Flex Patrol

"Flex Patrol" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of Doom Patrol. It premiered on May 10, 2019.

Synopsis
The Doom Patrol tries to restore the memories and abilities of Flex Mentallo, while Rita confronts her self-doubt and Larry realizes how tied he is to the Negative Spirit.

Great Bend, Kansas: 1964
Flex Mentallo and his wife Dolores to the park to have a picnic, and townspeople cheerfully greet their hometown hero. He assures Dolores that she's the light of his life, and a young boy calls for help. Flex goes over and introduces himself, and the boy points out a kitten stuck up a tree. The hero flexes one finger, lowering the branch, and the kitten teleports Flex away. The boy reports via his wrist radio that the target is acquired.

The Ant Farm: Present Day
Darren fights his way down the corridor past the escaping prisoners and uses an emergency phone to tell his people to gear up. Elsewhere, Vic cradles his father in his arms and begs him to wake up. Rita confirms that Silas is still alive, and Cliff tells Jane to have Flit teleport them out. While Jane takes offense to being told to do anything, the Negative Spirit finds Flex in Cell 722 and "tells" him to leave his cell. Flex insists that they're not supposed to leave their rooms without permission, but it flies off with his clicker and Flex goes after it into the hallway. Rita recognizes him as Flex Mentallo from the Mental-Lo Cereal ad. Darren arrives with his men and Flit teleports them out.

The group rematerializes at Doom Manor and Flex grabs his clicker. Flit teleports Vic and Silas to the hospital and Rita warns that Vic can't be left alone because of his mental condition. The girl teleports Rita away and then returns, and Cliff says that they actually saved a superhero and found Flex. Flex joins in with the applause, and then wonders who "Flex Mentallo" is. Cliff tells him that he is, and Larry excuses himself to lie down.

The Spirit follows Larry, who coughs repeatedly and says that it doesn't have to be everywhere he is. He goes to his shielded room and sits down, and the Spirit enters his body, knocking him out.

The Ant Farm: 1964
Darren puts Larry in a protective suit and says that they're going to try something new. Since the Spirit has refused to manifest, Darren uses a device to produce a frequency to force the Spirit out. The Spirit emerges and an agent threatens to shoot Larry unless it cooperates. After the Spirit backs down, Darren tells it to emerge the next time he tells it to.

The agents take Larry to Cell 721, and Flex asks if he's okay. Larry realizes that Flex can hear the Spirit, and Flex says he plans to escape. He uses his power of muscle mastery to flex open a gap between their cells, and asks Larry to reach in some of the cords uses to restrain the full use of his powers. Larry refuses, saying there's no escape, and tells Flex to stop talking to him. The Spirit flies out and Flex introduces himself, and offers to return it to its home after it "talks" to him.

Agents enter Flex's cell and he quickly seals the gap. Agent Charles Forsythe tries to have an agent put clothing on Flex, and Flex flexes him into a wall. Darren has Forsythe prod Flex with an electric prod, and the Spirit watches through the vent between cells.

Now
Cliff and Jane show Flex a cartoon of his earlier shaven self, and Jane says that the cartoon was created by adman Wally Sage. Flex doesn't know what his superpower is or how he got out of the ad, but Flex doesn't know. Cliff mentions Niles, and Flex says that he knows Niles and he's a no-good SOB that died 20 years ago. He talks about how Niles had a twin brother named Nick, then murdered him and fathered a love child. Jane recognizes the soap opera that Flex is describing, and tells him to take off his clothes, and after a moment Cliff agrees.

At the hospital, Rita tells Vic that the doctors have confirmed that Silas will be fine. Vic points out that the doctors only said he'd be stable, and notes that Silas was trying to save him and Nobody played with his mind. Rita tells him that he has to turn Grid back on so they can locate the tracker they put on Beard Hunter. Vic isn't convinced, and says that they should have listened to Nobody when he said not to go after Niles. Rita puts the tracker in Vic's hand and leaves.

Cliff and Jane trim Flex's hair and beard, and Cliff asks about the other personalities in the Underground. Jane refuses to discuss it, and they take Flex to a mirror and show him his loincloths unshaven self. She reminds him that he's the hunk on the cereal box, and Flex goes to watch his soap opera.

In the hospital waiting room, Rita watches a news report on Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man reaching an immunity deal with Federal prosecutors in exchange for information about Fuchs' medical facility. However, he was gunned down by one of Fuchs' devotees but only shot in the minerals so he's expected to recover. Rita hears a baby cry and sees a carriage nearby. She starts to lose control of her body, and a mother comes over and picks up her baby. Rita gets control of herself and walks to the elevator. An elderly patient gets out and asks if she's a doctor, and says that he wants to find his room and lie down. Rita agrees to help him, and the Patient suggests that they wander around until they find his room.

Flex watches his soap opera, and Jane talks to Cliff privately. She suggests that they try to trick Flex into using his superpower and then they can use it to find Niles. Jane says that they do it via duress by having Cliff interrupt the soap opera. Cliff goes over and punches the TV, then puts his fists up. Flex gets riled up for a moment, and then breaks into tears.

