Donkey Patrol

"You are wrong… so wrong, to doubt the narrator. I mean, I’m the narrator. Think about that. I exist outside of time and space. I know your past, present, and future. I know what you did. What you are willing to do. So if you don’t want you sad, solipsistic utterly useless lives dissected infront of the world..."

- Mr. Nobody to Larry, Rita and Victor as he tortures them mentally

"Donkey Patrol" is the second episode of the first season of Doom Patrol. It premiered on DC Universe on February 22, 2019.

Synopsis
Following Mr. Nobody's capture of Niles Caulder and the destruction of Cloverton Ohio, The Doom Patrol investigate the mysterious albino donkey and discover it is a door to another universe, one where Mr. Nobody is in control. Cyborg aka Vic Stone, a part man/part machine hero from Detroit who has his own complicated relationship with Niles Caulder, joins the search.

Plot
The gang watch as Cloverton is sucked into the void that Mr. Nobody created. A cockroach declares that the reckoning is upon them and then subsequently gets sucked in.

In the bus, Mr. Nobody breaks the fourth wall and tells Niles that he's slipped through his fingers for the last time. The school bus is dragged toward the void, and one of Jane's personas stops it with super-strength. Unfortunately, it flies over her and enters the void, and Jane jumps in despite Cliff's protests.

After a moment the void disappears, leaving a smoking crater in the middle of what used to be Cloverton. Rita insists that Niles will come back and he'll know what to do. Larry says that they're responsible and it's what the world looks like when they try to live in it. He says that they should follow Niles' advice and says that he's going to run as far as possible. Rita tells Cliff that they're not meant to be heroes and leaves with Larry.

In Detroit, a woman named Patty is taking money out of an ATM. The machine screen asks if the guy behind her is going to rob her, and the guy behind her pulls a gun and tries to rob her. The ATM then asks how much Tim wants, and when he enters $400 it tells him to think bigger. It asks about his lookout on the corner, and then spews money out. A man, Vic Stone, grabs the lookout and knocks him out. Tim puts his gun to Patty's head, and then the ATM taunts him with Vic's and Tim releases Patty to shoot it. Vic comes up and knocks Tim out, and tells Patty that the cops are on their way. Patty realizes that he's Cyborg, and Vic walks away after rescuing her.

Vic goes to an outside fair, and his father Silas calls. Silas dismisses Vic's heroics, telling him that he's capable of doing better. Vic hangs up and eats, and then scans the police reports. Eventually coming across a report about Cloverton, the Doom Patrol's arrival, and the later report that the town is now gone.

Five Years Ago, STAR Labs
Silas fixes Vic's cybernetic eye, and Vic asks him what he has planned afterward. His father says that improving his programming is a full-time job. Niles arrives, and he and Vic fist-bump. Silas greets him, saying that he's late, and Niles tosses Vic his new cybernetic eye. Niles says that he's working with fascinating people at Cloverton, people with potential like Vic.

Present Day
The next day at Doom Manor, Rita cleans up the garbage and starts to lose control of her body. She forces herself back into human form.

Larry goes to a bus station and asks for a ticket to the single most remote place he can get to. The lady at the front desk then gives him a ticket to Ismay, MT, and he goes out to wait for the bus. When it arrives, the negative energy creature inside him leaves his body and Larry subsequently collapses. He wakes up a few minutes later, goes inside, and asks for another ticket to somewhere else. Each time Larry tries however, the energy creature leaves his body as he tries to get on the bus. Larry finally asks the energy creature what it wants from him, insisting that he's trying to protect people from it.

In the ruins of Cloverton, the donkey stands among the debris. Cliff tries to chase it down but it keeps running away. Vic arrives and catches it, and introduces himself when Cliff comes over. Cliff complains that Vic is poking his nose into business that doesn't concern him, and Vic asks where Niles is. He's less than thrilled that the Doom Patrol lost Niles, Jane, and the town. The donkey interrupts them by spitting out an unconscious Jane.

Larry returns to Doom Manor and finds Rita using his bandages to wrap up her hand to hold its shape. He says that he ran away because he can't create the energy creature, and Rita admits that she'd run away from herself if she could. Rita says that they don’t have to get involved, just as Cliff and Vic enter the manor with Jane. Vic introduces himself, and Rita figures that he can handle the situation since he's a hero.

Back in the past, Niles in his wheelchair leads Vic around on his jogging, and Vic explains that Silas figures he can join the Justice League in five years. When he asks Niles why he doesn't participate directly, Niles explains that he works more behind the scenes and invites Vic to come to Doom Manor. When Vic says that he has plans, Niles asks if they're his plans or Silas'.

