Doom Patrol episode 10 preview: Meet the worst villain, Beard Hunter

We’ve seen a lot of villains in Doom Patrol’s short on-screen history so far, and this week we’ll meet the worst villain in the history of villainy: Beard Hunter.

We measure the terribleness of any standard villain by the inhumane acts they’ve committed, or by their generally heinous moral code. However, some villains are just the worst because they suck at being villains.

We get it. Doing crime successfully is tough, which is why there aren’t any superpowerful villains (well, that and the fact that meta-human abilities aren’t a thing). Move over Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man because there’s a new equal parts terrible and weird villain in Ohio. Beard Hunter is the worst villain in Doom Patrol history, and we get to meet him this week in episode 10, “Hair Patrol.”

There’s no career aptitude test for villainy, let alone a vocational school of villainy. Sure, Sky High might have skewed our perception of the educational track for villains, supers, meta-humans, and any other synonym for people with superpowers. While the villainous industry might not be the best career fit for Beard Hunter, we still admire him for pursuing his passion… even if his passion includes heckling the Doom Patrol and Niles Caulder.

Unfortunately for Beard Hunter, the chief isn’t home. Instead, Beard Hunter bothers Rita and Victor during his unexpected visit to the Doom Manor. With the Negative Spirit busy transporting Cliff’s consciousness into the Underground, the team’s meet-and-greet with the peculiarly named villain, we’ll finally see what made all the mess in the lab while Cliff was trying to find Jane last week.

Beard Hunter finally reveals what everyone has been theorizing since the start of the show: Niles Caulder has been deceiving everyone. Where the beardless villain might fail at his evildoing career, we’ll likely see some strides in his storytelling because he’ll tell us more cryptic secrets about Niles’ past. While Niles won’t yet reunite with the Doom Patrol, we’ll at least see some clips of the chief while Mr. Nobody is busy torturing him. Poor Niles.

Although we’re more concerned with revelations concerning the Chief, we’ll probably figure out the origins behind Beard Hunter’s villainous moniker, as well as why he’s such a terrible villain despite his superb evasive techniques in the trailer.

We don’t want to reveal too much about this week’s Doom Patrol episode before the writers actually get a chance to reveal all our questions about the beardless antagonist. However, you’ve probably already guessed from Beard Hunter’s alias that he hates beards and everyone who has them.

It’s a strange motive for an even wackier villain, but at least that explains his hatred of Niles Caulder. To be honest, we’d fight the Chief (or Timothy Dalton) over his beard, too. That beard is worth fighting for (or over), so maybe Beard Hunter has a point. We love a relatable villain, after all.

Would it be a Doom Patrol episode without some wackiness? This week’s episode balances the emotional and tragic “Jane Patrol” episode with its more classic oddities in the form of a new Doom Patrol foe who’s just awful at being a villain.

And, we can’t wait to see how episode 10 interprets this strange villain who seems to fail at villainy, even despite his enhanced abilities.