| Chief | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963) |
| Created by | Arnold Drake Bruno Premiani |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Niles Caulder |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Doom Patrol |
| Abilities |
|
TheChief (Niles Caulder) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics, usually as the leader of the superhero teamDoom Patrol.[1] Created byArnold Drake andBruno Premiani, he made his debut alongside the other original members of the Doom Patrol inMy Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963). Despite sharing similarities withProfessor X, he is, however, a regular normal human.
The Chief made his first live-action appearance on theDC Universe seriesTitans, played byBruno Bichir. In DC Universe andMax'seponymousDoom Patrol series, he was portrayed byTimothy Dalton in the first two seasons and guest starred in the third and fourth seasons.
He first appeared inMy Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963)[2] and was created byArnold Drake andBruno Premiani. According to Drake, the issue's co-writerBob Haney was not brought on to the project until after the Chief was created.[3]
Drake confirmed in an interview that the Chief was inspired by the works ofArthur Conan Doyle, specificallySherlock Holmes' elder brother,Mycroft.[4]
Niles Caulder is aparaplegic withgenius intelligence.[5] Caulder uses his scientific knowledge to develop numerous inventions and innovations that have made him wealthy. Caulder founded and organized the team called Doom Patrol to protect the innocent and fight crime, and to teach humanity to accept others who live as ostracized "freaks," who have been radically transformed from terrible accidents.[1] It is Caulder's genius that allowed the team members to survive (e.g., designingRobotman's body, devisingNegative Man's medicated bandages), and helped grant their freakishness and abilities.[6]
Caulder developed an interest in creating better life at a young age. Proving at a young age to be both a brilliant inventor and engineer, Caulder received funding from a mysterious benefactor. Thanks to the funding, Caulder succeeded in creating a chemical capable of prolonging life. Ultimately, it was revealed that the benefactor wasGeneral Immortus, who hired Caulder to create a chemical to replace the one that had been prolonging his life for centuries but was now failing. When the young scientist discovered the truth about his employer, he refused to continue the work. Immortus responded by implanting an explosive device in Caulder's torso, which he could set off remotely, and any attempt to remove it while Niles lived would also detonate it. Caulder eventually removed the bomb, but it rendered him paraplegic.[7] The incident inspired and reminded Caulder that a better life may come from surviving a tragic event, such as his own.
In the early years of the Patrol, Caulder not only kept his true identity and appearance secret from the public; even his team knew him only as the Chief. In issue #88 (June 1964), their third battle against Immortus forces him to tell the rest of the Patrol his back-story and real name, which suddenly and with no explanation becomes common public knowledge for the rest of the original 1960s series.
Niles Caulder's back-history seemingly remained intact following the events ofCrisis on Infinite Earths; however, when writerGrant Morrison took over the Doom Patrol title (starting with vol. 2 #19) they reimagined him as a cold, detached and somewhat mysterious individual. Near the end of their run, Morrison even revealed that Caulder was responsible for the "accidents" that caused the original Doom Patrol members to gain their powers, since his personal philosophy is that true greatness comes through overcoming tragic events.
While volunteering for thePeace Corps in the 1960s inCalcutta, India, Niles Caulder metArani Desai and the two fell in love. He gave her immortality on their wedding night and left her in a monastery in the Himalayas, sensing danger from his mysterious benefactor.
Caulder had been hired to develop a serum to increase a person's life span indefinitely. While working on the project, Caulder discovered that his mysterious benefactor was General Immortus. Immortus planted a bomb in Caulder's chest and would only remove it when Caulder had developed the serum. Immortus shot Caulder and while he was technically dead, his robot surgeon removed the bomb and revived him. Due to the robot's crude surgical technique, The Chief lost the use of his legs. Fearing that Immortus would never stop until he was dead, he decided to form a team of heroic misfits to fight Immortus. This team became the first incarnation of the Doom Patrol.
In keeping with the above retcon that he manipulated the original Doom Patrol's transformations, it has been revealed that Caulder had also experimented on other characters in the world who would both benefit and destroy humanity. The most noted are a bitter group called theBrotherhood of Evil, a group of people who also live like "freaks", led bythe Brain. The Brotherhood exists as an elitist paramilitary organization involved in terrorist acts around the world such as the destruction ofBlüdhaven, occasionally attempting global control of humanity, and the death and destruction of Niles Caulder for causing their tragic transformations.
Towards the end ofGrant Morrison'sDoom Patrol run, Caulder is discovered working on a nanotechnology bomb that will destroy half the world and replace it with humans transformed into freaks of nature — his theory being that from the destruction would rise a better human race. He murders the original Tempest,Joshua Clay, to protect his secret but the Doom Patrol succeed in stopping his plans.[2]
During these events, he is killed by a creation of Dorothy Spinner's known as the Candlemaker.Will Magnus builds a new body for the Chief, telling him that he should try helping the Patrol to make up for what he did. Becoming suicidal with guilt, the Chief states that he can never do enough to make up for his actions and uses his new body to rip off his head. His head survives and is preserved in a cryogenic chamber.
