The DC Universe streaming service promises fans a brand-new episode every week of one of their properties, starting with Titans and moving on to Young Justice. Once the latter series ends, they will move on to their second live-action series, Doom Patrol.
However, while almost everyone knows who the Teen Titans are, and the Young Justice team is extremely popular due to its previous TV show, Doom Patrol is a virtual unknown. This DC Comics superhero team is one of the oldest, yet one of the most obscure, making this a curious choice for a TV show. With the series set to begin airing this month, here is a look at everything you need to know about Doom Patrol.
COMIC BOOK ORIGINS
Believe it or not, Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 in 1963, created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, and Bruno Premiani. Dubbed the World’s Strangest Heroes, this team consisted of misfits that faced alienation and trauma from those in the world who misunderstood them.
While people considered them “freaks” and outcasts, The Chief gathered them together and had them fight to save the world that hated them from villains of all shapes and sizes. The team was seen as DC Comics way of creating something similar to what Marvel Comics was doing at the time with more grounded heroes, and six issues later DC Comics re-titled the book Doom Patrol.
X-MEN COMPARISONS
A man in a wheelchair gathered together a group of misfit younger heroes. The world feared and hated these superpowered beings, but the man in the wheelchair was able to teach them to work as a team and save the same world that wanted nothing to do with them. That is the story of The X-Men. It is also the story of Doom Patrol.
Doom Patrol made their DC Comics debut in June 1963. The X-Men made their debut in Marvel Comics in September 1963. The similarities are too strong to dismiss, including the fact that Doom Patrol battled the Brotherhood of Evil and the X-Men took on the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It is just too much to pass off as coincidence.
WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF DOOM PATROL?
The roster of Doom Patrol has changed drastically over the years. The man who created the team is known as The Chief, Dr. Niles Caulder. The original team he formed included Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Negative Man. Through the years, Robotman is the only constant member of the six different comic book series featuring the team.
As for the DC Universe streaming show, the members include Robot Man, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman, Crazy Jane, Dr. Caulder, and Cyborg. Elasti-Woman can stretch, Crazy Jane has sixty-four distinct personalities, each with its own superpowers, Robotman is someone who had his brain placed in a robot, Negative Man is someone who can release negative energy from his body, and Cyborg is Cyborg.
WHO ARE THEIR VILLAINS?
Don’t expect to see any familiar names from DC Comics on the list of Doom Patrol villains. Their greatest villains were known as the Brotherhood of Evil, a villainous group led by The Brain, which was a sentient brain in a jar carried around by a french gorilla named Monsieur Mallah. That is just the tip of the weirdness iceberg for Doom Patrol.
However, for the DC Universe version of Doom Patrol, the villain appears to be Mr. Nobody. This character wanted to join the Brotherhood of Evil, went completely insane, and then an ex-Nazi scientist turned him into an abstract shadow. Expect a lot of strange moments in Doom Patrol.
THE CHIEF
This could be considered slightly spoiler territory, but based on Titans, there is a good chance things will change from the comics to the television series of Doom Patrol. In the comics, the man who puts Doom Patrol together is Dr. Niles Caulder, also known by the codename of Chief.
He is a paraplegic who has a genius-level intellect. He is a scientist who creates lots of gadgets and weapons for Doom Patrol and sends them out on missions to save humanity and prove they are not freaks. Later, after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Grant Morrison took over the book and turned Caulder into a maniacal zealot that originally caused the accidents that turned his team into freaks.
THE MODERN DAY DOOM PATROL
In the New 52, the entire idea was rebooted with Caulder as a healthy young man who put together a Doom Patrol team to battle the evil N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Things did not go well, as Deathstroke and Harvest captured them. Eventually, almost the entire team died at the hands of the Crime Syndicate of America.
Caulder then decided to start over and created a new team. This one had some familiar members – including Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, and Element Woman. It looks like the DC Universe series will take this team but bring Caulder back to the original idea of the older leader.
WHO ARE THE ACTORS INVOLVED?
Doom Patrol has some fantastic actors involved. The biggest name in the cast comes with the character of Caulder. None other than the former James Bond himself, Timothy Dalton, has signed on to play the leader of this team of misfits. Interestingly, Robotman has a big name signed on as well, with Brendan Fraser taking on the character, although Riley Shanahan will portray the character in robot-form.
April Bowlby (Drop Dead Diva) will star as Elasti-Woman, Diane Guerrero (Orange is the New Black) will star as Crazy Jane, Matt Bomer (White Collar) is Negative Man, and Alan Tudyk (Firefly) is Mr. Nobody. Finally, Joivan Wade (EastEnders) will play Cyborg.
THEIR TITANS APPEARANCE
DC Universe was smart and introduced Doom Patrol on the TV show Titans. While people were watching the reimagined Titans form, the relatively unknown DC Comics team of misfits got a nice introduction along the way, so fans could learn about what this new show was all about.
The episode was titled “Doom Patrol” and served as a backdoor pilot to introduce people to the new heroes. On the episode, Beast Boy was part of the group of misfits that included Elastic-Woman, Robotman, and Negative Man. It was a small introduction but the arrival of these characters was an early highlight from the Titans series.
WAIT, IS THAT CYBORG?
One of the strangest additions to Doom Patrol on DC Universe is the introduction of Cyborg. This is due to the fact that he was not part of the team in the comic books (Beast Boy was) and the fact that he already exists in the DCEU. However, while Ray Fisher portrays the Justice League member in the movies, it is EastEnders actor Joivan Wade who takes on the role on the TV show.
However, making Cyborg the hero that calls Doom Patrol into action is smart. He is someone that fans know thanks to the past Teen Titans movies and cartoons and the Justice League movie. According to the synopsis, Cyborg sends them on a mission that changes all of their lives.
WHEN TO WATCH DOOM PATROL
The DC Universe streaming service promises to give new original episodes to fans every week. Titans was the first, a live-action reimagining of the classic Teen Titans team. Young Justice was next, the animated third season revival of the popular show that was originally canceled while at the height of its popularity.
Up next is the live-action Doom Patrol and it will be followed by a live-action Swamp Thing, a live-action Stargirl , and an animated Harley Quinn series to close out 2019. It will be a great year for DC Comics fans. Doom Patrol premieres on Feb. 15 on DC Universe.
