Broken Frontier

As the Blackest Night spreads across the DC Universe, Broken Frontier unearths the histories of several of the players in the event.

SPOILER WARNING: Read no further if you’ve not had the chance to dig into your most recent Blackest Night titles…

As might be expected with a group named “The Doom Patrol,” there ARE a few past members ready to rise from their graves as part of the Blackest Night.  It is a little more challenging to determine exactly WHO might be part of this group of Black Lantern DPers given that the Doom Patrol have had several series, a soft transition from the DC Universe to the Vertigo imprint, a switch back, a complete franchise reboot and a few Superboy-Prime inspired continuity ripples to mix things up.

Arani Desai-Caulder, also known as Celsius, was the wife of Doom Patrol founder, The Chief.  First appearing in the short-lived Doom Patrol revival in Showcase #94-96 (August 1977-January1978), Celsius assembled a new team in the wake of the deaths of the original Doom Patrol (in Doom Patrol #121, October 1968 – although all of them have since been revealed to have survived in one manner or another).  Having met The Chief while she was living in the streets of Calcutta, Celsius was wed and granted immortality and the ability to generate both intense cold and heat.  The pair were soon separated (and it was eventually revealed that the Chief had manipulated Arani into becoming a metahuman much like many other members of the Doom Patrol), and it would not be until years later that Celsius learned of her husband’s death.  On two separate occasions (Showcase #94, August 1977 and Doom Patrol #1, October 1987), Celsius gathered the Doom Patrol together to search for her husband, whom she believed was actually still alive.

As the leader of Doom Patrol, Celsius not only expanded the team roster (adding Lodestone, Karma and Scott Fischer), but faced several foes including her own father, the demonic Kalki (Doom Patrol #3, December 1987).  Ultimately, she and the team did locate the living Chief – a reunion soured by his denial that they had ever been married (a deception that pushed Arani to the point of mental instability).  The Doom Patrol was then immediately thrust into the interstellar conflict known as Invasion!, during which they teamed up with the Sea Devils and Aquaman to stop an alien occupation force in the Arctic.  During the battle, Celsius sacrificed herself to destroy the alien vessel (Doom Patrol #17, January 1989).

Joshua Clay, Tempest (first appearance Showcase #94, August 1977), was born a mutant with the ability to fly and generate kinetic energy blasts.  Electing to serve as a combat medic in Vietnam rather than serve time for crimes he committed as part of a gang, Clay witnessed his sergeant commit horrific crime against non-combatants during the war.  Subconsciously triggering the release of his mutant powers, Clay accidentally killed civilians and, wracked with guilt, went AWOL.  Briefly recruited to the Doom Patrol by Celsius, Clay returned to civilian life when the team dissolved.

Despite using his connections to craft a false identity for himself, Clay was again drawn back to the Doom Patrol as a field agent and conscience to Celsius (Doom Patrol #1, October 1987).   Serving as a mentor to several of the newer members of Doom Patrol, Tempest remained active until following the disastrous mission during Invasion!.  Clay spent the next several years serving as a medic for the Doom Patrol before he was murdered by the Chief (Doom Patrol #55, May 1992) for nearly uncovering one of his schemes.

Briefly a member of Celsius’ Doom Patrol, Wayne Hawkins (Karma, first appearance Doom Patrol #4, January 1988) was a troubled young man with the ability to manipulate probability.  Using his enrolment on the team to hide from the law, Hawkins proved to be a constant source of friction on the team (particularly taking delight in tormenting the straight-laced Scott Fischer).  After leaving the team (Doom Patrol #13, October 1988), Hawkins surfaced as a member of the Suicide Squad, where he died as part of an assault on Circe’s island (Suicide Squad #58, October 1991).

Born with a burning radiation touch, Scott Fischer joined the Doom Patrol (Doom Patrol #6, March 1988) in hopes of learning to better control his power and make a difference in the world.  His altruism and unbridled enthusiasm were, in part, motivated by his diagnosis of leukemia, Fischer's final adventure with the Doom Patrol occurred during the Invasion! conflict;  when the alien invaders detonated a gene bomb to neutralize Earth’s metahumans, it reacted with Scott’s illness, making him the weapon’s only casualty (Invasion! #3, 1988).

