Who's This? An older than old dictator.
The facts: General Immortus was the first Doom Patrol villain, premiering at the same time as the team in My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963). He would go on to appear many times, alone or with the Brotherhood of Evil, fighting the versions of the team from volumes 1, 2 and 5 of their series. He was, in fact, the main villain in Showcase's reboot of the DP. Despite his name, he was apparently killed by a Parademon in Salvation Run, but would return in Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!
How you could have heard of him: He rose from the grave (again?) in 2024's Unstoppable Doom Patrol, looking like an animated skeleton. He had a more normal appearance in Peacemaker Tries Hard, but that series may or may not be in continuity. He has also appeared in the Teen Titans animated series.
Example story: My Greatest Adventure #84 (December 1963) "The Return of General Immortus" by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani
Yes, the "Return of", which is surprising to the Doom Patrol because they left him for dead after their first meeting. Just didn't believe the branding.
Come on, guys. The Chief now knows this because of daring thefts of priceless artifacts his computer says can only have been committed by General Immortus. He's so long-lived, that stuff was probably in his closet at some point. Babylonian stones, scattered across three museums are the target, and it's a sure shot that Immortus can read these tablets even if today's experts can't. But to what end? With two stone fragments down, the DP know where he'll strike next. But the attempt to stop the attempt is stopped by Robotman picking up a tommy gun and shooting at both Negative Man and Elasti-Girl! Immortus is controlling Cliff's robot body!
Immortus' science is strong, but the Chief is smarter. He's put a tracker in Cliff's body (non-consensually, of course) and the team is able to track him to South Africa (presumably, the Krysna Forest) where the General is making a fortune off blood diamonds!
He admits to using slaves in the past, but the only reason he doesn't anymore is because automation is more efficient. What a monster. He now means to use Robotman to help him find a new treasure trove before the mine runs dry. In preparation, he dips Cliff in lead so that no interfering broadcasts from the Chief can free him. Though controlling him directly through a wire seems counterproductive.
Surely, having to walk around with Cliff on a leash is going to impair BOTH their movements and ability to find another "treasury". It seems especially foolish given that he also implanted a bomb in Robotman's head so he can Amanda Waller him if the Doom Patrol interfere. You really want to be this close, 'Morty? And what of the Babylonian tablets? Well, they point to a 500 million dollar treasure trove, so off they go by plane (with a tiny Rita Farr in tow). They land in Iraq, former site of Babylon, where the General waxes nostalgic about a bunch of old friends (presumably).
He has Cliff use his great strength to gain entry to a rich tomb, and Rita's too, after he catches her trying to interfere with his wire system. In the end, it's really down to Negative Man's speed, racing the signal to Cliff's brain bomb.
And managing it with an inch to spare. Rita questions the science (don't they both travel at the speed of light?), and Robotman is all, like, "who cares?". But surely, the Chief will give us an explanation. Ah yes, the wire's resistance. Checks out. And Immortus? Escaped to fight another day.
The early DP stories mostly resorted to would-be tyrants with scientific know-how (and therefore a variety of robots and other creatures to fight), and General Immortus is among them. He's an interesting analogue of Vandal Savage, in a way, and a bit of a wrinkled prune because he has to take doses of his life-prolonging drug every few centuries. It's still taken a toll on him. I think he has a stronger premise than Garguax or even the Brain. And though it's never couched in political terms - and perhaps Arnold Drake didn't really know what he was implying, I don't know - having him here run a diamond mine in an Apartheid state is quite the evil combo.
Who's Next? A monocled spirit.
Comments