‘Doom Patrol’ Introduces One of DC Comics’ Biggest WTF Villains to DC Universe

If you’ve been keeping up with DC Universe‘s Doom Patrol, you already know that the streaming service’s latest live-action series features some decidedly odd characters, both in the main roster as well as more supporting players — the farting donkey, for example. However, in the latest episode, “Puppet Patrol”, Doom Patrol brought to life what may just be the most bizarre villain in the DC Comics world.

If you haven’t seen “Puppet Patrol” yet, just know there are spoilers beyond this point.

In this week’s episode, Cliff, Jane, Larry, Rita, and Cyborg set out on a very long trip in the school bus to Paraguay searching for The Chief who is still missing after the wild encounter with Mr. Nobody last week. After some bus trouble, one of Jane’s personalities spontaneously teleports herself along with Cliff and Larry to the South American country where they meet Steve (Alec Mapa), a way-too excited tourist headed to get super powers at Fuchtopia, aka Sturmbanhfuhrer Von Fuch’s weirdly med-spa like mad scientist’s lab. Steve is planning to get magnet feet because he was too excited to save up for “the Morden”, but ultimately, he ends up with neither of those powers.

Instead, after things go really awry at Fuchstopia, with Jane setting the place on fire after killing Von Fuchs, Steve emerges from his transformation chamber with a diamond crystal-like leg, a tree stump-like leg, an arm that looks like a cross between a tree limb and some really overgrown celery and a second head that is literally a dinosaur. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Animal-Mineral-Vegetable Man.

If you’re thinking to yourself “what the…” it’s okay. You’re not alone. Animal-Mineral-Vegetable Man isn’t exactly the most well-known villain in the DC world, but he is absolutely one of the weirdest. First appearing in Doom Patrol #89 from August 1964, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiana. In comics he’s Dr. Sven Larsen, a Swedish scientist and former student of The Chief/Dr. Niles Caulder, who has a falling out with his mentor. After falling into a vat of amino acids, Larsen emerges with his uniquely bonkers physiology and the associated powers of being able to change his body into any form of animal, vegetable, or mineral.

Doom Patrol clearly makes a few alterations to that origin and when Steve emerges from his transformation chamber, he doesn’t exactly seem to be the villainous sort (which could always change), but his transformation into Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man makes good on comments Doom Patrol‘s showrunner Jeremy Carver made at the Television Critics Association press tour last month about introducing some of the more unique DC Comics characters to the show’s population.

“The show is dipping into different versions of the Doom Patrol over the years,” Carver explained.

Carver specifically teased characters such as Beard Hunter, Celsius, Lodestone, and Danny the Street — literally a sentient piece of geography who has the ability to place himself anywhere at will — will be making his way to the series. Now that Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man has been introduced, it will be interesting to see where things go next — and if any of these oddball characters get them any closer to rescuing The Chief.

Were you excited to see Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man make his debut? Let us know in the comments below.

New episodes of Doom Patrol stream each Friday on DC Universe.

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