The quest to find and save Niles Caulder will continue this week on Doom Patrol, and like nearly episode before it that quest will introduce the heroes to yet another character from the team’s rich comic book history. This week, it’s the Beard Hunter when he is tapped by the Bureau of Normalcy to come after Niles, but that’s not the only things the Doom Patrol will be dealing with in this week’s “Hair Patrol”. New photos from the upcoming episode reveal that the mysterious comic book given to Vic by Danny the Street may also play a role.
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DC Universe has released new photos for this week’s “Hair Patrol” and in them, Rita can be seen reading the copy of My Greatest Adventure #51 given to Vic in “Danny Patrol”. While not much was made of the comic at the time, it’s possible that the book may well end up being the key to everything, though not in the way you’d expect. My Greatest Adventure was a DC Comics series that debuted in 1955. A science fiction anthology series, it’s perhaps best known for introducing the Doom Patrol. Issue #51 in particular features a handful of interesting stories, but none of them have anything to do with the Doom Patrol — the team wouldn’t make their appearance until issue #80. Instead, the thing that is most interesting about My Greatest Adventure #51 as it pertains to Niles is an ad that appears in the issue.
In the back few pages of the issue is an ad for bodybuilder Charles Atlas’ workout, complete with Atlas clad in cheetah print shorts. It’s a bit of a deep cut, trivia-wise, but that ad may be serving as a clue that Flex Mentallo is the key to saving Niles. Created by Richard Case and Grant Morrison, Flex Mentallo made his debut in Doom Patrol #35 from 1990 as an unkempt, amnesiac audience member for Danny the Street’s famous Perpetual Cabaret. In the issue, when the Doom Patrol come to Danny’s aid, seeing the team battle gives Flex back his memory. The character is a parody of the bodybuilder Charles Atlas and his “the insult that made a Man out of Mac” advertisements in comics and has the power to manipulate reality itself simply by flexing his muscles.
We already know that Flex is coming to Doom Patrol. Producer Jeremy Carver confirmed that the fan-favorite character will appear in the series, though the details of how and why were not revealed. As Flex has strong ties to Danny in comics, many thought that perhaps the character would make his debut in “Danny Patrol”. While that didn’t end up being the case, there’s still several episodes left for the team to decode the clue in the comic book and discover Flex.
You can read on for photos from this week’s “Hair Patrol” and let us know your thoughts about how the team will rescue Niles in the comments below.
Doom Patrol is now streaming on DC Universe. “Hair Patrol” will debut April 19th.
Are you excited to see another niche villain make their way to Doom Patrol? Let us know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @lifeinpolaroid for all things Doom Patrol!
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The Beard Hunter
Vic and the comic
Rita reads for herself
A clue perhaps?
Is that Niles?
Curious
We have so many questions
