After a wacky second series of Doom Patrol was cut an episode short by the pandemic, it’s a pleasant experience to see the third series finally get a full trailer. Showcasing fan favourites as Garguax and Madame Rouge, the Brotherhood Of Evil and the Sisterhood Of Dada, and even The Brain and Monsieur Mallah, the series looks set to continue the trend of being inspired almost completely by Grant Morrison and Richard Case’s epic run, which is infamously zany and twisted and absolutely essential reading for every fan of the television programme.

Doom Patrol’s third season looks just as crazy as the first two, if not more so. Fans of the series will be now fluent in the craziness of Grant Morrison’s run, whether they’ve read their run or not. We covered Doom Patrol, explaining what the team actually is, here. We also covered an in-depth look at Grant Morrison as they came out as non-binary here. Most characters of the core Doom Patrol team are returning; we shall breakdown the newly arriving antagonists for the third series below.

Madame Rouge

Michelle Gomez, known to popular culture fanatics mostly as portraying the time-travelling Time Lord Missy in Doctor Who between 2014 and 2017, takes centre stage in Doom Patrol’s third season trailer as… a time travelling Madame Rouge. Rouge is mostly known in the comics as a shapeshifting elasticity-wielding megalomaniac member of the Brotherhood of Evil. Madame Rouge is the counterpart to Rita Farr’s Elasti-Girl, suffers from a “split personality” after a horrific car accident, and given her special powers by The Brain. The trailer suggests Rouge’s ‘good’ personality is in control, at least for a time, as she seeks out the Doom Patrol for assistance in her mission. Madame Rouge was created by Arnold Drake and first appeared in Doom Patrol #86, in 1964.

The Brain

After being teased back in the first season of the series, The Brain finally makes his big entrance in the third. Known to DC Comics fans as being the Darlek-like main antagonist in the final season of the animated Teen Titans series, back in 2005. The Brain is a hyper-intelligent literal brain in Tupperware, with a sinister-looking robotic face somewhat akin to Brendan Fraser’s Robotman. The Brain was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in Doom Patrol #86, in 1964.

Monsieur Mallah

A casual fan will be forgiven for first thinking of Gorilla Grodd or, perhaps, Ultra-Humanite or even Jackanapes, when first seeing Monsieur Mallah in the new Doom Patrol trailer, given the sheer number of talking gorillas throughout the DC Universe is vast, and, to be blunt, ridiculous. Mallah differs from the norm though, as the title would suggest, he is French, a feature also typically attributed to Madame Rouge and The Brain. Monsieur Mallah was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in Doom Patrol #86, in 1964.

Garguax

Looking like a Guardians of the Galaxy character in this rendition, Garguax is a classic Doom Patrol villain hellbent on defeating on the team of misfits. Garguax is mostly known for later joining the Brotherhood of Evil. The Plastic Men are a creation of Garguax, a team of mindless androids that look eerily similar to Marvel’s Vision. Only one of the Plastic Men is seen in the trailer, but we are hoping for a full appearance of the team by the series’ climax. Garguax was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in Doom Patrol #91, in 1964.

The Sisterhood of Dada

Originally The Brotherhood of Dada, the Sisterhood of Dada was founded by Mr. Nobody after he was forcibly removed from the Brotherhood of Evil as a bigger, badder team of quirky supervillains for the Doom Patrol. Named after the Dada art movement, the villains embody anarchy and chaos, rather than straight evilness. The first Brotherhood of Dada consisted of The Fog, Frenzy, Sleepwalk and The Quiz, and was initially conceived by Grant Morrison and first appeared in Doom Patrol (volume 2) #26, in 1989.

The Fog

The Fog wields the power to transform into a cloud of fog, and can absorb the soul of anyone he touches, those of which remain within him and are able to communicate through him. The Fog’s alter ego is typically Byron Shelley, but is listed as Shelley Byron for the series and played by Wynn Everett. Gender-swapping Shelley makes sense if the Brotherhood of Dada is to be an almost full ‘Sisterhood’, and given their creator, Grant Morrison, recently came out as non-binary (as covered here). Everett was previously known for portraying Madame Masque / Whitney Frost in the Marvel Studios television series Agent Carter. The Fog was created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case and first appeared in Doom Patrol (volume 2) #26 in 1989.

Frenzy

Born as Lloyd Malcom Jefferson, the comics iteration of Frenzy was abandoned by his mother after bicycle parts grew out of his back. This strange affliction led to Frenzy being able to transform himself into a living cyclone, and his tragic story put Frenzy on a path of destruction and chaos, leading to his joining the Brotherhood of Dada. Frenzy is portrayed by Miles Mussenden, who popularly played Otis Johnson in Marvel Studio’s Cloak and Dagger series, and was created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case and first appeared in Doom Patrol (volume 2) #24 in 1989.

Sleepwalk

Sleepwalk, also known as Holly McKenzie, is cursed with super-strength and nightmarish prophetic visions, but only in her sleep. The trailer sadly doesn’t show off her impressive night-time fighting skills, but we know it’s her as she dons her trademark headphones from the comic series, which were used to help her sleep. Sleepwalk is portrayed by Anita Kalathara, who is mostly known for her voiceover work as Laguna Tidepool in the Trolls franchise, and a teenage Mindy on The Mindy Project. Sleepwalk was created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case and first appeared in Doom Patrol (volume 2) #26 in 1989.

The Quiz

Taking on the alter-ego of ‘Sachiko‘ in the television series, The Quiz typically has no real name in the comics. She is a hilariously powerful Japanese woman, whose powers are limited by what we can only call a Morrisonian feature: She possesses every power that whomever she is fighting hasn’t thought of. She has, appropriately for 2021, an extremely intense, almost crippling form of mysophobia, known in the UK as germaphobia. The Quiz is played by Gina Hiraizumi, who played Miss Haruto in Mani and Maile on an episode of Hawaii Five-O, and was created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case, first appearing in Doom Patrol (volume 2) #26 in 1989.

Despite Titans hitting Netflix and Swamp Thing reaching Amazon Prime Video, Doom Patrol sits uncomfortably on the lesser-known Starz Play, an often overlooked and underappreciated station available exclusively as an addon to Amazon Prime Video. Earlier seasons are available to purchase on DVD and Blu Ray, or for streaming on Amazon Prime, Google Play and other similar platforms. Despite the general difficultly in watching Doom Patrol for the UK fan, Doom Patrol is very much an essential part of popular culture and a necessity to any fans of comic book adaptations.

Words: Graeme Small