The adventures of an idealistic mad scientist and his field team of superpowered outcasts.
The first season of “Doom Patrol” was a blast. Filled with giant cockroaches, fourth-wall-breaking villains, and five not-so-super heroes, it was an assault on the senses, a defiance of superhero tropes, but also a sly adherence to them. DC was making a creative leap (see also: the wonderful animated series, “Harley Quinn”) into weirder, more mature, self-aware territory. Creator Jeremy Carver is back with a vengeance in the series’ wild’n’wacky second season. It may lack the novelty of the preceding tale, but it makes for it with a lived-in camaraderie between the leads and infectious joy.
Those coming in blind, beware: season two picks up pretty much directly where the first one left off. We now know that Chief, aka Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton), is responsible for our heroes’ afflictions — rebellious Crazy Jane’s (Diane Guerrero) ten personalities, posh actress Rita Farr’s (April Bowlby) melting skin, pilot Larry Trainor’s (Matt Bomer), um, sentient lightning bolt, and race car driver Cliff Steele’s (Brendan Fraser) robotic limbs. (Joivan Wade’s Cyborg has his own complex backstory.) We also know Niles has a daughter, Dorothy (Abi Monterey), a part-animal offspring that doesn’t age and harbors — ahem — demons of her own. He’s kept her locked up for almost a century, in a misguided attempt to shield her from danger.
We find our heroes miniaturized and stuck with each other on a giant replica of a town. Rita’s practicing her stretching skills, harboring the ambition of becoming a real superhero — perhaps with Cyborg’s guidance. Cliff is venting his sorrows by beating the shit out of rats. Jane is dealing with her many selves. After an exchange that leaves them life-sized in exchange for Niles’s immortality, our heroes embark on a quest to save their deeply flawed, borderline-sadistic leader. On the way, they confront their inner demons and discover things about each other.
While Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk) remains stuck in the painting, a crazy assortment of characters (almost) make up for his absence, both returning and new: Dr. Tyme (Brandon Perea, voiced by Dan Martin), a few astronauts, a mysterious beekeeper — and, of course, The Candlemaker (Lex Lang). Amongst all the crazy sequences — a disco dance floor outside of time and space; butterflies pouring out of a body like blood; a tumble through space; a carnival filled with imaginary friends; and a meeting with the Scant Queen (don’t ask) — it’s little Abi Monterey’s furry face stands out. Her by turns tragic and creepy Dorothy steals the show.
It’s all absolutely nuts, and just when you’re thinking, “Nah, it’s not actually going to go there” — it sure does. Carver and his creative team clearly work on the same psychedelic wavelength, conjuring images so vibrant and weird, they ensure “Doom Patrol” still holds the throne as “That Crazy Superhero Show,” over Netflix’s similar “The Umbrella Academy.” Bring on season three.
Now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
