Brotherhood of Dada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Brotherhood of Dada is a group of fictional characters in the DC universe. Enemies of the Doom Patrol, the Brotherhood is devoted to all things absurd and bizarre, taking their name from the Dada art movement. Though they would be considered villains by most definitions, the group is not, in reality, evil (hence the decision to rename themselves from the Brotherhood of Evil), but simply aloof; they are perhaps best described as anarchic rogues.The group first appeared in the September 1989 issue of Doom Patrol, # 26 of the second series. The Brotherhood of Dada was created by Grant Morrison.
Contents |
[edit] History
Mister Morden, first name unknown, longed to reform the Brotherhood of Evil. He underwent a series of experiments that turned him into Mr. Nobody, gaining the ability to sap the sanity of other beings. He then travelled far and wide, ultimately gathering together Sleepwalk, who had vast strength only when sleepwalking; Frenzy, a large, garishly-dressed dyslexic Jamaican man who could transform into a whirling cyclone; Fog, who could absorb humans into his being when in his gaseous form; and the Quiz, a Japanese woman who literally had "every superpower you haven't thought of yet" and who wore a hazmat suit at all times due to her pathological fear of dirt.
The Brotherhood stole a magical painting and used it to transport Paris into an alternate universe. Their plan was foiled by the Doom Patrol, but they chose to remain in the strange alternate realm.
Later, Mr. Nobody escaped from the painting with the help of four members of his new Brotherhood: Agent !, who could blend into any crowd; Alias the Blur, the ghost of a mirror that can eat time; Number None, everything that goes wrong in a person's day; and the Love Glove, whose power depends on what glove he wears. They stole the bicycle of Albert Hofmann, and used its lysergic resonance to power Mr Nobody's presidential campaign. However, the US Governnent sent another super-powered agent after them. Despite the best efforts of the Doom Patrol, the Brotherhood members were killed and the painting destroyed, presumably killing the members who had elected to remain there. The only member left is the Toy, who was late for the meeting.
[edit] Members
[edit] The Fog
Byron Shelley gained the ability to turn into a psychedelic death cloud capable of absorbing people. The people he absorbed could still communicate, and the voices started to drive him mad. After he absorbed Doom Patrol member Crazy Jane, she and her multiple personalities traumatized the people inside him.
[edit] Frenzy
Lloyd Malcolm Jefferson was an illiterate man whose mother had abandoned him. He wore a garish outfit covered with symbols, a top hat with a green flower, and two bicycle wheels on his back. He could turn into a living cyclone.
[edit] Sleepwalk
Holly McKenzie was a British girl who had tremendous power, but only when she was asleep. To avoid waking, she took sleeping pills and wore headphones that played Barry Manilow. She had the outlines of two faces painted around her eyes.
[edit] The Quiz
A Japanese woman with a fear of dirt, The Quiz had every power you hadn't thought of. To make her lose a power, you had to shout out its name. Because of her fear of dirt, she wore a long gown/gas mask that was decorated with question marks similar to the Riddler's outfit. The powers she exhibited were: flight, mimicking appearances, turning people to glass, turning back time, dematerialisation, making things large, turning people into toilets filled with flowers, and the power to make escape-proof spirit jars.
[edit] Agent !
Malcolm, or rather Agent !, was a homeless man who dressed in a garish outfit decorated with excalmation marks, and his chest was a cage containing a miniature jet with birdlike feet. Despite his odd appearance, he "comes as no surprise". This allows him and anyone around him to be unnoticed or any attacks made by them to be seemingly out of nowhere. He mentions his desire to find the element of surprise, which may mean that his powers of "stealth" are not what he wants.
[edit] Alias the Blur
Ilse Krauss, an actress, fell in love with her own reflection. As she got older, the reflection changed, and she thought it had been kidnapped. She scarred the mirror with battery acid, then shot herself and was left in a coma. The dead mirror returned as a ghost with the ability to eat time. It became a member of the Brotherhood of Dada when sought out by Mr. Nobody. When it was freed of its tortured existence, Ilse finally died.
[edit] Number None
Number None, also known as the Secret Identity, is neither a specific person or thing. Number None is anything or anyone that can get in your way. As Mister Nobody put it, "everybody and everything, at some time or another, is Number None." It first appears as a door that Agent ! walks into, signalling its joining of the New New New Brotherhood of Dada. It is never officially killed, because it is unclear if it can be.
[edit] The Love Glove
Bobby Carmichael was obsessed with the Sixties. One day, he dreamt of the Glove Tree, a mysterious tree with gloves instead of leaves. Upon waking from the dream, he found his arms gone, but the Love Glove in place of his right hand. He can use it like a normal arm, but can also extend the distance beyond arm's length. He is also given the ability to revisit the Glove Tree, and use any of the left-handed gloves on it. Some of the other gloves used are the Shove Glove, which possesses enormous strength, and the Techno Glove, which grants him mechanical knowledge and expertise.
[edit] The Toy
The Toy is the only member of the Brotherhood of Dada left alive. She was late to the rally where her teammates were killed. Her origin and powers are unknown, but she dresses in a Hannibal Lecter mask with painted-on lips and two toothbrushes on the sides. She wears a shirt that says "Play with Me".
[edit] Reference
- The DC Comics Encyclopedia, DK Publishing. 1st American ed., 2004. Pg. 56, Phil Jimenez. ISBN 0-7566-0592-X
