Doomed Patrols... Then and Now

Two doomed patrols that ultimately met up with a gruesome end dealt to them by Nazi butchers. A trio of heroes (Doom Patrol's Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Beast Boy of Earth-One... and Slim, Pedro and Fred from a golden age Patrol of Earth-Two) in similar styled costumes, each gaining the ability to alter the shape and size of their bodies. While not the stellar superheroes of their respective Earths like the Justice League or Justice Society, they nevertheless defended humanity with the same vigorous spirit.

The Doom Patrol was led by the brilliant Niles Caulder aka the Chief. However, Niles' counterpart was professional debunker Norah Blane. Norah uncovered various allegedly supernatural hoaxes and exposed them, working alongside Slim, Pedro on a handful of cases. While not the intellectual scientist that Niles was, Norah was a masterful tactical strategist which led to her being gainfully self-employed.

An odd yet winning combination of tragedy and triumph in the face of adversity that saved twin Earths One and Two more than once! However, while Cliff Steele aka Robotman was a member of the Earth-One Patrol, Robert Crane aka the Earth-Two Robotman stuck to the All-Star Squadron instead when not operating solo himself.

Later on, others enter the fray. One was the telekinetic billionaire turned masked man Steven Dayton. While never officially joining the Patrol, he aided them in order to curry the affection of former actress Rita Farr who as Elasti-Girl who considered her freakish allies as family.

His counterpart Hartford Jackson was an equally adept inventor, with his own thinking cap and that augmented his cranium capabilities. When this fell into the wrong hands, it was recovered by the Flash of Earth-Two although years later the speedster's arch-enemy the Thinker stole the cap and some of Jackson's mind also.

While the male Niles and the female Norah were righteous red-heads, there were others at the time who used superhuman shape shifting abilities to torment their fellow man. The female Madame Rouge and the male Mister Who who both genetically altered, allowing them to alter both their size and appearance. While Norah never had occasion to meet Who, Niles battled Rouge several times, even falling in love with her while trying to cure her. Sadly, all that result was the Madame betraying the Patrol and Caulder, when they lost their lives.

Still later, a trio of heroes replace the deceased original Patrol of Earth-One:  the  energy catapulting mutant Joshua Clay aka Tempest, the heat and cold projecting heroine Celsius aka Arani Caulder, and Valentina Vostok  known as the Negative Woman.

Originally a U.S. soldier, widow of Niles Caulder from India and ex-pilot of the U.S.S.R... this trio has several adventures off and on.

On Earth-Two, there were three similar individuals who appeared on the scene to assist their fellow heroes without garnering front page press: Norda Cantrell the mutant human-Feitherian halfbreed bird-man known as Northwind, Red Nails who was a seductive inventor who iced her opponents by packing heat, and energy-self projecting Jonni Thunder... herself a private investigator turned heroine.


Several similarities exist between these two sets of triads. As contemporaries, they each mirrored one another in key areas with similar traits and attributes to one another yet with distinct differences in their fundamental nature.

Both Tempest and Northwind, young young black heroes, propelled through the air emitting energy blast, Valentina and Jonni each were reluctant heroines as much cursed as blessed with their energy alter-egos, Celsius and Red Nails were lovely ladies who used technology and manipulation to their benefit. And of course, they each faced their own personal tragedies.