Mythic Algebra and Other Things: 2014

Abstract

Mythic algebra is used to model storytelling using sets, transforms, and addition. Another operation in mythic algebra is association, together with its undoing operation of dissociation. Each member of the original Doom Patrol can exemplify an association trait, to stand for collection, binding, comparison, ordering and linkage.The Chief is a collector. Robotman represents binding, while Negative Man represents the unbinding of dissociation. Beast Boy uses comparison, and Elasti-Girl uses ordering. Mento has family linkages to Beast Boy and Elasti-Girl, and a scene of this provides an example of notating a narrative sequence in mythic algebra. After a brief comparison to the X-Men, an in-depth comparison to the Fantastic Four shows that despite their similarities, only the Doom Patrol are association exemplars. Principles of set element exclusions and the modeling of specific qualities further refine the concept of when association exists. This comparison suggests legal uses for mythic algebra in copyright or creators’ rights. Other uses are to help composition, reader appreciation, and scholarly analysis. The paucity of scholarly attention to the Doom Patrol is discussed, leading to speculation on why the team has survived many cancellations and returned, possibly due to the special appeal of modeling so many different types of association.

Introduction: The Mythic Algebra of Comic Books

Mythic algebra is used to model storytelling and other symbolic processes. The contents of the algebra can be listed in a lineup as:

(p,q,x,y,s,t), M, R, M/R, R/M, →, +, –, *,–*

where sets (p,q,x,y,s,t) consist of the elements people p, their actions q, things x and their actions y, and spacetime s,t. Sets may have a state like mythic M, real R, heroic H, or villainous V. Mapping or travel between sets is notated by M/R or R/M, for example, and elements or states may simply change by a transform arrow →. An article on Wonder Woman (2012) presented most of the basic operations and made extensive use of mappings and transforms, M/R, R/M, →. Set elements also interact by the operations of addition or subtraction +, – which indicate combination or its undoing. An example would be p+x to represent the person Thor holding his hammer, the thing x. If he threw the hammer, it would be an action q or also the subtraction of p–x since the hammer is now gone from the person. There can be more than one way to describe something with the algebra, or to string together sets to make a narrative.

The remaining operation in mythic algebra that has not yet been discussed is association, together with its undoing operation of dissociation, notated in the above lineup as * and –*. This is the more general alternative to addition, in which things are connected but not combined. There are many ways to interpret association, but they can all be considered variations on connection. Previous articles in other journals have made use of association to stand for collection, binding, comparison, ordering and linkage. Each member of the original Doom Patrol can exemplify one of these traits.

We should first note that any supergroup is an association of related members in a single set, such as (p1*p2*p3*p4*p5*p6) for a team with six members. The last image of the Doom Patrol from their final issue in 1968 clearly illustrates this. Having chosen to sacrifice their lives, their last gesture is a team handshake, a physical and emotional connection (fig. 1) .

FIG1 Doom Patrol #121, Sept-Oct 1968.

The Chief

The action of making such a set can be considered one type of association. The founder of the Doom Patrol, Niles Caulder or the Chief, is therefore the perfect representative of the set-collecting type of association. The Chief is a scientist in a wheelchair who recruited each of the original members separately. For some of the members, he did more than recruit them; he also created them from the ruined bodies of normal human beings. We may notate the Chief's operation as (*) to signify that he makes a set of associations.

Robotman

So to our next type of association, the binding together. An ultimate example of this is the character Cliff Steele, also known as Robotman. He was retrieved from a racing car accident, and the Chief transplanted his brain into a robot body. The only living tissue of Cliff is bound inside a metal casing. He is often in danger of being unbound, or having his metal body ruined so that his brain is exposed and dies. Sometimes Cliff will partially unbind himself, such as pulling off a limb to use as a club in a fight. To show his original binding into a metal body, we can write (p*x), where p is the person of Cliff and the thing x is his robot body.

