Doom Patrol #99 is an issue of the series Doom Patrol (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1965.
Synopsis for "The Deadly Sting of the Bug Man"
The Doom Patrol put on a public display wherein Robotman dives off the hand of Elasti-Girl and is saved at the last minute by Larry's Negative Man form. This ends with Robotman almost face planting into the ground and is humiliated when a pennant gets stuck to his face. Larry reveals to the others that he doesn't want to always rely on his Negative Man form and be a real man and fight for himself. Afterwards, Robotman has harsh words with Larry about their appearance to society. On their way out of the stadium, they are attacked by the Bug Man, a criminal inside an insect shaped vehicle that can transform into other insect forms. Initially attacking them in a dragonfly form, Bug Man has his wings plucked by Elasti-Girl and transforms into a spider form and uses it's synthetic webs to trip up the Doom Patrol. They manage to break free and restart their attack. However, the Bug Man escapes by transforming his vehicle into the form of a bee and flies away.
When they return to base, they find the Chief chuckling over the groups bungle, and this causes Larry and Cliff to come to blows. However, the Chief talks them out of a fight and tells them to focus their energy on the Bug Man. When the Bug Man attacks the Doom Patrol once more with an army of mechanical ants, the Patrol at first are out matched. When Elasti-Girl is gassed, the Bug Man manages to escape with Rita as his hostage, due to Larry's reluctance to use his Negative Man form.
At his secret hideout, the Bug Man forces Elasti-Girl into a special cage that will reduce in size, eventually crushing her. Meanwhile, the Chief has geared up his "Action Chair" and tracked the Bug Man to his hideout. With the aid of his advanced chair, he manages to get past all of the Bug Man's traps and confront the villain directly.
When the other members of the Doom Patrol arrive to give the Chief a hand, Bug Man threatens to crush Rita to death with his bare hands and opens her miniaturized cage. However, he didn't expect Rita to be armed with a safety pin that was carelessly left inside the cage, pricking his finger with it when he opens the cage. She then grows to giant size and easily incapacitates him. Leaving the Bug Man's base, Larry uses his Negative Man form to destroy it, and tells the others that he will learn to live with his "other half" in the future.
Appearing in "The Deadly Sting of the Bug Man"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Bug Man (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Beast-Boy"
One night the Doom Patrol returns to their base to find that it's been trashed by what appears to be various different animals. Convinced that the attacker will return, the Doom Patrol set up a trap for them. Sure enough, a figure does appear and they manage to capture it. It turns out to be a green hued boy who can morph into different animals. The Doom Patrol have a hard time capturing the lad, and eventually when they stop him, they learn that he wishes to join the Doom Patrol. He explains to them that the Patrol are the only ones who know about his shape changing powers as well. When Larry, the Chief, and Robotman refuse to let him join the group, Rita changes their minds by reminding them that they were all outcasts without a cause before the Doom Patrol, and they all agree to let the boy participate in at least one mission. Robotman dubs the kid "Beast Boy", much to the lads chagrin.
The next day after class Beast Boy is made fun of by some of his classmates due to his green pallor and he is defended by a girl named Jill. He is picked up by the Doom Patrol, who has the lad help them guard a rare set of jewels on loan from another country to be on display in a parade. Naturally, some criminals attempt to steal them prompting the Doom Patrol and Beast Boy to jump into action and prevent the jewels from being stolen. When the rest of the Doom Patrol is incapacitated due to the crooks preparation for their involvement in the heist, Beast Boy turns out to be the x-factor that trips them up, stopping all the crooks and preventing their theft of the jewels. Later, the Doom Patrol commend Beast Boy for his assistance, he shrugs it off and tells the group that if they ever need his help in the future to give him a call. The Chief is flabbergasted by the boy's attitude and demeanor.
Appearing in "The Beast-Boy"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Beast Boy (Garfield Logan) (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Jillian Jackson (First appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Doom Patrol Archives Vol. 3.
Trivia
- The first feature is told in two parts:
- Pt. I, The Deadly Sting of the Bug Man
- Pt. II, In the Spider's Parlor
- The second feature is also told in two parts:
- Pt. I, The Beast-Boy
- Pt. II, That Kid's Not So Green!
- Despite two advertisements (after the first feature & at the tail-end of the book), the Spectre will not be appearing next issue