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The Chief (Dr. Niles Caulder) is a fictional character from DC Comics and the leader of the Doom Patrol. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963).
Fictional character history
Dr. Niles Caulder is a paraplegic gifted with a genius-level intellect. Caulder uses his scientific knowledge to develop numerous inventions and innovations that has made him wealthy. Caulder founded and organised the team called Doom Patrol to protect the innocent and fight crime, and to teach humanity to accept others who live as ostracised "freaks," who have been radically transformed from terrible accidents. It is Caulder's genius that allowed the team members to survive (e.g., building Robotman's body, obtaining Negative Man's medicated bandages), and helped grant their freakishness and amazing abilities. Caulder growing up had developed an interest in creating better life, based on the concept of the story "Frankenstein," in which the mad scientist had a similar idea with the being he created, as well as the story "The Singing Ringing Tree," in which well to do people, who were transformed into beasts, have to prove their worth to the world by becoming selfless. 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. Caulder refused to continue the work for Immortus which lead to an encounter between the two men in which Caulder faked his own death. This allowed Caulder to remove an explosive device Immortus had attached to his spine to force Caulder to continue his project, but at the cost of his ability to walk. The incident inspired and reminded Caulder that a better life may come from living from 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. Caulder had also experimented on other characters in the world who would both benefit and destroy humanity. The most noted are a bitter group called "the Brotherhood of Evil," a group of people who also live like "freaks" and their leader known now as the Brain were also a result of Niles Caulder's experimentation. The Brotherhood exists as an elitist paramilitary organisation involved in terrorist acts around the world such as the destruction of the American city Bludhaven, occasionally attempting global control of humanity, and the death and destruction Niles Caulder for causing their tragic transformation. Towards the end of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol run, Caulder is discovered working on a nanotechnology bomb that will destroy half the world and replace it with humans transformed into freaks of nature — his theory being that from the destruction would rise a better human race. He murders the original Tempest, Joshua Clay, to protect his secret but the Doom Patrol succeed in stopping his plans.
During these events, he is decapitated by a creation of Dorothy Spinner's known as The Candlemaker. Doctor Will Magnus of the Metal Men builds a new body for the Chief, telling him that he should try helping the Patrol to make up for what he did. Becoming suicidal with guilt, the Chief states that he can never do enough to make up for his actions, and uses his new body to rip off his head. Magnus is able to save the Chief by getting the head to a cryogenic chamber, but after this the Chief exists solely as a severed head in a bucket of ice, subsisting on milkshakes. He expresses remorse at his actions and rebuilds the Doom Patrol to continue their efforts in the war against weird crime. In the final issues of the series, the Chief had combined himself with Alice Wired-for-Sound, one of the SRS (Sexually Remaindered Spirits), who powered the DP Teleporter, as a means for more mobility. During the last story arc, Imagine Ari's Friends, the Chief died entering the Tree of Life, the Sephirot.
Post Infinite Crisis
After Superboy-Prime's pounding on the barriers to reality, certain events are rewritten, and Niles has his body back and still acts as the team leader. It has been revealed that he apparently still is responsible for the creation of the original members of the Patrol, though they claim to have forgiven him. Caulder now seems to be intent on expanding the Doom Patrol's ranks; he has already convinced Beast Boy to return to the team, and Bumblebee and Vox to join. However, Robin doubts the Chief's motives, and after seeing him appear to manipulate Elasti-Girl, Robin accuses him of brainwashing the Doom Patrol by keeping them dependent on him. For his part, Caulder maintains that by joining the Doom Patrol, team members "won't have to be freaks anymore." Later, when Caulder is overheard telling Kid Devil that his teammates don't like him and he should join the Doom Patrol, the others finally see that he is controlling them with fear and self-loathing. While Caulder tells them that they need him, Mento finally takes off his helmet, allowing him to think clearly. Mento then informs the Chief that he is no longer their leader and if he ever speaks to Elasti-Girl or Beast Boy like that ever again, he will destroy Caulder's intellect. Shocked by this, the Chief rushes off to his lab. Also in the Teen Titans story, it is also revealed that Caulder brutally murdered the scientist who would become "The Brain" because they were both working on General Immortus' potion and Caulder was jealous of the Brain's genius and tried to blow up the other scientist's lab in order to force him to become Robotman prior to Cliff Steele's accident that made him the character of the same name. Brain also reveals that he and the Doom Patrol are not the only innocent humans whose bodies are mutilated against their will by Caulder to create his own personal super-hero team. Two never before mentioned characters (Electric Blu and the Human Cannon) and a possible retconned character (Negative Girl) are said to be out there somewhere, having rejected Caulder for the damage he inflicted upon them. Recently, Caulder designed a new training room for the Justice League. He also appears in Four Horsemen #4, apparently back in charge of the Doom Patrol.
