If You Liked Creature Commandos, You Should Rewatch Doom Patrol

The first show of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe, the animated Max program Creature Commandos has become a solid hit for all involved. Like with Gunn’s prior comic book adaptations, Commandos has turned previously obscure comic book figures (in this case, folks like G.I. Robot or The Bride) into widely adored pop culture entities. It’s also a project that suggests deeply promising things for the future DC Universe, especially in terms of juggling seemingly paradoxical tones and ensemble casts.

While Creature Commandos has gotten people excited for what’s to come in forthcoming DC Universe projects like Superman (or even the second Commandos season), this new production should also get people hankering to look back at a DC Comics TV show that’s fallen through the cracks of pop culture. Not quite as revered as the ArrowVerse nor a go-to punching bag like Pennyworth or Titans, the streaming program Doom Patrol wrung acclaimed television out of focusing on obscure DC Comics misfits years before Creature Commandos hit the airwaves.

What is Doom Patrol?

Though Doom Patrol dates back to 1963 in the history of DC Comics, the Doom Patrol TV show that was developed by Jeremy Carver didn’t start airing until February 2019. This project saw a titular team assembled from a ragtag group of superheroes, including Rita Farr (April Bowlby), Vic Stone (Joivan Wade), Jane (Diane Gurerro), Cliff Steele/Robotman (Brendan Fraser), and Larry Trainor/Negative Man (Matt Bomer). All these individuals have severe trauma to process and deeply odd superpowers, such as Rita being able to stretch her body at will or Jane juggling countless personalities in one body. The gang resides at the mansion of Niles Caulder/The Chief (Timothy Dalton), who has some dark secrets of his own.

Doom Patrol began life as one of the cornerstone exclusive programs on the short-lived DC Universe streaming service, along with Titans and Swamp-Thing. By the time its second season rolled around, Doom Patrol began simultaneously airing new episodes on Max, the platform it would start airing exclusively on in 2021. Thanks to its initially obscure home and constantly switching between streaming platforms, Doom Patrol had a wobbly foundation to build a dedicated fan base around. Compared to DC programs airing on prestigious networks like HBO or deeply accessible outlets like The CW, Doom Patrol just couldn’t reach enough people in its 46-episode run.

For those who tuned in, though, Doom Patrol secured a special place in their hearts. Taking cues from the most surrealistic Doom Patrol comics, this TV show wasn’t afraid to get weird or even have characters like the devious Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk) break the fourth wall. Premises concerned everything from time-traveling to mutating tumors to rampant inescapable musical numbers. Doom Patrol happily indulged in the kind of serialized storytelling that’s now common for streaming genre shows. However, individual episodes certainly knew how to conjure up enough weird distinct flourishes to ensure these installments didn’t bleed together.

[RELATED – Before Creature Commandos, These DC Extended Universe TV Shows Almost Happened]

Doom Patrol Assembled Quite a Cast

It’s not quite on par with Short Term 12 getting Brie Larson, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, and more before they were big, but Doom Patrol’s casting instincts certainly led the show toward many actors that have had glorious post-2018 careers. If there’s one reason to either revisit Doom Patrol or experience it for the first time, it’s to see future Encanto star Diane Guerrero inhabit so many different personalities as Jane. Then there’s Fraser doing the voicework for Robotman. Before The Whale brought Fraser back to pop culture in a big way, Doom Patrol saw all the potential he had for modern entertainment.

Much like Creature Commandos, though, Doom Patrol’s greatest asset is simply uncovering all the storytelling possibilities within largely ignored comic book characters. Without decades of prior pop culture representations of Robotman or Negative Man to contend with, Doom Patrol’s freaky imagination runs wild. Foreshadowing Commandos years later, Patrol provided a wildly unpreidctable good time for comic book geeks and newcomers alike. It’s completely understandable if the wait for Creature Commandos Season 2 has got you down. Luckily, there’s four seasons of Doom Patrol that, even if you’re just revisiting it, should satisfy your craving for oddball DC Comics entertainment.

Creature Commandos and Doom Patrol are both now streaming on Max.