Rita offers to find the Patient's family, but he says that he skipped out on them in the middle of the night. He admits that it's the worst thing that he ever did, and Rita tells him that he's lucky compared to her. The Patient tells her that a nice girl like her wouldn't do anything like that. When Rita says that someone is going to use her mistakes against her and she's powerless, the Patient tells her that they all have to own up to their mistakes no matter how terrible. Rita explains that she was an actress and was willing to do anything to get her career back. She then met Gene, a film producer, but nothing ever happened between them. One day Gene asked for a favor, arranging him to meet with a starlet. One year later, the actress got an Oscar and Rita got offers, and then she arranged more. Finally one woman, Mary Beth, got pregnant nine months after meeting with Gene. Mary Beth came to Rita, and Rita gave her $100 and sent her on the way. Rita knew that Mary Beth would never make it on her own, and a week later Mary Beth killed herself. She considered taking responsibility for the child, but then Gene got her a major part in Forbidden Congo. Rita deserved everything that happened to her on the picture and afterward, and figures that absolution will never come. The Patient tells her that she got her power back.

1964
The Spirit hovers outside of Larry's body as they keep it out of him, and Dr. Heart suggests that they let it reenter. Darren wants to wait a little longer, but Heart warns that it's "dying". After they let it reenter Larry's body, they take Larry to his cell. Flex talks to the Spirit and flex to recreate the wall gap, and says that the Spirit wants Larry to come with them. Larry warns that he can't because if the suit gets damaged, he'll put thousands of people at risk. Flex says that they're torturing the Spirit and tells Larry that they're coming.

Larry does nothing, and two agents enter Flex's cell as he seals the gap. The Spirit leaves Larry as Flex knocks one of the agents back. Darren brings in a TV and tells Flex that he belongs to the U.S. government, and brings up a transmission of Dolores being held captive. They threaten to set her hair on fire, and Flex gives in rather than see her hurt. The Spirit watches as Darren says that all they want is for Flex to be the hero for them. Flex apologizes to the Spirit and gives in. The agents take him away and the Spirit tries to fly through cell walls but can't because of the shielding.

Now
Larry wakes up having seen everything, and realizes that Flex was trapped in the Ant Farm because of him. He asks the Spirit what it wants him to see, and realizes that it means Dolores.

Flex and Cliff watch the soap opera, and the episode where Cliff appeared when he played himself. Jane comes in with a blowtorch and tells Cliff that it's time to kick it up a notch. Cliff suggests that they're taking it too far, warning that they're messing with Flex's head. He wonders why Jane doesn’t have more empathy for Flex given her own mental problems and what he saw in the Underground. Jane irritably tells him that it has nothing to do with the Underground but getting Niles back. Cliff apologizes, saying that he saw things she didn't want him to see. He explains that he only wants to help and he's there if she wants to talk about it. Jane isn't interested in talking about it and turns away, and Cliff puts a hand on her shoulder.

Larry comes in and says that they can get Flex's memory back by finding Dolores. Cliff remembers that Dolores set Jane and Vic up, and Jane says that she can handle her before teleporting away. Larry and Cliff settle down to watch the soap opera with Flex, and in the show the boy dies in his hospital bed. Flit returns with Dolores, and Dolores realizes that Flit took her elbow device. Flex says Dolores' name but she doesn't recognize him. Despite that, Flex hugs her and says that he is. When he calls her "Dolly", Dolores remembers her husband and her life, and hugs him. Flex says that it's been dark without her but deep down, he always knew that she was there.

An alarm goes off in Dolores body and she starts to disintegrate. She tells Flex that they told her she'd die if she ever tried to find him, and Flex hugs her. He begs Dolores to stay with him, but she disintegrates into dust. Flex flexes with all of his might, and the manor explodes around him as he screams in rage and grief. The power goes out for miles around.

In the hospital, Rita gives Vic the tracker. He says that he can't do it, and Rita tells him that they can't stop running from Nobody. Rita insists that Nobody only has power if they give it to him, and they owe it to Niles to try. She says that it will be alright and assures Vic that he can trust her. Vic says that he can't leave Silas and needs to be there, and warns that the group will have to save Niles without him. Rita tells him to do it, and Vic plugs in the tracker and activates Grid. His arm wound glows and he looks out the window.

Rita goes to the lobby and leaves. The Patient congratulates her and transforms into Nobody, and says that she's finally ready... and then realizes that there's more.

Cliff tells Flex that he's sorry about Dolores but they need him to find Niles. Larry collapses, bleeding from the mouth through his bandages, and figures that nature has finally taken its course. He tells Jane and Cliff that he should have died 60 years ago in the plane crash but the Spirit kept him alive. The Spirit hovers overhead and Cliff asks what it's waiting for. Larry tells it not to reenter his body because he's been holding it back long enough. He's willing to die so the Spirit can have its chance, and the Spirit flies away. It hovers above the manor for a moment, and then flies back into the manor and reenters Larry's body.

