A lot happened this week on Doom Patrol. Given the chaotic world the dysfunctional team lives in, we don’t trust one character’s potentially new identity.
WARNING: Spoilers for Doom Patrol‘s most recent episode — “Puppet Patrol” — are below.
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Good, you’re still here, which means you’ve watched one of the strongest episodes on Doom Patrol so far — or you’re just taking Mr. Nobody’s chaotic approach to everything and spoiling the show’s tragic plot.
Either way, we’re glad you’re still here. Unlike what the title suggests, we aren’t dissecting Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man’s DC Universe debut. We’ll get to him in another article.
Beyond Veggie Man’s inauguration into Doom Patrol lore, the show might have subtly introduced General Immortus… just without the Immortus moniker.
Hello, Brotherhood of Evil because Dr. Von Fuchs might not actually be Dr. Fuchs. Well, at least he might not stick with his potentially real name of Dr. Fuchs for much longer. Despite his current name and his potential post-mortem status, Dr. Fuchs might actually be General Immortus.
Doom Patrol — Ep. 103 — “Puppet Patrol” — Photo Credit: Jace Downs / 2018 Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
As his name suggests, General Immortus is immortal. His lengthy lifetime leads to a lot of ominous gaps about his life and identity prior to his full-time job as a supervillain and his alignment with the Brotherhood of Evil, which isn’t an ironic title for another team of do-good misfits (unfortunately for the Doom Patrol team). In fact, the comics never really clarified what General Immortus’ real name is.
Sure, Dr. Von Fuchs might have died at the end of Doom Patrol‘s recent episode, but the camera also lingered on his body after Jane killed the leader of the Nazi cult. Knowing DC Universe’s proclivity for ominous cliffhangers and equally prescient cinematography, we can assume this prolonged scene was intentional. Given the Doom Patrol‘s comic history with a certain sinister character who’s more than difficult to kill, Dr. Fuchs’ could be the stepping stone to his character development to an even more menacing villain.
Cliff Steele and General Immortus in Doom Patrol (2009) #21. Photo credit: DC Comics.
Beyond the vagueness behind General Immortus’ pre-villainy identity, “Puppet Patrol” gives us a few other clues that Dr. Fuchs might actually be the show’s adaptation of the undying tyrant. Both Fuchs and Immortus have legions of followers and overwhelming nefarious overtones.
While their physical appearance might only share a vague likeness at the moment, Dr. Fuchs’ state in his boxy life-support system could just be a way his on-screen version has extended his life. More noticeably, Niles Caulder’s unraveling association with Dr. Fuchs has some eery similarities to the Cheif and General Immortus’ comic relationship.
During his comic book origin, General Immortus hired Niles to help him create an endless supply of his life-extending formula. You know, to ensure that Immortus could live up to his name. Obviously, Immortus didn’t fill Niles’ comic counterpart in on his real identity or evil motives to be an everlasting villain, and Niles found out on his own. Then, Niles quit his pseudo-internship in a dramatic fashion by sabotaging Immortus’ life-extending ray machine. Sound familiar? We think so, too.
The puppet show in “Puppet Patrol” shows a younger Niles destroying some of Dr. Fuchs’ technology and stealing a peculiar bag from his lab. Though it might seem like Niles on the Doom Patrol series was trying to ruin Dr. Fuchs’ living experiment (i.e. Mr. Nobody), Niles might have used that as a distraction to get the ancient artifact that started Dr. Fuchs’ obsession with immortality, like in the comics.
Needless to say, we’re ready for another villainous “Brotherhood” syndicate in the Doom Patrol mix. We say another because Mr. Nobody’s presence in the series naturally suggests that the Brother of Dada is looming in the background of the show. The various comic book incarnations of Doom Patrol had to fend off both the Brotherhood of Dada and the Brotherhood of Evil, along with an apocalypse (by the way, we’re still hoping for an end of the world theme later in the show).
If Dr. Von Fuchs does evolve to take on the General Immortus moniker, his predicable affiliation with the Brotherhood of Evil doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see the Brotherhood of Dada in full force.
After all, they’re both intermittent threats in Doom Patrol mythos, and showcasing both villainous teams would only amplify the array of weirdness and disorder that’s thematic for the heroes and related characters. Frankly, we’re ready for the chaos to run unsupervised on the show (well, until the titular team puts them in their respective places).