Negative Man

Another good example of binding is Larry Trainor, called Negative Man, but he is an even better example of unbinding, or dissociation. This is the undoing of association. Larry was a test pilot who crashed after encountering strange radiation in the upper atmosphere. His body emits lethal levels of radioactivity, and he is bundled like a mummy in bandages treated with a shielding material created by the Chief. Larry unbinds by sending his energy form, a creature of black lightning, out of his body for a short period of time before it must return. This is such a dramatic action that it was used on the cover of their first issue in 1963 (fig. 2). One way to write Larry's unbinding is as an action q of his negative energy self which is dissociating from p, his physical self: (q–*p). This avoids the issue of how many p selves does Larry have, which was exploited by other writers in later series.

If we assign a negative value to Larry’s energy self, as –p, then we can distinguish it from his physical body p. The unbinding can then be written as: ( –p –*p). We might then use the q action to represent the radiation that comes off of Larry’s body and must be shielded: (p,q). As a character, Negative Man follows the law of conservation of energy, in that he is either radiating from his physical body or taking the energy out completely as the flying black lightning. He even has an analog to radioactive half-life since the negative self can only exist apart from the body for one minute. Visually, he goes from being one person to two: (p,q), ( –p –*p), ( –p,p,t) using t to represent the time limit, then the two selves must rebind and merge into the appearance of one, as the transform arrow shows: (–p*p→p).

FIG2 My Greatest Adventure #80, June 1963.

The sequence of Larry’s energy states is then (p,q), (p,–p), (p,q) and the energy conservation law can be stated as if it were from a logic truth table: q or not-p. The energy states switch, so a transform arrow can be used, (q→ –p), or (–p→ q), limited by the time constraint. The half-life analog could be listed as a sequence of time elements from one to sixty seconds: (t1,...t60), and this sequence can form a threshold in the illustration of Larry’s Negative Man as a cyclical process, going clockwise:

p,–p

–* t1, ..., t60 *

p,q

Beast Boy

To represent the comparison form of association, we may consider Gar Logan, or Beast Boy. He imitates other creatures by shape shifting, and thus may be considered a comparison to them. Beast Boy gained his powers from medical treatments before he was orphaned. The two remaining members of the Doom Patrol became his adopted parents. If we consider animals as things x, then Beast Boy's comparing to them would also be described as (p*x). When he changes into a form resembling them, we may use the transform arrow →, as will be shown in the examples with Mento.

Elasti-Girl

It is a bit of a stretch to claim Rita Farr as an exemplar of the ordering form of association, but she will do for it because that is what she does: stretching. Her team name is Elasti-Girl. On a movie shoot in Africa, she was affected by volcanic gases. She can grow or shrink in size and stretch her limbs out. As such, she becomes bigger or smaller than her normal size by orders of magnitude. The ordering is not of the common 1st, 2nd, 3rd ... variety, but of variations from the original size: small, normal, big. One can see that this involves comparison, but unlike Beast Boy's form of comparison, there is a scale of order for one entity or set element. Beast Boy compares to any animal, but Elasti-Girl only compares to herself. Her association must be written as (p*p) then, with the same set element p used twice. We see in the above examples that she chose to end her life as a giant, while the first image of her is as a miniature.

Mento

An easier form of association is linkage. Rita's husband is Steve Dayton, the fifth richest man in the world. As the de facto team member Mento, he wears a special helmet that magnifies his thought waves and gives him various powers like telekinesis and creating illusions. He is thus linked to Rita by marriage and mentally with his helmet if he chooses to use it that way. The following panels from 1967 (fig. 3) indicate Steve's linkage to both Rita and Beast Boy. Index numbers can distinguish p elements, so the family relations can begin with Mento as p1, Rita as p2, and Beast Boy as p3, giving (p1*p2), (p1*p3). If we also assign Robotman as p4, we can then give examples of the different ways a narrative sequence can be described with sets:

FIG3 Doom Patrol #111, May 1967.

