| Celsius | |
|---|---|
 Celsius as depicted inDoom Patrol (vol. 2) #1 (October 1987). Art bySteve Lightle. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Showcase #94 (September 1977) |
| Created by | Paul Kupperberg Joe Staton |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Arani Desai Caulder |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Doom Patrol Black Lantern Corps |
| Notable aliases | Arani Caulder |
| Abilities | Fire and ice manipulation Skilled martial artist |
Celsius (Arani Desai) is asuperhero in theDC Comics seriesDoom Patrol. She first appeared inShowcase #94 (September 1977), and was created byPaul Kupperberg andJoe Staton.[1] She is among the very few superheroes ofIndian heritage, and may be the first ever such hero created by DC Comics.[2]
Celsius appeared in her first live adaptation on the first season of theDoom Patrol television series forDC Universe played by Jasmine Kaur andMadhur Jaffrey.
Celsius was created for the new, rebooted Doom Patrol which debuted inShowcase #94-96. Inspired byLen Wein andDave Cockrum's "NewX-Men", writer Paul Kupperberg wanted to have some heroes of different nationalities in the group.[3] Artist Joe Staton used photos fromNational Geographic articles about India as the model for Celsius.[3]
Arani Desai was born in India into a life of wealth and privilege.[4] After her mother dies in childbirth and her father Ashok goes insane, Arani is rescued byNiles Caulder, who she later marries. After Caulder abandons her in the Himalayas, Arani trains with Buddhist monks and gains the ability to manipulate temperature.[2]
Following the death of the original Doom Patrol, Celsius forms a team to search for Caulder and discovers thatRobotman andNegative Man survived.[5] However, Negative Man is kidnapped by Ashok, who has become a demonicmetahuman, before the Doom Patrol defeat him.
InInvasion!, Celsius is killed while stopping a Gil'Dishpan ship from escaping theArctic Circle.[2][6]
InBlackest Night, Celsius is temporarily resurrected as aBlack Lantern. InThe New 52 continuity reboot, she is permanently resurrected and becomes the leader of the Doomed, India's sanctioned superhero team.[7][8]
Celsius is a superior martial artist due to her monastery training. She has minor levels of ancient mysticism taught to her due to her monastery training in theHimalayas byBuddhist monks.
These same Buddhist monks taught Arani to control and manipulate her core temperature, projecting fire and ice from her left and right hands respectively.
Celsius appears in theDoom Patrol episode "Doom Patrol Patrol", portrayed by Jasmine Kaur as a young woman andMadhur Jaffrey as an old woman. This version was a member of a 1950s incarnation of the Doom Patrol before they were defeated and rendered mentally ill byMr. Nobody.