Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #4 – Gerard Way, Jeremy Lambert, Writers; Nick Pittara, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ratings Ray – 7/10
Ray: The second volume of Gerard Way’s Doom Patrol has wasted no time getting back to its weirdest elements, and that’s both a positive and a negative, even in Doom Patrol Weight of the Worlds #4. Nick Pittara’s hyper-realistic guest-art is a good choice for an issue that’s all about body horror – but don’t be surprised if it leaves you a bit nauseous in the process.
That’s what this book often offers – technical excellence with a story that doesn’t always click. It’s not surprising that Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #4 focuses on the Doom Patrol’s most complicated member, the body-builder and copyright nightmare Flex Mentallo. This issue, he takes the team back to his hometown of Destiny Beach, where he’s been winning bodybuilding competitions for years. But it’s been overrun by mutant aliens and one of them has the alien jockstrap that corrupted Flex years ago. That’s right, it’s essentially a Venom parody with Charles Atlas types.
This turns into an extended bodybuilding competition that’s eventually won not by Flex or his rival, but by Rita Farr in a display of muscle growth that puts most Deviantart muscle-kink artists to shame. I wouldn’t be surprised if this storyline puts some people off, even though the B-story involving Robotman is some of the best material of the series.
He’s the character who’s had the most complex storyline of the series, with his attempted suicide in the first issue. Now he’s back to being Robotman, but has gotten obsessed with the upgrade system in his new body. That’s caused him to develop a new alternative personality called “Cliff Fixit”, so desperate to please that he becomes obsessed with helping people. This eventually takes him off-earth as he tackles a challenge that may be too big for him. It’s a massive mixed bag of an issue, and one that doesn’t quite come together as a whole.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
