TV Review: Doom Patrol - Weirdness at its Finest

The Doom Patrol is definitely one of DC's lesser known super teams. The most they've been seen outside comics are guest appearances in animated series like Teen Titans and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. After their debut appearance in an episode of "Titans", I was really looking forward to their forth-coming spin-off series. While I thought "Titans" was just okay, "Doom Patrol" shows the true potential of the DC Universe streaming service, giving characters who have had little to no spotlight shined on them.

In comparison to "Titans", "Doom Patrol" is so much better in terms of structure, from story pacing and character story arcs. I was immediately sucked in with the first episode just from the opening credits alone. The main characters and tone are firmly established in that you connect with them and know what to expect for the rest of the season, and what you can expect is weirdness. Lots of weirdness from start to finish. So much so that you'll be quoting Cliff's unofficial catchphrase "What the fuck?" throughout the series. Story wise, we're given a lot more time to breathe with some smaller subplots throughout that allow us to get to know the characters better. And while the season does wrap up quite quickly and has set-up for a season two, you can still watch season one by itself with no worry of being left on a cliff-hanger.

While it shares the same mature nature of "Titans", "Doom Patrol" is able to make use of it in a way that isn't distracting. The constant f-bombs in "Titans" came off as juvenile and trying to be edgy for the sake of it; it's equivalent to Fant4stic in attempting to make lighthearted characters more gritty. "Doom Patrol" is like the Deadpool movies in a way, as its mature nature is prominent, but the weirdness of everything else happening helps balance things out.

But what really makes this series so great are the characters. Because initially, these characters are not heroes. A good way of looking at it is that Doom Manor is kind of a halfway house for super people. Even before their accidents, these were not good people. A major part of the series are these initially selfish characters trying to find closure for their past mistakes and traumas in an attempt to become better people.

I don't think there's one bad actor on this show. Even characters like Cliff/Robotman and Larry/Negative Man, whose faces are covered up in some way, shine thanks to their voices and the subtle facial ticks coming through; and going off that, I applaud the character designs and costumes on the show with a good mix of practical and special effects.

My favorite character of the series is probably Cliff Steele, the Robotman, played by Brendan Fraser. This is probably Fraser's biggest role in quite some time and it's nice to see he hasn't lost his touch. Cliff's origin story is the most heartbreaking of all the characters in my opinion, and Fraser's performance, even through his voice alone, tugs at the heartstrings. I think I also like him because he's pretty much the most open out of all the characters. He's quick to point out how weird something is (usually cursing while doing it) and tries to get the others to talk about their own problems as well.

My second favorite is Crazy Jane, played by Diane Guerrero. Jane has multiple personalities, each with a different super power. Guerrero shows she has great range as she pulls off many different character types, from the hot-tempered Hammerhead, the child-like Baby Doll, and the hopeless romantic Karen, just to name a few.

Jane and Cliff share my favorite relationship of the series where we see a budding surrogate father-daughter dynamic develop, as the characters attempt to fill voids left from their old lives.

Joivan Wilde is our second live-action Cyborg in the last few years, and no disrespect to Ray Fisher, but Wilde is the better between the two. Cyborg's strained relationship with his father and his balance struggle of man and machine are much more prominent in this series, and honestly, Wilde offers more emotion in his performance. There's just more character to connect to here compared to the movies.

The show probably has the some of the strangest villains you will ever see, from Ezekiel the Cockroach, Admiral Whiskers, the Beardhunter and the Decreator. But none of them are quite as entertaining as our big bad of the season, Mr. Nobody, played by Alan Tudyk. Tudyk has done voice work for a number of projects for both DC (like Green Arrow in both "Young Justice" and "Injustice") and Disney (like Alistair Crei in "Big Hero 6" and King Candy in "Wreck-It Ralph"), and you would recognize him in real life from roles such as Steve the Pirate in the movie "Dodgeball." Tudyk has this eccentric personality that shines through in all his performances, and Mr. Nobody is no different. Nobody is able to warp reality, which allows him to do things like create a donkey that sucks up an entire town into a pocket dimension inside its stomach (and that's just the first two episodes). He also constantly breaks the fourth wall, sometimes providing narration, so there's a lot of fun and meta-humor to be had with the character. As you'd expect, a character like that can be pretty unhinged, so it's really hard to picture anyone else by Tudyk in the role.

