Chief (DC)
The Chief is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Niles Caulder
Proving at a young age to be both a brilliant inventor and engineer, Caulder received funding from a mysterious benefactor. Thanks to the funding, Caulder succeeded in creating a chemical capable of prolonging life. Ultimately, it was revealed that the benefactor was a man called General Immortus, who hired Caulder to create a chemical to replace the one that had been prolonging his life for centuries, but was now failing. When the young scientist discovered the truth about his employer, he refused to continue the work. Immortus responded by implanting an explosive device in Caulder's upper torso, which he could set off remotely, and any attempt to remove it while Niles lived would also detonate it. Caulder's solution was to provoke Immortus into firing a bullet into Caulder's chest. This allowed a robot of Caulder's invention to remove the device while his heart was stopped, but the operation took longer than anticipated and cost him his ability to walk. The incident inspired and reminded Caulder that a better life may come from surviving a tragic event, such as his own. This led to Caulder engineering the "accidents" that cause the original Doom Patrol members to gain their powers, since his personal philosophy is that true greatness comes through overcoming tragic events.
During World War II, Caulder came to work with a genius named Dr. Anton Koravyk on a top-secret sonar project. (Doom Patrol v1 #114) It was said that he had created accidents in order to make super-powered beings with thee experimenting including the Human Cannon, Negative Girl and Electric Blu who were all the Chief’s victims. At some point, he became the peer of a brilliant scientist who had made breakthroughs in the field of animal evolution. However, Caulder became jealous of the man’s accomplishments and decided to destroy him. Thus, he sabotaged his laboratory and engineered an explosion that badly destroyed his body. The Chief then removed his brain and intended to place it into the mechanical frame of his Robotman. However, the scientists uplifted gorilla named Monsieur Mallah rescued him whereupon he vowed vengeance against Caulder to destroy everything of his including his creations as he became the supervillain called the Brain. (Teen Titans v3 #37)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
While volunteering for the Peace Corps in the 1960s in Calcutta, India, Niles Caulder met Arani Desai and the two fell in love. He gave her immortality on their wedding night and left her in a monastery in the Himalayas, sensing danger from his mysterious benefactor.
During the Blackest Night, Caulder came to be attacked by his former wife Celsius who had been revived as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. During her attack, Celsius was only able to detect avarice as the dominant emotion in Niles' body. Using her temperature control powers, Celsius froze and shattered Caulder's legs here she aimed to rip out his heart. (Doom Patrol v5 #4)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events
When the Crime Syndicate invaded Earth and apparently killed all the world's heroes, Caulder stepped up and initiated his new version of the Doom Patrol, recruiting young and inexperienced heroes to save the world. However, his plan backfired, and multiple of its members were murdered by the Syndicate. Unable to save the world this time, the Chief went back to the drawing board, recruiting a new team. (Justice League v2 #27)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Caulder was shown to be infatuated with Madame Rouge. (Doom Patrol v1 #113)
Powers and abilities
He had devised a ray that could bring a recently-dead person back to life. (Doom Patrol v1 #88)
Caulder often carried a pistol for self-defense which he used when he was on field missions. (Justice League v2 #32)
Notes
- The Chief was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani where he made his first appearance in My Greatest Adventure v1 #80 (June, 1963).
- In an interview, Drake confirmed that the inspiration for The Chief was the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle specifically Sherlock Holmes' elder brother, Mycroft Holmes.
In other media
Television
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Chief appeared in the animated television series in the episode "The Last Patrol!" where he was voiced by actor Richard McGonagle.
- In DC Nation Shorts, the Chief appeared in the Doom Patrol segments where he was voiced by actor Jeffrey Combs.
- In Titans, the Chief appeared in the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Bruno Bichir.
- In Doom Patrol, the Chief appeared in the spin-off live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Timothy Dalton. It was shown that he was over a century old having been a child in the late 1800s when he encountered Red Jack. As he grew up, he became dedicated in finding strange and bizarre things in the world where he once encountered a Neanderthal woman with remarkable powers that allowed her to make imaginary things into reality. The pair slept together but he left her company to protect her but was unaware that she became pregnant with his child. Caulder by this point was working for the Bureau of Normalcy where he hunted down unusual things on behalf of his employers.
Other
Appearances
- My Greatest Adventure v1: (1963)
- Doom Patrol v1:
- Teen Titans v3:
- Doom Patrol v5:
- Justice League v2:
External Links
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