Season 3 of Doom Patrol is very likely to continue the show’s heritage of being the weirdest superhero series on tv, and could very easily use this opportunity to introduce Superman or at least, a version of Superman. Another version of the notorious Krypton-hailing hero appeared in the DC – Young Animal world crossover comic (which featured the Justice League) JLA/Doom Patrol Special Number 1 (2018), through an event called the”Milk Wars.” From the comic, this mind-controlled scenario is engineered by Retconn, an organization within the Sphere of Gods that accelerates realities before editing and repackaging them in a squeaky-clean, marketable variation to be offered to the highest bidder.
However, the alternative universe isn’t entirely palatable and appreciated: there is a troubling bottom. It is comically surreal and also immensely dark. Obviously, there is Milkman Man, a wicked copy of Superman who is the local deliverer of mind-altering dairy, which perpetuates the mind control that everybody is under. There’s even a scene in which he tortures among the story’s heroes. Magic Woman becomes”Wonder Wife,” a 1950s-style housewife stereotype that would be fine if it wasn’t such a stark contrast to her authentic self. And Batman is treated as a cult leader who brainwashes orphans like him into weapon-wielding, crimefighting sidekicks.
If this event sounds like it’s the makings of a complete fever dream, that’s because it does! But, it’s that this bizarreness that could gel extremely nicely with Doom Patrol’s overall series vibe (one that is funny and absurd whilst tackling gloomy topics and storylines), and may be used to introduce Superman into the world. After all, the series has already been laden with quirky, eccentric events.
Who could forget scenes like Danny the sentient road, and the rest of the scene characters unintentionally and simultaneously climaxing due to Flex’s astonishing and R-rated Doom Patrol superpower? And there’s the graphic sequence where The Beard Hunter snakes a clump of The Chief’s facial hair out of a sink drain and eagerly slurps it down. Doom Patrol could be black, but it is at its best when it’s undeniably weird also.
Although the alternative versions of these characters in”Milk Wars” are heavy and dark, this may easily match with what the series has covered. Topics such as cult brainwashing, child soldiers, and a woman being restricted to a national function when that is not who she actually is, aren’t any darker than what’s already been broached. The show has already tackled abuse and subsequent psychological trauma with Jane, sexuality repression with the important Doom Patrol character Negative Man, devastating physical injury with Cliff Steele, along the powerful loss of a loved one with Cyborg’s personality backstory.
Doom Patrol season 3 is set to be released sometime in 2021 (now on HBO Max) along with the DC Comics adaptation will likely be absurd and surreal going forward. Doom Patrol will undoubtedly continue down its signature route of strangeness with the recognized characters. Still, it would be exciting (and thematically on-point) if Superman or, more correctly, Milkman Manmade an appearance also.