We're going to save the world, or whatever, and then I will have a stiff Manhattan and go to bed. 
- — Rita Farr src
Rita Farr (born Gertrude Cramp) is a former Hollywood actress. After an experiment engineered by Doctor Niles Caulder transformed her into a physically unstable and elastic metahuman, Caulder took in Rita and made her a member of the Doom Patrol. Originally selfish and standoffish, Rita became more kind, generous, empathetic, and even heroic as she formed close bonds with her teammates.
Contents
History
Childhood
Gertrude Cramp was born the late 1920s to Vance and Addie Cramp. When Gertrude was a girl, she developed an insatiable desire to become an actress, which her parents supported. However, because "Gertrude Cramp" wasn't seen as a marketable name, Gertrude picked up the new stage name - "Rita Farr".
In 1930, Gertrude won a pageant and received a chance to meet the famed actress Ethel Singer. Her parents took Gertrude to meet the actress in Hollywood. [1]
In 1933, when Gertrude was a little girl and she lived with her mother in Burbank, California, she was traumatized when she secretly saw her mother Addie have sex with a producer to get Gertrude an important acting part.
Film Career
Years later, in the 1950s, Rita was climbing the latter of stardom and had made a connection with a producer named Gene. In exchange for finding Gene actresses to sexually exploit, Rita was awarded roles in his films.
Though Rita justified her actions with the fact that the exploited women also went on to become successful actors due to Gene's connection, Rita's actions caught up to her when, in 1955, one of Gene's women returned nine months later, having been forced to carry his bastard child. Rita was instructed to deal with the woman and offered her $100 to drop the issue and go away. Though the woman left, Rita would find out later that week that the woman killed herself, leaving her baby orphaned. Wracked with guilt, Rita considered adopting the child, but, when she came to her decision, Gene offered her the leading role in his upcoming picture - "Forbidden Congo" - an opportunity she couldn't pass up. [2]
Rita went to Africa in 1955 to film Forbidden Congo. There, while on set, Rita walked onto a flimsy and unstable dock and accidentally fell into a lake, where she made contact with a mysterious green substance that made her body highly elastic. Both the weak dock and the green substance were thanks to the work of a scientist named Niles Caulder, who was performing experiments to find immortality and using unaware innocents as guinea pigs. Unable to control her body from grossly contorting, Rita's film career floundered. The starlet reflected on the decisions she had made to get to that point - the women she had allowed to be exploited and the baby who she played a part in orphaning - and accepted the transformation as her karma punishment.[3]
Meeting the Chief
Some time later, likely during the same year, Rita met Caulder in person, unaware he had caused her "accident". Feeling bad for what he felt he'd had to do, Caulder, who Rita later came to know as the Chief, invited her to stay in his home, making her the first of many of his experiments to do so.
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Powers and Abilities
Powers
Abilities
Notes
- This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the television series Doom Patrol and is an adaptation of Rita Farr/Elasti-Girl. The original character was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80.
- Rita Farr is portrayed as an adult by April Bowlby and as a kid by Lana Jean Turner.
- Another version of Rita Farr, also portrayed by April Bowlby, had earlier appeared in the Titans episode "Doom Patrol".
- Though she has never taken the superhero name in the show, promotional marketing officially provided by DC Comics identified Rita as "Elasti-Woman". [4]
Related
- 25 Appearances of Gertrude Cramp (Doom Patrol TV Series)
- 5 Images featuring Gertrude Cramp (Doom Patrol TV Series)
- 1 Quotations by or about Gertrude Cramp (Doom Patrol TV Series)
- Character Gallery: Gertrude Cramp (Doom Patrol TV Series)
Footnotes
 Doom Patrol member |
