Who's This? A woman both hot and cold.
The facts: When Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton endeavored to bring back the Doom Patrol in Showcase #94 (1977), they could only resurrect Robotman. Everyone else was new. Celsius, with her (icky) connection to the Chief, was meant as his replacement and became the team's new leader. There were only 3 issues of Showcase devoted to her Patrol (and a DC Comics Presents) and only in 1987 would the Champion of the Metric System (never her title) launch the team into its own book. Here, Kupperberg played her as a mystery - was her story about being Niles Caulder's wife true or not? - and killed her off during the Invasion crossover (in DP #17), as part of cleaning house for Grant Morrison taking the book over.
How you could have heard of her: She has appeared in the New52 and Doomsday Clock, alive and well, and she appeared in live action in the Doom Patrol television series as a member of an older iteration of the DP.
Example story: Doom Patrol #9 (June 1988) "A Life in the Day" by Steve Miller, Randy DuBurke and Joe Alidetta (Bonus Book #3)
In 1988, DC included a number of "Bonus Books" in their titles, which more or less acted as try-outs for new talent. The third of these appeared in Doom Patrol and gave Celsius a rare character piece, with minimal action. She's visiting a war veteran memorial and being introspective about her husband Niles who she's convinced is still alive, when she meets an old woman who has recently lost HER husband, but still maintains a positive attitude. They take a stroll together, experiencing all the things the lady enjoys seeing as she's dying too. First order of business on her last day: Making Arani eat meat. Uhm...
Old lady really has a hold on Celsius because after make her break with her faith, she drags her to a baseball game. Arani almost freezes a home run in the air, but a fan catches it, ends up giving it to the old woman so she can get it signed. Celsius doesn't understand this random act of kindness, but then she doesn't understand superhero acts of kindness either. The old lady has to shame her into helping save people from a burning building!
We get it. Celsius' personality mirrors her powers. She's an angry hot head, but also cold and unsentimental. The worst of both metaphors. The old woman is trying to teach her to relax, have a good time, but also feel empathy. She forces him to go over and talk to the cops, journalists and people she saved, which just pisses her off more.
On the final stop, Arani is given the baseball to which she responds "Why would I want that?". Look, it's a Bonus Book. Steve Miller couldn't very well go and make the character arc. (Sadly, I don't think she got a real chance to before she went down.) The old woman's quiet death still wrings some sympathy out of her.
When Arani gets back to DP HQ, she has this redemptive moment with Cliff:
Miller kind of did it after all. Quite the task making this character likeable. And props to DuBurke whose layouts are often quite inventive. Miller had already written Rust for Now Comics and would later do an Alien Nation mini-series. DuBurke got a few assignments from DC, including the Black Canary gig in Action Comics Weekly. Celsius became the first hero casualty of the Invasion, sacrificing her life rather pointlessly crippling a Gil'Dishpan ship.
Who's Next? A mountain stronghold.
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