On September 2, 2026, DC Comics brought back one of its most criminally underrated superhero teams. Now, just over a month later, the comic publisher has made the incredibly bold move of killing the team off, marking the end of an ICONIC 63-year legacy. However, we doubt everything is as it seems. But if we’re wrong and this truly is the end, DC had better prepare for fandom outrage.
In 1963, the DOOM PATROL debuted as a team of misfits who became known in the DC Universe as the World’s Strangest Heroes. While the roster has expanded and changed over the team’s 63-year legacy, the original lineup consisted of Robotman, Elasti-Woman, Negative Man, and the Chief. In September, fans saw this classic team return in Doom Patrol #1, one of the latest titles in DC’s NEXT LEVEL initiative.
Both longtime fans and newcomers praised the debut issue, which earned an average rating of 4.3 out of five stars from readers on League of Comic Geeks, a very positive score. However, Doom Patrol #2 just dropped today, and DC is clearly ready to test fans’ tolerance for bold storytelling with the controversial decision to kill off half the Doom Patrol in, well… Doom Patrol. With this being only the second issue of what is supposed to be an ongoing series, fans are left wondering what could possibly come next for the team’s only two surviving members.
DC Officially Kills Off Half of the Doom Patrol, Here’s Our Theory
Comic Pages Come from Darcy Van Poelgeest’s Doom Patrol #2 (2026) – Art by Niko Henrichon
Writer Darcy Van Poelgeest and artist Niko Henrichon’s new series brought back the four founding members of the Doom Patrol: Robotman, Elasti-Woman, Negative Man, and the Chief. However, this issue takes a wild turn when Rita, Larry, and Cliff get into a car accident. Cliff is thrown from the vehicle, but thanks to his Robotman physique, he seems to be relatively unharmed.
However, the same can’t be said for Larry and Rita, as the two are shown trapped inside the car before ultimately burning alive in an exceptionally dark scene that undoubtedly shocked readers. Although Chief wasn’t in the car with the team, his ominous narration and the image of him burning an innocent kitty plushie make us wonder whether he knew about this event in advance or even orchestrated it. As his narration ominously states, “…not all memories are safe to keep around. That the most dangerous ones must be burned to carry on.”
This narration, paired with the image of him burning a kitty plushie while Larry and Rita are burning alive, doesn’t bode well for the team. But with so many issues still on the horizon, it’s hard to believe this is truly the end, which leaves us with several possibilities. One, Larry and Rita somehow survive or escape the car before it explodes. Two, Larry and Rita become robots themselves, like Robotman. Or three, and probably more likely, this is actually some kind of mental attack and, thus, did not truly take place.
This third option has some credence, given that the issue involves UFOs and aliens. Negative Man also breached the minds and memories of these alien invaders, so this breach may go both ways, letting the aliens breach the team’s minds as well and making Robotman see his friends die when that actually isn’t the case. Much remains a mystery, so fans will have to tune in this November for DC’s next Doom Patrol issue to find out the team’s true fate.
Doom Patrol #2 from DC Comics is now available to read!