Strange Bedfellas (Doom Patrol 112)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Are you ready? Yeah. [00:00:01] Speaker B: Are you with it? Yeah. Okay, let's go. You know what to do. The whole world's watching and counting on you. [00:00:08] Speaker A: And all you people listening out there. [00:00:11] Speaker B: Everybody everywhere. Hang on, hang on, hang on. Welcome to Checkered Past, a loving postmodern examination of the. Go. Go. Check. Branded comic magazines published by DC Comics between February 1966 and August 1967. I'm Dr. Bob, and each week I'll be your guide on this trippy tour through 535 mid century masterpieces of graphic noveldom. This Week, Doom Patrol 112Cover Date June 1967Cover Price $0.12.Cover Artist Bruno Premiani Edited by Murray Boltanoff Featuring Brothers in Blood Written by Arnold Drake Art by Bruno Premiani. Are you ready? Are you with it? Then away we go. Go. Open up your eyes Take a look [00:01:10] Speaker A: at the world around you don't you [00:01:12] Speaker B: want to lend a helping hand? [00:01:16] Speaker A: Try it on the side. [00:01:24] Speaker B: The Doom Patrol and the Brotherh of Evil become temporary partners against Xerox 13 who plots the destruction of the world. And Madame Rouge becomes a hostage in the Doom Patrol camp to ensure the Brotherhood's good behavior, enabling the Chief to learn her true origin. Confused? Don't worry, I'll be right back with doctor Husband to explain everything. At the end of the highway oh, where can you go at the end of the winter the water stops its [00:02:09] Speaker A: flow [00:02:12] Speaker B: at the end of a rainbow there's no pot of gold at the end of a heartbreak there's no one to hold well, I don't know what this weather is trying to do. [00:02:29] Speaker A: I know just earlier today it was drizzling and yucky, so. [00:02:32] Speaker B: Which means we cannot mow the grass when it's wet. [00:02:35] Speaker A: Well, no. And I have some plans for the lawnmower today, so. No, you cannot have it. [00:02:39] Speaker B: I. You never allow me to ride the lawnmower anyway. [00:02:42] Speaker A: That's not true. That's a lie. No, it's not. [00:02:46] Speaker B: I have to do the arduous push [00:02:49] Speaker A: mowing which takes about one eighth the time it takes to to ride the lawnmower. [00:02:53] Speaker B: And 12 times the physical effort than sitting on the mower and riding around. [00:02:58] Speaker A: Well, I need to put the multi joints on. [00:03:01] Speaker B: I don't know what that means. [00:03:02] Speaker A: You know what that means. I have to put an attachment on because all the leaves are falling. And now that we need to mulch the leaves. [00:03:08] Speaker B: What I meant was, is I don't know how to do it. So if anything happens to you, I'm gonna have to hire a boy. [00:03:14] Speaker A: Let's hire some boy now. Only that would take our money for our traveling, wouldn't it? [00:03:19] Speaker B: Yes. [00:03:19] Speaker A: Well, how are you? [00:03:20] Speaker B: Well, I'm fine. Speaking of traveling, I don't think we've announced that we're going to France and Switzerland for the Christmas season. [00:03:28] Speaker A: We haven't announced that at all. [00:03:29] Speaker B: I don't. Wait, maybe. I don't know. I don't remember. Well, I don't remember day to day. [00:03:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:34] Speaker B: Yes. We're going to Strasbourg, France, and Zurich, Switzerland, to see the Christmas markets. So if you're a listener in either of those places, get in touch. We'll have coffee. [00:03:47] Speaker A: Yes. [00:03:47] Speaker B: Or cafe. [00:03:48] Speaker A: Cafe, yes. [00:03:51] Speaker B: When are we there? Thanksgiving week. American Thanksgiving week. [00:03:54] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. We're going to go with family. So. [00:03:57] Speaker B: And let's see, we went to a soccer match last weekend over in Ohio [00:04:04] Speaker A: to Columbus for the weekend. Had a good. [00:04:07] Speaker B: For once. [00:04:08] Speaker A: Oh, they're rebuilding. This is the crew. They're rebuilding their. Well, I mean, they switched off so many really good players and they just don't know themselves yet. [00:04:16] Speaker B: No, no. [00:04:17] Speaker A: And their wonderful coach, Wilfred, Nancy, retired last year. [00:04:22] Speaker B: Did he retire? [00:04:23] Speaker A: No, no, he left. He retired from the team. He went to go coach a different team. [00:04:26] Speaker B: Was he forcibly retired? [00:04:29] Speaker A: Oh, I don't think so. No. No, no, no, no. And then their captain retired from playing. [00:04:34] Speaker B: Yes. [00:04:36] Speaker A: And he was really, really good, so. [00:04:38] Speaker B: Well, maybe we should sign up. [00:04:43] Speaker A: No, they want to win, See? But they did win while we were there. But then we watched a match again last night on telly, didn't they. [00:04:48] Speaker B: They didn't do so great. Well, no, they did great. Just the other team got a lucky goal at the very end. Yeah. [00:04:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Red Bull, New York, their team. [00:04:58] Speaker B: So that's our life up until now. [00:05:01] Speaker A: We watch a lot of soccer, don't we? [00:05:04] Speaker B: We sure do. You converted me. [00:05:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. I'm like, I'll tell you, hey, there's a match on tonight. You're like, let's watch. And I go, I don't have time. And like, you know, or you international [00:05:14] Speaker B: listeners, we're talking about football. [00:05:16] Speaker A: Football, yes. Yeah. But I really have your sister to thank for it. Sarah. [00:05:22] Speaker B: Sure. [00:05:23] Speaker A: Yeah. I guess a couple years ago, she invited me to go with her to a match and I fell in love with it immediately. I was this love that I had for football as a child. Yes, that. And I say soccer as a child, that it was rekindled immediately. And I just. And I've been. Just my interest has been growing ever since. [00:05:41] Speaker