It’s time again for the most prestigious award in all of comics, the Oddball of the Week. The week’s winner is what you might call hare raising.

This week’s Oddball is none other than the White Rabbit. Like DC’s Mad Hatter, this is another supervillain inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Unlike the Hatter, White Rabbit never became a larger star. She was mostly regulated to bad puns and was almost forgotten. That was until the Marvel Legends toy line commemorated her with an action figure. Anytime Marvel throws characters into the Legends lineup, it raises questions about them possibly appearing in the MCU.

White RabbitWho is White Rabbit, anyway? Unlike many heroes and villains, Lorina Dodson grew up in a relatively normal environment.

As you may have surmised, she was an avid fan of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Her criminal career began after she was forced to marry a wealthy 82-year-old man, Charles Dodson. Lorina murdered him and made it look like an accident.

Upon inheriting his millions of dollars, she went full crazy and spent it on rabbit-themed weaponry. Killer rabbits, a rabbit-shaped tank, carrot bombs, and anything else that would make a cartoon character jealous. She formed various gangs with an Alice theme, but she never climbed the underworld ladder.

Today, let’s take a moment to recognize her criminal career with these key issues. 

White RabbitMARVEL TEAM-UP #131

The first time fans met White Rabbit was in the pages of 1983’s Marvel Team-Up #131. Her first foray into the villain life would set the tone for her string of misfortunes.

She was so bad at being bad that she was defeated by Frog-Man. When the guy in a frog suit takes you down, it’s time to call it quits.

White Rabbit proved to be no quitter, and she forged ahead in her lackluster criminal enterprises.

Surprisingly, a 9.8 MTU #131 sold for almost $700 in March. 

White RabbitSPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #185

And so, Lorina Dodson, her rabbit ears and white face paint at the ready, didn’t let one minor setback get her down. The next time readers spotted her was in 1992’s Spectacular Spider-Man #185. Once again, it was the Frog-Man who brought her to justice. 

Around this time, Froggy wanted nothing more than to be Spider-Man’s sidekick. Meanwhile, the White Rabbit had hired the Walrus as her business partner, and they would make their first and only appearance as the Terrible Two, which sounds more like a mischievous toddler than a supervillain team. 

As luck would have it, the Terrible Two would get the upper hand on Spider-Man. Just when White Rabbit was ready to get her due attention, the father-son duo of Frog-Man and Leap-Frog foil their plans. 

Unless you happen to be a White Rabbit or Frog-Man fan, there’s not much interest in this issue, which explains the current prices. Last year, a graded 9.4 brought $16.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #27 (2019)

Over the years, White Rabbit would make scattered appearances, usually connected to Spider-Man. She formed various gangs, usually with an animal theme. Her most successful team was the fourth iteration of the Sinister Syndicate. Dropping the sinister from the newly renamed Syndicate, the group was comprised of female criminals with White Rabbit funding the expedition. Of course, they ran afoul of Spider-Man, and that was the end.

This issue may not be a bad investment, especially at the current prices. Marvel could very well be looking for an all-female supervillain team for the MCU, and anything comedic is a top priority. For about $50 for a graded 9.8, the risk is minimal.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

What you need to remember with the Oddballs of the Week is that they have a distinct cinematic possibility. At the least, they could appear on a streaming episode. The more ridiculous the characters, the more appealing they are to the MCU. White Rabbit is an over-the-top, clueless D-list villain that could be a fan favorite given the right push.

FEELING FROGGY: THE ODDBALL OF THE WEEK, FROG-MAN
OFF WITH HIS HEAD: JACK OF HEARTS AND THE ODDBALL OF THE WEEK
ODDBALL OF THE WEEK: DOOP

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.