In present day once more, when Jane wakes up, Cliff asks her what happened to Niles as Vic comes in. Another persona takes over and says that Jane isn't there, and then Hammerhead tells Cliff that he doesn't care about Niles. She screams and hits herself in the head repeatedly, and then her persona Scarlet Harlot invites Cliff to touch her. Then Hammerhead and Penny Farthing switch in, until eventually settling on Baby Doll for the time being as she oohs and ahhs over Vic. Unfortunately, this personality is scared by Cliff and Vic assures Cliff that he's got it, as the latter leaves the two alone.

Cliff goes to the lab and finds Niles' collection of VHS tapes from when he was working with Jane. Jane talks about The Underground and how vast it is, and Niles asks her to have the Hangman's Beautiful Daughter sketch it so he can understand. Cliff finds the sketch on the wall, which shows a vast clockwork engine and a subway map.

Vic projects movies of kittens for Baby Doll. He asks her about what happened to Niles, and she says that he wouldn't understand.

On the tapes, Niles asks where Katy is. Jane says that ones like Katy keep to themselves.

Undeterred, Vic tells Baby Doll to focus, and she says that Katy saw something. He then naively asks to talk to Katy.

On the tape, Jane says that Katy doesn't like to be interrogated. The machine's electrical system goes haywire, and Cliff takes the elevator up to where Vic and Jane are.

Vic insists on talking to Katy, and Jane glows with energy and floats into the air. She flies after Vic when he runs out, and Vic summons an energy shield from his arm to protect himself. Cliff arrives on the elevator and knocks Vic through a wall, and tells him not to harm Jane. Katy switches to Lucy Fugue and blasts both men with electricity. Cliff recovers and tries to get through to Jane, who switches to Hammerhead and punches him back.

Larry goes to Rita's room and asks her to join him outside as Cliff goes flying by. Rita agrees, while Hammerhead goes after Cliff and keeps punching him, then switches to Silver Tongue and throws her words at him. They hit the wall, just missing him, and Cliff asks if Jane is in the Underground. She asks what he knows about the Underground, and Cliff admits that it's not much and offers to help her. Vic tackles Jane and tosses her into an insulated room, and complains that Cliff wasn't handling the situation.

As the donkey eats grass outside the manor, Larry and Rita sit nearby and Larry admits that he can't get what happened out of his head. Rita points out that they're the ones who don't do anything, but Larry wonders if the donkey is a door. Vic joins them and they wonder if the donkey is a door to a different dimension. He discovers that the donkey's mouth is a keyhole and it's a door to where Niles and Cloverton are trapped. Rita refuses to go into its mouth and goes into the manor. She finds Cliff, who opens the door to Jane's cell. Jane is lying unconscious on the floor, and Cliff worries that she's getting worse. He admits that he's powerless to be of much help, and Rita goes to find a trash bag.

Once Rita finds a trash bag, she takes it outside and insists that they never speak of what she's about to do. She then gets into the trash bag and "blobs", and Vic and Larry put her up to the donkey's mouth. She says that they're all inside the donkey, but then gets pulled in. Vic and Larry are pulled in as well, and they land in a river. Crude crosses are up with pictures of the town's population on them, and there are three poles with the trio's names on them as well as tour headsets. They put on the headsets and Mr. Nobody greets them. He explains that they're in a museum and will be recreating a search for Niles. Mr. Nobody narrates what they're going to do and tells them to continue onward. The trio finally continue onward.

At the manor, Cliff makes a PB&J for Jane and remembers doing the same for Clara Steele when he had human hands. He breaks the plate with his strength, and then pushes it and the sandwich through the slot in the door. Baby Doll takes it and Hammerhead throws it back, insisting that none of her personalities are Clara.

The trio come to paintings representing their loss and futility. Rita finds herself on a movie set as Mr. Nobody narrates and only she can hear him. She insists that she's a star. Meanwhile, Larry finds himself in the cockpit in his unbandaged body, the jet flying through the air. Larry refuses to grab the joystick and the jet plummets toward the ground. He finally gives into the illusion and pulls the jet out of its dive.

Vic finds himself badly injured in front of a burning house. He relives the pain of the accident that destroyed most his body, and sees his mother's body nearby. Vic insists that it's not real, and Mr. Nobody asks who he is.

As he sits in the hallway, Cliff sees Clara drawing a chalk circle on the floor. The illusion disappears, and Cliff talks to Jane about how he doesn't want to hurt her to find Niles. He says that he just wants her to feel safe, and Jane asks him to make her another sandwich.

Rita performs in her movie, and the crew suddenly disappear. She tells Mr. Nobody to shut up because he doesn't know her, and a baby carriage containing a crying baby appears.

