Dr. Zy Ghote was a Nobel Prize winning geneticist who turned his attention to cloning. Some of his research had been discredited, and he found it difficult to obtain funding. He claimed that one of his earliest patrons was the eccentric millionaire George Ozone, though this was not substantiated.
Ghote was a slender man with light wavy hair. He had bags under his eyes and wore a narrow goatee.
"Cloning" Mumbles[]
Ghote first encountered Dick Tracy when both met were guests on a TV talk show. The producers of the show ambushed Tracy (and his co-guest Diet Smith) with Ghote, who was there to promote his book "The Cloning of Mumbles". Ghote claimed that he had produced the first human clone, created from a genetic sample of the (supposedly deceased) criminal Mumbles.
Ghote's ultimate goal was to gain further funding for his research, and he specifically sought the attention of Diet Smith, who was having concerns about his legacy and mortality. The "clone" was a hoax, however, and was in fact the real, original Mumbles, who had been given a face lift by the cosmetic surgeon Dr. Will Carver.
Mumbles proved to be unpredictable and was troublesome to Ghote and his assistant Roundy. Mumbles attempted to kill Carver in a hit-and-run, but Carver survived. When he learned of this, Ghote pulled a gun on Mumbles, hoping to intimidate him into giving up his violent ways. Mumbles got the gun away from Ghote and tied him and Roundy up. Mumbles then took a hypodermic needle from Ghote's supplies and went to the hospital where Carver was recuperating, where Mumbles was apprehended by Dick Tracy.
Upon Mumbles' capture, Ghote and Roundy were also arrested on charges of fraud, as well as being implicated in the attempted murder of Carver. Diet Smith (who still believed in the validity of Ghote's research) made an appeal to Tracy to have Ghote released, but Tracy would not go along with such an arrangement, due to the severity of the charges against Ghote.
"Cloning" Moon Maid[]
Years later, Dr. Ghote (having ended his association with Roundy) was shown to be in the company of Dr. S. Tim Sail, another scientist. The two men were connected with the reappearance of Moon Maid, with Ghote claiming that Mysta represents living proof that his improved cloning process works.
Ghote was initially cagey about the exact nature of the new Moon Maid, but he was able to convince Diet Smith that Smith could be "duplicated", essentially extending his lifespan indefinitely and allowing him to continue his life's work. Ghote then explained to Diet Smith the entire process by which Mindy Ermine had been transformed into the new Moon Maid. Smith took Ghote to join Dick Tracy at showdown at the Wheaten family farm, where several different groups (both criminal and law enforcement) had converged.
Dr. Ghote encountered Mumbles, who shot him in the arm. Ghote and Sail then fled in a Space Coupe piloted by Flash Munro (one of the Munro Brothers). The controls were over-ridden by Diet Smith (who was seemingly unaware that the Space Coupe was occupied) and it was sent hurtling out into space. Dr. Ghote and the other occupants of the Space Coupe have not been seen or heard from since. Diet Smith later discovered evidence that led him to believe that the Space Coupe transporting Ghote and the others had crashed on the planet Jupiter, with no indication of survivors.
It was also revealed that new Moon Maid was not an advanced clone, but rather Glenna Ermine, who had been surgically, genetically, and mentally altered by Ghote and Sail to believe that she was the original Moon Maid.
Notes[]
- The name "Zy Ghote" is inspired by "zygote", the biological term for a fertilized ovum.
- Shortly after the new "Moon Maid's" first meeting with Diet Smith, Ghote seemed angry at the idea that Sail might have involved him in a crime. This would tend to indicate that Ghote did not believe that any of his recent activities (including the alteration of Mindy Ermine) were illegal. He was apparently not aware of Sail's involvement with a larger criminal organization until later.