Doom Patrol Patrol

"A long time ago,  you taught me I was my own biggest obstacle. That I could decide who I wanted to be. For the last 60 years, I decided that Rita Farr was someone who deserved to be punished. I haven’t changed my mind about that. Rita Farr is…empty and ugly. And small. And I don’t want to be those things anymore. I don’t want to be Rita Farr anymore. Without her, I don’t know who I am. All I know is… I don’t want to end up like you. Or Arani, or Rhea. And who knows… Maybe if I… Stop trying to forget things that haunt me, and actually face them,  maybe Mr. Nobody won’t hold so much power over me. I owe you for that. And I forgive you."

- Rita to Steve after she finds out the truth about the Doom Patrol


 * For other uses of "Doom Patrol", see Doom Patrol (disambiguation).

"Doom Patrol Patrol" is the sixth episode of the first season of Doom Patrol. It premiered on DC Universe on March 22, 2019.

Synopsis
Jane, Larry and Rita visit a school where the original Doom Patrol has retired. Meanwhile, Cliff & Vic bond over their mutual “father issues.”

Plot
Rita sits outside of Doom Manor and remembers the past.

Los Angeles, 1956

Rita is waiting the reception room of Bloom Pictures and adjusts her face in her compact mirror. Sydney Bloom finally calls her in and Rita says that she wants the romantic role in his latest picture. Bloom tells her that word has it that Rita is abusive and moody, and she needs a miracle. He invites her to sit on his knee and starts kissing her, and tells her to show him how hungry she is for the role. Rita loses control of her body and her flesh stops holding its form. Her blob form swallows Bloom up and he smothers to death. The secretary comes in and sees Bloom's corpse, and says that he had a heart attack. She gives Rita her sweater, tells her that she was never there, and ushers her out.

Now Larry joins Rita and says that Eliot isn't coming back.

Cliff does a 'net search for his daughter Clara Steele and discovers that it's only viewable by friends. He then takes Jane sandwiches and asks her for help. One of the personas knocks the sandwiches out of Cliff's hand and angrily closes the door, and then watches a VHS tape of Baby Doll complaining that Niles is leaving for a few days. On the tape, he promises to have pancakes and think of her, and she has pancakes at the same time and think of him. Niles tries to cheer her up and Baby Doll worries that he'll like the "Doom Patrol" more than him, and Niles says that they have silly names, so he won't.

Elsewhere, Vic is in the main room checking his injuries when Cliff comes in. He asks him to hack into his daughter's online profile, and Vic complains that Cliff put him into safety mode and he can't move his body without his father's permission. Jane comes in and jokingly asks Siri what the Doom Patrol is. She explains that Mr. Nobody asked her to find them. Vic does a microfiche search and finds a reference to the Doom Patrol, a minor superhero team that was active in the late 50s and then just disappeared. Rita and Larry come in and Rita recognizes the Doom Patrol. Rita says that she was romantically involved with one member, Steve Dayton, aka Mento. Mento wears a helmet that amplifies his mental functions. Jane asks for more information, and Rita says that it was an introspective period in her life. She figures that Nobody wants them to find the Doom Patrol, but Jane doesn't care, switches to Flit, and teleports Larry and Rita away with her.

Jane, Rita, and Larry arrive at the house in the picture in the article. A fireball goes by, and Jane confronts the woman responsible, Arani, who was in the photo. She's with the third person, Rhea, and is lecturing a group of students on how to subdue their opponents. Arani freezes Jane's mouth shut when she complains, and another man, Josh Clay, comes out and asks Jane where Niles is.

Silas arrives at Doom Manor and checks Vic's injury, which is healing over with metal. Vic explains that he deployed his arm cannon to get Niles back, and Silas insists that if Nobody was a threat, the Justice League would know about it. Silas is less than enthused about helping Niles and says that he's a pseudo-scientist and a weirdo. He tells Vic that he'll put him in sleep mode while he reboots him. Cliff watches a TV report on Steve, the "Stupid Criminal of the Week", who fought his secondary dinosaur head during a robbery gone wrong. Silas checks Cliff and finds one of Vic's fingers stuck in his robot body from the explosion earlier. Once he leaves, Vic asks Cliff not to leave him alone with Silas once Silas powers him down. Cliff agrees if Vic helps him with Clara. When Vic refuses, Cliff walks out.

