmet—is stolen. Legend says the helmet belonged to a mystical fighter in Alexander the Great's army and grants superhuman strength to whoever wears it.
This issue is significant because it introduces the Commando Force—Dhruva's team of young cadets: Peter, Renu, and Kareem. It also features his sister, Shweta (who later becomes the superheroine Chandika). And the cover art by Vijay Kadam is iconic because it captures the "Roman Assassin" (the villain wearing the cursed helmet) in a battle with an elephant, rather than showing main hero Dhruva himself. This was a unique choice for a solo hero comic! While the original Hindi title is "Roman Hatyara" (GENL #79), Raj Comics released it in English under the title "Dangerous Device." The English versions of early Raj Comics are quite rare and highly collectible today as same as Hindi title. The image shows the original price of MRP Rs. 8 which was the standard for the English line at that time.
GENL #147 "Swarg Ki Tabahi" introduced Chandika, the main supporting character of the Dhruva series. Eventually, it was revealed that Chandika was his foster-sister Shweta Mehra. Over the course of the next few issues, some key elements were added to Dhruva's character including star-line, star-blade, a utility belt, ability to communicate with dolphins and ability to breathe underwater.
GENL #179 "Mahamanav" Mahamanav (which translates to "Great Human" or "Super Human") is another classic, the name of one of the most significant and popular comics in the Super Commando Dhruva series published by Raj Comics in 1988 priced at MRP Rs 5. Mahamanav is considered a landmark comic in the early history of Super Commando Dhruva. It was one of the stories that helped solidify Dhruva's popularity and status as a top hero in Raj Comics, as he defeated a villain who was supposedly as far advanced beyond him as a human is to a monkey. The antagonist in this comic introduces the character also known as Mahamanav. He is an incredibly powerful villain with highly advanced intelligence and superhuman capabilities, often placing him among Dhruva's main rogues' gallery, alongside villains like Grand Master Robo and Chandakaal. Mahamanav is considered the all time gem of Dhruva's comics.
Sinha was very sure about one thing: minimal violence. He would not have Dhruva kill anyone as he wanted Dhruva to be a role model for young kids, his main audience. In the initial few issues, Dhruva carried a pistol as a measure of last resort, but never used it. (Dhruv used the pistol in Aadamkhoro ka Swarg. He used and fired two rounds on the Rhino-men in the Nagu Islands). This was the first and last time he ever used his gun. Soon after, the pistol was removed from the character.
During the initial few years, Anupam Sinha preferred to work alone on his brain-child Dhruva, both writing as well as illustrating all Dhruva titles on his own while the cover arts for the titles were mostly supplied by Vijay Kadam, an independent freelance artist.
SPCL#1 (Digest/Visheshank)
Nagraj aur Super Commando Dhruv
In 1991, the Indian comics landscape was forever changed with the debut of Raj Comics' first-ever Special (SPCL) multi starer issue: SPCL #1 "Nagraj aur Super Commando Dhruv".
When Raj Comics decided to publish its first special (SPCL) issue, they aptly chose to title it, Special/Visheshank- SPCL #1 "Nagraj aur Super Commando Dhruva" which featured Nagraj and Dhruva in prominent roles alongside other Raj Comics superheroes including Gagan, Vinashdoot, Parmanu, Monty, Chandika, the Commando Force.
It was a multi-hero story and first multistarer of Raj Comics but mainly emphasized on Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruv over other star characters. For the first time, India's two comic book icons, Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruva, teamed up for an adventure that instantly became a success.
This issue marked a seismic shift in raj comics. It brought a grittier edge, notably showing Dhruva in a darker light as he took down criminals with lethal force, a departure from his usual characterization—a clear influence from the Nagraj and Doga writer at the helm. But the real story is in the numbers. SPCL1 "Nagraj aur Super Commando Dhruva" was not just successful; it was an unprecedented, record-smashing phenomenon.
It is widely believed that more than 1 million copies of "Nagraj Aur Super Commando Dhruv" were sold across the initial print run and subsequent reprints followed by the highest record sale of SPCL#8 Nagraj aur Bugaku (Estimated 2.5 to 3 million copies) and SPCL#10 Kirigi ka Kehar (Estimated 1 million copies).