Monday, June 2, 2008

They run their teams from their wheelchairs

Niles Caulder- Charles Xavier

A rumor has persisted for some time that either the Doom Patrol and the X-Men books were unduly influenced by the other . Both books debuted in 1963; both books featured antagonists that belonged to an organization including the words “Brotherhood” and “Evil”; and both were premised on outsiders defending a mistrustful general populace.

But the contention seems to rest on the characterizations of their leaders: both ae super-geniuses confined to wheelchairs. Bob Haney and Arnold Drake, the Doom Patrol creators, and X-Men co-creator Stan Lee denied that any such mischief took place, and in any case, the Doom Patrol seems all around more Fantastic Four-esque to me.

But their similarities work well enough for my purposes, despite that a pairing here necessitates that both must be transferred into franchises that are not paired with one another.

Commonalities:
Both are, like I said above, super-geniuses confined to wheelchairs, and are thus lead their organizations from their respective home bases.

Differences:
Xavier is an omega level mutant telepath. Caulder ain’t. Caulder, though, has a luxuriantly full head of hair and beard.

Alternate histories:

NC: As a youth, Niles Caulder’s metahuman intellect allows him to master multiple scientific disciplines, but an encounter with an alien antagonist leaves him a quadriplegic. Taking the code name “the Chief,” Caulder founds a school for young metahumans: his first class—Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, “Elongated Kid” and Wonder Girl— takes the name the Teen Titans, who often oppose his former friend Black Adam. In the ensuing years, he has intermittently resided in the Vegan star system with his lover, Koriand’r, and running his school and advocating for metahuman rights.

CX: As a youth, Charles Xavier masters multiple scientific disciplines, but an encounter with an antagonist leaves him a quadriplegic. Using the code name, Professor X, he assembles three individuals —Susan and Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm— recently granted with extraordinary abilities; the quartet is collectively known as the Fantastic Four. It is later learned that Xavier was behind said transformations; his reputation as a manipulator sullies his profile in the superhuman community.

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