In the first panel, Beast Boy does two actions: q1 to raise the statue and q2 to break the board. He has also transformed into a bear, which could be written as p3 → x, and so his actions as an animal are y1 and y2, not q1 and q2. Mento is merely standing in grief while thinking of his adoption of the boy, so the association could be shown with him, (p1*p3). If we put all of this into a single set for one panel, it could be (p1*p3, p3 → x, y1,y2). If we care about the western reading style of left to right, then we would list Mento after Beast Boy and the set would look like (p3 → x, y1, y2, p1*p3).

In the next panel, Cliff and Rita stop by to say hi on their way out, with Rita calling Steve 'dear.' This justifies noting the family links of the two, with (p2*p1) equivalent to (p1*p2) but preferable since it gives precedence to Rita who is the actual speaker. Beast Boy stands in the background, now in human form, so he must also be included in the set. We may want to note that he just changed from a bear to human as (x → p3). To include all four characters in one set for the panel then could be (p4, p2*p1, x → p3).

Our narrative sequence for these two panels is then (p3 → x, y1, y2, p1*p3),(p4, p2*p1, x → p3). Note that we did not use the association symbol * to mention the team membership of p4 Robotman or to describe Beast Boy's powers as (p3*x). If it had been important to the scene or of particular concern to us we could have used * for those purposes. What seemed relevant was the family relations of Mento.

Mento's family links are a common form of association that most characters -- and real people -- have. Other types of association may not be so common outside of the Doom Patrol. Yet overall, association may be the most widespread operation that mythic algebra models. We model science and business with reduction to addition, but people and their stories are slippery, not so easily nailed down. Association itself exemplifies that mythic algebra is a formal system that does not require rigid determinism. It can model the constantly shifting plots, settings, and tropes of the stories we tell. Sets can be written in a narrative chain to any length needed, to cover a scene or story to whatever level of detail is assigned to their set elements. This can be a guide to analysis or an aid to creation. Of course, no one sat down with a laundry list of associations in order to invent the Doom Patrol. Their slogan of "the world's strangest heroes" provides motivation enough, but just how strange are they?

Similarities to the X-Men

The question of how strange they are involves how unique they are, and thus how similar might they be to other superhero groups, using the association of similarity. While it is true that things may be associated but not similar, or similar but not associated, this is meant in the context of mutual membership in the same set or grouping. Sometimes things may be both similar and associated together if the context is sharing some quality, another kind of connection. The Doom Patrol has tenuous connections to two other superhero groups, if we look at their origins.

They began in 1963, a few months before the X-Men debuted, and the similarities were uncanny, such as the Chief using a wheelchair like Professor Xavier. Their original writer, Arnold Drake, in fact left the Doom Patrol to write the X-Men for Marvel Comics, yet he stayed with the Doom Patrol until their first cancellation.

Wikipedia states:

‘Some similarities exist between the original Doom Patrol and Marvel Comics' original X-Men Both include misfit superheroes shunned by society and both are led by men of preternatural intelligence confined to wheelchairs. These similarities ultimately led series writer Arnold Drake to argue that the concept of the X-Men must have been based on the Doom Patrol.

Drake stated:

...I’ve become more and more convinced that [Stan Lee] knowingly stole The X-Men from The Doom Patrol. Over the years I learned that an awful lot of writers and artists were working surreptitiously between [Marvel and DC]. Therefore from when I first brought the idea into [DC editor] Murray Boltinoff’s office, it would’ve been easy for someone to walk over and hear that [I was] working on a story about a bunch of reluctant superheroes who are led by a man in a wheelchair. So over the years I began to feel that Stan had more lead time than I realized. He may well have had four, five or even six months.

(X-Men #1 debuted three months after MGA #80; due to publication lag times, Lee could not have known of the Doom Patrol when he scripted the first X-Men story unless he had been told about it in advance of its publication.)’

In mythic algebra notation, we could use the character name initials as set elements to show similarities, thus Niles Caulder, the Chief of the Doom Patrol, is like Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men, so (NC*CX) at least for the category of (leader is in wheelchair).

