“Nobodies”
Welcome to the column where I break down the recently new and very strange DC Universe show, Doom Patrol.
I was only vaguely familiar with the Doom Patrol before this TV show. The Doom Patrol is an obscure team, even in the comics, although they do have a very rich history.
The Doom Patrol’s basic premise has always been a bunch of freaks joining together to form a team and in turn, find a family within one another. A group of freaks dealt some very bad hands in life, trying to be normal however they can.
The most famous run of Doom Patrol was the one by writer Grant Morrison where he effectively reinvented the entire team and gave them endearing qualities and the best thing he did was that he fully embraced the weirdness of these members and used that to create a poignant story. The Doom Patrol series also successfully manages to find a balance between over the top weirdness and a grim hand of realism.
The Freaks
The Doom Patrol captured the eye of various viewers when they debuted in the Titans TV episode. It created an interest in these nobodies and people wanted to know their stories.
I wasn’t as excited for Doom Patrol as I was for Titans (probably my bias as Titans is my fave comic book team), but Doom Patrol has clearly been the better one.
The dark tone suits Doom Patrol in a way that it never did for Titans. That doesn’t mean it is compromising on interactions and humor. I believe the reason why the show has been so good so far is because they managed to find the perfect balance between the dark story and the silly nature of it all.
The Members
The Chief is the one who created the living medical miracles whom we have been watching. While obvious that he cares about them, Niles Caulder is a man of secrets and dark plans.
Robotman, struggling to retain his humanity, is someone who is wondering where any resemblance of the man he once was remains. His reluctance to contact his daughter is because of his own belief that he is a monster
Rita Farr, I must credit them for creating someone who is unlikable and the one who you actually feel sorry for.
Negative Man is someone who is literally dealing with something inside him. Losing his entire life due to the negative energy, he has finally decided to try and understand this entity present inside him.
Crazy Jane is the one who makes us unsure whether it is really her or could it be Hammerhead? No it could be Sylvia, nah it is Silvermouth… you get it.
Cyborg deals with these people while trying to figure out what kind of hero he wants to be. I would say that this is one of the best versions of Cyborg we have got so far.
The Show
From a farting donkey to a very meta villain who goes by the name, Mr. Nobody to donkey portal to a crazy Nazi scientist puppet show, Doom Patrol has certainly got the weirdness part down. It also makes sure the characters are fleshed out and given sufficient moments to shine and we get to understand the mindset of these characters and what their thoughts are as they set on a journey they didn’t want to go on.
They are not super-heroes. They don’t want to be super-heroes. They are nobodies, oddities, freaks, the ones who society doesn’t want.
They are the DOOM PATROL.
- Streaming now on DC Universe, Doom Patrol stars Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele, Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor, Diana Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Alan Tudyk as Mr. Nobody, April Bowlby as Rita Farr, Joivan Wade as Vic Stone and Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder. New episodes debut each Friday on the premium streaming service.
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