World's strangest superheroes hit streaming service
One of DC Comics' most unusual superteams is coming to live action in a new series for the DC Universe streaming network.
The streaming series “The Doom Patrol” begins Friday and features the outcast superheroes Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Crazy Jane, led by the Chief, Dr. Miles Caulder.
The Doom Patrol was introduced in 1963 in “My Greatest Adventure” #80, written by Arnold Drake and Bob Haney and drawn by Bruno Premiani.
After “My Greatest Adventure” #85, the book was retitled “Doom Patrol” and continued to feature the adventures of the team. “Doom Patrol” was unusual for the time, with heroes facing origins of tragedy:
• Cliff Steele was a race car driver whose body was destroyed in a crash. His brain was transplanted into a robot body, making him Robotman.
• Larry Trainer was a test pilot exposed to a radioactive substance in the upper atmosphere that made him into Negative Man, able to release his negative energy as a superpowered being for 60 seconds at a time only.
• Rita Farr was an actress who encounters a strange gas that allows her to grow, shrink and stretch her body.
At the end of the “Doom Patrol” run in 1968, Drake made an unusual decision for the time: The team is killed while attempting to save a fishing town in Maine. A few attempts were made to revive the team, in 1977 and 1987; the most memorable is when writer Grant Morrison took over the 1987 series with issue #19.
Morrison introduced Crazy Jane, a character suffering from multiple personality disorder. In her case, each of her 64 personalities has its own different superpower.
After Morrison's run, Rachel Pollack took over as writer, before “Doom Patrol” being canceled in 1995 with issue #87.
Writers John Arcudi, Keith Giffen and John Byrne each took a stab at reviving the team between 2001 and 2009. The most successful relaunch was in 2016; writer Gerard Way, former frontman of the band My Chemical Romance, relaunched the title as part of his “Young Animal” line at DC. Twelve issues by Way working primarily with artist Nick Derington have been released. Future issues by Way are planned, but aren't yet on the publication schedule.
The 13-episode “Doom Patrol” season stars Brendan Fraser as Robotman; Matt Bomer as Negative Man; April Bowlby as Elasti-Woman; Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane; Jovian Wade as Cyborg and Timothy Dalton as the Chief.