Similarities to the Fantastic Four

Wikipedia goes on to state:

‘However, others have noted that the Doom Patrol shares fundamental similarities with Stan Lee's earlier title, Fantastic Four. The original lineup of both teams included four members, who did not have secret/double identities; each had a headquarters that was a public building in the middle of a major city; each team had one member with stretching powers (Rita Farr of the Doom Patrol, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four), one member with flame or flame-like powers (Larry Trainor of the DP and Johnny Storm of the FF), a member with brute strength and a freakish body, with bitterness at being trapped in it (Cliff Steele and Ben Grimm) and a member who was invisible or stayed out of the public view (Niles Caulder and Sue Storm). Both teams quarreled amongst themselves, unlike most other teams published by DC/National.’

Again resorting to mythic algebra notation, we consider these individual similarities. Reed Richards and Rita Farr both have stretching powers, so (RR*RF) for (stretching powers). Larry Trainor and Johnny Storm have flame-like powers, so (LT*JS) for (flame-like powers). Cliff Steele and Ben Grimm are tormented strong men, so (CS*BG) for (brute strength freaks). Niles Caulder and Sue Storm are both unseen, so (NC*SS) for (not seen).

These similarities were also noted by a fan blogger, reinforcing the Wikipedia analysis:

‘Like the Doom Patrol, the Fantastic Four has a flying character, the Human Torch. Like Negative Man, when his powers are in effect, visually, he's a pure manifestation of his power; Negative Man is pure energy, and Torch looks like pure fire.

Like the Doom Patrol, the Fantastic Four's leader is a brilliant scientist, and its leading lady is, originally, quite shy and ready and willing to follow. Reed Richards is Mr. Fantastic, the world's most intelligent man, and he stretches, just like Elasti-Girl. Visually speaking, in an action scene, Niles Caulder is missing from the battle, much like the Invisible Girl, Susan Storm, can be said to be "missing" from the scene since she's, you know, invisible.

And most telling of all, like the Doom Patrol, the Fantastic Four have an orange powerhouse who can in absolutely no way even pass for human, and all he wants is to be human. Like Robotman, the Thing is gruff but really likable (the Thing is actually lovable).’ (Tano 2010)

We can add some more mythic algebra similarities based on those observations. Larry Trainor and Johnny Storm have flying-energy powers, so (LT*JS) for (flying energy). Reed Richards is also like Niles Caulder for (team leader is brilliant scientist), so (RR*NC). Sue Storm and Rita Farr are both shy followers, so (SS*RF) for (shy leading ladies).

A third commentary on the similarities occurs in the TV Tropes article on the Doom Patrol, in its listing of tropes the team used:

‘Follow the Leader: At one time the Patrol acted as a school... for young mutants. The two groups debuted within months of each other, however, not nearly long enough for one to be based on the other. That being said, there are also some very clear parallels between the original Doom Patrol and the Fantastic Four, who came first by a much wider margin.

Four Temperament Ensemble: The original team is one of these.’

In the TV Tropes article on the ‘Four Temperament Ensemble,’ the ‘Comic Books’ section lists both groups, as the first and second examples of the trope:

‘Fantastic Four: Johnny (sanguine), Ben (choleric), Reed (melancholic), and Sue (phlegmatic). Franklin (leukine). Although the first two are more obvious than the latter, and even the first two are more complex characters. Johnny has behaved cholerically on occasion (e. g. in the early issue where he left the team because he felt unappreciated) and Ben is often melancholy and introvert, e. g. going to a bar to try and drown his sorrows (after all, you could say that usually he wants to be left alone and then Johnny plays a prank on him). Also note that the Fantastic Four are also a four-elements example in a way that does not align with the descriptions above: Johnny is Fire, Ben is Earth, Sue is Air, and Reed is Water.

Doom Patrol: The Chief (choleric), Elasti-Girl (melancholic), Negative Man (phlegmatic), and Robotman (sanguine). Alternatively, in the second incarnation: Celsius (choleric), Negative Woman (melancholic), and Tempest (phlegmatic).’

