Elasti-Girl
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For the Incredibles character, see Elastigirl (The Incredibles).
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Elasti-Girl is a superhero of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Doom Patrol.
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[edit] Fictional character history
According to the Doom Patrol series, Rita Farr was a Hollywood actress who was exposed to unusual volcanic gases while shooting a film in Africa. When Farr recovered, she originally discovered that she could only grow or shrink her body at will from microscopic to hundreds of feet tall. She later gained greater control of her powers, enabling her to return to normal size and enlarge one limb at a time.
Considered a freak and a menace, her Hollywood career was ruined. However, Rita was approached by Dr. Niles Caulder (also known as The Chief) who offered her a place among fellow "freaks" attempting to use their powers for good. As Elasti-Girl, she joined Caulder's team, the Doom Patrol, at which point she fell in love and married Steve Dayton AKA Mento. Later on, the couple would adopt young Gar Logan, who would be known as the Teen Titans' Beast Boy. In the JLA: Year One storyline, the Martian Manhunter tells Rita that he was something of a "fan" of her "chiller pictures" and that he was disappointed that she did not continue making films; flattered, she kissed him on the cheek and later told him she had met Aliens actress Sigourney Weaver and that she was sure she'd approve of him.
Tragedy struck when the Doom Patrol's enemies, the Brotherhood of Evil, threatened a small New England fishing village. The Patrol members elected to sacrifice themselves to save innocents and were seemingly killed in an explosion. Many members of the team subsequently cheated death or were returned to life in later Doom Patrol revivals. However, Elasti-Girl was the sole member of original Doom Patrol who died during the series and remained dead thereafter until events explained by Infinite Crisis.
[edit] Infinite Crisis
- See also: Infinite Crisis
"I remember the explosion on the island. And then nothing but darkness. Am I supposed to be dead?" — Elasti-Girl, Teen Titans #32
When writer-artist John Byrne "rebooted" the Doom Patrol in 2004, Elasti-Girl was among the original Doom Patrol members to be reintroduced, as if none of the past Doom Patrol continuity (including Rita's death) ever happened.
This retcon was later explained by Superboy-Prime's pounding on the barrier to reality, which created "ripples" that corrected reality and caused history to repeat itself for several characters, including the original Patrol being brought back. The Patrol had no memories of their previous lives until Superboy-Prime broke the Phantom Zone barrier during the battle with the Teen Titans and their allies after Mia Dearden, the new Speedy, used the "Phantom Zone Arrow" on him. At that point their minds showed them illusions of the former Doom Patrols and Rita finally remembered everything, her husband, her son, and her death.
[edit] One Year Later
Following the OYL jump, the Doom Patrol has changed considerably, losing several members and gaining new members Beast Boy, Bumblebee and Vox. (Teen Titans #36)
It has recently been revealed that the Chief had salvaged Elasti-Girl's skull and used his technology to allow her body to regrow from its malleable form. As such, Elasti-Girl is much more docile and appears either reluctant or afraid to question the Chief. The Chief hinted that her malleable form somewhat hampers her thinking abilities, thus leading to her lack of personal initiative and making her dependent upon the orders of Caulder. Whether she's really suffering of a form of brain damage, or has simply been brainwashed by the Chief as Robin suspects, is still unknown at the time. Her husband Mento has also returned, though he appeared to be under the control of his Mento-helmet, making him believe that his wife would never love him without it.
However following their battle against the Brotherhood, the Titans and Doom Patrol became fully aware of the Chief's shameless and almost cruel manipulation of people when they witnessed it first hand as the Chief tried to convince Kid Devil he was a freak and that no one on the Titans liked him. This pushed everyone to confront the Chief, after which Mento finally removed his helmet and pointedly told the Chief that he was no longer leader and if he ever said anything like that again to his wife and son, he would destroy the Chief's intellect. Rita firmly took her husband's side, finally breaking away from the Chief's control of her.
[edit] Other media
Elasti-Girl has appeared as a member of the Doom Patrol in Season Five (the two-part "Homecoming" episode) of the Teen Titans animated series. Her ability to shrink is almost absent from the series, save for the obvious returning to her original size.
She is voiced by Tara Strong, who also has provided voices for other animated superheroes, such as Batgirl and Raven.
