It’s finally time. Yes, like Mr. Nobody said last week, it’s the climactic battle between the Doom Patrol and their sanity-splicing foe. The addition of Flex Mentallo offered the team a doorway to Mr. Nody’s domain, the White Space, but the loss of Vic left them with far less firepower. And, based on prior conflicts, they needed all they can get. Regardless, the White Space played host to a final confrontation, but maybe not the expected one. Chief still has a truth to tell, and unearthing it might be the only thing that can truly win the day. But hidden truths tend to leave their own destructive wake.
The White Space
With Flex in tow, the team drives through the boondocks in search of the Beard Hunter. Larry tries to comfort Flex over Dolores’ death, but Flex continues to blame himself. Cliff suddenly stops when a street appears in the woods out of nowhere. It’s time for Larry to introduce the rest of the team to Danny. They welcome Larry back with open arms, Rita finds the Beard Hunter is now a citizen of Danny and Flex reveals that he knows Danny as well.
Everyone shares a tender moment over Dolores’ death before Danny reveals that Chief is in the White Space. The team are perplexed, but Flex knows about the White Space. It’s the area between the panels where content doesn’t exist, and Flex knows how to get there. After a flexing mistake causes every inhabitant of Danny, and Danny themselves, to orgasm, Flex sends the team into Mr. Nobody’s domain.
The team is separated upon their arrival and dropped into their individual pasts moments before the accidents that made them who they are. Mr. Nobody offers them the chance to live their old lives once again with the ability to dodge their transformations. Cliff is initially tempted by the offer, but realizing his first act is to continue cheating on his wife causes him to step back. Rita and Larry rebel against Nobody’s offer while Jane struggles with Hammerhead over whether to accept the offer. Mr. Nobody’s threats aren’t able to dissuade the team. They know that they’ve grown as people thanks to their adversity. Cliff, Rita and Larry walk out of their memories as Hammerhead rips through a pile of furniture in front of the door.
Reprogramming
Vic’s nightmare about beating his father is interrupted when Silas wakes up. He apologizes to Silas, pointing out that he wasn’t ready to go after Mr. Nobody. The villain capitalized on Vic’s inherent mistrust of his father and he can’t forgive himself for letting it impact Silas. But Silas points out that Vic was right to not trust him. Not all of Vic’s memories are real. His mom was still alive after the accident, but Silas could only save one of them. Chief pushed him to choose Vic, but Silas was only convinced because he knew his wife would choose to save Vic too.
The revelation causes Vic to spiral. Silas tries to calm him, but Vic is too upset over his memory being a lie. Silas did something worse than reprogram him: he messed with his actual memory. He apologizes, pointing out that he was afraid of how destructive breaking away from the story would’ve been. It turns out he was right. Vic leaves to join friends he can trust.
The Truth
Larry, Rita and Cliff wander through the White Space as Mr. Nobody berates them. Rita gets fed up and begins narrating her own story, much to Nobody’s chagrin. She reunites the trio and Chief soon joins them as they wait for Jane to reemerge. Chief warns them they shouldn’t be here just before Nobody arrives. His villainous diatribe is interrupted by Dr. Harrison’s arrival. She begins to psychoanalyze Nobody, forcing him to relive the inadequacies and failures that pushed him to become Mr. Nobody. He’s nothing more than a delusional soul informed by his inferiority and rejection from the Brotherhood of Evil. Nobody is just like them.
The team offers to help Nobody, but he rejects their pity. Vic arrives at that moment and vaporizes Nobody. The fight is over before it really got started. The group returns to Doom Manor as a cohesive crime-fighting unit. But not for long as Chief watches his team perish at the hands of a giant robot that looks a lot like on Nobody designed. Almost as soon as they’re vaporized, the memory restarts. It continues to restart, over and over again, with the team dying each time.
Chief begins to catch on and tries to prevent the loop from happening as a second Vic arrives. It turns out that the entire battle was a ruse and they’re all still in the White Space. Nobody continues to tell them that he can’t be beaten, but he is willing to leave if Chief tells the truth. Chief refuses, but his team reassures him, pushing him to trust them. He finally reveals what he’s been holding onto for decades: the Doom Patrol’s accidents weren’t accidents at all. The Chief is responsible for the events that made them who they are today.
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