​"Flex Patrol" – Doom Patrol S01E13 Review

Ah, Flex, we hardly knew you and now we know you. Sort of.

For those not in the know, Flex Mentallo was the brief 50s hero "revived" by Grant Morrison during his run of Doom Patrol comics. Flex had slid into obscurity and found himself in the Tearoom of Despair, which led him to Danny the Street. The Doom Patrol found Flex, and made him an ally of sorts in their battle against the Ant Farm. Flex then went on to have his own four-issue mini-series by Morrison and Frank Quitely.

The scrawny runt known only as Mac gained his powers when he got sand kicked in his face at the beach. He received a self-help "Muscle Mystery for You" course from a man with a TV for a head, and subsequently became Flex Mentallo, the Man of Muscle Mystery. Not only did he beef up, but he gained the power to flex his muscles and do... well, pretty much anything. He has since faded into obscurity although he recently appeared in Doomsday Clock #9 as a member of the Doom Patrol.

That brings us to "Flex Patrol", which is an odd mix of the above. We don't find out Flex's origins, and having a man with a TV for a head probably would have exceeded the show's budget. We start in media res with Flex (Devan Long) and his wife Dolores having a picnic in their small-town hometown. A boy working for the Bureau of Normalcy tricks Flex into rescuing a kitten, and the kitten subsequently teleports Flex to the Ant Farm.

During his time in a cell, Flex meets Larry but Larry refuses to help him for fear of breaching his provided-by-the-Bureau protective suit and killing thousands with his radiation. The Bureau forces Flex to cooperate by threatening Dolores. Flex gives in, grows a beard, and eventually forgets who he is until the Doom Patrol rescues him in the present while freeing Vic.

The rest of the Flex parts of the episode feature Jane and Cliff trying to awaken Flex's memories. Flex is too busy watching his soap opera to care, and the funniest part is the really bad soap opera playing in the background. Brendan Fraser plays his old pre-Robotman self in a guest starring role on the soap opera as himself, and badly emotes as he visits a young dying fan in the hospital. Eventually, Jane brings Dolores in, and the couple share a brief reunion until an alarm goes off in Dolores' body, and she disintegrates into bloody dust. Or dusty blood. Flex flexes in rage as he watches his wife die.

But there's more! It turns out Silas isn't dead, and Vic and Rita take him to the local hospital. While Vic sits with his father, Rita talks with an Elder Patient, (Edward Asner, in anything-for-a-check mode) and reveals she played pimp for a Hollywood producer back in the 50s. One young starlet became pregnant and killed herself, and that's the dark secret Rita has been living with ever since. Confession brings relief, and at the end Nobody reveals he's the Elder Patient in disguise. Alan Tudyk as Nobody goes full meta, wears a Doom Patrol t-shirt, has a Doom Patrol coffee mug and blanket, and has a poster of the TV show in his white void. Now he has the superhero team he (and we the audience) have been waiting for 13 episodes.

But there's more! We've had flashbacks to Larry's imprisonment at the Ant Farm, and how Darren Jones kept the Negative Spirit from reentering Larry's body. Flex can talk to it, somehow, but Larry still refuses to help. In the present day, Larry stays away from the Spirit and starts coughing up blood. He tell is it to go and be free, and he's dying without it in his body. It starts to fly off, but then comes back and reenters Larry's body, saving his life. Vic is staying with his father, but the rest of the team are ready to find Niles thanks to some chip Vic managed to access that leads them to Beard Hunter, who was hunting Niles. The details here are a little vague.

We also find out via a newscast, that Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man was shot by a Fuchs follower after AVM M turned Federal witness against Fuchs. So more comedy from comedian Alec Mapa as AVM M's human head tells his dinosaur head not to bite.

The most interesting thing about the episode is how Devan Long captures just not the physical appearance of Flex from the comics, but the mannerisms and mentality as well. Flex is the cocky 50's hero eventually brought low by the Bureau of Normalcy. Unfortunately, Flex as the goofy bearded amnesiac isn't that interesting. Things perk up once Jane and Cliff give him a haircut and his trademark leopard-skin loincloth. And become even more interesting when Flex regains his memories. The reunion between Flex and Dolores is actually touching, and his grief at her death is impressive enough.

Cliff and Jane also talk about the Underground, which seems like wasted air time since we only have two episodes left and it's unlikely they're going to get into Jane's mental issues more what with the upcoming battle with Nobody and all. We do get a tender moment when Cliff just puts his hand on Jane's shoulder and says he's there if she wants to talk.

Speaking of Cliff, Riley Shanahan as Cliff's body is probably the most interesting part of the show after Flex. Who knew a steampunk robot could be so... twitchy? Fraser's voice-work helps, but a lot of the credit goes to Shanahan who gives great bodywork.

April Bowlby has several moving speeches, and Diane Guerrero seems to be having fun, even if her constant anger is a bit grating after 13 episodes. In the comics, she was a lot more mellow and displayed her personalities a bit more. This feels more like the audience is watching Guerrero than a multiple-personality person.

Matthew Zuk and Matt Bomer don't have much to do. Vic gets brushed off-screen and apparently won't be present for the big showdown with Nobody because Vic is with Silas. I can't say I'll miss him: he's always seemed like an odd fit for the Doom Patrol. I don’t mind him on the team, and he kinda belongs as yet another "damaged hero". but Cyborg's presence on the show has always felt more like marketing "synergy" then an organic storyline. The creative team did their best, but apparently they're writing him out. Then again, maybe Vic will come charging in at the last and surprise us. We'll see.

Overall, "Flex Patrol" was a good episode, bolstered by the performances of Long and Shanahan. It may not have been the flashiest or weirdest episode, and the future will tell what happens to Flex. As a goofy 50s hero, he seems a better fit for the team than Vic. We'll see.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?