Doom Patrol #7
Doom Patrol vol. 2 #7 (April 1988) is the debut issue of Shrapnel (Mark Scheffer), a body-horror villain whose organic-metal, self-detonating physiology made him one of the more genuinely unsettling antagonists to emerge from DC's Copper Age. His introduction in the pages of Paul Kupperberg's post-Crisis Doom Patrol relaunch placed a character of real creative staying power into the DCU, one who would go on to trouble the Outsiders, the Suicide Squad, and the Secret Society of Super-Villains across multiple decades. The issue also marks the first appearance of Scott Fischer in costume, adding yet another new face to Kupperberg's rapidly expanding roster of second-generation Doom Patrol recruits. Collectively, these introductions document how ambitiously Kupperberg was attempting to rebuild the team's world before Grant Morrison arrived to transform it entirely.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw / ungraded ▾ $0.99–$12.65 17 listings
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Writer Paul Kupperberg and penciler Erik Larsen produced this issue as part of the post-Crisis Doom Patrol ongoing series that launched in October 1987, with Larsen having replaced founding penciler Steve Lightle after just five issues. The Kupperberg–Larsen working relationship was reportedly uneven: according to Larsen himself (as documented in Back Issue! #65, TwoMorrows Publishing, 2013), he occasionally revised Kupperberg's plots while drawing the book, a practice neither the writer nor the editor formally addressed. The issue's editor was Robert Greenberger, with Dick Giordano serving as Executive Editor, and the full production team included inkers Gary Martin and Monika Livingston, colorist Julianna Ferriter, and letterer John Workman.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Shrapnel (Mark Scheffer), created by writer Paul Kupperberg and penciler Erik Larsen; cover-dated April 1988.
- First appearance of Scott Fischer in costume (he had debuted in issue #6 in civilian context); his heat-generating powers and the codename Blaze/Scorch are associated with this period of the run.
- Story title is 'The Kids' Night Out!' — a tale structured around younger Doom Patrol members Karma (Wayne Hawkins), Lodestone (Rhea Jones), and Scott Fischer going out on the town and encountering Shrapnel independently of the senior team.
- Shrapnel's power set — a body composed of thousands of razor-sharp organic-metal scales he can project explosively and then mentally reassemble — established him as a body-horror antagonist rooted in mutation, a thematic throughline of the Doom Patrol title.
- In the issue, Celsius (Arani Caulder) attempts to contain Shrapnel by encasing him in ice; he detonates free and hospitalizes her, establishing him as a serious threat from his very first appearance.
- Erik Larsen also drew the cover. Larsen's work on this issue exhibits the kinetic energy he would later channel into his creator-owned Image title Savage Dragon.
- The issue was reprinted in its entirety in DC's Doom Patrol: The Bronze Age Omnibus (2019), an oversized hardcover collecting Doom Patrol vol. 2 #1–18 alongside Bronze Age guest appearances and a previously unpublished fill-in story.
- Shrapnel went on to appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Greg Ellis) and in the live-action Arrow season two (portrayed by Sean Maher), giving this debut issue an adaptation footprint spanning both animation and television.
Cast · 13 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in The Doom Patrol: The Bronze Age Omnibus #[nn] (2020)
Key issues in Doom Patrol
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.