Thursday, August 24, 2023

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5 Review

   
   

Written by: Dennis Culver
Art by: Chris Burnham
Colors by: Brian Reber
Letters by: Pat Brosseau
Cover art by: Chris Burnham
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: August 23, 2023

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5 continues the bizarre collection of one-shots and thinly veiled character introductions when the Doom Patrol attacks a town that serves as a secret front for the Metagen Corporation.
Is It Good?

Dennis Culver's latest turn on the Doom Patrol has suffered for lack of one basic element - Culver doesn't have a story to tell. Each issue is either an ensemble introduction or a repeat of the prior issue with different characters. This mini-series was shaping up to be a mini-series literally about nothing.

Well, knock me down and call me stinky. Something is better than nothing, and in Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5, Culver finally gets around to providing something of a story with future potential. It's not the greatest story in the world, and the plot serves as a thinly veiled introduction to Dr. Caulder's past, but at least it's something, and something is better than nothing.

Mento, using Think Tank II, discovers a town in Illinois that serves as a front for the Metagen Corporation - the company that experiments on metas created by Lazarus Rain (like Degenerate) to create bio-weapons. The Doom Patrol sends in the muscle to attack from above while the Chief, Velvet, Degenerate, and Dr. Caulder infiltrate below to save imprisoned metas and shut down the operation.

Of course, it's a trap concocted by Metagen Corp's CEO and head tech bro, Brian McClane. McClane devised the trap to show Dr. Caulder how he's used the Doctor's years of research to create increasingly powerful metahumans for an unstoppable army. McClane wants to hire the Doctor, but the Doctor rejects the misguided offer, and the latest prototype turns into an Akira-like monstrosity the Doom Patrol leaves behind for the government agencies funding Metagen to clean up.

As a one-shot story, Culver's script is fine. The setup is a way to show off the team in fighting action while providing a backstory on Dr. Culver's research. Will it go anywhere in the two remaining issues? Who knows, but at least it's something, and something is better than the previous four issues of nothing.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5 takes the mini-series about nothing (so far) and actually delivers a decent story to show the team in action, inform readers about Dr. Culver's history, and set up a villainous organization that could spell trouble in the future. This isn't the most impressive superhero one-shot you'll ever read. In fact, it's just okay, but at least Culver is finally providing the mini-series a direction.

6/10

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