Fatal Five (Earth-9)

{{DC Database:Team Template
 * Image                  =
 * OfficialName           = Fatal Five
 * Aliases                =


 * Status                 = Unknown
 * Identity               = Unknown
 * Alignment              = Evil
 * Universe               = Earth-9 (Tangent)
 * BaseOfOperations       = New York City (former)
 * TeamLeaders            = [[Shadow Thief (Earth-9)]
 * CurrentMembers         = Shadow Thief, Ice, Kid Psycho, Deathstroke, Count Viper
 * FormerMembers          =
 * Allies                 = Unknown
 * Enemies                = The Atom (Earth-9)
 * Quotation          = Why, it's the son of our most famous victim! How nice of you to come and give us the chance to relieve old glories.
 * Speaker            = Ice
 * Origin                 = Unknown
 * PlaceOfFormation       =
 * Creators               = Dan Jurgens
 * First                  = My Greatest Adventure #80


 * HistoryText            =

Career
The Doom Patrol now work out of a base on Oolong Island.


 * Equipment              =
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =


 * Notes                  =


 * CustomSection1         = Publication History
 * CustomText1            =

Origins and X-Men
In his forward to the Doom Patrol Archives Volume 1, Drake relates how the anthology titles that DC was publishing at the time were floundering and he was asked to come up with a new superhero title. Drake jokes that he was told this on a Thursday and was to present his idea on Tuesday. Developing the basic concept and two characters (Elasti-Girl and "Automaton" (later Robotman)) that night, he enlisted fellow writer Bob Haney, and they, 90 miles apart, finalized the concept.

The first appearance of the Doom Patrol pre-dated that of the X-Men by a scant three months. The vague similarity in concept (group of misfits led by a mysterious wheel-chair bound genius, and similarly named enemies (Brotherhood of Evil and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants)) has led to speculation as to the relation between them, if any.

According to Comic Coverage: Which Came First: The Mutant or The Freak?, creator Arnold Drake felt:


 * "...I’ve become more and more convinced that (Stan Lee) knowingly stole The X-Men from The Doom Patrol. Over the years I learned that an awful lot of writers and artists were working surreptitiously between (Marvel and DC). Therefore from when I first brought the idea into (DC editor) Murray Boltinoff’s office, it would’ve been easy for someone to walk over and hear that (I was) working on a story about a bunch of reluctant superheroes who are led by a man in a wheelchair. So over the years I began to feel that Stan had more lead time than I realized. He may well have had four, five or even six months."



My Greatest Adventure and Doom Patrol Vol 1 1963-1968 (Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani)
The group debuted in in 1963. By issue #86, the title was renamed Doom Patrol and lasted until #124. Issues 122-124 were reprints, the team having been killed off in #121. Both Murray Boltinoff and Bruno Premiani appear in the final tale, saying that only the readers can save the Patrol from their fate.

Doom Patrol Vol 2 1987-1995 (Grant Morrison)
Doom Patrol (Volume 2) began publication in 1987 and continued until 1995 spanning a total of 87 issues, 2 annuals and a collaborative special edition (with the Suicide Squad). For the first 18 issues, the series writers crafted the book in the style of a traditional super-hero comic. With issue #19, writer Grant Morrison further developed the team in an effort to expand upon their reputation as "misfits". New characters were added and the overall dynamic of the book evolved, encompassing a more mature and esoteric tone. With issue #64, the Doom Patrol became part of the Vertigo family of titles and remained as such until its cancellation.

Doom Patrol Vol 3 2001-2003
Doom Patrol (Volume 3) was published from December of 2001 until September of 2003. The team was revived with a completely new cast of characters and a slightly altered version of the classic Robotman character.

Doom Patrol Vol 4 2004-2006 (John Byrne)
This series, written and illustrated by John Byrne ignored previous continuity and introduced some new characters.



In an interview at UGO Byrne discusses the changes:
 * UGO: The initial press releases about Doom Patrol created a lot of angry responses because you were sidestepping established continuity. When you were doing Fantastic Four for Marvel, you could create a story around an obscure character or continuity point, but with Superman you began to move away from continuity. What's made you move in that direction? And what draws you to a group of characters like Doom Patrol if you strip away their history?


 * JOHN: Doom Patrol and Superman are the only titles, out of dozens I have worked on, that I have "rebooted." This is not my first choice. In fact, in both cases, the suggestion came from the editorial level. Dick Giordano wanted me to start Superman from scratch, and it was Mike who first invoked the words "Man of Steel" in reference to the Doom Patrol. Stripping away history is never the goal, in any case. Digging down and finding history that has often been buried or lost is more the issue. Doom Patrol, for instance, had drifted far, far, far from its roots. If the object was to get back to them, we reasoned, we could spend six issues undoing a lot of what had gone before, or we could spare potential new readers all that and just hit "rewind." So we end up with the book I am doing, which has much more in common with the Drake/Premiani version that what followed.

Doom Patrol Vol 5 2009- Present (Keith Giffen)
Series debuts August 5, 2009.



Keith Giffen discusses his approach on the new series at Newsarama:
 * The Doom Patrol are heroes in spite of themselves. They're heroes who gained their powers through tragic circumstances. They do not look at themselves as superheroes. They view themselves as freaks and outcasts. They're the ultimate superhero dysfunctional family. They didn't make the leap from, OK, I've got these powers so I'm going to be a superhero. They were kind of forced into making that leap. One of the hardest things for me is always to make that jump from, OK, Tim you've got superpowers and you can fly, so now you're going to spend all your time fighting crime. I wouldn't be out there fighting crime if I could fly. I'd be making millions, making personal appearances around the country. I'd do the Spider-Man route, or I might stop the burglar, but then I'd soak in the limelight.


 * I'm just going to keep using new characters as much as I can. I'm not going to be the guy who just pages through the DC Encyclopedia and chooses a villain of the month. I want the character to have some kind of resonance with the Doom Patrol.


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Teen Titans
Season 5 of Teen Titans focuses on Beast Boy a great deal, as it deals with his history as a member of the animated series' incarnation of the Doom Patrol. Until "Homecoming", in which his former teammates make a guest appearance, Beast Boy was the only member of the Doom Patrol to appear on the show. In the second episode of the fifth season, Beast Boy becomes the first male Titan in the series to be explicitly referred to by his real name (Garfield). In "Titans Together", Beast Boy leads Herald, Jericho, Pantha, and Más on an assault on the Brotherhood of Evil. He remains the leader even after other Titans such as Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven join the fight, and only stands down from leadership when Robin is thawed.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and The Bold Vol 1 7: TBD




 * Recommended            =

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 * Links                  =
 * Unca Cheeks' Fabulous Freaks article on the Doom Patrol (Part One)
 * Gloom and Doom article on the Doom Patrol at Comics101
 * Hall of Justice: The Doom Patrol by Alan Kistler, at Fanzing (1999)
 * Comic Coverage: Which Came First: The Mutant or The Freak?