The Doom Patrol is famous for one thing; dying. And that’s what sparked my interest in 2004. By then, a lot of famous characters had died. Most had come back. Even the Doom patrol, though it took longer than most. But it was the how, and the why, and the when that made me search these hardcovers out. In 1968, four of the most fascinating characters to come out of the Silver Age sacrificed themselves to save an island population of only 14 fishermen. And they did it so defiantly. Beaten and broken, their only hope to survive was to choose their safety over that of strangers, and instead the Doom Patrol flat-out dared their foes, to kill them. And so they did. It was 1968, and an imaginative, remarkable series had just ended with the murder of a group of super-heroes.
My Greatest Adventure began in 1955, telling first person stories of danger and menace, with wonderfully intriguing titles like “My Cargo Was Death!” and “I stole the Space Beast!”. The anthology series continued until 1963, when writer Arnold Drake was told by Murray Boltinoff that he had better create a hit new super-hero to showcase in the series. Marvel’s Fantastic four had premiered in late 1961 and fresh super-heroes were the growing rage. DC’s other anthology books also felt this shake-up, as House of Mystery started to feature former Detective Comics back-up Martian Manhunter in a starring role in 1964, and House of Secrets would star hero/villain Eclipso a month after the Doom Patrol’s debut. Drake created three of the core characters of the series. The Chief was a mysterious genius who was wheel-chair bound. Rita Farr was a beautiful former actress who could now grow and shrink thanks to an accident on an exotic location. Robotman, or Automaton as he was originally called, was former race driver Cliff Steele. After a gruesome accident his life was saved – but only by having his brain put into a mechanical body. But Drake needed another cast-member, and he turned to Bob Haney.
Bob Haney. I just smile when I say his name. Haney wasn’t the greatest writer, but his stuff was just so much fun, and usually very out-there. He co-created the Teen Titans, and you should all do yourself a favour and look that up, just to see Robin call Batman a square. Kooky is a good word for him. When fans say your stories take place on their own Earth – the Haneyverse – you’ve got something. Bob Haney didn’t stay a part of the Doom Patrol creative team long, but in his brief time he did create Larry Trainor, a test pilot who could send a negative version of himself out into the real world. If Negative Man didn’t return to Trainor’s body in 60 seconds, he would die. But if that wasn’t bad enough, Larry himself had a horrible secret, meaning he had to be wrapped in bandages head to toe at all hours.
This was one of the very first ideas that hooked me into the series as I began to read it. You have Rita, probably one of the most gorgeous women on the planet, and she’s surrounded at all times by three men who may as well be impotent. The Chief is partially paralyzed, Cliff’s robot body can’t do as much as feel, and Larry is so degraded by radiation he would kill anyone exposed to him. It makes for an interesting dynamic, as Cliff and Larry do compete for her attention and affection, but they can never really earn it. Rita does care for them, and they come to love each other, but it’s never romantic. How often do you read a book where you know the hero can’t get the girl? Even the Thing had Alicia Masters.
Another excellent idea around this series is celebrity. Once the Doom Patrol saves the world a few times, they become a big sensation. The typical line of thinking would be that it is a good thing, something to be celebrated. But Drake turns it on its ear, instead having the characters lash out because of the admirers in one issue. They’re freaks that don’t belong with the rest of the normal happy world, and everyone but them is glad for it. True, credibility is strained since Rita is far from a freak in the way Negative Man and Robotman are, but it works.
The X-Men debuted one month after the Doom Patrol did in My Greatest Adventure 80, starring a group of freaks led by a man in a wheelchair. Once again the beautiful young girl was the only one who could pass for normal walking down the street. And while the DP would battle the Brotherhood of Evil, the X-Men would deal with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It’s all just a big coincidence, as admitted by creators on both sides, but it’s strange enough I wanted to make a slight mention of it here.
Before I go on too much further, I really should stop and make a point to say that the art on Doom Patrol was stellar. Bruno Premiani is an unheralded master of those times. His anatomy work to this day is still light-years ahead of most artists, and he had an excellent control of characters emotions. Anything you or I could express, his figures could.
Now, onto the collections at hand.
The DC Archive line was started in 1989, as a means of compiling comics throughout the company’s history. Superman was the first character collected, and for many fans this would have been the only way to see his earliest adventures. Doom Patrol’s first volume was released in 2002, and it contained My Greatest Adventure 80-85, Doom Patrol 86-89 (the stories proved to be successful enough to take over for the original comic). I probably picked this up in 2004, the same year the second volume came out. I’d been pretty heavy into comics for three years or so by now, and wanted to branch out from the modern era. I wanted something classic, but unique. I just happened to stumble onto a review of the first Archive on Amazon, and I took a chance. I wasn’t making a lot of money, and this seemed like a decent investment. The listing price was $49.95, and even with the Amazon discount the book came out to $32 or so. For a blind buy that’s a hefty tag, but it ended up being worth it. Four more times in fact! Each of the five volumes are hardcovers, and come with a lovely dust-jacket displaying a scene or cover from the series. The back of the jacket showcases four of the issues covers, and among collectors it’s become a bit of a game with bragging rights to predict what makes it. And each volume comes with an introduction, from either a series creator or fan (Arnold Drake for v.1, Tom Peyer v.5). They’re informative, but not up to par with the work being done for something like the Atlas Era Masterworks by Marvel. I’ll be sure to cover those in the future.