B: Well, it's hard not to fall in love with that state of the art stadium they've got over there. I know. [00:05:46] Speaker A: It's a first of its kind in the United States. Yeah, it's fantastic. So, yeah. And let me see. I have been reading All Star Superman. [00:05:54] Speaker B: Yes. [00:05:55] Speaker A: Thanks to my very good friend, Harvey Birdman, Esquire. [00:05:58] Speaker B: That's a fake name. [00:05:59] Speaker A: Fake name. [00:06:00] Speaker B: Also, I have those at home. I don't know why you had to. [00:06:04] Speaker A: He lent them as a kindness. [00:06:06] Speaker B: I see. [00:06:07] Speaker A: And so I'm halfway through All Star Superman, Volume 1. [00:06:11] Speaker B: Yes. [00:06:12] Speaker A: And I'm taking my time because I'm really, really enjoying the artwork. [00:06:16] Speaker B: It's very good, isn't it? [00:06:17] Speaker A: Very good. Grant Morrison and Frank. Quietly, quite quietly. [00:06:21] Speaker B: Quietly, quietly. I know his artwork's not for everyone, but I love it. [00:06:24] Speaker A: Yeah, me too. Me too. And then after that, I'll be reading, of course, Kingdom Come, which I've read before. [00:06:29] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:30] Speaker A: But I read it when it first came out in the individual issues. [00:06:34] Speaker B: Yes. [00:06:35] Speaker A: Right. So Harvey Birdman, Esq. Gave me his copies to read, so I'm reading them. So anyway, I'm really, really, really enjoying that. And then after that, I'm planning to dive into the Sinestro Squad. Right. [00:06:51] Speaker B: Sinestro Corps War. [00:06:53] Speaker A: Sinestro Core War. And then after that, [00:06:57] Speaker B: I believe it's called the War of Light. The War of Lightest Night. [00:07:01] Speaker A: Blackest Night. Yes. Green Lanterns. [00:07:03] Speaker B: This is all what he's requested? Well, he requested Blackest Night, and I advised him to start with Sinestro Core War. [00:07:10] Speaker A: Yeah. Sinestro Core War. Yeah. So anyway, and we're enjoying watching Lanterns. [00:07:17] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:17] Speaker A: On the telly. [00:07:18] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:19] Speaker A: Which is great. [00:07:21] Speaker B: And yeah, we're just, you know, doing. [00:07:23] Speaker A: Doing our teaching, living the dream, working thing. [00:07:27] Speaker B: Thing, you know, trying to win that lottery. And then we could be full time podcasters. [00:07:34] Speaker A: Oh, you have that all planned out, do you? [00:07:37] Speaker B: Yes, actually, I do. [00:07:39] Speaker A: Mm. Oh, oh, and I'm playing. I'm just starting to play in it with a couple other guitarists. [00:07:47] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:48] Speaker A: Starting this month. [00:07:49] Speaker B: Oh, and we're going to be in Montana at the end of October singing. So if you happen to be in the area there, let us know. [00:07:57] Speaker A: Let us know. We're gonna be doing. We're gonna be singing solos in the Brahms Requiem and singing in the choir as well. And then you and I are doing. We're part of a recital the following day. [00:08:05] Speaker B: Yes. [00:08:05] Speaker A: So, yeah. [00:08:07] Speaker B: So lots of opportunities to catch us. Yes. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Yes. [00:08:13] Speaker B: Now, by overwhelming demand. [00:08:17] Speaker A: Yes. [00:08:19] Speaker B: With a Grand Total of 2 votes, we are finishing off the Doom Patrol story from last year with doom patrol number 112. It is the final go go checkpod issue of doom patrol. [00:08:36] Speaker A: Gogo checked. Yes, I said gogo checkpod. [00:08:38] Speaker B: So as we get closer to the end here, we're going to have lots of announcements of this nature of it being the final Go Go check. [00:08:48] Speaker A: I can't believe it's the final. Now, we would have probably hit this sometime next year, right? [00:08:53] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. [00:08:54] Speaker A: But we did request. We had a request to finish it out. And because Doom Patrol is a comic that I really enjoy, he does to do it to go ahead. But, yeah, we will be. I can't believe we started this. This entire podcast series in another house across the river in Maryland. [00:09:14] Speaker B: Yes. [00:09:15] Speaker A: And when you got me started on, I was like, oh, my God, I can't believe we're gonna be doing this. But it's. It's something that's been fun and it's been interesting. [00:09:24] Speaker B: And look at you reading comics on your own now. [00:09:27] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it's true. You can teach an old dog new tricks, huh? [00:09:30] Speaker B: I suppose you can. Yeah. [00:09:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:33] Speaker B: All right. The world is aghast at the most incredible alliance. The Brotherhood of Evil and the Doom Patrol become brothers in blood. Well, and also a couple of sisters and one child. [00:09:47] Speaker A: Yes. But I think they call it brothers just because, like, the convention of. [00:09:53] Speaker B: Sure, sure, sure. [00:09:54] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:09:58] Speaker B: Like, famously, the X Men have several women on the team, but guess what? We are in on the creation of the strangest alliance since the dawn of time. The Doom Patrol. Those fabulous freaks who fight to protect a world that has cast them out. And the Brotherhood of Evil, the ultimate syndicate of the Sinister. And the meeting has just opened with a bang. As you recall, the Brotherhood of Evil had descended upon Doom Patrol headquarters. [00:10:29] Speaker A: Yes. [00:10:29] Speaker B: In an attack. Well, actually, they were coming to form an alliance. [00:10:34] Speaker A: Monsieur. [00:10:35] Speaker B: Monsieur Mala. [00:10:36] Speaker A: Mala and Madame Rouge, I believe, who [00:10:41] Speaker B: is sweet on the Chief. [00:10:42] Speaker A: She is. [00:10:45] Speaker B: But of course, the dupontrol assume they're under attack. And