"Titans" may not have been the best original series to kick off DC Universe, but any room for improvement was proven and accomplished with "Doom Patrol". It's unlike any superhero movie or show before. The Doom Patrol's first appearance in the comics billed them as the "world's strangest heroes" and I feel the show captures that sentiment.

Stories I'd Like To See in the MCU "What If...?" Animated Series

Since 1977, Marvel Comics have both regularly and irregularly thought of what would happen had certain stories happened a different way in a series called "What If...?" Soon, that question will be posed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a new animated series coming to the Disney+ streaming service. The first episode confirmed for the series will be what if Peggy Carter became the first super soldier. There is a lot of potential with the series, and I wanted to share the stories I think would be interesting, would like to see done, and my own thought process of how said events would go.

WHAT IF BETTY ROSS BECAME THE HULK?

The idea of Betty Ross becoming a Hulk has been done in both the mainstream and Ultimate Marvel comics, but what if she had been the one originally exposed to gamma radiation instead of Bruce Banner? The relationship that would be most affected in this situation would be with Betty and her father, General Thaddeus Ross. If Betty went on the run (with or without Bruce), Ross' tactics in trying to find the Hulk would probably just be as obsessive, but more likely as a father than a military man. Then again, Ross has been shown to lie to Betty, as he did in "The Incredible Hulk", not telling her that he wanted to find Bruce to weaponize the Hulk. Ross may convince Betty to work with him to help her try to understand the Hulk, hiding his true intentions.

WHAT IF CAPTAIN AMERICA WAS NEVER FOUND?

Without Captain America being revived in the 21st century after being frozen in ice during World War II, the MCU would be a very different place. It wouldn't be an overstatement that the MCU's moral compass would be lost. With a bunch of hotheads like Tony, Thor, Natasha, and Bruce, the Avengers may really be as dangerous as Ross viewed them to be in "Civil War". While I could see the team being able to thwart the Chitauri invasion without Cap, the events of "Winter Soldier" may have been the true turning point. Bucky wouldn't have had his old memories stirred up, but more importantly, would Fury have been able to trust anyone else with what he found out about "Project Insight"?

WHAT IF LOKI TOOK CONTROL OF NICK FURY?

When Loki arrived on Earth in the first "Avengers" film, he used the Mind Stone placed in his scepter to take control of some who were present, including Erik Selvig and Clint Barton. Nick Fury was also there, only to be shot by the controlled Barton. But what if Loki didn't just try to take Fury out, but wanted him as another minion? Loki could potentially have even more of SHIELD at his disposal to use to create a portal with the Tesseract for the Chitauri, with less opposition to stand in his way. Would anyone within SHIELD like Coulson or Hill go underground and try to recruit the Avengers themselves? Would anyone even realize what was happening within SHIELD until Thor arrived to find Loki? Going off that, would Thor even have allies to help him against Loki's plans?

WHAT IF TONY STARK USED EXTREMIS?

Tony has said it himself that he's a mad scientist. He's been known to take risks and use whatever he has at his disposal to further his mission to protect the people; the best example is using the Mind Stone to create Ultron, which obviously didn't go so well. But in another potential instance of something not going well, what if Tony had decided to look more into Extremis after the events of "Iron Man 3"? He may perfect it the best he could and use it on himself. On one hand, it would be a way for him to defend himself in case he's unable to access his armor, but Tony would most likely also be able to craft an armor that amplifies the Extremis, powering the suit or making more weapons based around it. Of course, the biggest drawback would be the psychological effects. Based on what we've seen with Killian, Savin, and other Extremis users, they seem to have a few screws loosened, as well as violent tendencies. Even Pepper had to collect herself after the brutal way she killed Killian while she was under Extremis. Tony's relationships with Pepper and the other Avengers could be greatly affected with his Extremis use.

WHAT IF HULK NEVER LEFT EARTH?

In Hulk's last scene in "Age of Ultron", he chooses to close himself off from the world and drift wherever the Quinjet takes him. But what if Bruce was able to take back control, transform back and follow Natasha's directions to get back to them? Where would Bruce and Natasha's relationship go from there? Furthermore, how would Hulk's presence affect "Civil War"? It's easy to see Bruce choosing Cap's side based on his distrust of Ross alone. But who's to say Tony wouldn't be able to sway Bruce over to the Pro-Registration side? Tony's been able to convince Bruce to do things before, such as their creations of both Ultron and Vision. Whichever side he would choose, it's a sure thing the airport battle would have been a lot more one sided with a Hulk thrown in there. This would also affect Thor's story in "Ragnarok". Without Hulk on Sakaar, would Thor's escape be easier, harder, or possible at all? Would Hela have had no true obstacles in her way? 

