The Doom Patrol are some of DC's weirdest, most off-kilter heroes, and their villains are typically no different. Besides such weirdos as the Brotherhood of Dada and Red Jack, there are also their classic foes in the Brotherhood of Evil. One of their more prominent members is Madame Rouge, arguably DC Comics' most persistent and deadly villains.
This villain has not only killed several Doom Patrol members, but she's also been known to cheat death herself. So, with Madame Rouge set to make her live-action debut on Doom Patrol, here's the character's history in the comics.
Madame Rouge in the Comics
Created by Arnold Drake, Madame Rouge debuted in Doom Patrol #86 and was the sole female member of the Brotherhood of Evil. She was originally a French actress named Laura De Mille, but after a horrific car accident that left her with brain trauma, she developed a split personality. The new personality, one which was horribly evil, was taken advantage of by the Brotherhood of Evil.
A later surgery conducted by the Brotherhood allowed Madame Rouge to shapeshift and alter the proportions of her body, accentuating her innate disguise skills. For a time, her more docile persona would take control, allowing her to briefly defect to help the Doom Patrol. During that period, she began a romantic relationship with Niles Caulder, who tried to help her repress her evil personality.
Unfortunately, her heroism didn't last, and when she became evil again, she took it out on both her rivals and her allies. Killing most of the Brotherhood of Evil and the Doom Patrol, Madame Rouge and her ally General Zahl were hunted down by Robotman and Beast Boy. The latter avenged the Doom Patrol when he killed Rouge, who briefly reverted to her good personality right before she died.
However, John Byrne's run on Doom Patrol would controversially retcon most of the team's history from 1980 onward, including Madame Rouge's death. Her demise ended up being ignored and retconned as a pocket universe, but she was briefly resurrected as a zombie by Brother Blood years later to fight the Teen Titans. That was the last time the character was seen in the comics, but she ended up finding new life in another medium.
Madame Rouge on Teen Titans
Madame Rouge appeared alongside other villains in the Brotherhood of Evil in the Teen Titans cartoon. There, her character is changed from French to Eastern European, with her costume being switched from blue to a more appropriate red, and she was a cold, merciless villain who revels in her power and defeating her enemies. While most of the aspects of her dual personality weren't used, her powers were greatly enhanced in the show.
Her stretching and shapeshifting powers are stronger than in the comics, but Teen Titans also gave her a healing factor that allowed her to recover from a variety of damage. Madame Rouge's manipulation of her own body was so great, in fact, that she was able to stretch fast enough to catch up with Kid Flash.
She would go on to appear in DC Nation shorts and Teen Titans Go!, with the latter using her same characterization and voice actress as the 2003 cartoon. She'll soon be debuting in live-action in the third season of the Doom Patrol TV series, and it's likely that her dual personalities and similarities to Elasti-Girl from the comics will be adapted.
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