- "You three are victims of a cruel and fantastic fate! I summoned you here to give you the opportunity to cheat that fate by offering you the chance to experience adventures more incredible than any humans have ever known!"
- ―The Chief
| "The Doom Patrol" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| My Greatest Adventure | |
| Title: | "The Doom Patrol" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 80 |
| Cover price: | .12 |
| Cover date: | June, 1963 |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Credits | |
| Writers: | Arnold Drake; Bob Haney |
| Pencilers: | Bruno Premiani |
| Inkers: | Bruno Premiani |
| Cover artists: | Bruno Premiani |
| Cover inker: | Bruno Premiani |
| Cover letterer: | Joe Letterese |
| Letterers: | Stan Starkman |
| Editors: | Murray Boltinoff |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | My Greatest Adventure #79 |
| Next: | My Greatest Adventure #81 |
"The Doom Patrol" is the story title to the eightieth issue of the comic book anthology series My Greatest Adventure, published by DC Comics. The story was written by Arnold Drake and Bob Haney with artwork and inks by Bruno Premiani, who also rendered the cover art illustration. It was lettered by Stan Starkman and edited by Murray Boltinoff. This issue shipped with a June, 1963 cover date and carries a cover price of .12 cents per copy.
Synopsis[]
An aging wheelchair bound scientist known only as the Chief gathers together three super-powered outcasts: Robotman, Elasti-Girl and Negative Man. As the heroes greet one another, they learn of the personal circumstances that brought them all together.
Robotman was once Cliff Steele, an international sportsman and daredevil whose body was burned to a cinder after a deadly race car crash. The Chief's scientific genius transferred Steele's brain into a new robot body.
Larry Trainor was once a civilian test pilot – until the fateful day when he flew an experimental suborbital aircraft into a stratospheric belt of radiation. Now he exists as a living mummy, forced to wear special bandages to contain the radiation that has disfigured his body. As a side effect of the incident, Larry can now summon a dark energy being from his body, which he calls the Negative Man.
Rita Farr was a Hollywood starlet, and Olympic level swimmer. During filming of one of her movies, Rita was exposed to strange vapors that granted he the ability to alter her size at will. Her career in ruins, due to her mutation, she now fights alongside the Doom Patrol as Elasti-Girl.
The Chief discovers a strange alien spacecraft that has crash landed on Earth. He believes that mankind's testing of atomic weapons is what attracted the aliens attention, and the unidentified ship was designed to monitor the planet's technological advancements. The Chief sends the Doom Patrol to recover a secret weapon reputedly located inside the drone ship.
Another individual learns of the ship's existence and embarks upon a plan to recover the weapon. This is the immortal mastermind, General Immortus – an old foe of the Chief's. Immortus has spy cameras set up in the Doom Patrol headquarters and is privy to many of their secrets. Immortus attempts to retrieve the weapon and encounters the Doom Patrol. During the ensuing struggle, the alien drone ship explodes and Immortus seemingly dies in the explosion.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
- Doctor Hoskins
- Doctor Leroy
- Mitch
Organizations
Races & Animals
Locations
Items
Vehicles
Powers
- Energy projection
- Flight
- Immortality
- Radiation emission
- Size alteration
- Superhuman durability
- Superhuman strength
Miscellaneous
Notes & Trivia[]
- This issue is divided into three chapters:
- Chapter 1: The Doom Patrol
- Chapter 2: The Challenge of the Timeless Commander
- Chapter 3: The Deadly Duel with General Immortus
- Beginning with this issue, and for the next five issues until the end of the series, My Greatest Adventure is now a superhero fantasy title.
- This is the first appearance of the Doom Patrol. They become the lead spotlight feature on this title throughout the remainder of the series before launching off into their own title They appear next in My Greatest Adventure #81.
- Before settling on Doom Patrol, the original name of the team was going to be The Legion of the Strange. This was advertised in the letters column for My Greatest Adventure #79.
- This is the first appearance of General Immortus, who becomes a major foe of the Doom Patrol. He makes a chronologically earlier appearance in Doom Patrol #88. His next actual appearance is in My Greatest Adventure #84.
- The setting for this story is not revealed at this time. Later stories will establish that Doom Patrol headquarters is located in the fictional Midway City. The DC Atlas establishes that Midway City is located in the U.S. state of Michigan.
- The original Doom Patrol costumes for Elast-Girl and Negative Man were plain green utility suits. They don't begin to wear the more familiar-looking red and white uniforms until Doom Patrol #89.
- Doctor Hoskins and Doctor Leroy appear next in the second story in Doom Patrol #100.
- Dan Salem is a television news reporter. He appears next in My Greatest Adventure #81.
Reprints[]
- The story from this issue is reprinted in the following volumes:
- Batman 238
- DC 100-Page Super Spectacular 8
- DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest 19
- Doom Patrol Archives 1
- Doom Patrol: The Silver Age
- Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Omnibus
- Showcase Presents: Doom Patrol 1