We've all heard how amputees often feel phantom pain in appendages they no longer have. I wonder if this would also be true of Robotman? And if so, do ya think its only pain that he'd "remember"? Could he have an itch on the bottom of his foot that just drives him crazy, or that "pins and needles" tingling in his hand?

Being addressed in issues I have already done. A major element, in fact, of the third story arc. setting up much to follow. As I phrased it to Carlin, "What does it feel like if your whole body has been amputated?"


(Story: When my Dad was Zoning Director for the City of Calgary, one of the guys who worked under him had lost a leg many years earlier. Sometimes he suffered so much from how his missing foot "itched" that he had to leave work early. He and Dad became good friends, close enough that my father would occasionally kid the guy about "having one foot in the grave".)

I think Morrison also played around with that idea.

Should be just about the first thing that pops into mind if anyone who is aware of the condition gives any thought to what has happened to Cliff. I first came across "phantom pain" when I read the biography of Britains legless fighter ace, Douglas Bader, when I was a kid. (Bader was one of my heroes, growing up.) When I first read about RobotMan in the early MY GREATEST ADVENTURE stories I quickly put 2 and 2 together and realized Cliff woud have much the same problem. When the Doom Patrol became "mine" I knew it was one of the things I would want to address.

One thing that I found interesting about Douglas Bader was that his lack of legs actually gave him an advantage as a fighter pilot...

His blood did not rush down from his head to his legs while pulling tight turns, the kind of problem modern G suits are designed to counteract.

Huh. Now that's interesting. One of those things fiction writers might have missed if they were to concoct such a scenario, but it makes perfect sense.

vv