AfterSuperboy-Prime damages the barriers of reality inInfinite Crisis, certain events are rewritten,[8] leading the Chief to regain his body. It has been revealed that he apparently still is responsible for the creation of the original members of the Patrol, though they claim to have forgiven him.
Caulder now seems to be intent on expanding the Doom Patrol's ranks; he has already convincedBeast Boy to return to the team and formally join it for the first time, and gottenBumblebee andVox to join.Robin doubts the Chief's motives, and after seeing him appear to manipulateElasti-Girl, Robin accuses him of brainwashing the Doom Patrol by keeping them dependent on him. For his part, Caulder maintains that by joining the Doom Patrol, team members "won't have to be freaks anymore." Later, when Caulder is overheard tellingKid Devil that his teammates do not like him and he should join the Doom Patrol, the others finally see that he is controlling them with fear and self-loathing. While Caulder tells them that they need him,Mento finally takes off his helmet, allowing him to think clearly. Mento then informs the Chief that he is no longer their leader and if he ever speaks to Elasti-Girl or Beast Boy like that again, he will destroy Caulder's intellect. Shocked by this, the Chief rushes off to his lab.
Also in the Teen Titans story[volume & issue needed], it is also revealed that Caulder brutally murdered the scientist who would become "Brain" because they were both working on General Immortus' potion and Caulder was jealous of the Brain's genius and tried to blow up the other scientist's lab to force him to become Robotman prior to Cliff Steele's accident that made him the character of the same name. Brain also reveals that he and the Doom Patrol are not the only innocent humans whose bodies are mutilated against their will by Caulder to create his own personal super-hero team. Two previously unseen characters (Electric Blu and the Human Cannon) and a Negative Girl (possibly a retcon ofValentina Vostok) are said to be out there somewhere, having rejected Caulder for the damage he inflicted upon them.
During the "Blackest Night" event, Caulder is attacked by his former wife Celsius, who has been resurrected as aBlack Lantern. During her attack, Celsius is only able to detect avarice as the dominant emotion in Niles' body, his entire emotional aura coloredorange. Using her temperature control powers, Celsius freezes and shatters Caulder's legs. She then goes in for the kill, aiming to rip out his heart.[9] Caulder is saved by the intervention of a man with a black hole for a face, who imprisons Celsius in an energy bubble. Unable to defeat the Black Lanterns, Caulder utilized a warp gate to send them all to the Justice League, in hopes that they will be able to deal with the problem. However, at last beaten by the excruciating pain of his destroyed legs, he gives in at last and appears to fall unconscious.[10]
Caulder later gains the body of aKryptonian, and successfully duplicates the ability to absorb yellow sun radiation into the cells from it, transforming himself into a "Superman". Caulder then attacks his team, before setting out to do their job himself. He steals every missile on the planet and dumps them in Antarctica, and attacks the United Nations in his attempts to make "a better world". He is only stopped when his laboratory computer, "Millicent", transmits a sequence of lights through Robotman's eyes and into his own, neurologically shutting down Caulder's brain. His comatose body is then placed in storage in Oolong Island.[11] Afterwards, the Doom Patrol discover that someone has broken in and stolen Caulder's body.[12]
In "The New 52", DC Comics' 2011 reboot of their universe, a young and healthy Niles Caulder is introduced in issue #4 ofThe Ravagers. Operating a deep underground science & engineering facility located beneath Los Angeles, he provides headquarters and combat training for the team in their campaign against the organization of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Infiltrating the compound, Caulder is captured along with the rest of the Ravagers byDeathstroke on the behest of Harvest.
During the events ofForever Evil, it is revealed that Niles Caulder has created a Doom Patrol since his last appearance and seems to be free from Harvest. This Doom Patrol was killed byCrime Syndicate of America membersJohnny Quick and Atomica except for Celsius and Tempest who according to Lex Luthor faked their deaths to escape him, prompting Caulder to make plans to "start over".[13] Following the defeat of the Crime Syndicate, Caulder and the newly created Doom Patrol is introduced in issue #30 of Justice League. Membership consists of team's classic, 1963, lineup with Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and - M.I.A. Justice League member - Element Woman.
The Doom Patrol in theYoung Animal imprint is contacted by Niles Caulder in issue #7 and embark on a mission with him leading. The mission goes haywire and it is revealed that Niles Caulder is gambling again, leading the team to evict him as a leader and as a member of the team. This marks the team embracing being a new iteration of the Doom Patrol.
Niles Caulder has proficiency in chemistry,electrical engineering, leadership, and robotics.[14]
An alternate universe variant of the Chief appears inTeen Titans: Earth One as a senior member ofS.T.A.R. Labs.[15]
Alternate universe variants of the Chief makes minor appearances in theElseworlds titlesJLA: The Nail,[16]Justice,[17] andDC: The New Frontier.[18]
The Chief appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[24]
The Chief appears inBatman: The Brave and the Bold #7.[25]