Mr. Nobody tells Larry that he knows what drove him into the sky over and over. Sheryl appears in the cockpit and asks Larry when he's coming home, and John tells Larry that he has to choose him or Sheryl. The jet plummets back toward the ground.

Vic moans in pain, and Larry says that his mother died in the lab accident that he caused. The teenager insists that Mr. Nobody doesn't know him, and every criminal that he busts is a promise that he's fulfilling to his mother. Mr. Nobody dismisses it as donkey shit, saying that they're all wrong to doubt him because he's the narrator.

Rita approaches the carriage and Mr. Nobody tells her that he knows what she did and what she's willing to do. If they don't want their lives dissected in front of the world, they have to stop looking for Niles. Vic finds himself on an operating table with a bloody Silas standing over him. Mr. Nobody tells Vic that all he has is programming and removes Vic's mangled limbs.

Larry releases his negative energy form, which smashes apart the exhibits in the dimension. Mr. Nobody says that it's ended their torture for now, but they're all still at his mercy.

The donkey spits the trio out along with the town of Cloverton and then explodes. The negative energy form reenters Larry, and all three of them get back on their feet. Cliff and Jane come out and Rita tells him that the donkey was a door. Vic says that Mr. Nobody took them because he's scared of them, and figures that they're onto something if Mr. Nobody threatened them. Eventually, Silas drives up and goes inside the manor with his dad. Vic explains to him that Niles is gone and in trouble, but Silas says that what they're doing in Detroit is important and will get Vic noticed. Ultimately, he instead says that even if it doesn't, it means something to him and Vic's mother. Silas echoes Vic's words in the other dimension, and Vic tells him to go home because he's staying at the manor until they find Niles. When Silas threatens to "upgrade" Vic into a godlike force for good unless he gets his act together, Vic says that he needs a couple of days to figure things out but he'll check in on schedule.

Meanwhile, Larry goes into his quarters and removes his bandages. He looks at his burnt and scarred face in the mirror, and for a while wonders if he's supposed to thank the negative energy creature living inside him. Ultimately, he gives in and writes a note. He puts said note on the mirror, lies down, and deliberately releases the energy creature for the first time. It reads the note, which says, "We need some ground rules".

Vic goes looking for a guest room. He almost goes into Rita's room, and she comes out and gives him directions, and he says that she did good and was a star. Rita goes back into her room, looks in her mirror, and says that of course she is a star.

Lastly, The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter paints a vision of the Doom Patrol.

Starring

 * Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Sylvia, Hammerhead, Spinning Jenny, Scarlet Harlot, Penny Farthing, Baby Doll, Flit, an unknown wall-crawling personality, the Hangman's Daughter, Flaming Katy, Lucy Fugue and Silver Tongue (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

Special appearance by

 * Timothy Dalton as Dr. Niles Caulder/Chief

Also starring

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

Guest starring

 * Phil Morris as Silas Stone
 * Julie McNiven as Sheryl Trainor
 * Kyle Clements as John Bowers
 * Curtis Armstrong as Ezekiel the Cockroach

Co-starring

 * Sydney Kowalske as Clara Steele
 * Gabrielle Byndloss as Patty
 * Drew Starkey as Tim
 * Karen Reynolds as Bus Station Cashier
 * Ricque Hardin as Kind Woman
 * Sofia Salas as Cute Kid
 * Andrea Andrade as Hairstylist
 * Amber Neukum as Makeup Artist
 * Pierce Lackey as Director

