Laura De Mille (New Earth)

Madame Rouge
Mainstream Universe‎‎, 1950s-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Laura De Mille
Main Alias	Madame Rouge
Relatives	Gemini De Mille (daughter)
Affiliation	Brotherhood of Evil
Base Of Operations	L'école des Filles, Paris, France
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	French
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Actress, Teacher
Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5' 6"
Weight	134 lbs (61 kg)
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	Earth-One · New Earth
Creators	Arnold Drake · Bruno Premiani
First Appearance	Doom Patrol #86 (March, 1964)
Appearance of Death	New Teen Titans #15 (January, 1982)

I am my own master now! I weel gather my own forces! Zen our march begins! And ze first target is -- you, cheri! I weel not rest until you are -- dead! Sweet dreams, my "love!"

— Madame Rouge

Laura De Mille was Madame Rouge, a leading member of the Brotherhood of Evil. After her death, she was succeeded by her daughter Gemini.

History

Laura De Mille was originally a French stage actress. After an automobile accident, she developed a dual good/evil split personality. At this point, she attracted the notice of The Brain and his associate, Monsieur Mallah. With Mallah's help, the Brain performed surgery on De Mille that was, from his perspective, successful, sublimating her good personality and allowing her evil personality to remain dominant. As Madame Rouge, De Mille became the only female member of the Brotherhood of Evil, and assisted the Brotherhood in its continuing conflicts against the Doom Patrol. At first, Madame Rouge was simply a master of disguise; subsequent surgery by the Brain eventually gave her the ability to alter her appearance and stretch her limbs.

Later, Rouge's split personality manifested again, with her good personality occasionally appearing. Rouge was romantically linked to the Doom Patrol's leader, Niles Caulder ("The Chief"), who was able to help Rouge overcome her evil side and ally with the Doom Patrol.

Ultimately, Rouge's mind reverted to its evil state, causing her to seek vengeance against both the Brotherhood of Evil and the Doom Patrol for their previous interference. She was apparently successful in murdering both groups. Years later, Robotman and the Teen Titans tracked down Rouge and her ally, General Zahl. Beast Boy (then Changeling) killed Rouge, although at the moment of her death, her good side apparently manifested, she forgave Changeling and called to Niles, her apparent true love.

Madame Rouge's daughter, Gemini, also a shapeshifter, appeared years later to seek revenge against Beast Boy.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Elasticity: The Brain developed a ray that changed Madame Rouge's molecular structure, allowing her body to stretch and shape with ease.
  • Shape-shifting/Disguise: She could also manipulate her facial features, enhancing her ability to function covertly.
  • Mimicry: As well as looking like anyone she chose, she could presumably also replicate their voices. She managed to convince all of the Doom Patrol members that she was Rita, Larry, and even Cliff.

Abilities

• Acting: Before turning towards a life of crime, Laura De Mille was a successful stage actress.
  • Deception: Even before gaining her powers, Madame Rouge was capable of playing a part, such as Gabrielle Soullet who toyed with Larry's emotions.
• Pedagogy: Madame Rouge taught at the exclusive Parisian school, L'école des Filles.

Weaknesses

• Multiple Personalities: Madame Rouge suffered brain damage from a car accident, resulting in extreme mood swings diagnosed as schizophrenia. She was deceived by Mallah who claimed to operate in order to subdue her malicious persona, instead amplifying it and inducting her into the Brotherhood. Both The Brain and The Chief simultaneously used subliminal messages to make her good and evil personas dominant, eventually causing Madame Rouge to literally split in two. Her dual personalities fought to kill one another until the evil side fell on her own blade and melted away.

Notes

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Related

• 47 Appearances of Laura De Mille (New Earth)
• 11 Images featuring Laura De Mille (New Earth)
• 1 Quotations by or about Laura De Mille (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Laura De Mille (New Earth)

Footnotes

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Madame Rouge. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Doom Patrol Villain(s) This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of the Doom Patrol at some point in their career. This pertains to all incarnations of the Patrol throughout history. Including but not restricted to their arch-enemies the Brotherhood of Evil. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Doom Patrol villains."

Titans Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Teen Titans, the Titans, or any of the other various Titans incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans Villains" category.