Josh tells the trio that Niles started the place after the Doom Patrol retired. The building was their HQ until they stopped being superheroes, and Niles turned it into a school for metahumans. Rhea, Arani, and Steve stayed on as teachers. Larry thinks that he recognizes Josh, and Josh says that he was in the military briefly. Josh takes Larry and Jane to Jane's former room, and Jane explains that Niles was taken by Nobody. Arani arrives and recognizes the name, and Josh says that he and Jane should talk while Arani shows Larry around.

Meanwhile, Rita is sitting outside and remembers the past.

Doom Manor, 1958 Rita tells Niles that if she can't keep herself together, then it doesn't give her much hope that a stranger can help her. She warns that she needs to nip her "business" in the bud or she'll never work in Hollywood again. Niles warns that her issue is as much psychological as it is physiological, and Steve can help her. Steve arrives with his helmet and says that he used to be disfigured, and it would be his privilege to work with Rita. he explains that he'll teach her how to quiet her mind, and Rita refuses to let a telepath read her thoughts. Steve promises that he won't gawk at her thoughts without permission and turns away.

Now Steve looking just like he did in the 50's, spots Rita and comes over. They half-jokingly insult each other and Steve suggests that they have a drink together. As they leave, the fountain flickers briefly.

Josh sits at his desk and tells Jane that they can't help her. He insists that he's an administrator, not a superhero, and Jane and the others have to leave. Jane asks if she was supposed to be a teacher or a student, and Josh admits that they didn't know each other long. When Jane points out that Josh quickly sent Arani away, Josh tells her that it's none of her concern. He suggests that they revisit the matter if she moves back in. Jane agrees to leave if he tells her everything he knows about Nobody and settles down to wait.

Arani shows Larry around the school and the entire structure flickers briefly. She dismisses it as a student's prank and explains that she's married to Niles.

Rita and Steve have martinis in the school's storage room, and she realizes that they're trophies and Steve is showing them off. Rita is surprised that Steve wants to impress her given how things turned out between them.

1958 Rita talks to Steve about her roles and how she used to be Rita Farr but doesn't know who she is now. Steve tells her that she has to decide who she wants to be, and Rita says that she wants to be herself. He puts on his helmet, and finds herself in a black void. Steve tells her to keep breathing, and then repeat to herself that she's just herself. Her legs turn back to normal, and Rita finds herself back in the real world. She kisses Steve and he kisses her back.

Later they end up in Steve's bedroom, and she suggests that he wears the helmet while they have sex. She admits that she's scared of hurting him, and Steve says that he will wear the helmet if it makes her feel better, but knows that he doesn't need it. Rita admits that she's not sure but they continue kissing.

Now Silas reboots Vic, who goes into sleep mode. While he reboots, Silas checks Cliff's body and says that he doesn't need replacements. He explains that Niles had Silas consult on Cliff's body design, but then refused to use any of his suggestions. Silas assures Cliff that his body would have been better, and Cliff describes the explosion. Silas says that Vic could have been killed for nothing, and Cliff tells him that what Vic did was noble. Silas asks him if he knows what it's like to be a parent, and Cliff angrily says that he does and asks what Silas will have in the future with his son. He walks off and Silas looks at Vic.

Arani tells Larry that it was a small wedding ceremony, and Larry says that he's known Niles for 60 years and he never mentioned a wife. The woman says that it took a year for Niles to tell her that he had a daughter, and they fought Nobody and manage tow in.

Steve also tells Rita that they fought Mr. Nobody and boasts how he KO'D the supervillain.

Josh tells Jane that the Nobody fight was the last one in the Doom Patrol's career. Niles brought Josh in later to oversee the school.

Arani says that they fought Nobody on Memorial Day weekend. She and Steve describe how Nobody sent a giant balloon shaped like a pair of buttocks with a jukebox attached into a park. Everybody who heard it for twenty minutes went insane, and the jukebox was equipped with a transformation ray that turned the police into piñatas. When the Doom Patrol arrived, Nobody and an army of vinyl warriors leapt out of the jukebox.

