Superhero fans have long-since asked the MCU for wider range of the types of stories it tells. All the while, DC’s Doom Patrol on HBO Max has been offering audiences a show that’s filled with themes that other superhero stories have been too afraid to tackle. It’s about time this underdog of a team gets its props.
It’s been announced that Doom Patrol and Titans have been canceled after season four, and fans are mourning the losses. Doom Patrol stars Brendan Fraser as the voice of Cliff Steele/Robot Man, Matt Bomer as the voice of Larry Trainor/Negative Man, April Bowlby as Rita Farr/Elasti-Woman, Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, and Joivan Wade as Victor Stone/Cyborg. These superpowered misfits deal with their trauma and decide whether or not they’re prepared to become actual superheroes, or if they should remain in seclusion, hidden from the world. There are times when the show dives headfirst into absurdism, but it has such a big heart and has kept loyal viewers coming back for more.
Here, five lessons the MCU can learn from Doom Patrol.
Stories about trauma
One of the many things Doom Patrol handles extraordinarily well is trauma, approaching the sensitive subject with a deft touch. Every member has dealt with something horrific in their lives and it shows them working to overcome it. This is typical in the superhero narrative, but Doom Patrol shows that growth isn’t linear. The characters don’t fall down, receive a pep talk, and they’re good to go. It’s an everyday struggle that they work to push through even when they have so many reasons not to.
Cliff’s brain has been put into a robot after a car accident. A negative spirit from outer space entered Larry’s body, and he has to wear bandages to stop him from emitting radiation. Rita can’t hold onto her physical form after a mysterious gas mutated her on the set of her movie. Crazy Jane has multiple personalities that live in her mindscape known as the “the underground.” And Victor has his body parts replaced by cybernetic elements after surviving an explosion. These aren’t just backstories that become distant memories—characters face these recurring traumas and learn from each other’s journeys.
LGBTQ+ representation
Fans have been asking for the MCU to have better representation of the LGBTQ+ community, and the response has been mostly underwhelming. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s couple Aneka and Ayo was built up leading up to the film’s release, and audiences were given a meager scene towards the end where Aneka kisses Ayo on the forehead and Ayo responds by saying, “Thank you, my love,” and it was cut from Kuwait’s theatrical release. It’s been reported that another scene was cut that involved Ayo telling Aneka that she could return to the warrior group, and the two share a kiss. Wakanda Forever, like many western films, was banned in China with the assumption that the gay relationship was the determining factor.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, America Chavez has two moms she’s searching through the multiverse to find and the movie was banned in Saudi Arabia because of it. In Eternals, Phastos has a husband and a happy family, but the movie was blocked in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, and scenes of intimacy were removed in versions of the film that were released in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. All of these films received pushback, and to Disney’s credit they didn’t always buckle to pressure, but the bigger issue is that regardless of nations banning or censoring these films…the representation isn’t all that groundbreaking. It’s typically one scene of affection or reference to a gay couple, and while representation is good, it feels hollow if the characters aren’t able to explore themselves fully.
Doom Patrol doesn’t have this problem. From the beginning, the show deals with Larry’s homosexuality, his decision to hide this secret from everyone he loves, and his efforts to make a traditional family work. It’s when he becomes Negative Man with the negative spirit inside of him that he can fully explore himself and come to terms with who he is. John Bowers was an Air Force mechanic who was good friends with Larry in his old life. Their relationship developed into a romantic one, but Larry pushed him away out of fear and self-loathing. His bandages represent his repression and fear of intimacy. This storyline is treated with the utmost care and sensitivity and isn’t relegated to some few seconds of a token interaction. It’s an essential part of Larry’s story that he resolves to properly move on from it.
Introspective stories
It can be hard telling stories about mental illness especially when it comes to the superhero genre. A line has to be toed to make sure it’s not glamorized or made to seem like the issues real people face are just a gimmick to empower a character to do great things without recognizing the many drawbacks. This is one area where the MCU has had some success. In Moon Knight, the main character has dissociative identity disorder (DID), a disorder where an individual experiences multiple, distinctive personalities or identities that can arise at any time and take ownership of the their actions, thoughts, and feelings. For most of the show, these personalities include Steven Grant, a bumbling and socially awkward man, and Marc Spector, a violent assassin for hire. Oscar Isaac and the creative team did their research and learned about DID, and it was clear that it was important for them to get this right.
Doom Patrol‘s difficulty level in portraying all of its character’s mental health problems is off the charts. Crazy Jane has 64 personalities she has to reconcile with. Cliff has PTSD and becomes a compulsive gambler. Larry has philophobia. Rita Farr is a narcissist with delusions of grandeur. And Victor also has PTSD and a guilt complex that has led to feelings of shame and anxiety. Each of these stories is difficult to tell on its own, but somehow Doom Patrol manages to give each character the time and care that they deserve.
Stories about outcasts
Aesthetics have to be taken into account in a story like this. Too often, audiences are given “misfits” who are really just gorgeous-looking people you’d see in any other popular Hollywood project. The X-men franchises and New Mutants are the worst offenders, downplaying and sidelining more nontraditional mutants or characters of color. That ends up defeating the purpose of the story: a team of misfits fighting against a society that would rather push them to the fringes of society.
Doom Patrol bears all when it comes to representing the characters without shying away from the more freakish aspects. Robotman isn’t a shiny and technologically advanced machine, he looks like an old hunk of junk who’s barely holding it together. Speaking of barely holding it together… when Rita gets too agitated, she turns into a monstrous blob and she can’t return back to normal until she’s composed herself. Larry is walking around wrapped in bandages like a living mummy, Crazy Jane changes her whole look whenever one of her personalities takes over, and there’s even a sentient street called Danny the Street that’s genderqueer and uses “they/them” pronouns. It’s a true safe haven for all those who don’t fit in.
Cyborg may be the character who fits into the superhero mold, but he’s still missing parts of himself. The show explores his challenges as a Black man and having to learn to be tough at a young age. In Doom Patrol season three, episode eight, “Subconscious Control,” Victor watches his younger self looking for a Black superhero action figure and after a few action figures drop, a retail worker threatens to call the cops. Victor’s father has to intervene, and tells him he’s not allowed to make a mistake because they don’t get to make mistakes. One mistake can cost them their lives. He gives him a Black soldier toy and tells him to be like him, following orders, instead of just being a kid.
Being funny without parodying
The MCU in general has this habit of going for humor over substance. Instead of focusing on telling impactful stories that move audiences on several levels, the stories too often take on a lighter tone with the prime motivation of eliciting laughter. There’s nothing wrong with comedy, but it undermines when characters not canonically known to be funny are suddenly comedians in the MCU. Moments that should be climactic are treated lightheartedly as if they’re performing for the audience. This isn’t always the case, take for example both Black Panther movies, which shoulder heavy themes, and Captain America: Winter Soldier, which tells an intense spy-thriller story driven by the emotional connection between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
Doom Patrol has its fair share of comedic moments, and they’re genuinely hilarious, but it doesn’t take away from the meaningful messages. The style of comedy is also more risque, with curse-laden rants and an overall feeling that the show doesn’t care if you laugh or feel disgusted by it—it’s refreshing, really. There’s sometimes a sense of desperation with the MCU and the forced comedy spreading across its many projects. Guardians of the Galaxy doesn’t need to have the same vibe as the Thor movies do. Based on the general reaction to Thor: Love & Thunder, fans are wanting more out of the franchise apart from bombastic and funny gags.
Doom Patrol might not be as well-known as some of the other big-time superhero projects, but this series will stand the test of time as one of the best ones ever made.