Doom Patrol: The apocalypse happened… now what?

Thanos who? The book is written, and the Decreator is here and ready to start de-creating everything on Doom Patrol. RIP, Justice League 2020.

Unfortunately, comic books were never on our assigned reading lists in school, but we can learn a lot from them nonetheless. Doom Patrol doesn’t solely pay homage to its comics lineage; it also acts as a live-action comic at times. Though apocalypses and cults are common themes in DC Comics and comics in general, the Decreator and the Book of the Unwritten Cult are short-lived antagonists in Doom Patrol lore. However, the end of the world has technically already started, so let’s discuss what’s next for the DC Universe heroes.

Doom Patrol isn’t done with the Decreator arc yet, seeing as more of Grant Morrison’s narratives will likely carrying over into this week’s episode between Barcelona, Ohio, and Nurnheim. While the show obviously stands on its own, we’re obviously looking to the comics to attempt to decode this week’s episode. While Niles is still missing thanks to Mr. Nobody, the Decreator arc will naturally change a bit, but the first stop for part of the team is to figure out how to reverse the end of the apocalypse of nothingness.

Doom Patrol (1987) #32. Photo Credit: DC Comics.

The Decreator might not have started obliterating everything that exists yet, but the ending moments of Doom Patrol “Cult Patrol” parallel the eye-catching cliffhanger on the last page of Doom Patrol (1987) #32. Therefore, we can assume the apocalypse has already started on the series. The first step to their post-apocalyptic agenda is to reverse the apocalypse.

Sure, the team could try to erase some paragraphs off of the living book and force the Decreator back to his pocket dimension, if that were an option (at least we don’t think that’s an option). Since they don’t know when the Decreator will finish ending the world, “Paw Patrol” will be the newbie heroes’ first lesson in the time management arena as they trial-and-error their way to stopping the Decreator and undeleting anything he inevitably erases from existence.

Doom Patrol (1987) #33. Photo Credit: DC Comics.

Like everything on Doom Patrol, it’s going to get even more complicated for the team. The book might already be written and the Decreator is already summoned onto the universe, but the diabolical eye still has hordes of otherworldly creatures at his disposal (after all, he waits until the last possible moments to de-create his arsenal of followers). The Doom Patrol team will be preoccupied with fighting off Hoodmen, Starving Skins, and other odd creatures, and some of the team members might even be de-created along the way. Therefore, avoiding the overwhelming risks during the apocalypse is one of their primary goals, and that also means they might be distracted a lot while trying to find a way to stop the Decreator.

Since the action of Decreator arc takes place between #31 and 33 of the 1987 comic run, we can also assume that the heroes might have a better chance of stopping the Decreator if they’re closer to the source. In other words, if they’re in Nurnheim. Larry, Rita, Victor, and Willoughby might be about to figure out how to transport themselves into Nurnheim so they can join Cliff and Jane. While Cliff and Jane might be able to figure out how to stop the Decreator and break out of the snow globe the Nurnheim is encapsulated in, they aren’t the only people in Nurnheim.

Doom Patrol (1987) #33. Photo Credit: DC Comics.

If “Paw Patrol” continues to draw inspiration from its comic predecessors, then the living book is also in Nurnheim, just in a more de-created location of the weird realm. Since existence itself can be manipulated, the Doom Patrol will have to tune the cathedral in Nurnheim to hurt the Decreator. Ultimately, they should destroy the Nurnheim’s Earthly form in the snow globe to actually stop and banish the Decreator (even if that’s just for a temporary amount of time before the eye in the sky makes an untimely return in the series).

The chaotic fun isn’t over once the Doom Patrol finally squanders the Decreator and his hordes of peculiar defenders. Halting the apocalypse after it already started is a résumé-worthy achievement. Okay, maybe it’s a less noteworthy accomplishment for heroes, seeing as it’s an unspoken duty for any standard heroic team.

Regardless, stopping the end of the world will attract more attention to Doom Mansion, so we’ll living see some new villainous organizations arise in the wake of the Decreator’s defeat. The turnover rate is pretty quick in the villain industry, which is evil in itself.

That’s right: We’re suggesting the Brotherhood of Evil is the next villain to officially debut on the show. They probably won’t officially appear until later in the series because the show’s writers are clearly prepping the Doom Patrol team with increasingly difficult antagonists. For the time being, it’s the little milestones that matter to the team — like hindering a cult’s peculiar obsession with everlasting nothingness. After all, the dysfunctional family still likes to live in the moment.

You can stream new episodes of Doom Patrol every Friday on DC Universe.