so Robotman picks up a giant computer bank and tosses it over at See A Mala. And Chief is rolling around in his wheelchair telling everybody to cool out. And a giant fight ensues between Robertman and Monsieur Mala. They've picked up some kind of wooden beam and they're whacking each other, beating [00:11:16] Speaker A: each other up with it. Yeah. [00:11:20] Speaker B: Now, it seems that Xerox 13, the alien invader whom they battled last issue, has asked the Brain, leader of the Brotherhood of Evil, to be his partner. But the Brotherhood of Evil believes that he plans to destroy all of the Earth. [00:11:37] Speaker A: Yeah, the Brain is pretending to cooperate to learn all he can. But the destruction of Earth means the end of everyone in that room. [00:11:44] Speaker B: Yes. [00:11:44] Speaker A: The Brotherhood of Evil, the Doom Patrol, everyone. [00:11:49] Speaker B: All right. Chief says, we are going to send a delegation to the Brotherhood of Evil headquarters to discuss it further. Robotman says, nothing doing. I'm not going to send Nuh. I'm not doing it. Until Madame Rouge uses her stretchy arm to give him a slap across the face. [00:12:08] Speaker A: Slaps him across the face, doesn't she? [00:12:09] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, well, he deserved it, honestly. [00:12:13] Speaker A: Madame Roux says, well, while you all go to infiltrate the Brotherhood, or to meet with the Brotherhood, rather, I'm going to stay here with the Doom Patrol. [00:12:22] Speaker B: As a hostage. [00:12:23] Speaker A: As a hostage. Right. Monsieur Malat pulls her aside and says, twice now you have exhibited certain ridiculous tender feelings for the bearded Chief. How can we trust you? [00:12:35] Speaker B: You have no choice. Without a hostage, they will not agree. Ye. And I tell you once more, my ape ally, I am as loyal to the Brotherhood as. You still can't do a French. Sorry. Now, Rita says if she's staying, we're staying, too. She's talking to Minto and Beast Boy. Because we've got to take care of the Chief against that beautiful witch. They agree? [00:13:10] Speaker A: Yeah, they agree. [00:13:11] Speaker B: And later, as silence settles on the [00:13:13] Speaker A: house, Madame Rouge goes to see the Chief. The Chief? [00:13:19] Speaker B: Yes. He's in his study. [00:13:21] Speaker A: Am I disturbing your thoughts, Mr. Chief? [00:13:24] Speaker B: Not at all. I sleep poorly because of the giant bottle of booze. I just finished sitting here by my chair, conveniently, with two glasses. [00:13:34] Speaker A: It is the legs. They cause so much pain. [00:13:36] Speaker B: No, no, I haven't felt my legs for years. It's the overactive brain cells. They hate sleep. Brandy, madam? [00:13:46] Speaker A: I've ecblaisir this. This. This place, it has certain charm. [00:13:51] Speaker B: Yes, if you could call a combination radar center, rocket pad and arsenal charming. [00:13:59] Speaker A: That's my name. No, truly, it reminds me of the house in which I was raised. Outside. A place with trees and flowers and [00:14:05] Speaker B: happiness and a radar center and a rocket pad and an arsenal. [00:14:10] Speaker A: She throws a drink in his face. [00:14:12] Speaker B: Yeah, right, because he says, how touching. And now to drink to you and to whatever it is you plan to gain from me in this meeting. [00:14:20] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:21] Speaker B: You know what she wants, Chief. I'm not sure that all of his parts work, though. [00:14:26] Speaker A: Oh, for heaven. [00:14:27] Speaker B: What in the heck is going on? [00:14:28] Speaker A: My reminder to change the air filters. Oh, yeah. [00:14:32] Speaker B: In the house. [00:14:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:34] Speaker B: Okay, well, see, that's another chore you've [00:14:37] Speaker A: got to do today. [00:14:38] Speaker B: Along with the mulching blades. [00:14:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:14:42] Speaker B: All right. So she takes the Fence throws a drink right in his face. And later, at the Brotherhood headquarters where Roboton is, they are spying on Gargwax and his master, Xerox 13. They are secretly meeting aboard their spaceship. The Brain was able to bug them with a video device, but there's no [00:15:05] Speaker A: audio because they talk with telepathy. [00:15:07] Speaker B: Yes, but they somehow get the idea that these two want to destroy the Earth entirely. I don't know where they got the idea. Oh, it's because on the view screen, they're smashing a model of planet Earth with their fists. [00:15:21] Speaker A: That seems to be very clear [00:15:25] Speaker B: now. The Brain says, as a result of the imbalance created by the destruction of our solar system, half of their planets would also die. The only three remaining planets, the Brain assumes, would be the ones that are controlled by Xerox 13. So maybe this is. We did have some discussion last week about whether Xerox and Gargwax were the same species because they have such different ears. So maybe they are not. Maybe they're from different planets. And it's just that Xerox is the fascist dictator of this little planetary system. [00:16:04] Speaker A: Yes. [00:16:07] Speaker B: So Robotman says, yes. He is willing to kill our world just to bounce his enemies out of his own solar system. And just then, the alarm Xerox 13 [00:16:18] Speaker A: approaches, and Robotman needs to get out [00:16:21] Speaker B: of there, so they shove him into the basement like in Star wars when they hide in the cargo behold of the Millennium falcon. [00:16:33] Speaker A: So Xerox 13 comes in and says, greetings, my Earth friends and loyal partners. Just a brief unplanned visit. [00:16:40] Speaker B: It is time we discussed my plan. A crime that will make you the richest on your planet, Monsieur Brain? [00:16:47] Speaker A: Brain says, yes, but what is that instrument you are holding there, Xerox 13? [00:16:54] Speaker B: Oh, er, this. It's a fascinating gadget capable of detecting the presence