WHAT IF HANK PYM WENT SUB-ATOMIC?

To stop a missile, Janet Van Dyne as the Wasp shrank down to sub-atomic level in order to disable it and save scores of people. In doing so, she was lost in the Quantum Realm for 30 years. But had Hank Pym's suit regulator not been damaged, what if he had gone through what Janet did? Janet's very intelligent in her own right, but I have a feeling the biggest secrets of the Pym Particles would be lost with Hank. Hank also made many mistakes after losing Janet, both in raising Hope and his business practices. Would she be more open with Hope compared to her father? And with Janet most likely the beneficiary of Hank's assets, including Pym Technologies, she would probably run things much differently, probably grooming Hope to take over rather than Darren Cross. Admittedly, Hank and Scott Lang get screwed in this scenario. No Cross means no recruitment of Scott, who most likely ends up barely scrapping by after getting out of prison. No Scott also means he doesn't travel to and from the Quantum Realm and wouldn't entangle with Hank like he did with Janet. So yeah, Hank would pretty much be trapped forever.

WHAT IF THE AVENGERS REMAINED ASSEMBLED?

Aside from Tony finding out Bucky killed his parents, the Sokovia Accords introduced in "Civil War" was the focal point that fractured the Avengers. Tony rallied half the team to sign while Steve was against government oversight. But what if things happened in a way that they were able to see the other's way? Maybe Tony missed Miriam Sharp and wasn't swayed into thinking about accountability. Or maybe Tony chose his words more carefully when convincing Steve to sign while in Berlin. How would the Avengers fair working with the government or working in the shadows? And more importantly, would a more united front have prevented Thanos from achieving his goal? 

WHAT IF SPIDER-MAN JOINED THE AVENGERS?

Yes, Tony officially declared Peter an Avenger in "Infinity War", but Peter had an opportunity to join prior to that. This scenario is asking what would happen had Peter accepted Tony's offer at the end of "Spider-Man: Homecoming", which in he had rejected the offer feeling he wasn't ready yet. Peter also assumed it was a test, not knowing there was a press conference waiting for his debut. It's also worth noting that Peter revealing his identity was a potential ending considered for "Homecoming". So what if Peter took that leap? How does a 15 year old kid handle the spotlight as a publicly known superhero and member of the Avengers? How would this affect Aunt May, Ned, and his other friends? Based on what happened when Peter revealed his identity in the comics, it probably wouldn't go well.

And those are my ideas for the "What If?" series with the most potential. What stories would you like to see? Leave a comment and let's get the discussion going.

Retro Review: "Batman: The Gift" - Fool's Gold

Next month, I intend to review the soon to be completed "Heroes in Crisis" miniseries in what will surely be the DC equivalent to my Civil War II review. But before that, I wanted to talk about a precursor to that story that involves the book's writer, Tom King, and one of the main characters, Booster Gold.

Michael Jon Carter was a disgraced football player in the 25th century until taking a security job at a superhero museum allowed him to steal certain items, including one of the museum security robots named Skeets, to travel back in time to make a name for himself as a superhero. He became Booster Gold, and he did not hide the fact that he was in it for fame and money. As time went on though and having to go through personal tragedies, Booster would begin to act more like a real hero. However, his old reputation still makes other heroes look down on and reluctant to work with him. This is also a sentiment some writers tend to have as well.

Tom King entered the comic industry in 2013 and after a number of works at both Marvel and DC, he eventually became the writer for Batman as part of the Rebirth initiative, which he continues to write. King's Batman run has had its ups and downs for me. His first few arcs were just okay, but starting with "The Button", a crossover story with the Flash, his run really started to hit its stride for me. This was partly because he was bringing something new to the character: his engagement to Selina Kyle/Catwoman. It really seemed like the wedding was going to happen, but Selina would end up leaving Bruce at the altar; but due to this happening because of Bane's machinations, I don't think their story is over just yet, especially since King's plan is a 100 issue run, and we're almost three-fourths of the way done. After the non-wedding though, the book's back to hit and miss for me, with the worst part of his run so far being a seven issue arc called "Knightmares" that did nothing to move his story forward at all.

