With the much anticipated Season 4 of Doom Patrol in production and rumors swarming about its potential cancelation, let us take a moment to celebrate DC’s strangest group of heroes from comics to screen.

The show stars Brendan Fraser (Cliff Steele), April Bowlby (Rita Farr), Matt Bomer (Larry Trainor), Diane Guerrero (Crazy Jane), amongst others like Joivan Wade (Cyborg— who is not canonically in the Doom Patrol comics), and Timothy Dalton (Chief/ Dr. Niles Caulder) as the loveable misfit superhuman gang known as the Doom Patrol. It has gained popularity amongst superhero fans and the general public due to its relatable characters, relying more on telling a compelling story without the need for complex webs of lore or multiversal high-intensity action shots.

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Doom Patrol leans heavily on its comic book origins, often having characters break the fourth wall and allowing for crude humor and frequent cursing, making it one of the best superhero shows to date. The characters initially created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Bruno Premiani share many similarities and some differences to their DC Universe/ HBO counterparts.

Brendan Fraser plays Cliff Steele, who in the show is a former race car driver-turned-robot after a car wreck completely destroyed his human body. Unfortunately, Dr. Caulder could only salvage his brain, so he transferred Cliff’s brain into a cybernetic one. While he similarly becomes Robotman, Comic-Cliff is known to have been an obsessive daredevil.

Elastiwoman from Batman/**Superman: World’s Finest #2** [Art by Dan Mora, Colors by Tamra Bonvillain]

According to the DC Database, “[Cliff] engaged in every extreme sporting event he could, from spelunking to race car driving. He climbed the Himalayan Mountains, rafted down the Amazon River, and spent six months living in a tribal African village.” Both have memorable one-liners, but nothing can beat TV-Cliff’s colorful vocabulary. Several Reddit users explained it perfectly: while TV-Cliff’s lines may have been written by a 12-year-old, it just works for the character and makes him the lovable ‘80s-hillbilly we want to sympathize with.

Moreover, viewers are able to sympathize with Cliff’s anger and emotional draw in both the comic and show. Once Cliff discovers his daughter Clara is alive, he does everything he can to find her. Although Jane and Cliff find romance in the comics, Cliff becomes a father figure for Jane in the show to fill that hole.

Negative Man — Fanart by chefhatskitchen

April Bowlby plays Rita Farr, aka Elasti-girl, who in the My Greatest Adventure (1963) comic was once an Olympic swimming gold medalist turned Hollywood actress. Unlike Comic-Rita, TV-Rita is never known to be an Olympic swimmer. At Rita’s peak Hollywood fame, she was exposed to unusual substances while shooting a film in Africa. Specifically, Comic-Rita is exposed to volcanic gases. When she gains greater control of her powers, Comic-Rita also discovers that she can expand or shrink her body at will and enlarge one limb at a time.

However, TV-Rita’s cellular structure is too altered and becomes gelatinous after exposure to an underwater toxic gas. In both instances, Rita’s powers allow her to change her body shape but also cause her to struggle with maintaining a solid form. One significant difference between the two is that Comic-Rita eventually marries fellow hero Steve Dayton (Mento), and they adopt Garfield Logan (Beast Boy). In Season 1, Episode 6, Steve is introduced, and the two develop chemistry, eventually sleeping together. However, the relationship quickly ended. Gar and Rita have a loving and familial relationship in HBO’s Titans, but he has yet to appear in Doom Patrol.

Matt Bomer plays Larry Trainor or Negative Man, or affectionately “Mummy face” by Cliff in the comics. Larry was an Air Force test pilot who fused to a negative alien spirit and made radioactive, forcing him to wear lead-lined bandages created by Dr. Caulder. While his origins may hold true in the TV show, one major difference is highlighted in Larry’s struggle with his identity. Specifically, TV Larry tragically hides his homosexuality from his family, compromising his relationship with his on-screen lover as well. Comic-Larry was once fused with a woman named Eleanor Poole by the negative spirit, no longer identifying as an individual and thus becoming hero Rebis; however, TV-Larry’s constant struggle to accept himself, the spirit within him, and his sexuality resonates with audiences and creates diversity in a space that often goes without.

On diversity, Diane Guerrero plays Jane, Crazy Jane, or Kay Challis. Jane is the dominant alter in Challis’s DID system of 64 superhumans—each with its own superpower. The character was created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case for their work on the Vertigo Comics version of Doom Patrol. She first appeared in Doom Patrol Vol. 2 #19 (February 1989) and was not a part of the original Doom Patrol. Guerrero brings refreshing diversity to the cast, not only informing her performance with her personal trauma, according to The Mujerista, but also representing the Latinx community. While the show does not represent how to adequately address a DID system, it emphasizes that Jane respects her system and acknowledges that she has no control over them.

Despite differences between these characters on screen and on the comic-book pages, Doom Patrol emphasizes how one loneliness is seldom felt alone. It further recognizes the bond established through trusting those around you and embracing one’s status as an outcast as part of being an everyday hero.

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