Typically now when you think of superhero shows there’s a certain image that springs to mind. Strong, adamant characters with perfect bodies beating the tar out of baddies and making it look cool. Daredevil, Arrow, Flash, (the later seasons of) Agents of SHIELD; they all masterfully achieve this. Doom Patrol is VERY different though, and in a lot of ways it’s better for it.
Doom Patrol follows a madcap group of traumatized individuals from all walks of life (and parts of the 20th century) and has them slowly forge a bond together while sorting out their own personal issues. The biggest difference between this and its other comic book counterparts is that there are no big super hero fights. Rather the “fight” is our heroes slowly coming to terms with what happened to them and using those victories to continue their mission and grow as people. That mission takes them to Paraguay where a Nazi scientist has been giving people super powers, to a sentient gender-queer street named Danny who harbors the disenfranchised, and just into nearby Cloverton, OH to stop a giant eye in the sky from “de-creating” everything and that’s just the first few episodes! We’ve been treated to 2 seasons so far, and even with the second being cut a bit short due to COVID it proves to be one of the best shows to watch right now.
Season one introduces our heroes: Cliff Steele/Robotman (Brendan Fraser/Riley Shanahan), Rita Farr (April Bowlby), Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), Larry Trainer/Negative Man (Matt Bomer/Matthew Zuk), and Vic Stone/Cyborg (Joivan Wade), as they attempt to rescue Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton) after he is abducted by an incredibly powerful meta-human called Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk). Along the way they meet a man capable of learning all there is to know about you just by eating some of your beard. They cross paths with a nefarious government organization bent on keeping all things “weird” in check. And there’s a man whose flexing causes everything from a spontaneous picnic to a whole town having an orgasm at once. Do you really need more than that? You do?! Season two capitalizes on all of the emotional build-up from the first season and adds a little girl who can destroy all of creation by accident on top of it! In the words of my favorite robot(man),
The main drives of the show are its stellar cast and the writing that brings their characters to life. Brendan Fraser as the voice of Cliff Steele is absolute magic. He captures the essence of feeling isolated both literally and figuratively, and he ends up being a great analog for the audience early in season one. He walks us into this world and lets us find our footing in the show’s reality before everything goes off the rails.
April Bowlby’s Rita Farr encapsulates the spirit of old Hollywood down to the transatlantic accent. She wants nothing more than to be back in the limelight, but her crippling fear of rejection keeps her pinned down. Matt Bomer shines as Capt. Larry Trainer both in and out of the character’s signature bandages. Even when you can’t see a bit of his face, you can feel every bit of what he’s feeling in that moment. His struggle to be himself is a story all too many people will be able to relate to.
Joivan Wade brings an interesting new vision of Cyborg to Doom Patrol. Rather than being a sophomoric live-action version of his cartoon counterpart, Wade shows us a Cyborg that is still reeling from the accident that made him who he is. He’s using being a hero as a way to escape his past, but Mr. Nobody doesn’t let that go for long. Timothy Dalton masterfully portrays Niles Caulder both as a loving parent figure and an absolute cold-hearted bastard. Every scene he’s in adds layer after layer to the show as a whole, and you just can’t get enough of him even when he’s being awful. Alan Tudyk’s villainous Mr. Nobody is also a welcome breath of fresh air in a show like this. His fourth-wall breaking dialog pokes fun at all of the typical superhero tropes while subtly helping to subvert all of them right up to the end of the first season.
Diane Guerrero is the cherry on top of the whole ensemble. She instantly shifts from being a childish 12 year old that’s obsessed with playing dolls and having fun to a brutish thug in seconds. Her ability to capture each of Jane’s different personalities and genuinely give them each their own unique style and voice is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Diane deserves every award there is out there for her performance in this role and I still don’t think that would be enough. Long story short, Diane is AMAZING.
![Von Fuchs Vs Crazy Jane And Robotman | DOOM PATROL 1x03 [HD] GIF ...](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ArtisticImaginativeBillygoat-size_restricted.gif)
Season two introduces Niles’ daughter Dorothy (Abigail Shapiro) who is, without question, the most wholesome person ever on television. She is adorable, and she brings out the best performances in everyone around her. She also facilitates the main antagonist of the second season, a monstrous egrigore called the Candlemaker, who can supposedly bring about the end of the world. Tough rap.
Another thing that sets it apart from almost all of its other comic book TV counterparts, Doom Patrol doesn’t hold back on swearing. When something crazy happens, characters drop understandable F-bombs. The characters and the dialog feel so much more real because their language hasn’t been diluted down to PG/safe for TV standards. On more than one occasion Cliff or Jane would let out a, “Holy s@#$!” at the same time as my wife and I, and that is a truly great moment. Doom Patrol is a triumph in that regard. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you laugh while crying. And then it will make you think about and feel things you would never have considered before on topics from self-image to parenthood and beyond.
With all of these things going for it, why are you NOT watching Doom Patrol? Now available both on DCUniverse and HBOMax, both seasons of what is currently my favorite show are now streaming. Check it out and join all the rest of us giant nerds over here thoroughly enjoying it!
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I’ve worked my whole life to become a comic book illustrator, writer, and stand-up comedian. Batman and Captain Benjamin Sisko helped put a good head on my shoulders. I spent most of my childhood saving Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom and seeing the Justice League save all of creation time and time again. I live in Johnson City, TN with my wife Kary and daughter Laila enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and occasional show. Three puppies round out the family and take up the rest of the time that isn’t spent debating which Wes Anderson or Studio Ghibli movie to watch. I spend an inordinate amount of time binge watching SVU, Futurama, and Letterkenny, and when I’m not watching I’m listening to “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” or playing the occasional game of D&D. If there’s a nerdy endeavor out there, I’ve probably at least tried it.
