Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1
The release of DC Comics' new series Batman/Superman: World's Finest also marks the return of the Doom Patrol to the comics. Thanks to their new popularity due to their live-action series on HBO Max, the heroes of the Doom Patrol have become much bigger names as opposed to 5 years ago. Now, the comics are presenting them as the ideal team of heroes to save Superman from an extremely dangerous dose of red kryptonite.
In World's Finest #1 from writer Mark Waid, artist Dan Mora, and colorist Tamra Bonvillain, Batman and Robin have tracked down Poison Ivy who left Gotham for Metropolis. However, it's soon revealed that she's working with Metallo, one of Superman's classic foes. Naturally, the Man of Steel soon arrives to help the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder, though he's soon incapacitated by Metallo. While the villain normally poses a significant threat to Superman with his green kryptonite heart, Metallo has an extra trick up his sleeve in this first issue, stabbing Superman in the chest with a volatile cocktail of red kryptonite shards, each one capable of causing random transmutations to Kal-El's Kryptonian physiology.
Thankfully, there's a team in the DC Universe that specializes in transformations of the bizarre and weird. Run by Doctor Niles Caulder, Batman calls in the Doom Patrol for a much-needed assist. Featuring Robot Man (Cliff Steele), Negative Man (Larry Trainor), and the Elastic Woman (Rita Farr), the team of misfits and outcasts are finally given a new spotlight they haven't had for quite a while in the comics. They not only take down Superman as he suffers from hallucinations but also bring the Man of Steel to Caulder himself who intends to operate using surgical tools laced with green kryptonite.
One would imagine that DC Comics would have already given the Doom Patrol their own series by now to create some synergy between the comics and the beloved streaming series. While there was a Doom Patrol series in publication just after Doom Patrol's first season, it only lasted for seven issues under Gerard Way's Young Animal imprint. As such, Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1 is one of the first dynamic uses of the Doom Patrol since the airing of the television series.
As World's Finest continues with Superman's life hanging in the balance, readers will hopefully be able to see more of the Doom Patrol. It would certainly be exciting to see other DP characters showing up such as Crazy Jane, Danny the Street, or Flex Mentallo. At any rate, there's a lot the Doom Patrol can offer going forward, operating as a dynamic team of misfits looking to help others who've fallen victim to the DC Universe's most bizarre occurrences.