Now I’m not going to review the WHOLE series of Doom Patrol, but I did want to take some time to focus on a few stories and panels I love.
Doom Patrol 87 has a solo feature, ‘Robotman Fights Alone’. Robotman is tracking down a vicious criminal on a pacific island, and he uses a wide assortment of WW II weapons and traps to try and stop Steele. What makes it so fun is that piece by piece, Robotman is destroyed or needs to use a different body part to achieve a goal. By the end, he’s squaring off with the villain with just his torso and head, like the Black Knight.
Doom Patrol 89 features a great short story, ‘The Private War of Elasti-Girl’. Rita is an adoption spokesperson for war orphans, and after a young boy in the ad with her falls terribly ill she tries to find his adopted father, a G.I. who’s gone missing. When she finds him he’s having terrible flashbacks, thinking he’s still in Korea and Rita has to find a way to stop him from killing himself and the rest of the construction crew he’d been working with. I thought this was a surprisingly mature story, and I was genuinely interested in how it would play out. A good man suffering from shell-shock isn’t a problem you can punch away.
Doom Patrol 91 is the first appearance of Mento. Oh my god, Mento. His real identity is Steve Dayton, and he’s always bragging about being the fifth richest man in the world. The FIFTH richest. I don’t know why, but that cracks me up. It’s so brilliant in its absurdity, because I’ve never heard whomever the real fifth richest man in the world is mention it once. But then again he probably never funded his own mental weapon helmet, giving Mento one of the worst/greatest costumes of the Silver Age.
I think only Dr. Tyme tops him, from issue 92, because his head is a clock.
Also, is that a panty shot!?
Doom Patrol 94 is a rollicking story. A bird-themed villain named the Claw is out to destroy the Chief, and he uses exploding, suicidal hawks! We also get introduced to the DP’s secret weapon; Chief’s battle-chair! Not that he needs it, when he has the power of the punch!
Beast Boy debuts in Doom Patrol 99, in a short story reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man 1 when Peter tries to join the Fantastic Four. Much to the chagrin of the DP, Beast Boy isn’t as easy to shake as Spidey was for Marvel’s first family, and he would appear in the comic for the rest of its run. He’d go on to not only join the team, but the family when later adopted by Rita.
Doom Patrol 100 features the immediate return of the green teen pest, but more importantly this happens:
Doom Patrol 102 is the second part of something very rare for the time; a crossover. The story had started in Challengers of the Unknown 48. It may have happened before, but I’m drawing a blank on any examples.
104 has a great cover – Rita and Mento getting married! And that almost happens in the story, until Rita calls it off at the end of the first part. But then by the end of the second part, she IS married! It’s very whirlwind, even if Mento had been chasing her a while. The wedding is one of the few times other DC heroes interact with the DP, as Wonder Woman, Superman, and the Teen Titans are all in attendance.
Doom Patrol 112 starts the best continuous plot of the series. Madame Rouge, longtime member of the Brotherhood of Evil, is ‘cured’ by the Chief of her evil. Turns out she’s been mentally influenced and corrupted by the Brain, who doesn’t plan on letting Rouge go without a fight. For the next nine issues this is an important power struggle, and the course of events leads directly into the Doom Patrol’s death.
117 is the best full issue of the entire Doom Patrol run. First off there’s the Madame Rouge storyline. She’s broken free of the Brotherhood, and her and the Chief are in love. That doesn’t sit well with the Doom Patrol, what with her continued attempts to murder them over the years and whatnot. It leads to Rouge storming out, and the team storming out, leaving the Chief alone. Doom Patrol was always above the pack in DC as far as maturity went, but this plotline was its highpoint. But what makes this issue so memorable is what befalls the Chief while he’s alone…another bird themed villain attack! The battle-chair once again reigns supreme, while the Chief has a surprisingly epic battle with a condor. But I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
The Chief is medically half a man, yet twice the man of any of us.
Doom Patrol 121 is the finale. Madame Rouge has snapped, furious at both the Patrol and the Brotherhood for toying with her mind. Just four pages in she starts her revenge plot, setting off an explosion that kills the Brain and Monsieur Mallah. She then launches a napalm attack on their headquarters, and the Doom Patrol are forced out of the city to stop innocent people from getting caught in the line of fire. And wow, do the people of the DC Universe turn on them fast.
The Patrol reaches their new base, on a secluded tropical island, but are soon besieged by Rouge’s forces. This leads up to the finale I spoke about at the beginning of this piece.
It was the end of the Doom Patrol, but it might not have been. The issue opens and closes with editor Murray Boltinoff and artist Bruno Premiani, and the last panel has the two creators wondering if this really was it for the team. I’m guessing sales and write-ins did not meet expectations, because the Doom Patrol ran for three more issues (reprints of the earlier tales) before be pulled entirely.
New versions of the team have popped up over the years with varying degrees of success, but I don’t know if they managed to distinguish themselves among their peers the way the original stories did. Maybe Grant Morrison’s run (Arnold Drake even preferred it to his own), but it’s debatable. When you look at some of the other stories DC was putting out at the time, Doom Patrol was on a whole other level. Fans have called it (and the Metal Men) a Marvel-style DC book. And it’s true. Doom Patrol was incorporating all the aspects of storytelling that books like Fantastic four and Amazing Spider-Man, while delivering art that was just as good as the legendary Kirby and Ditko work. I’m glad to have this series collected on my shelf, and I’m glad to have gotten to share my opinions on it.
Before we go, my top ten favourite covers in particular order!