of any intelligent brain up to three miles. [00:17:05] Speaker A: Oh, Robotman is really thinking to himself. He goes, ho ho. He thrusts the Brotherhood. He trusts the Brotherhood as much as I do. That meter will tell him I'm hidden down here. And in another second. So he pops up and says, okay, okay, you human garbage heaps. This is a raid. [00:17:21] Speaker B: I told the chief you guys were [00:17:23] Speaker A: cooking up something, but he wouldn't believe me. So he's of course pretending to break into the headquarters. [00:17:29] Speaker B: Pretending to break in. And the Brain realizes immediately that this is all part of clever ruse. And so what's going to happen? [00:17:36] Speaker A: Let's turn pages and find out. [00:17:38] Speaker B: Well, he attacks Xerox before he can teleport. Yes. Pummels him in the stomach. And then the Brain orders Monsieur Mala to defend Xerox from robot men. Of course, Mala also understands that it's all pretend. Nevertheless, they get into it once again. [00:18:03] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:18:03] Speaker B: Lots of punching, lots of punching. [00:18:05] Speaker A: The poor ape man. [00:18:07] Speaker B: Xerox has started to recover. And Robotman makes a flying leap. He's going to land on Xerox's head. [00:18:16] Speaker A: But just at that very second, a spaceship orbiting far above the Earth notices that their master is in trouble. The automatic danger sensor is flashing. So they immediately teleport him out of there as Robotman comes crashing down onto where Xerox 13 was. [00:18:31] Speaker B: Yes. [00:18:32] Speaker A: Which makes Robotman land on his butt. [00:18:35] Speaker B: All right, so once Robotman regains his footing, he agrees now that he's going to recommend that the Doom Patrol joins the Brotherhood. Heaven help us all. Meanwhile, back at the headquarters, Madame Rouge is asleep in the guest quarters, where there's a giant Triceratops head hanging. [00:18:58] Speaker A: A lion head with a bull's horns. No, Maybe it's like a lion triceratops. [00:19:03] Speaker B: Like a lion triceratops, yeah. [00:19:05] Speaker A: So the voice coming out of it in her bed, where she's asleep, says to her, madame Rouge, this is the chief. The brandy you drank was laced with sodium pental, sometimes called truth serum. Now some questions. What is your real name? And how did you become involved with the Brotherhood of Evil? [00:19:24] Speaker B: My name is Laura DeMille. I was an actress in the Paris theater. [00:19:30] Speaker A: And a good one. Young, popular. Oh, sorry. And a good one. Young, popular and on my way to stardom. [00:19:37] Speaker B: Mademoiselle de Mille, you are marvelous. [00:19:39] Speaker A: So much talent for one so young and so beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. [00:19:43] Speaker B: Thank you, all of you. [00:19:44] Speaker A: Then, as my limousine sped back to [00:19:47] Speaker B: my hotel, suddenly, screech, crash. [00:19:50] Speaker A: I was on the operating table for five hours. [00:19:54] Speaker B: But the good news is, she will live. [00:19:58] Speaker A: Yes. The doctor says, yes. But how will the brain function? That we will not know for some time. So she found out. She goes, I found out soon enough. My brain was like a pendulum. One day I was the essence of [00:20:12] Speaker B: goodness, the next, I was a tiger. [00:20:16] Speaker A: So she was nice to children one day, and then she wanted to beat them. Called them miserable brats and stepped on their dolls. [00:20:23] Speaker B: She's bipolar. There's drugs for that even in the 60s. So. [00:20:27] Speaker A: So? So she's approached by a man who's covered, you know, he has a lab coat, he has on gloves, he has a hood. [00:20:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:37] Speaker A: And he says, he says to her, schizophrenia, they call it. I suffered from a split personality. And one man claimed he could. I'm sorry. That's her voice. I'm sorry. [00:20:45] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:20:46] Speaker A: Schizophrenia, as they called it. I suffered from a split personality and one man claimed he could help me. [00:20:53] Speaker B: Yes, Madam Musael. I have experimented successfully with schizoids using certain ray treatments, not the widely available drugs available in this period in history, attacking what I believe to be the seed of schizophrenia. The septum. I have been able to reduce the negative personality and bolster the positive. Isn't the septum the thing in between your nostrils? [00:21:18] Speaker A: Oh, yes. But maybe there's a part of the brain called the septimyoma. [00:21:23] Speaker B: Maybe. I don't know. [00:21:24] Speaker A: So she says, you must begin at once, Doctor. I do not know how long I remained beneath the fantastic machine. So she's standing beneath this gigantic ray gun pointed at her head, and the [00:21:34] Speaker B: mysterious doctor reveals himself. [00:21:36] Speaker A: It's Microsoft. The following day, it came a rude awakening. Oh, you stupid gorilla. You performed the operation, and that is now. Now you invite me to join a criminal ring. But you're led by a naked brain. [00:21:52] Speaker B: A naked brain. What's he gonna wear? Well, he's in a brain. A little hat. [00:21:57] Speaker A: He's a brain in a box. [00:21:59] Speaker B: Well, of course he's naked. Yeah, you can't put clothes on a brain. Idiot woman. [00:22:06] Speaker A: Yes. So what they did was they removed all goodness from her brain. [00:22:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:22:11] Speaker A: And made her completely evil. She goes. But I knew it was true, for I felt a strange, thrilling presence within me. The presence of pure evil. [00:22:21] Speaker B: Now, I don't know where the stretching comes from. We didn't go into that. I'm assuming it was part of the same operation. [00:22:29] Speaker A: And she says. She's saying this, of course, in her drug to sleep, to the Chief, who's listening on equipment in another room. Yet sometimes even now, I long