After an absence, the Doom Patrol is heading back to the DCU, and they’re going after villains the Justice League haven’t bothered with. Unstoppable Doom Patrol’s creative team sheds a light on the heroes’ new antagonists and their plans for DC’s metahumans.
As the Dawn of DC initiative helps bring the Doom Patrol back into the fold, writer Dennis Culver and artist Chris Burnham sat down with Screen Rant to discuss the World’s Strangest Heroes. The subject of conversation eventually turns to what sort of villains the team will encounter, with Culver confirming that classic villains like the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, and General Immortus will be back.
Dennis Culver: But the Doom Patrol needs new villains. So that’s something we’ve been thinking about and building with Metagen. So if there’s the military interests and there’s the super villain interests, then there’s also this corporate interest that wants to exploit metahumans, too.
But there will also be a new type of villain that will be on the Doom Patrol’s radar. In addition to the supervillains and government on the team’s back, the Patrol will also be taking on a new company called Metagen, a company that’s taken an interest in the many metahumans that have sprung up in the wake of Lazarus Planet. Metagen is going after disenfranchised metahumans in the name of profit, potentially making them one of the most sinister villains the Doom Patrol have faced.
Fans got a glimpse of the Doom Patrol’s latest mission in their short story in Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate. With the planet having survived a storm of Lazarus Resin, metahuman activity is higher than ever and numerous people across the globe are finding their lives flipped upside down. However, the Doom Patrol is now making it their business to be the first ones on the scene. Not only to quell any potential calamities, but to make sure the new metahumans are given the respect and care they need to readjust to life.
The Doom Patrol has always gone up against the threats that seem to be ignored by the Justice League and other superhero teams. They’ve had a helping hand in stopping several powerful forces such as the Candlemaker or Retconn, things that could have ended the DC Universe for good. But this new chapter of their lives sees them taking on a smaller, more personal role. After all, they know what it’s like to have their lives upended. The last thing they want to do is sit around and watch as groups like Metagen take advantage of metahumans in the name of money.
Doom Patrol is Picking Up the Justice League’s Slack
While the Justice League is doing their best to protect the world from threats like Darkseid or the Anti-Monitor, the truth is, they can’t be everywhere at once. Smaller villains and organizations tend to slip through the cracks and unfortunately rank lower on the League’s radar than most other things. But that doesn’t mean that metahumans aren’t still suffering by the hands of groups like Metagen who are preying on their financial insecurity. Thankfully, it seems like the metahumans of the world at least have the Doom Patrol looking out for them when the Justice League can’t be bothered to help.
