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He’s a deliberate Constantine expy Morrison cooked up when he couldn’t use the real one during his comic run.
Well, this series would have been a smashing opportunity to have Matt Ryan reprise the role.
Anyway I'm up to Dany the Street now and I can't with this show. This is the fourth or fifth time it's made me cry.
Edited by Oruka on May 12th 2019 at 4:02:49 AM
Not!Constantine is Willoughby Kipling. He's introduced in DOOM Patrol Vol. 2 #31, the first of three issues on which the 3rd and 4th episode of the show are based. It's a pretty faithful adaptation, though the comic version involves more chasing around the book/Elliot, and the resolution is different.
Apparently it was originally supposed to be John Constantine fulfilling the role of Kipling, but because Constantine was otherwise engaged in some other part of DC Comics' shared continuity, the powers that be told Morrison he couldn't use the character. That's why he created a character that was essentially a bargain bin Constantine.
There clearly was an opportunity here to change the story back to something closer to Morrison's original idea, but I'm glad they didn't. Kipling's methods are actually closer to Morrison's own ideas about Chaos Magick, which provides a useful interpretive key to reading Morrison's work in general, and DOOM Patrol Vol. 2 #42-50 especially.
To grossly oversimplify matters: you can read this story as a magical act, a sigil, a collection of meaningful elements arranged to achieve a desired outcome. It is very much a matter of interpretation what that desired outcome is. I personally interpret it as a spell with staggered goals. The most ambitious of its goals is to change the nature of the military-industrial complex, but on the way there it tries to stop gatekeeping within geek culture and to encourage whimsy rather than cynicism in storytelling. To maximize the power of the spell, the symbols are arranged to create layers of meaning that reinforce each other. Parts of this story were used in the show, and I don't want to spoil things for people, so I won't go into specifics.
Just...
Nobody for president!
Edited by JOZeldenrust on May 12th 2019 at 4:33:17 AM
Oh, is this the thing where deeply, powerfully, subtly affecting people's minds and emotions using symbols and stories gets called magic with a k? Because I'm all for it.
Next we should get an adaptation of Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and Comicbook/Promethea.
And The Sandman. I mean, I hear it's unadaptable, but somehow I don't believe that. Just please don't let that conformist Tim Burton get his hands on it.
Going back on topic, this show is really speaking to me. I'm holding a job, I have a normal, stable, respectable life, yet the way I think these characters feel... that's how I feel, very often. Ugly and wrong and in pain in my own skin, and unable to do anything about it.
Edited by Oruka on May 12th 2019 at 4:56:31 AM
Somebody help me out with this clip.
Is Flex Mentallo so magnificent, he could just flex a muscle and make everyone around him who isn't a robot have orgasms?
Because…wow.
He's such a Nice Guy, he apologizes for it.
Note that even the street was affected.
Flex Mentallo, does he have Ensemble Dark Horse status yet? He's a well-adjusted ray of sunshine in this (adorable) grimfest of a show.
Though Larry's Imagine Spot and then actual singing was wonderful.
Danny the Street is pretty great. Have we seen a glimpse of all their shops? I really liked "Sporting Goods" in the comics. "Men's Wear" in the TV Show was excellent too.
Edited by Oruka on May 20th 2019 at 2:17:17 AM
Mighty No. 51345
Flex Mentallo is a favorite in the comics. He showed up almost immediately in the comic's revival inside Danny the Amusement Park.
Mega Man fanatic extraordinaire
Renewed for season 2[1]
Fuck YEAH!
Foreign Troper
Late to the party, binging both Seasons, currently at Episode 8. It's really much better than Titans, but what's with the constant F-Bombs? Already annyoed me in Titans.
It doesn't really make a show more "mature", quite the contrary actually.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
This is a title.
The Doom Patrol are not what anyone would call mature individuals.
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!
it's a living
Yeah, the amount of swearing is there to show how young they still are, mature and adult being relative concepts. Cliff and Jane in particular, despite the sheer number of years they've lived, are very much fixated on their respective pasts. Arrested development.
Kind of hard to talk about the second season, right? Because it's just... not really over. Kind of hoping we get to see more of Dorothy's friends.
Finally getting around to watching the series via HBO Max.
I only just finished the second episode, but just from Cyborg's speech about what it means to be him, this show has already sold its version of the character way better than the DCEU and Zack Snyder ever did. (Sorry, Ray Fisher.)
(Too bad the moment got undercut by Mr. Nobody heavily implying it's fabricated BS followed shortly after by Silas accidentally adding more weight to said implication by paraphrasing the speech. Talk about your enticing foreshadowing.)
Foreign Troper
I'm on Season 2 right now, and I gotta say the series got much better there.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
it's a living
Mm, I like the second season, but it's more... down to earth. Which they've earned, and needs to happen to a certain extent. But I do love just how dense and wacky the first season is. I makes the moments of quiet humanity all the more poignant. Then again, I think I probably would've felt differently about season 2 if it hadn't been cut short, right before all hell finally broke loose after all the buildup. And I certainly appreciate that they couldn't have helped that.
Foreign Troper
Finished Season 2 now. That was a cliffhanger if I ever saw one.
Still, great Season. But they really overdid it with Cliff's F-Bomb again.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
Doom Patrol Adds the Sisterhood of Dada and Dead Boy Detective Agency to Season 3
Edited by windleopard on Apr 24th 2021 at 12:50:09 PM
it's a living
Can't wait.
The Head of the Hydra
Glad it’s getting another season, really need to start this show.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
x3 - Doom Patrol's entire MO has been "Why the hell not?" and I'm glad to see that continuing.
Can't wait!
Lies and Violence!
The Brain! Monsieur Mallah! The Brotherhood of Evil! And Dada, apparently!
