HBO MAX is All Set to Adapt ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner

HBO MAX is All Set to Adapt ‘Dead Boy Detectives’: Unless you’re living under a rock, you will have hopped on the hype bandwagon and already know about Doom Patrol, HBO’s longstanding popular superhero series in America, written by Jeremy Carver. The series has its roots in the DC comics league of the same name. But in case you don’t, we’re here to tell you all about it and give you the newest updates about it as well.

Doom Patrol is essentially a league of superheroes, but these aren’t your regular, everyday superheroes. All of these superheroes have an element in common. All of them without fail have obtained their superhero qualities from trauma. These superheroes have all met with terrible, horrific, unimaginably ghastly accidents, which have left them with lifelong scars and disfigurements. Thus they all have some or the other disability. However, the accident also gives them a unique power – a superpower with which they can amend the world. Among these are the Dead Boy Detectives – more about them later.

Thus the members of this league, the Doom Patrol, unite in order to investigate and understand supernatural, weird, mysterious phenomena of the world. Their leader is the Chief, who treats these weirdly diseased people whom society shuns and discards. The Chief is a typical mad scientist with an idealistic vision for a utopic world. The following is a rough idea of what happens in each of the seasons, with minimal (but existent) spoilers.

In Season 1, which was streamed in 2019, we get introduced to several characters. The main of these include Jane, Rita Farr, Mr Nobody, Larry Trainor, Cliff Steele, Cyborg and the Chief. Jane has several identities, Farr is a former Hollywood superstar who gets exposed to a toxic gas and Mr Nobody who can travel through dimensions. Steele has a robotic body post a car accident, Cyborg has cybernetic embellishments post an accident, and the Chief is a medical doctor. Ultimately, the Chief is revealed to have been the cause of all these accidents, due to a twisted interpretation of love for his daughter.

In season 2, which we saw in 2020, these characters take the story further. Jane’s personalities have tiffs with each other, and the ending takes a shocking turn. There is the introduction of new characters such as Miranda and the like, as well as new plot developments in the story. Basically, to summarise, the crew of superheroes, despite the previous revelation, have to unite with the Chief in order to protect their loved ones.

Finally, in season 3, which came on HBO in 2021, the destruction of the Brotherhood of Evil and a final face off between adversaries Rita Farr and Madame Rouge. Also involved is a little bit of space travel. By the end of the season, all characters who were in the beginning in denial of their trauma are forced to confront it. They embrace their fears and dive into the heart of their psychological impact. What emerges is a thrilling, exciting yet emotionally draining saga of events.

But this is not where the story ends. It seems that Doom Patrol is set to return to HBO this year again, with new characters and a new plotline. And even  more interesting is the fact that the ghost characters from the series will be getting their very own spin off series!

Created by Nail Gaiman and Matt Wagner in the Sandman of DC Comics, the Dead Boy Detectives are essentially ghost detectives. These ghosts are of two children, Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, who don’t enter afterlife. Instead, they stay behind on the planet Earth in order to become detectives who investigate and solve crimes in the department of the supernatural. They appear in the third season of Doom Patrol, and are likely to recur in the fourth season as well.

The boys have quite the ghastly life history. After his murder at the boarding school, Payne haunts the long corridors of the school. This happens post the emptying of hell and his release from hell. During this time, Rowland is a living student in the boarding school. He stays over in the school during holidays despite having no company. The professors and even Payne try to protect him, but it proves impossible and he eventually dies. However, like Payne, he too rejects afterlife and vows to destroy the horrors that plague the boarding schoo. He too, like Payne, becomes a detective.

Now, about the series – here’s what we know about it. Authorities describe the plot as a ‘ghost story’ with eight episodes which will explore ‘loss, grief and death’. The lens through which these themes will come to life will be Payne, Rowland and their real and alive friend Crystal Palace. George Rextrew will play Payne, Jayden Revri will play Rowland and Kassius Nelson will play Palace. Apart from this, the series will also star Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher. The show also stars Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse. Yuyu Kitamura will play Niko and Jane Lyon, Esther, according to Variety.

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