Larry says that they'll be okay, and Rita comes in and tells them that Vic is with Silas and she knows how to find Niles and fight back. She invites them to join her, and they agree for the sake ofNiles.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nobody stops the player, drinks his coffee, and says that finally he has a superhero team he can get behind and use. He goes to a poster of the team's show, removes Vic's face from the poster, and says that finally they can get to the superhero show everyone wanted to see. Nobody sets the poster on fire with a snap of his fingers and says that if they want Niles they can come and get him.

Starring

 * Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane and Flit (inhabiting Kay Challis's body)
 * April Bowlby as Rita Farr
 * Joivan Wade as Vic Stone/Cyborg
 * Alan Tudyk as Eric Morden/Mr. Nobody
 * Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor
 * Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele/Robotman

Special appearance by

 * Timothy Dalton as Dr. Niles Caulder/The Chief (credit only)

Also starring

 * Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele/Robotman
 * Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor

Guest starring

 * Phil Morris as Silas Stone
 * Alec Mapa as Steve Larson/Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man
 * Devan Chandler Long as Flex Mentallo
 * Haley Strode as Young Dolores
 * Jon Briddell as Darren Jones
 * Edward Asner as Hospital Patient

Co-starring

 * Ethan McDowell as Charles Forsythe
 * Katina Rankin as News Anchor
 * Susan Williams as Dolores
 * Boston Pierce as Young Boy
 * Nicolette Noble as Mommy
 * Justin Brent Johnson as Gunman
 * Cynthia Barrett as Gwen
 * Brandon Morris as Chief Kinkaid
 * Yvonne Angulo as Dr. Talia Winslow
 * Giavani Cairo as Lab Tech
 * Greg Sproles as Agent on TV
 * Portia Cue as Soap Opera Mom
 * Jonathan Geisler as Billy
 * Jonathan Baron as Dr. Heart

Trivia

 * Viewers were treated to a great intro sequence showing a peaceful afternoon for Flex and Dolores as they strolled through town for a picnic. Along the way an admiring fan gave Dolores a newspaper which marveled at Flex’s recent battle with Doctor Saucer. Readers briefly met the oddball villain during 1991’s Doom Patrol #42 (written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Richard Case and Mike Dringenberg) as Flex’s old superhero life was expanded on. Apparently Flex and Doctor Saucer had a cordial enough rivalry that they were able to play golf between his arrests.
 * While Cliff and Jane are trying to jog Flex’s memory, they mention an advertisement artist named Wally Sage. While the name doesn’t ring a bell to the amnesiac Flex, it should mean something to longtime DC readers. Wally was first shown as a prisoner of the Ant Farm in 1991’s Doom Patrol #43 (written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Richard Case and Steve Yeowell).
 * As a child Wally was able to bring characters to life with his green crayon, which resulted in the creation of Flex. Unfortunately, Wally dies before he could escape the Ant Farm, but he was able to restore Flex to his full power before passing on.
 * Flex Mentallo may not be the brightest member of the team, but he’s the only one who thought of asking the Negative Spirit where he came from. Since we don’t speak his language, we aren’t sure what the Spirit answered, but Flex replied by asking if it was another dimension. Flex was absolutely right and readers got to visit it during 2017’s Doom Patrol #4 (written by Gerard Way, penciled by Brandon Bird and Nick Derington). The dimension was called the Negative Space, and the Spirit brought Larry and Cliff there for a ceremony to reunite himself with Trainor.The dimension was occupied by different Negative Spirits of all shapes and sizes.
 * Poor Dolores, she only got to enjoy a brief reunion with her Flex before meeting her untimely end. Some viewers might feel her endgame is reminiscent of a marvelous motion picture, but the moment came straight from 1991’s Doom Patrol #43 (written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Richard Case and Steve Yeowell).
 * As previously mentioned during the 11th episode“Frances Patrol”, the Bureau programmed Dolores to ensure she wouldn’t have a happy ending. Upon finding Flex, her body was set to self-destruct in both the comics and television series; the poor girl can’t catch a break in any medium. At least she got to see him flex his smile one last time.
 * One of the most interesting things about this season has been the exploration of Larry’s relationship with the Negative Spirit. This week we learned just how dependent Larry is to the Spirit, with prolonged separation leading to his death. This goes back to an early core concept of Negative Man from his introduction during My Greatest Adventure #80(written by Bob Haney and Arnold Drake, penciled by Bruno Premiani).
 * In these early Doom Patrol stories, Larry was only able to be separated from the Negative Spirit for 60 seconds before he would die. This rule later got relaxed, presumably because Larry’s body adapted to the powers. In 1987’s Doom Patrol #3 (written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Steve Lightle), Larry’s body is weak and comatose because the Negative Spirit has bonded with someone else. As time has gone on, Larry’s dependence on the Spirit for survival has varied depending on their power level or the writer, but it’s clear that keeping them apart is hazardous for Trainor’s health!