When Larry is understandably skeptical of the story, Arani tells him to ask Niles himself. Niles comes in and says that Nobody went away years ago. Larry reaches through "Niles" and realizes he's not real.

Steve offers to show Rita the balloon, and Rita says that Nobody came back. The room flickers and the lights dim, and Steve insists that Rita is lying. He's furious that she came to take his wins away, and a woman—Marybeth--appears. She cries and says that she was too scared to say anything, then cuts her wrists. An old man in a wheelchair appears wearing the Mento helmet.

The lights in Josh's office fade, and he tells Jane that Steve is going to his dark place. The house has turned old and decrepit, and Josh finds metal knives stuck in his office door. He warns Jane that it's Rhea and that the others are losing control of their powers, and says that there were never any students and tells Jane to stay there.

Out in the hallway, "Niles" confronts Josh and says to forget the others because they have more work to do. He says that they both know where Josh's talents truly lie, and Josh insists that he can't and won't ever again.

In Josh's office, a jigsaw puzzle piece falls out of a cupboard. More pieces rain out, and a man's voice tells Jane not to keep him waiting.

Arani's rooms turn into decrepit relics of themselves, and an elderly Arani hobbles out and then realizes that Niles is gone. She blames Larry and throws fire and ice at him.

Jane runs down the hallway as thousands of jigsaw puzzle pieces pour out of the rooms. They become a flood surrounding her, and a man's hand emerges from the pieces and the man tells Jane to come toward her and heads toward her.

As Larry walks through the house, a man in a black suit appears and tells him that as an officer, Larry knows that there's no getting out. He asks if Larry and his partner are ready to continue their mission, and Larry tells him that it isn't happening.

Rita stares at Marybeth's corpse and says that she didn't mean for it to happen. The young Steve tells her that she's been grinding the axe for 60 years, and Rita realizes that he's doing it. Marybeth's corpse laughs and Steve says that Rita started it.

The Man in the Black Suit reveals that his fingertips are syringes, advances on Larry, and says that Larry gets to make the world safe for democracy. The Negative Spirit emerges from Larry, flies to the storage room, and removes the Mento helmet from the old Mento. The young Steve disappears and the Spirit gives her the helmet. Rita realizes that the old Steve is the real Steve.

Jane discovers that the hand and the jigsaw pieces have disappeared.

Later, Josh tells the trio that Niles formed the Doom Patrol as a government program. One mission put them on Nobody's radar and they lost. He got into their heads and turned them against each other, and their minds and bodies deteriorated. The "school" was a safe place for them to rest. Josh stabilized Steve's mind with drugs and kept the environment stable until the trio arrived. Josh admits that he's a metahuman but doesn't like to use his powers, but they're helpful just in case. Arani being married to Niles is also her fantasy. Josh explains that Steve used their greatest fears against them, and says that they should leave. He shows them Rhea, magnetically levitating knives, and Arani, torturing herself with fire and ice as she cries out to Niles. Rita offers to try fixing them.

Vic comes back online and Silas tells him that he's fine. He says that he's heading back and that it's up to Vic where he stays. Silas tells his son that he enabled his son's privacy mode for real, and says that he's listening when Vic says that it's time to be his own man. Vic hugs him and Silas, surprised and then touched, leaves. As he goes, Vic realizes that there's a flash drive in his hand.

Rita sits with the real Steve and remembers the past.

1958

Rita wakes up to find Steve getting dressed. He says Marybeth's name, and Rita realizes that he read her mind. Steve says that he's sorry that he didn't do it sooner and leaves.

Now

Rita tells Steve that 60 years ago she decided that she deserves to be punished because she was petty and small. She says that she doesn't want to be that Rita anymore, but without her she doesn't know what she wants to be. All Rita knows is that she doesn't want to be like them, and maybe if she faces the things that haunt her than Nobody will lose his power over her. She thanks Steve for giving her that knowledge and forgives Steve, kisses him on the cheek, and puts the helmet on him. As she leaves, Steve reestablishes the illusion of the intact house.

Jane asks Josh how often Niles comes to see his former team, and Josh admits that he abandoned them. She insists that Niles never treated her like she was broken, and Josh tells her to keep looking for Niles and ask him herself. Josh figures that Nobody wants Jane to give up and that's why he sent her there: to see what happens to those who cross her. He wishes her luck and tells her to be careful.

