Status Updates From The Doom Patrol Archives, V...

Issue #3 deals with paranoia in the group that one of them is a mole. I love the themes at Doom Patrol deals with.

Additionally, the twist that the Chief is an alien is one that I didn't expect! The writers aren't afraid to take storytelling risks and to make each issue different from the last. It keeps my attention better than the X-Men did.

While the nature of the "outsiders" in the Doom Patrol is less compelling as a concept than the X-Men, as they were not born that way, it forces the writer's to get creative with different ways to show that being an outsider is a gift, rather than a curse.

The acceptance that the Doom Patrol receives from humanity is a weird choice. For a group whose identity is built around their "outsider" status, being accepted and celebrated by humanity is a lot less compelling and interesting than the X-Men, who seek to save humanity despite their rejection.

The social commentary is more explicit than in Stan Lee's X-Men, and the character's origin stories are told in a much more compelling way. The storytelling in general is a lot more interesting and feels more mature than the 60's X-Men.

However, the fact that these outsiders got their powers through freak accidents, not from birth, makes the social commentary less meaningful than is sometimes in X-Men.