for the decent existence I once knew. [00:22:42] Speaker B: So the Chief says, it was the corrupt genius of the brain that twisted her. [00:22:48] Speaker A: So [00:22:50] Speaker B: just then, Robotman walks in. [00:22:51] Speaker A: Talk about being twisted. If you keep talking to yourself, they're gonna put you away. [00:22:55] Speaker B: Chief. So Robittman submits his report. [00:22:59] Speaker A: So that's it. Xerox 13 must destroy our solar system to conquer his own. But how will he do it? We'll see. Tell the others to meet me in the computer room. Roger, you old codger. [00:23:11] Speaker B: Now, the Chief relates that Xerox 13 has the knowledge to explode raw uranium. He can start a controlled atomic explosion in Earth's largest mine with enough fuel to fly our world straight at the sun. [00:23:27] Speaker A: So they immediately, all of them, fly to Central Africa. [00:23:30] Speaker B: All of them, including Mento and Beast border. This is it. [00:23:33] Speaker A: The Chief's rocket here got them there in 23 minutes. And they're going to go into the mines. As they go to the mine, they realize that Xerox 13 has been there ahead of them already. There comes out, and once again he gets hit once again in the solar plexus by Robotman. [00:23:55] Speaker B: Xerox orders Mala to attack Robotman, and Mala now reveals the ruse that they are all working against him. [00:24:06] Speaker A: Yes. [00:24:07] Speaker B: Xerox, of course, teleports away. [00:24:09] Speaker A: Yeah. Mala attacks him and then he teleports. Mala crashes down and this giant Fist of Xerox 13 comes down on Mala's head. Then as Xerox sends a mental command to his henchmen orbiting the Earth above, the henchmen come down to Earth. So the fight is getting intense, and [00:24:28] Speaker B: we learn they only have three minutes before Earth is destroyed. [00:24:32] Speaker A: Right. So Robotman gets his feet zapped by some sort of gun. Then all negative Men tries to attack, but then he's hit by a ray and he's blasted apart into pieces. Right. And then who's this Mento guy? [00:24:46] Speaker B: Mento? [00:24:46] Speaker A: Oh, Mento. Steve, he says, enough of this fun and games. First thing we've got to do is put Xerox teleportation gimmick out of business so he can't keep copping out. So he hits him, and he hits him with his mental beams and absolutely breaks up Xerox helmet. [00:25:00] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:01] Speaker A: So no more teleporting. [00:25:02] Speaker B: No more teleporting. [00:25:03] Speaker A: Then Rita expands into a gigantic woman, which might have some men really excited. [00:25:10] Speaker B: All giant women look the same to me. I know. It is a thing. [00:25:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Not for us. [00:25:15] Speaker B: Not for us. But yes, some men find enjoyment in the thought of giant sized women, especially [00:25:23] Speaker A: when they break out of their clothes. [00:25:24] Speaker B: Well, Rita doesn't do that. No, clothes are stretchy. [00:25:27] Speaker A: I was. I was bizarre. I mean, I thought it was so bizarre when I heard about that. [00:25:30] Speaker B: I know, right? [00:25:31] Speaker A: Right. [00:25:32] Speaker B: So Rita grows giant, she picks up Xerox, she throws him into a coal bin or whatever they're mining there. [00:25:39] Speaker A: Uranium. [00:25:41] Speaker B: Oh, right, duh. [00:25:43] Speaker A: Right. Which is weird because they're gonna go into the mine and the guys are not protected at all. [00:25:47] Speaker B: Well, but they are alien. [00:25:49] Speaker A: No, the Earthlings that are mining down there. You'll see. [00:25:53] Speaker B: Oh, right. Just then Madame Rouge uses her stretchy [00:25:59] Speaker A: arms to disable the men that teleported down the henchmen. Yep. [00:26:07] Speaker B: And Xerox reveals then that the atomic device which will destroy the Earth is hidden deep in the Mine. And now you'll never find it in time because now we're down to what, like a minute and a half? [00:26:19] Speaker A: Beast Boy turns himself into a bloodhound and immediately goes into the mine to sniff out the device. And he finds it. Now, see, there's where the men are. See the men down there? [00:26:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:29] Speaker A: In the mine. Yeah, just in, like, work clothes. [00:26:33] Speaker B: Now, remind me to come back to this later. I'm a little bit disturbed. That Beast Boy's bloodhound form, of course, has a green head, but then a black and white bloodhound body with human hands on the front paws. [00:26:46] Speaker A: Oh, that's right. I see that. [00:26:48] Speaker B: That's awfully disturbed. [00:26:50] Speaker A: Weird. [00:26:50] Speaker B: He's some kind of chimera, all right. Beast Boy finds it, and now he's got to fly it out. He turns into an eagle, eagle flies it out and it explodes. So I guess harmlessly, except for that mushroom. [00:27:07] Speaker A: Did he drop it into the volcano in the background or just dropped it on the mountain? [00:27:13] Speaker B: I'm not sure. He dropped it somewhere and it exploded. [00:27:16] Speaker A: He drops it on a distant mountain and explodes. [00:27:19] Speaker B: Oh, I see. Xerox and his henchmen escape for good, we hope. But then the ghostly face of Xerox appears and says, not for good, my metal. [00:27:33] Speaker A: Voe. [00:27:33] Speaker B: We will be waiting out there in space, waiting for our golden moment and your destruction soon, very soon. [00:27:42] Speaker A: Later, at the Doom Patrol headquarters, Monsieur Mala is there. He says, we worked well together, Monsieur Chief, but the alliance is ended. Our next meeting will not be so friendly. [00:27:55] Speaker B: I'm afraid Mala is right. Au revoir, mon ami. [00:27:58] Speaker A: I wonder what that criminal genius, the Brain, can do. Perhaps I can undo. Perhaps Madame Rouge can be reborn. Time alone will tell. And you'd better be around when it starts talking, chums like nextish next ish or next issue. [00:28:13] Speaker B: Well, we won't