Dorothy Spinner initially appeared as a throwaway character early in the 1980s Doom Patrol series (Doom Patrol #14, November 1988) but was added to the team (Doom Patrol #25, August 1989) after Grant Morrison took over the title.  A young girl with a deformity that caused her to appear simian, Spinner also had the ability to bring her imaginary friends to life.  Throughout her life, Spinner was haunted by The Candlemaker, a malevolent egregore seeking to find it’s way into existence through Spinner’s powers.  Spinner managed to consistently hold the Candlemaker at bay, but following the murder of her friend, Joshua Clay, she released it with the promise of Clay’s resurrection.  The Candlemaker help true to its word, bringing Clay back to life, but then promptly murdered him again (along with several other members of the Doom Patrol).  Eventually, through the combined might of Doom Patrol, The Candlemaker was wiped from existence, and the Doom Patrol was disbanded.

A while after, Spinner joined the reformed Doom Patrol (Doom Patrol #64, March 1993), but began regressing mentally over time.  During the existence of a corporate-driven Doom Patrol (Doom Patrol #1-22, December 2001-September 2003), Spinner played a significant role, albeit completely subconsciously.  Having regressed into a vegetative state, her subconscious mind created an “imaginary” Robotman to replace the original (who was presumed dead at the time).  When Robotman resurfaced, the imaginary one disappeared, leaving Spinner with no direct contact with the outside world.  In the final issue of the series, Robotman took pity on the girl, and disconnected her life support (Doom Patrol #22, September 2003).

A male-to-female transsexual, Kate Godwin (first appearance, Doom Patrol #70, September 1993) was working as a prostitute when she had an encounter with Rebis, a radioactive hermaphrodite.  The intercourse with him/her granted Kate the ability to coagulate liquids and dissolve solids.  Taking the name Coagula, Kate became a member of the Doom Patrol, eventually beginning a relationship with Robotman.  During an ill-fated camping trip with Robotman and Dorothy Spinner, Spinner suffered a massive mental breakdown which generated a huge psychic explosion, killing Kate (Doom Patrol #9, August 2002).

Fever (real name, Shyleen Lao) was recruited as part of the corporate Doom Patrol team (she was already a member in her first appearance, Doom Patrol #1, December 2001).  Following the team’s dissolution, Shyleen and her heat generating powers remained marginally active in the DC Universe until she was captured by the Dark Side Club (Teen Titans #59, July 2008).  Brainwashed into taking part in the Club’s gladiatorial games, Shyleen lost to the Ravager and was sentenced to die.  When Ravager refused to kill the unarmed girl, one of the Dark Side Club operatives murdered Shyleen (Terror Titans #1, December 2008).

Nudge (Mi-Sun Kwon, first appearance JLA #94, May 2004), had the ability to psychically plant suggestions in a person’s mind.  Working closely with 6-limbed simian hero Grunt, much of Nudge’s past adventures are now unknown due to the continuity-shifting events of Infinite Crisis (2005-2006).  She did fight alongside several of her team-mates on Oolong Island, where she was recently killed (Doom Patrol #1, August 2009).

Among the potential Doom Patrol Black Lanterns, there are two other possibilities – although both are currently alive;

Cliff Steele, Robotman, is a cyborg, meaning that at some point his human body was laid to rest somewhere (and as demonstrated by Black Lantern Deadman in Blackest Night: Batman, only the physical remains of a person seem to be needed for a Black Lantern ring to raise them).

Additionally, Rita Farr (Elasti-Girl and now Elasti-Woman) was the one member of the original Doom Patrol who remained dead after the series ended (Doom Patrol #121, October 1968).  Her current body is actually cloned by The Chief from a piece of her skull, meaning some her remains may still be at Codsville, Maine.