/1.jpg "Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1")
All hail the Supreme Shape! Gerard Way and the World's Strangest Superheroes return in an all-new series that takes them beyond the borders of time and space! Featuring artwork by acclaimed cartoonist James Harvey, this issue finds the Doom Patrol facing off against the fanatical fitness fiends of planet Orbius and the Marathon Eternal! Meanwhile, Cliff Steele, formerly known as Robotman, must come to terms with his new body of flesh and bone...yet the real test turns out to be something far more frightening: his mom.
Words cannot truly express the level of disappointment that I have with this book, but I will try.
First, Gerard Way was allowed to totally disregard the fact that the DC Universe streaming service delivered a critically acclaimed season of live-action Doom Patrol. Instead, he started the book -- a first issue, mind you -- announcing that this was issue 13 of his arc. Right off the bat, new readers from the TV show are going to wonder what in the world is going on.
And I did.
But fear not! Way has an editor, and the editor has editor's notes! Those notes are plastered throughout this book in the same manner that you plastered Beth's cubicle with post-its as a prank for her birthday. They are EVERYWHERE throughout the book. Is it helpful? Kind of. It's also an implicit admission by DC editorial that this book makes no sense to the new reader. The script should have been scrubbed before it went to the artist. No book should need this many explanatory reference notes. Total tone-deafness on Way and DC's part.
EXAMPLE: Danny is a street in the tv show. He's an ambulance -- with a theme park inside! -- in the book. Of course, that's only explained in an editor's note...so you have to run this strangeness through a translator because both what we saw on tv and what we are reading on the page is wacked out, each in its own way.
Way's best writing came in the closing pages with Cliff Steele trying to rebuild personal relationships. The emotions are deep, and the pain is palpable. (And while an editor's note may have been useful to tell us that Robotman is no longer a robot but instead a human figure...it wasn't there. Maybe editorial burnt through their quota of notes in the first 20 pages.)
I'm wanted to enjoy this book, but reading it was so incredibly hard. It's obtuse to begin with being Doom Patrol, then it was mind-numbingly self-referential because it picked up on a storyline that newcomers like me did not know. Not an enjoyable read in the least.
I sure hope Gerard Way had a big audience with his last run, because he kneecapped his chances for big circulation growth.
I know my rating is low, and it's only as high as it is because the art isn't bad.
© 2025
You know, you could...just like...go back and read the original run? Or, I dunno, look up a plot summary? It's clear this book is a sequel, so you should probably read the first damn part before saying it doesn't make sense.
Or it could have been numbered #13, and I wouldn't have bothered. Commercial pressures from the TV show aside, I think it fair to expect a fresh start with a first issue.
It had no link to the show whatsoever and it had been made clear in the announcements that it is a continuation of Way's previous run on Doom Patrol. The previous run was great and has been collected in 2 trades. Just pick them and may be then you will appreciate this run better (just a suggestion) .
Thank god he didn't just make this the TV show.
i agree with AdmiralWhiskers. if this was going to be a continuation, then it should be numbered as issue #13. to put a number 1 on it is just plain dumb.