Trivia

 * Thanks to Mr. Nobody’s ability to break the fourth wall, referenced Grant Morrison fans, the comics writer who reinvented the Doom Patrol when he took over the title in 1989.
 * Grant Morrison embraced the weirdness the original team had been known for and leaned into mind-bending surrealism.
 * His version of the Doom Patrol became perhaps the most popular ever, and the show takes many cues from his run that started with Doom Patrol #19.
 * This episode introduced viewers to Victor Stone and his parents Elinore Stone and Silas Stone. Victor Stone, a.k.a. Cyborg, first appeared alongside his father in DC Comics Presents #26 (written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Perez), in which the world was first introduced to the New Teen Titans. In this episode, Cyborg is operating out of Detroit, as he did in the comics when he wasn’t with the Teen Titans.
 * Mr. Nobody forces Victor to relive the accident that killed his mother and made him Cyborg. The incident was first seen during a flashback in New Teen Titans #7 (written by Marv Wolfman and the penciled by George Perez); which was also Elinore Stone’s first appearance.
 * While Cyborg is looking through crime headlines,the series referenced events from the television series Titans. One headline mentions the murder of Melissa Roth from Titans episode 1: “Titans”.
 * In addition, Superboy and Krypto are briefly referenced when one of the headlines says that a Metropolis driver crashed his car after seeing a naked man with a dog wandering around.
 * Another headline mentions a Brazilian woman with glowing green eyes, which is a reference to Fire.
 * She is Brazil’s resident heat-based superheroine and was first introduced in Super Friends #25 (written by E. Nelson Bridwell and penciled by Ramona Fradon), before crossing over into mainstream continuity in DC Comics Presents #46 (written by E. Nelson Bridwell and penciled by Alex Saviuk).
 * There was also a headline about new laws protecting humans whose property gets damaged in metahuman fights. A possible to the now cancelled series Powerless, another live-action DC TV series Alan Tudyk was featured in.
 * In the pilot of the series, Alan’s character Van Wayne worked at an insurance company that specialized in claims from citizens whose property was ruined in superhero battles. The series was retooled after the pilot and the insurance angle was dropped.
 * While Cyborg in the comics has been associated with the Doom Patrol, he’s more well known for his association with the Teen Titans and the Justice League respectively.
 * Victor Stone's closest friend is Gar Logan/Beast Boy, who has been in several incarnations of the team.
 * Cyborg shares some similarities between himself and Robotman, whom he finally met in New Teen Titans #13 (written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Perez).
 * Although this episode portrays a positive relationship between Cyborg and the Chief, in the comics Victor is not so enamored with him. In 2006's Teen Titans #37 (written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Tony Daniel), Cyborg chastised the Chief for using emotional manipulation as a tool to control his team.
 * There is also a headline referencing a flying girl, many of which are in the DC Universe, and could a reference to Stargirl.
 * Cyborg calls this system “Grid," which was a similar monitoring unit he had in the comics. It later turned on Cyborg, became its own entity and joined the Crime Syndicate.
 * Viewers who paid close attention may have caught a reference to the Ant Farm, another element of Grant Morrison’s classic run. The Ant Farm was the headquarters for a twisted group called the Men from N.O.W.H.E.R.E., which was run out of the Pentagon’s basement.
 * While talking to Crazy Jane’s Baby Doll personality, Cyborg mentions The Flash.
 * In the comics, Victor has been friends and teammates with various people who have held the Flash mantle, starting with New Teen Titans #1 (written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Perez), in which he first met Wally West. Not only did Wally become one of Victor’s best friends, but Cyborg later moved to Keystone City and acted as a sometimes partner to The Flash for a brief period of time after both men had left the Titans. He’s also worked closely with Barry Allen and Bart Allen, so he does have firsthand knowledge of their speed.
 * While looking at his Grid, Cyborg mentions A.R.G.U.S., the group first seen in 2012's Justice League #7 (written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Gene Ha). The group's name stands for Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans, but the acronym has had different meanings over the years. The organization's purpose is to act as a liaison between the government and superheroes, helping in metahuman affairs. It's heavily featured on the CW series Arrow.
 * This episode also takes the viewer to Silas Stone’s office at S.T.A.R. Labs. The DC Universe’s most famous research center was first seen in Superman #246 (written by Len Wein and penciled by Ira Yarbrough), and has since been heavily featured in fellow DC Universe series' Young Justice and the CW's The Flash, along with the live-action Justice League film.
 * While talking to the Chief, Cyborg dreams of a day that he’ll be ready for the Justice League. Victor actually first joined the Justice League way back in 1985 on the Super Friends episode “The Seeds of Doom”. It took Cyborg a bit longer to get there in the comics, but he finally got an invite in 2006’s Justice League of America #41 (written by James Robinson and penciled by Mark Bagley).
 * The New 52 and recent DC movies have since portrayed Cyborg as a founding member, showing that the League is his destiny no matter the continuity he’s in.
 * While rummaging through the Chief’s lab, Cliff finds VHS tapes labeled for all of Crazy Jane’s personalities and a map of the Underground. The Underground is what Jane calls the mindscape where all of her personalities live. The map that Cliff sees in the Chief’s lab is similar to the one that was featured in 1990's Doom Patrol #30 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Richard Case).
 * Viewers also got to take a peek at what Larry looks like under his Negative Man bandages in the final scenes of "Donkey Patrol".
 * In the early days of the original Doom Patrol comic series, Larry was very guarded about his true appearance, and would only remove his bandages in the privacy of his own room.
 * In 1964's Doom Patrol #87 (written by Arnold Drake and penciled by Bruno Premiani), Larry finally revealed his unwrapped form to his teammates and the readers. Although he wasn’t as crispy looking as his television counterpart, his paranoia about only removing his bandages in his bedroom was the same.