That brings us to today's story, "The Gift", a three-parter in the Batman book that was one of several stories meant to lead up to the wedding, and one that I had mixed feelings about when it first came out. As we look at this story, I plan to prove one thing: Tom King doesn't get Booster Gold.

Part one begins in Gotham City, which looks even shittier than usual with constant fires going through this arc. Green Lantern Hal Jordan is talking crazy to Booster Gold stating he can do anything with enough will power, like blasting himself in the head with his ring and survive. Hal does this and does not actually survive. And it just occured to me that between this and Deadpool 2, 2018 was a popular year for Ryan Reynolds characters killing themselves. Booster's reaction is as follows: "That was...intense. Seriously intense. But y'know...also admittedly, a little bit, or kind of...awesome!" I think this gives you an idea of the kind of Booster that Tom King is giving us.
Booster tells Skeets that they should go find Batman as Skeets tells Booster this is the worst thing he's ever done. Booster indeed finds Batman, but it's a gun-toting one that attempts to kill Booster, and Skeets' scans reveal that this Batman is actually Dick Grayson. After the two are able to escape Bat-Dick, Booster says they need to go find Bruce Wayne, locating him dancing with his mother at his parents' anniversary party.
During all this, we get an idea of the state of Gotham and see where other Bat-related characters are. Tim Drake works at a cubicle at Wayne Enterprises, Jason Todd sells tires that shock people who try to steal them (because irony), Duke Thomas has been lobotomized, Oswald Cobblepot is the President, Ra's al Ghul rules over a combined Europe and Asia, and some kind of disease runs rampant in Gotham that turns people as crazy and violent as the Joker, only effecting the lower classes of the city.
So how did it get so bad? Because of Booster of course. He tells Bruce he wanted to get a wedding gift for him and Catwoman and thought about the time Superman was in a dream world where Krypton never exploded, but it wasn't perfect, which made Superman appreciate the life he does have. So he thought he could do the same thing for Bruce by using Skeets to go back in time and save his parents' lives, so Bruce could see how bad things would be and that he'd have more appreciation for the life he has once he sets things back. Bruce admits he's had dreams of his life as Batman and thanks Booster for doing what he did...and proceeds to destroy Skeets with a fireplace poker, having Alfred escort Booster out of Wayne Manor as Bruce returns to the party.

While the ending of part one does subvert expectations with Bruce allowing the world to go to hell as long as he has his parents, the premise of this story alone has major problems.
1. The story Booster is referring to that served as his inspiration was "For the Man Who Has Everything." In that story, Superman had been tricked into having an alien plant latch onto him by the villain Mongul. The plant is the Black Mercy, which places its victim in a coma where their mind lives out their heart's desire while the plant feeds off the victim's body. I think when Booster heard this story, he wasn't paying close attention. Mongul gave Superman the Black Mercy to kill him, not make him appreciate his life. And Superman was trapped in a dream world which he slowly woke up from; his real life wasn't changed. It's also worth noting that this story was written by Alan Moore, and this is something we'll get into more with "Heroes in Crisis", but Tom King has a tendency to try and emulate Moore.
2. "The Gift" comes only two months off "Booster Shot", a story that shows Booster as a competent hero. Superman had just discovered that his father Jor-El had been transported away from Krypton just before its destruction by an unknown force (though believed to be Dr. Manhattan from "Watchmen") and forced to witness all of the travesties humans have committed on Earth. Believing he made a mistake sending his son to a world with no hope, he became the villain Mr. Oz. Shaken and still unwilling to believe this revelation, Superman uses Flash's Cosmic Treadmill to travel back in time to just before Krypton exploded to see for himself. After failing to arrive in time to stop him, Booster and Skeets chase after Superman because his interference could break time itself, either with Superman trying to save Krypton or dying with the rest of his people. Making sure the timestream is kept in tact and that certain events happen as intended is another role Booster has taken on in the character's history. I am really wondering what happened to Booster between these stories to pull a 180 like this. In "Booster Shot", while he was aware of Superman's well intentions, Booster still knew there was temptation for Superman to try and help. Even if Booster was planning to fix things, where was this concern that Bruce would try and keep the life he has with his parents alive? Hell, things aren't just bad in Gotham, but part two reveals that without Bruce's presence and his strategic knowledge, the Justice League died in battle.
3. This is more of a nitpick, but why is Dick Grayson Batman? I have no doubt that Dick would become a vigilante after his parents' murders and that he would be more bloodthirsty without Bruce to guide him, but why would he specifically become Batman? Did this Dick have some kind of traumatic experience involving bats too?