be here, because this is the last checkered best. However. Dear Editor, every time I read an issue of Doom Patrol, I get more enthusiastic. Not only do they have a really good continuity of story and accurate, but the reality of the characterizations is terrific. Also accurate. I can see Rita, Steve, Larry, Cliff, Gar, and the Chief much better than any other characters with the same accessibility to the public. They really are three dimensional, and their emotions are among the most realistic in comicdom. Better yet, they are consistent. I'm aware I've overused the word real, but that's my impression of the Doom Patrol. Their opponents, especially the Brotherhood of Evil, are magnificent. Hope Madame Rouge develops into a heroine eventually. Irene Vartanoff, Bethesda Maryland for the summer. Yeah, from college. Now, there is a second story here. We're not going to cover it. It's the beginning of the origin story of Beast Boy, the Jungle Kid. I'm only mentioning it because of note is the first time in the artwork that we've seen that when he turns into an animal, the animal is entirely green instead of just the head being green. [00:29:39] Speaker A: Oh, you're right. [00:29:41] Speaker B: Which, of course, would be the way his powers are depicted further on down the line. [00:29:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:48] Speaker B: Now, this being the last checkered issue of Doom Patrol, I'm not going to leave you hanging. I'm going to give you a little bit of further history of the Doom Patrol. I guess it's not history, since it's going to happen in the future. [00:30:04] Speaker A: Well, I mean, how are you going to just take me along for the ride? What's going to happen? [00:30:10] Speaker B: Well, I'm going to pull up Wikipedia and tell you all about what happens next to the Doom Patrol. [00:30:16] Speaker A: Okay. [00:30:19] Speaker B: Now, what Irene Vartanov said was true. This was very unusual for DC Comics to have this sort of continuing continuity from issue to issue. I mean, you would have two part stories maybe, but not. We've seen some of these stories go on for three, four issues. [00:30:34] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:30:36] Speaker B: And also the characterization is much more akin to what was happening at Marvel Comics at the time. [00:30:43] Speaker A: I was going to say that, but I thought you might correct me. [00:30:46] Speaker B: Why would I correct you? [00:30:47] Speaker A: Because I might have been wrong to assume that. But what I was going to say to you is, it sounds like how they were writing at Marvel. [00:30:53] Speaker B: It absolutely does. Which may surprise you then to learn that the Doom Patrol is only going to last nine more issues after this one. What? It will be canceled with number 121. And talk about unusual. Instead of just canceling the title and leaving the characters in limbo, they all die. [00:31:24] Speaker A: What? [00:31:26] Speaker B: The General Immortus and I believe. Oh, no. General zahl. [00:31:35] Speaker A: Wait, in nine issues? [00:31:36] Speaker B: There are nine issues? September 1968 will be the last original issue of the series. [00:31:44] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. [00:31:46] Speaker B: So I don't know why the popularity of the book was going downhill, even though Marvel sales were up, up, up. [00:31:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:56] Speaker B: So General Zahl and Madame Rouge trap the Doo Patrol on the small island. Is it an island or just a village? Small fishing village of Codsville, Maine. [00:32:11] Speaker A: Codsville. [00:32:14] Speaker B: And they have to either escape from the traps they're in or see the tiny village of Godsville destroyed. [00:32:22] Speaker A: Who? [00:32:22] Speaker B: Of course, they sacrificed their lives to save the village of Cotsville, and that's that. There would be three reprint issues in the 70s, but no more original Doom Patrol issues. [00:32:35] Speaker A: Not for a long time. [00:32:37] Speaker B: Not until September 1977, when Paul Kupperberg, a longtime Doom Patrol fan and artist Joe Staton introduced a new Doom Patrol team in the pages of Showcase comics, which was. We have read some issues of showcase. [00:32:55] Speaker A: It's sorry, 1971. [00:32:58] Speaker B: 1977. [00:32:59] Speaker A: So nearly. It's nine years later, right? They disappeared in 68. [00:33:03] Speaker B: 68, yes. [00:33:04] Speaker A: Okay. [00:33:06] Speaker B: Kupperberg created a new lineup because he wanted to respect that they were dead. [00:33:12] Speaker A: Okay. [00:33:13] Speaker B: And he was inspired by what was then current, the new X Men, which had also been a title that had been canceled. [00:33:24] Speaker A: Wow. [00:33:24] Speaker B: With the old X Men. And have we discussed this? The Doom Patrol and the original X Men debuted roughly the same time? [00:33:35] Speaker A: Yes, we have discussed this. Yes. [00:33:37] Speaker B: Professor X in a wheelchair and Misfit. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The new team is led by Celsius, the chief's previously unknown child bride, who recreates the dupontrol to protect herself from General Immortus. We learn that Robotman's brain did survive. [00:33:57] Speaker A: Oh. [00:33:58] Speaker B: And is placed refrigerator or something. It was the bottom of the ocean. I don't know. His body is replaced by a new futuristic robot body built by Dr. Magnus from the Metalman. The Negative spirit that Larry had is now possessing a Russian cosmonaut, Valentina Vostok, who becomes a negative woman. Although when she is hosting the negative being, she's not radioactive. She doesn't have to wrap herself in bandages. She's a beautiful, voluptuous woman. And the final member is Joshua Clay, a Vietnam veteran who fires energy blasts from his hands. Wow. Now, Showcase was intended to feature stories that could go onto their own series, which the Doom Patrol did not. But they did make guest appearances in Superman Family Teaming up with Supergirl