From these ancient personality types, we have the following similarities: Johnny Storm and Robotman, Cliff Steele, are sanguine, so (JS*CS) for (sanguine). Ben Grimm and Niles Caulder, The Chief, are choleric, so (BG*NC) for (choleric). Reed Richards and Rita Farr, Elasti-Girl, are melancholic, so (RR*RF) for (melancholic). Sue Storm and Negative Man, Larry Trainor, are phlegmatic, so (SS*LT) for (phlegmatic).

From three different commentators, we have acquired quite a list of character similarities: (NC*CX), (RR*RF) for two different aspects, (LT*JS), (CS*BG), (NC*SS), (RR*NC), (SS*RF), (JS*CS), (BG*NC), and (SS*LT).

Set Exclusion Principles

All of the previously noted team similarities constitute forms of association depending on their qualitative criteria. Characters may be associated with a quality, or different teams may be associated with each other because they share a quality. This raises the question of how much association can coexist between sets and among elements in the same set. One might assume that there is no limit to how much, especially since we are dealing with fictional characters in made-up stories. Not even the sky’s the limit when dealing with superheroes.

For example, consider two of the above-noted team similarities between three people: Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four has stretching powers like Rita Farr, Elasti-Girl of the Doom Patrol. Using their name initials, then (RR*RF) for the set category (stretching powers). If the set category is (team leader is brilliant scientist), then Richards is like Niles Caulder, the Chief of the Doom Patrol, so (RR*NC). However, no single character in the Doom Patrol is both stretching and a brilliant scientist like in the Fantastic Four, but there could have been if any writer had so chosen. Niles and Rita are associated in the same group, so we can say (NC*RF), but not based upon any shared powers. We cannot say (RR*NC*RF*RR) based upon either shared powers or team membership alone. We would have to be at a broad level category like (Earth humans) or (superheroes) to finally include all three in the same set.

While this illustrates a property of mythic algebra and thus symbolic processes, it does not necessarily lead to more exemplars of association.

Qualities Versus Exemplars

The natural question arises, since the Doom Patrol are so similar to the Fantastic Four, and the Doom Patrol are exemplars of association, are the Fantastic Four also such exemplars? The answer is no, which we can now demonstrate.

Can the Fantastic Four be fit into the same categories of association? Let us compare each team member to their Doom Patrol analog’s type of association.While Ben is trapped in an orange body, he is not bound in it. His body is transformed into a rock-man. When Johnny yells “Flame on!” he is not unbinding but rather transforming his own body into a flame-man. Reed does not grow or shrink in size on an orderly scale of measure. His body has been transformed into a stretchable rubber-man,. like the classic DC character Plastic Man. Sue’s body has also been transformed to enable invisibility. We see that all four members of the team make use of the mythic algebra transform arrow →. They have also been uniquely transformed, unlike Beast Boy’s ability to transform into any animal.

The Fantastic Four and the Doom Patrol do share some associations, but the same ones that any teams share. As founders of their groups, Reed and The Chief both are collectors. Any team should have romantic links, so Reed and Sue are married, as are Mento and Rita. Aside from these common traits, there are many more shared qualities than association types.

Moreover, there is a difference between the forms of shared qualities between the teams. As the TV Tropes article highlights, the essence of the Fantastic Four is their modeling the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. The Doom Patrol characters do not model these elements. Negative Man’s energy is not fire. Elasti-Girl’s only connection with water is her emerging from an African river upon her origin. She seldom is elastic, instead just growing or shrinking proportionately in size. Robotman is all metal, not made of rocks. The Chief does not move through the air invisibly. So while the two teams have similar qualities, they do not model the same things.

We have now seen that one team, the Fantastic Four, models classic elements while the other team, the Doom Patrol, exemplifies types of association. Yet both teams share qualities as they represent such different things. This is an example of teams being similar but not otherwise associated. If we want exemplars of association, we must look to the Doom Patrol!