Vic visits Cliff and brings up Clara's 'net profile for him. Cliff says that he stuck up for Vic with Silas, and Vic suggests that it's better for Cliff and Clara if he met Clara from afar.

Josh takes publicity photos of the Doom Patrol so that folks remember what they mean. In reality, he gives them drugs.

Vic activates the flash drive and overrides the permission lockouts.

Larry takes out his old pilot patch and remembers what the illusion told him. The Spirit glows in Larry's chest, and he tells it that he doesn't want to think about it either.

Rita takes down of herself from her acting days.

Jane discovers that the door to her room is unlocked.

Cliff studies Clara's web page and finds photos of her with her "dad": Bump, Cliff's former pit crew chief. Furious, Cliff smashes the computer.

Starring

 * Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Flit and Sun Daddy (inhabiting Kay Challis' body)
 * April Bowlby as Rita Farr
 * Joivan Wade as Vic Stone/Cyborg
 * Alan Tudyk (credit only)
 * Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor
 * Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele

Special appearance by

 * Timothy Dalton as Dr. Niles Caulder/Chief

Also starring

 * Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele (physically only)
 * Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor (physically only)

Guest starring

 * Phil Morris as Silas Stone
 * Alimi Ballard as Joshua Clay
 * Will Kemp as Steve Dayton/Mento
 * Alec Mapa as Steve Larson/Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man
 * Jasmine Kaur as Arani Desai/Celsius
 * Madhur Jaffrey as Old Arani
 * Dennis Cockrum as Sydney Bloom

Co-starring

 * Alan Heckner as Bump Weathers
 * Sydney Kowalske as Young Clara
 * Lucia Scarano as Secretary
 * Lesa Wilson as Rhea
 * Katina Rankin as Anchorwoman
 * Elizabeth Mears as Marybeth
 * David Bielawski as Old Mento
 * Bethany Anne Lind as Clara Steele
 * Ethan McDowell as Man in Black Suit
 * Knightly Knox Scott as Kid #1
 * Noah Jordan Scott as Kid #2
 * Chaeli Koda as Levitating Kid
 * David MacDonald as Daddy