in DC Comics Presents Teaming up with Superman, in which Negative woman's powers do change to mimic those of Larry, so she does have to wrap herself in bandages. Luckily, she can wear a blonde wig on top of her bandages. Beast Boy, meanwhile, revealed his identity publicly [00:35:26] Speaker A: to the public as Mark Singer. [00:35:29] Speaker B: No. [00:35:30] Speaker A: Oh. [00:35:30] Speaker B: As Garfield Loken Mark Singer, Beastman. So he could stop wearing that purple hood over his head. [00:35:36] Speaker A: Okay. [00:35:37] Speaker B: He then used his shape changing powers to star on a television show. I think it was called Space Trek 2022. And then he later, as changeling, joined the new Teen Titans. [00:35:56] Speaker A: Okay. [00:35:58] Speaker B: And has been associated with them pretty much ever since. [00:36:02] Speaker A: Okay. [00:36:04] Speaker B: Steve went crazy with his Mento helmet and went to seek revenge on Madame Rouge and General Zahl. Robotman then got his original body back, went to look for Steve, then Garfield went to look for Roboman, and there was all whole big brouhaha about that in the pages of the new Teen Titans. Paul Kupperberg, meanwhile, had not lost his enthusiasm for the Doom Patrol. He did write a proposal for a new Doom Patrol series after Robotman had appeared in the new Teen Titans. The proposal was greenlit, and Kupperberg laid the groundwork for the new series by writing the John Byrne Illustrated Secret Origins Annual 1, published in 1987, which recapped the origins of the two iterations of the Doom Patrol that had existed thus far. Far. In October of That same year, D.C. relaunched the doom Patrol, written by Kupperberg and illustrated by Steve Lytle. Lytle took on the assignment with reluctance, having read and disliked Kupperberg's new Doom Patrol in Showcase, and soon quit due to several grievances, such as not being involved in plotting the comic, despite the editor repeatedly promising that he would be. [00:37:26] Speaker A: My goodness. [00:37:27] Speaker B: He was replaced by Erik Larson, creator of Savage Dragon. Kupperberg later commented, I like Eric's work, but I don't think he was exactly right for the Dude Patrol. [00:37:37] Speaker A: Wow. [00:37:40] Speaker B: So this new series featured Robotman, Celsius, Tempest, Negative Woman, and then they had a couple of kids that came along. The magnetically empowered strong Girl, Lodestone, Karma, whose psychic power makes anyone trying to attack him fall over, and Scorch, whose body generates phenomenal quantities of heat focus through his hands, requiring him to wear protective gloves at all times. The comic did not do great, and with issue 19, Kupperberg left and was replaced by Grant Morrison, writer of All Stars Superman. And the comic was no longer submitted to the Comics Code Authority for approval, meaning they didn't have to be so clean and nice about everything. Kupperberg agreed to help Morrison by getting rid of characters that Morrison did not want to use, including Celsius Scott, Vischer, Karma, Lodestone, and Tempest. Morrison used the then current Invasion crossover to restart the book by stripping the team down to its roots and returning as quickly as possible to the freewheeling weirdness that made the early stories so exhilarating. Morrison substantially retooled Negative man by forcibly merging the Negative Spirit, which was now a cosmic entity, with Larry Traynor, who turns out is alive also okay. And his doctor, Eleanor Poole, creating an agender gestalt entity known as Rebus. [00:39:22] Speaker A: Okay, how far are you going ahead in the future? [00:39:26] Speaker B: As far as I can get. [00:39:27] Speaker A: All right. [00:39:27] Speaker B: Why? Are you falling asleep? [00:39:29] Speaker A: No, I'm just curious. [00:39:30] Speaker B: Morrison Also introduced some new characters, including Crazy Jane, who had 64 personalities, each with its own superpower. [00:39:40] Speaker A: This is where I picked up Doom Patrol. [00:39:43] Speaker B: Yes. [00:39:43] Speaker A: This is where you and I were first starting when we first got together. [00:39:46] Speaker B: Yes. [00:39:47] Speaker A: And you and I had expressed that I had a very limited interest in comics. And you said, I think you would like Dr. Doom Patrol. And you were right. I'm picked up Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol. [00:39:57] Speaker B: So Crazy Jane, sentient neighborhood Danny the street, Danny the street. And Dorothy Spinner, an ape faced girl with powerful imaginary friends. [00:40:04] Speaker A: Yes. [00:40:07] Speaker B: Over the course of the series, Morrison dedicated some issues to parody and homage. Blah, blah, blah. Morrison's villains were extremely unusual and strange, even by Doom Patrol standards. And in issue 57, it was revealed that the Chief had secretly caused the accidents which turned Cliff, Larry and Irita into super beings. Chief stated he caused them to gain their powers because of his hatred for them. He felt they were spoiled and narcissistic as well as shallow individuals, and that by turning them into freaks, he could improve them as human beings. [00:40:41] Speaker A: Wow. [00:40:42] Speaker B: He further revealed that he lied about not being married to Celsius, whom he had earlier claimed was insane and lying about being married to him. He was upset over how the experiments performed on her, like with Elastigirl, only gave her superpowers and did not turn her into a freak. All right. Tempest and Robotman find all this out. Tempest is killed, Robotman is paralyzed, and now that the Chief is exposed as a villain, he plans to unleash nanobots into the world, hoping to create a catastrophe that would improve humanity regardless of the carnage it would cause. But Cauldre's plan is hijacked by the Candlemaker, a violent cosmic horror who is freed by Dorothy in exchange for his resurrection of Tempest, who is then re killed by the candle maker. Following this was a four issue Flex Mentalo miniseries. Flex Mentalo is the hero of the beach