Showcase #94
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeShowcase #94 is the launchpad for the second incarnation of the Doom Patrol, delivering the debut of three new characters — Celsius, Tempest, and Negative Woman — nine years after DC controversially killed the original team in Doom Patrol #121. The issue is doubly significant as the very first installment of Showcase's Bronze Age revival, resurrecting a series that had been dormant since 1970 and reasserting it as DC's dedicated proving ground for new concepts under incoming publisher Jenette Kahn. Kupperberg's deliberately diverse roster — equal in gender, racially mixed, with one African-American Vietnam veteran and one Indian woman at the center — reflected the post-All-New X-Men shift toward ensemble casts that felt genuinely contemporary rather than retrofitted. The connection between Robotman and Dr. Will Magnus established here was later acknowledged and built upon by Grant Morrison during his celebrated Vertigo run, giving this Bronze Age footnote an unexpected long-term narrative legacy.
In "The Doom Patrol Lives Forever!", Robotman returns to the ruined mansion only to discover a new team has claimed the Doom Patrol's legacy — and their first test comes when they're ambushed by the relentless General Immortus. Written by Paul Kupperberg and brought to life by Joe Staton’s dynamic art and Liz Berube’s vivid colors, this 1977 classic captures the eerie, defiant spirit of the team with a fresh twist. The cover by Jim Aparo adds a striking, ominous flair to the issue’s mysterious tone.
More listings for this title
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, a self-described longtime fan of the original team, pitched the Doom Patrol revival as part of a broader expansion at DC Comics in 1977, a period when new publisher Jenette Kahn was actively encouraging creative experimentation. Kupperberg recalled that the Showcase title was deliberately revived for the same reason it was originally created — to trial new concepts without the commitment of a standalone series. He partnered with artist Joe Staton, fresh off work on DC's Justice Society strip, and the two developed the lead story under story editor Paul Levitz and managing editor Joe Orlando, with Jim Aparo providing the cover. Kupperberg has since written that Celsius began as a concept for a daughter of Niles Caulder before being reworked into the more ambiguous figure of his claimed widow, an Indian woman named Arani Desai — a deliberate choice to keep the character's motives and her marital claim to the Chief intentionally unresolved.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearances of Celsius (Arani Desai/Caulder), Tempest (Joshua Clay), and Negative Woman (Valentina Vostok) — the three new recruits forming the second Doom Patrol.
- Written by Paul Kupperberg with interior art by Joe Staton; cover by Jim Aparo; story edited by Paul Levitz; managing editor Joe Orlando; art direction by Vince Colletta.
- On sale May 31, 1977 (cover date: August–September 1977); this is the opening issue of Showcase's Bronze Age revival, the first new issue of the series after a seven-year gap following #93 (1970).
- The main story is titled 'The Doom Patrol Lives Forever!' — Robotman, recovered after the original team's apparent deaths, returns to Doom Patrol HQ only to find the new team already in residence, and the group is immediately attacked by returning villain General Immortus.
- Dr. Will Magnus (of the Metal Men) appears in a cameo, having repaired Robotman after finding him washed ashore in the Caribbean; Matt Cable, a supporting character from the Swamp Thing titles, also appears as a government agent pursuing Negative Woman.
- Kupperberg intentionally designed the new team for demographic diversity: equal male/female split, a Black American member (Joshua Clay/Tempest, a Vietnam War deserter), an Indian woman leader (Arani Desai/Celsius), and one returning robot (Robotman), consciously reflecting the post-1975 trend set by the All-New, All-Different X-Men.
- A Mark Jewelers insert variant of this issue exists, as documented by MyComicShop.com.
- The issue and the two subsequent issues of Showcase (#94–96) were collected decades later in DC's Doom Patrol: The Bronze Age Omnibus, which gathered all of Kupperberg's Doom Patrol work for the first time in a single volume.
Cast · 30 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
After Robotman survives the blast that killed his teammates, he is reconstructed and returns to the Doom Patrol's headquarters. He expects the mansion to be empty, but instead finds a new team has taken up residence there. Before he can find out more about this new Doom Patrol, the team is attacked by General Immortus.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
Key issues in Showcase
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.