10 pop culture characters who accurately depict mental health issues

Doom Patrol — Ep. 110 — “Hair Patrol” — Photo Credit: Annette Brown / 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Victor Stone

From his comic appearance to Young Justice: Outsiders to Doom Patrol and even Justice League, Victor Stone has lost a lot. Beyond his mother, Victor lost a healthy relationship with his father in the infamous accident that transformed him into Cyborg (with the help of Mother Box and his dad, Silas, of course).

As any retelling of his origin story describes, Vic has never had a great relationship with his dad. Silas was typically distant at best and slightly nefarious at worst. Their relationship is especially strained after the lab accident because Silas self-imposes himself into Vic’s life and superhero lifestyle by undermining his son’s feelings, needs, and desires. To say Silas is a helicopter parent is an understatement. While Vic has an ongoing arc with where he attempts to rebuild his relationship with his father only to be disappointed by Silas’ unwarranted suggestions or glorified experiments, Doom Patrol genuinely tackles his familial grief.

In the latter half of the first season, Vic’s Doom Patrol incarnation deals with a wheelhouse of grief. To sum it up: He copes with the physical loss of his mom, the PTSD-related memories and nightmares of losing his mother, the loss of his former passions as an athlete, nearly physically losing his father, and metaphorically losing his dad through distrust.

Family is a weird topic on the already inherently strange show. Like many complex familial relationships, Victor gives his dad a second chance and gradually starts to trust him again in the season finale. However, he does so on his own volition and his own terms. Seeing as Vic has been manipulation by Silas, Nobody, and Niles all in one season, it’s understandable that he would be skeptical of his own dad’s intentions.