Conclusion

This comparison of teams brings up another possible use for mythic algebra: as a legal tool for copyright cases or cases involving creators’ rights. What if Marvel had decided to sue DC to stop the Doom Patrol, in the same way DC sued Fawcett to put Captain Marvel out of business? Mythic algebra notation can help clarify how much similarity exists versus the more important differing qualities. Or in a creator’s rights case, the notation may show generic traits, such as a hero cycle, versus unique qualities of a character that might otherwise just be listed in a legal brief. So there are now three possible uses for mythic algebra: legal tool, guide for creators, or to enhance the appreciation of readers and scholars.

The Doom Patrol has received little academic interest, most of it focusing on Grant Morrison's tenure as a writer from 1989 to 1992 (Shaviro 1997). While this was a high point for the team's popularity and profundity, they have had loyal cult followings through all of their incarnations. Why were they canceled, and why have all subsequent relaunchings not lasted?

One critic notes that a strong appeal of the original team was that they were outsider freaks who were only tolerated by the public long enough to do a good deed. They retired to their brownstone building after missions and avoided public contact. This resembled the early X-Men milieu. When this story angle changed, sales could never sustain publication. Indeed, their linkage with Mento and Beast Boy, never official team members, is cited as part of what decreased their appeal (Benson 2010). Mento, Rita, and Gar provided a nuclear family and an outpost in the mundane world, not an interesting hideaway.

Yet something interesting about the Doom Patrol persisted, and new versions of the group were tried over the ensuing decades, each lasting a few brief years. To say that the team is interesting because of its unusual characters does not distinguish it from any other superhero group. So perhaps part of its special interest lies in the variety of associations it exemplifies.

References

Benson, C. (2010), 'Deck Log Entry # 108 Death in the Silver Age: the Doom Patrol, R. I. P. (Part Two)', Captain Comics. http://captaincomics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/deck-log-entry-108-death-in/. Accessed 26 June 2014.

‘Comic Book: Doom Patrol’, Television Tropes and Idioms. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/DoomPatrol?from=Main.DoomPatrol. Accessed 26 June 2014.

‘Doom Patrol’, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Patrol. Accessed 26 June 2014.

Drake, A. and Premiani, B. (2009), Showcase Presents the Doom Patrol, Vol. 1. New York, NY: DC Comics.

Drake, A. and Premiani, B. (2010), Showcase Presents the Doom Patrol, Vol. 2. New York, NY: DC Comics.

‘Four Temperament Ensemble: Comic Books’ Television Tropes and Idioms. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FourTemperamentEnsemble/ComicBooks. Accessed 26 June 2014.

Griffin, M. (2012), 'Wonder Woman: Hero Cycles and Mythic Algebra', The Comics Grid. http://www.comicsgrid.com/2012/08/wonder-woman-mythic-algebra/. Accessed 26 June 2014.

Shaviro, S. (1997), Doom Patrols: A Theoretical Fiction about Postmodernism. New York, NY: Serpents Tail. http://www.shaviro.com/Doom/index.html. Accessed 26 June 2014.

Tano, D. (2010), ‘The Doom Patrol May Have Been a Rip-Off After All’, The Comics Cube. http://www.comicscube.com/2010/11/doom-patrol-may-have-been-rip-off-after.html. Accessed 26 June 2014.

Mythic Algebra and Other Things

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Monday, December 1, 2014

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Friday, October 3, 2014

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Monday, September 22, 2014

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Friday, August 1, 2014

The Doom Patrol: Exemplars of Association in Mythic Algebra

Benson, C. (2010), 'Deck Log Entry # 108 Death in the Silver Age: the Doom Patrol, R. I. P. (Part Two)', Captain Comics. http://captaincomics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/deck-log-entry-108-death-in/. Accessed 26 June 2014.

‘Comic Book: Doom Patrol’, Television Tropes and Idioms. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/DoomPatrol?from=Main.DoomPatrol. Accessed 26 June 2014.

‘Doom Patrol’, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Patrol. Accessed 26 June 2014.

‘Four Temperament Ensemble: Comic Books’ Television Tropes and Idioms. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FourTemperamentEnsemble/ComicBooks. Accessed 26 June 2014.