who appeared to patrol Rachel Pollock, then took over writing and added a few more characters, but always keeping Robotman. In 2001, writer John Arcudi and artist Tang Anhuat launched a new Doom Patrol series. The relaunch was not under the Vertigo imprint and returned the title to mainstream DC universe, lasting 22 issues before it was canceled. In 2004, John Byrne launched a new Doom Patrol series which ignored the fact that there had ever been any Doom Patrol before this. [00:42:13] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. [00:42:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Elastigirl is back alive. Robotman and Negative Men all as if they're just starting out fresh. [00:42:22] Speaker A: I didn't read this series? [00:42:23] Speaker B: No, because it wasn't very good. No, it was canceled with issue 18. DC then used the events of the Infinite Crisis storyline to restore the Doom Patrol's continuity, And the members of the Doom Patrol, while assisting the Teen Titans, have flashbacks to their original history. Roboman and the Chief regain the memories of the previous Doom Patrol teams with which they had worked. The result is a timeline incorporating all previous incarnations of the Doom Patrol, but with Rita and Larry still alive. The Chief confirms that Rita was indeed killed by the explosion in Codsville, but claims that he later found her skull and treated it with synthetic proteins until our malleable body was regrown from it. [00:43:13] Speaker A: Wow. [00:43:14] Speaker B: Steve Dayton is again using his mental helmet and is mentally unstable. Chief appears to be manipulating the Doob Troll members once again. He claims to want to return them to normal, so maybe one day they won't be freaks anymore. In 2009, it was announced that Keith Giffen would be spearheading revival of the Doom Patrol, a title he had long wanted to write. The new series focused on the core members of Elastigirl, Negative Man, Robotman, and the Chief, while other members such as Mento, Bumblebee and Vox. Bumblebee and Vox were former Teen Titans, were to be seen later. The title launched with a 10 page ongoing Metalman Co feature. Alright. Finally, Rita takes on the name alas to Woman instead of Elasta Girl, and the series canceled due to a decrease in sales with issue 22 in 2001, the New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the Doom Patrol is briefly mentioned in issue 24 of the Justice League. The team is depicted to be identical in appearance to Paul Kupperberg's 1977 Doom Patrol. But then several of those members are killed and a new DO Patrol is introduced in issue 30 of Justice League, including Robotman, Elastic Girl, Negative man, and Missing in Action Justice League member Element Woman, whom Calder refuses to let leave the group and tricks into thinking she was abandoned by the Justice League. [00:44:45] Speaker A: My goodness. [00:44:46] Speaker B: A new Doom Patrol series written by Gerard Way and drawn by Nick Darrington, was created as part of the Young animal imprint in 2016, containing a multitude of original characters as well as some taken from other team rosters. Danny the Street Returns comes to a conclusion with its seventh issue, oh Crazy Jane Returns. Also, following the cancellation of their series, Robotman, Elastigirl and Negative man were reintroduced to main DC continuity alongside Niles Calder in issue one of Batman, Superman, World's Finest, and last but not least, the seven issue unstoppable Doom Patrol series by writer Dennis Culver. Artist Chris Burnham in color as Brian reber. Launched in 2023 portraying the doom Patrol with a new mission, saving, protecting and training metahumans. Series primary team consists of Ropem and Negative Man, Elastic Woman and led by a new personality of Crazy Jane, calling herself the Chief. New team members include degenerate Beast Girl. Supporting cast includes Niles Calder who's no longer leading the team but advising Mento Willoughby, Kipling Lotion, Lucius Reynolds, Flex Men Tallow and new characters Silo Simon and Starbro. I said that's last but not least. But that's not true because just last week a new series of Doom Patrol launched in which I haven't read it yet, but I believe they're hiring themselves out to fight crime. So there you have it. [00:46:23] Speaker A: There you have it. [00:46:24] Speaker B: Any questions? [00:46:26] Speaker A: No. [00:46:27] Speaker B: Are you sure? Sure, sure. [00:46:30] Speaker A: Are all the wrap ups of these gonna be that long? [00:46:33] Speaker B: It depends. If the title in question continues with a long history, I owe it to our listener to give them a full accounting of. I can't just say, go read Wikipedia like I just did aloud. I'm sure most of our listeners are well aware of everything. I just related. Okay, but you weren't. And that's the important thing. [00:46:58] Speaker A: Yes, and knowing is half the battle. [00:47:00] Speaker B: That's exactly right. Anything exciting to add? [00:47:04] Speaker A: No, no, I'm just. I'm sad. [00:47:07] Speaker B: You're ready for a nap, aren't you? [00:47:08] Speaker A: I am. I'm sad to see this title come to an end. Well, I mean for us. [00:47:14] Speaker B: We don't have to podcast about it, but you can read the final nine issues. Oh yeah. [00:47:18] Speaker A: But I mean, my favorite is the Grant Morrison series. [00:47:21] Speaker B: Oh yeah. Well, you can read that again. [00:47:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:23] Speaker B: Everything is possible in the world we live in. You can find us on social media at GoGoChekPod. You can rate and review us wherever you get your podcast. You can find us on our sister podcast Nerd Orchestra. And you can find us right back here next week with the Flash Flash Twin spindly arms. Yes. Bye. Wondering why. Wondering why. [00:47:57] Speaker A: So we're kicking out the hedge of [00:47:58] Speaker B: Grinding for the world. [00:48:01] Speaker A: Giving you a chance to look inside your mind. [00:48:05] Speaker B: You be thrown up pain in misery.