Mr. Somebody

MR. SOMEBODY

Real Name: Eric Morden

Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Dadaist, formerly scientist, supervillain

Group Affiliation: Front Men, M.S.E., formerly The Brotherhood of Dada, The New Brotherhood of Dada

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Mr. Morden, Mr. Nobody

Base of Operations: Sacramento, California, formerly Midway City, Paraguay

First Appearance: (Mr. Morden) Doom Patrol I #86 (March, 1964), (Mr. Nobody) Doom Patrol II #26 (September, 1989)

Powers: Mr. Nobody was a living abstraction that could never be viewed full on, only appearing as an image in the corner of the eye of a viewer. He was brilliant, but quiote insane, viewing life as an essentially meaningless joke. He could drain the sanity of those around him. As Mr. Somebody he also had the ability to enter the bodies of others, possessing them while warping their minds.

History: Mr. Morden was a disgruntled scientist who wanted to join the infamous villain group the Brotherhood of Evil. He tried to destroy their arch-enemies, the Doom Patrol, with a giant robot, but failed. The Brotherhood vowed his death, and he fled to Paraguay. he met nazi war criminal Dr. Bruckner, who promised o solve his problems. He said his white room treatment could relieve Morden of his infamy by making him anonymous, and Morden agreed to the treatment. Morden was locked in the white room, which simulated infinite nothingness, and plunged him into a world of sensory deprivation. Morden administered a series of chemical injections to finish his process, and after three days that stretch on for an eternity for Morden he emerged having lost his mind. He also lost his physical self, becoming an abstract entity, which he declared to be the essence of the 21st century. Bruckner christened his creation Mr. Nobody.

(Doom Patrol V #12 (fb, BTS)) - Mr. Nobody reinvented himself as Mr. Somebody and founded M.S.E., Mister Somebody Enterprises, a pan-dimensional construction company.

(Doom Patrol V #7 (BTS)) - Thayer Jost came under the influence of Mr. Somebody, who needed Jost for startup capital and notoriety, and directed him to gather a team of metahumans. Thayer funded Botfly’s research into creating artificial life, and asked her to join his team. He then recruited the Porcelain Doll and Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man to his cause. Thayer’s mind scrambled to reassume control, but Mr. Somebody forbid it, and told him he’d erase his mind if that’s what it took.

(Doom Patrol V #10 (BTS), 11, 12) - Jost / Somebody planned on taking apart the Doom Patrol piece by piece. He ordered Porcelain Doll to Oolong island to bring him the Chief, and sent AVM Man to kill teen Titan beast Boy, Elasti-Girl’s adopted son, in hopes of demoralizing the team. He called back AVM when he had a change of plans, but refused to explain himself. The DP stopped Porcelain Doll, but wondered about her motivations. She tried to teleport away to Jost Enterprises, but Elasti-Girl took her teleportation device and confronted Somebody’s henchmen. She was taken captive, and Jost / Mr. Somebody, used the opportunity to call a press conference. He debuted his corporate superteam the Front Men, and demanded the Doom Patrol release Porcelain Doll from Oolong. He painted the DP as villains, showing edited footage of Elasti-Girl’s attack on Jost Enterprises. Jost / Somebody explained to Botfly that the difference between heroes and villains was getting less every day, and the only thing that mattered was the message received by the public. The DP wanted Rita back immediately, so they visited Danny The Bungalow’s new resident Ambush Bug, and had him teleport them to Jost Enterprises. The remaining Front Men quickly fought them to a standstill, and Botfly threatened to kill Rita if they didn’t surrender. Jost / Somebody invited Somebody’s old Brotherhood of Dada teammate, Toy, to Jost Enterprises. He strapped her down, and explained that he was severing all ties to his counter-culture past. He gave a soliloquy about why he’d changed himself, real;izing counter-culture was simply accepting a new norm. He said somebodies always changed history, never nobodies, and he believed in evolution, so he recreated himself as Mr.. Somebody. and then popped out her eyes and smashed her head open. Somebody let the horrified Jost momentarily free so he could see what Somebody did with Jost’s own hands. The DP had Ambush Bug teleport Porcelain Doll to Jost Enterprises and traded their captives. Jost revealed himself as Mr. Somebody and explained that he’d be building his Front Men’s reputation on the DP’s backs, and had them attack the DP. Their fight spread all over Sacramento, resulting in collateral damage, and lots of negative press for the DP, especially when Somebody called the media to claim the DP attacked them unprovoked. Somebody called up Chief on Oolong, and let him know he’d purposefully paired each of his team members against each DP member. Their Front Men suits were keyed to deliver a lethal blow to the wearer when each DP member used a certain ability. He was prepared to sacrifice his team for his own ends, but knew Chief didn’t want the DP to appear to be murderers. Chief demanded that the DP retreat, and the Front Men were victorious.

(Doom Patrol V #20, 22) - The Doom Patrol were kicked off Oolong, and with the M.S.E. and Front Men fully embedded Mr. Somebody made his play, revealing to President Cale that he wanted her nation for his own, and possessing her body. The Doom Patrol stormed Oolong, and defeated the Front Men. Ambush Bug let Somebody know, using his cosmic awareness, that DC was canceling the Doom Patrol comic, and the DC Universe was being remade after the company wide crossover Flashpoint. Somebody accepted that there was no point in fighting, and abandoned Cale’s body, and left the dimensional plane with the M.S.E.

Comments: Created by Arnold Drake & Bruno Premiani.

Mr. Nobody received a profile under the Brotherhood of Dada entry in Who's Who in the DC Universe #1.

Mr. Nobody had a flashback cameo in Teen Titans III #32. Mr. Somebody had a cameo in Doom Patrol V #14.