Part two picks up one year later, with Booster breaking Catwoman out of Arkham Asylum. This version though is a serial killer who can only make cat noises. Booster's plan is to have Bruce meet Selina, realize he loves her, and that will make Bruce want Booster to make the world right again. Again, this is an altered timeline, not a dream. This Bruce and Selina have never met and are extremely different from their mainstream counterparts. This is obviously not a good plan, though Booster thinks all she needs is a leather catsuit. Booster sews the costume (seen on the cover at the top of the page) and it quite resembles the one worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in "Batman Returns"; it's a good homage and fits well given the psychotic nature of these versions of the character.
Later at Wayne Manor, Bruce is with his father who has just recovered from a heart attack. Booster and Catwoman arrive and that's when things go south. After slashing Alfred's neck with her claws, Selina begins scratching away at Thomas only to be stopped by Bat-Dick, who shoots her in the back. Bat-Dick then throws flashbomb/smokebomb at Booster which knocks him out. Bat-Dick then moves to put down Selina once and for all, but he's close enough for her to slice off the tips of his fingers, causing him to drop his gun. The two battle as Martha arrives trying to reach Thomas. Bat-Dick uses another of his guns to shoot Selina again, this bullet going through and also hitting Martha. Bruce picks up the dropped gun from before and fires it right between Bat-Dick's eyes. Bruce screams "NO!" in anguish, surrounded by the bodies of his butler, parents, Bat-Dick and Catwoman. The only other living party is Booster, who has no idea of the bloodbath he caused. "Did I do it? I bet I did it. I'm a hero. I always do it. I have to do it. I saved the world." Booster, with heroes like you, who needs villains?

Part three picks up another year later as Bruce has had his company rebuild Skeets, intending to go back in time one year and save his parents. Unfortunately, Skeets can only be operated by voice command, and that being Booster's. Bruce reluctantly has to use Booster, who he has kept chained beneath the caverns of Wayne Manor in what would have been the Batcave. Booster's also worse for ware, with his hair and beard long and shaggy and body wasting away.

After having Booster cleaned up and reunited with Skeets, Bruce tells Booster to have Skeets take them back in time so he can kill Batman and Catwoman before they kill his parents, return them to the present, and then he'll kill Booster. Booster then tells Skeets to take them back to the night Bruce's parents were killed with a not so subtle wink. Bruce notices and after some rambling dialogue between the two as Skeets powers up, they're all transported back to that night in Crime Alley, but Skeets is shot by Bruce, jumping in the way to save Booster.
The past Booster and Skeets who prevented the Waynes' deaths arrive knowing its time to undo that, with past Booster not analyzing the situation well as past Skeets starts to put the pieces together. Present Booster tries to get Bruce's gun away, but it ends up shooting and killing past Booster (which means all of this story should have been prevented, but when it comes to time travel, it's basically dealer's choice in how the writer wants to handle it). This distracts Bruce long enough for events to play out as they should, with Joe Chill killing Thomas and Martha in front of young Bruce. Unable to handle the trauma, the older Bruce shoots himself in the head, with his blood splattering on Booster.
The story ends with the surviving Booster and Skeets returning to the proper present, telling Batman (Bruce) and Catwoman what he had done, hoping it would make him feel better and that despite his visor being clean, he still sees the other Bruce's blood on it.

If all you know of Booster Gold is his reputation as the moronic showboat, this story may not be so bad for you, but those who have seen his more competent side may find it frustrating. Booster may not be the smartest guy, but he is not as idiotic as Tom King writes him to be in this story. Even taking Booster's characterization out of the equation, it's kind of a mean-spirited and exploitive story as we see familiar characters act so differently. At the same time though, it's almost like watching a multi-car pile-up, where it's fascinating to see just how much worse things can get, this case being Booster's actions. So upon re-reading it, I still have mixed feelings, but it's definitely not better the second time around. If I had to give this story any positive points, it's that Tony Daniel's art is on point as usual.

The events of this story lead Booster to get some therapy at Sanctuary, the secret superhero rehab facility, which is the focus of "Heroes in Crisis". Come back next month as I give my thoughts on that story, where I won't be as lenient as I was with this one.