Trivia

 * There have been several incarnations of the Doom Patrol team in the comics, and this week we got to meet a few of their members we haven't seen on screen before!
 * Mento first made the scene in 1964's Doom Patrol #91 (written by Arnold Drake and penciled by Bruno Premiani). Like his television counterpart, Steve Dayton was the fifth richest man in the world and used his wealth to invent his psychic helmet.
 * He assisted the first incarnation of the Doom Patrol on many missions, mostly because of his relationship with Elasti-Girl.
 * Arani/Celsius and Joshua Clay/Tempest first appeared in 1977's Showcase #94 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled and inked by Joe Staton).
 * When Cliff Steele returned to Doom Manor after an extended absence, he was surprised to find these mysterious strangers had taken over the Doom Patrol's headquarters and formed a new team. Celsius has the powers to generate heat or cold blasts, while Tempest can shoot kinetic energy from his hands.
 * Rhea Jones/Lodestone, was first seen in 1987's Doom Patrol #3 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Joe Staton). Rhea has control over electromagnetic energy, and joined Arani’s second Doom Patrol group before falling into a coma during an alien invasion. Rhea evolved into a more powerful being while in her coma, and left Earth for life among the stars... Whereas their television counterparts got the short end of the stick compared to their comic counterparts!
 * While Steve may have been trying to impress Rita Farr by taking her to the Doom Patrol trophy room, a plethora of treasure trove of comic references can be found within it!
 * Steve showed Rita one of the Brain’s old containment units, and it’s similar to the one George Perez designed for New Teen Titans #14 (written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by Perez).
 * The Brain is one of the Brotherhood of Evil’s most consistent members, and he first appeared way back in 1964's Doom Patrol #86 (written by Arnold Drake and penciled by Bruno Premiani).
 * Like Robotman, the Brain is a disembodied cerebellum that relies on machinery to keep him alive. Steve refers to him as Ultimax, which was an alias the Brain used when he controlled a giant robot body in 1966's Doom Patrol #107(written by Arnold Drake and penciled by Bruno Premiani).
 * The robes of Garguax can also be seen in the background. Garguax was an alien conqueror who first fought the Doom Patrol in 1964's Doom Patrol #91 (written by Drake and penciled by Premiani). The Chief used his government connections to destroy Garguax and his ship in 1988's Doom Patrol #18 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Graham Nolan). But it looks like his robes survived the explosion.
 * Many sharp-eyed fans also noticed Wonder Woman’s sword and shield among the artifacts!
 * Love doesn’t come easy for members of the Doom Patrol, but Rita and Steve tried their best to make things work. Rita first met Steve when he first appeared in 1964's Doom Patrol #91 (written by Arnold Drake and penciled by Bruno Premiani); and the young man was already smitten with her.
 * In fact, part of the reason he became Mento was to win Rita’s heart, but she was afraid marriage would make her a less effective superhero. Nevertheless, Steve pursued Rita, the two became a couple, and she finally agreed to marry him in 1966's Doom Patrol #104 (written by Drake and penciled by Premiani).
 * The marriage almost didn’t happen, with Rita leaving Steve at the altar during their first ceremony because she felt committed to the Doom Patrol. Luckily for Steve she changed her mind and the two were wed, but he soon realized she had no intention of becoming a traditional housewife. Despite Steve’s protests, Rita continued working with the Doom Patrol. Their marriage was further complicated when the couple decided to adopt Gar Logan, a.k.a. Beast Boy, in 1967's Doom Patrol #110 (written by Drake and penciled by Premiani).
 * Steve and Rita had different styles of parenting, which caused some conflict for the couple in addition to Mento and Beast Boy’s uneasy relationship. Steve’s worst fears for his wife came true in 1968's Doom Patrol #121 (written by Drake and penciled by Premiani), when Rita was presumed dead in an explosion.
 * Steve and Gar were heartbroken and did their best to carry on as a family without her. After the reality-altering events of 2005-2006's Infinite Crisis, Rita turned up alive and resumed her marriage to Steve.
 * Sadly, as with their television counterparts, it was Mento’s mind powers that ended the couple’s relationship. In 2009's Doom Patrol #3 (written by Keith Giffen and penciled by Matthew Clark), Rita discovered that Steve had been using his helmet to manipulate her emotions for years. Feeling violated, Rita left Steve, proving that the world’s fifth richest man couldn’t buy himself some common sense.
 * Larry and the viewers never got a straight answer from Josh on why he recognized him. Negative Man guessed Josh was in the military, which was a piece of his backstory in the comics. In 1983's The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #9 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Carmine Infantino), Josh revealed that he had been stationed overseas during the Vietnam War.
 * When his commanding officer started gunning down innocent civilians, Josh manifested his powers to defend the people. The experience shook Josh, and he fled to America, deserting the army.
 * Niles Caulder is a man of many secrets, but is it really possible for him to hide a wife? When Arani revealed her secret marriage to Niles in 1977's Showcase #95 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Joe Staton), Cliff was skeptical of her claims. Robotman continued to press her for proof, but Arani seemed just as secretive as her alleged husband was.
 * When Niles finally returned in 1988's Doom Patrol #16 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Graham Nolan), he denied ever being married to Arani, but she insisted he was just lying to protect her.
 * After Arani died in battle in 1988's Doom Patrol #17 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Nolan), Niles continued to deny the marriage at her funeral and claimed she was mentally ill.
 * The team wasn’t sure what to believe until Niles finally confessed everything to Cliff in 1992's Doom Patrol #57 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Richard Case). The Chief revealed that he had married Arani in order to gain her trust so he could use her as a test subject for one of his serums.
 * When Mento’s helmet began to bring out everyone’s worst fears, Jane found herself being swarmed by puzzle pieces. The imagery of puzzle pieces has been used to tie into Jane’s psyche for years, and was first seen in 1990's Doom Patrol #30 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Richard Case). As Jane’s backstory was further developed, we learned that as a young girl her father interrupted her when she was putting a puzzle together and abused her. The experience shattered her mind and gave birth to her multiple personalities.
 * Honorable Mention goes to Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, who had an episode-stealing scene this week when his attempted robbery ended with him biting himself. He was last seen in the episode Puppet Patrol.