File this under having a DUH Epiphany moment, but it really and truly occurred to me recently that while the X-Men and Doom Patrol both share a lot similarities, especially since they were billed as "The World's Strangest Heroes" by their respective publishers.



 No, what they really have more in common with is another popular Marvel group, the very first one actually, the Fantastic Four.

Yup, the good ol' FF.

If you think about it, it really makes sense.

• The Chief is Reed without the Love of Sue and a family, all ego and knowledge, and incredibly more manipulative. 
• Rita is Sue, the normal looking token chick in the group who plays the mother role to Cliff and Larry.
• Larry is basically Johnny, right down to the flaming form that flies. Except he's a prisoner to special bandages and his Negative Man. 
• Cliff is the gruff, but lovable uncle figure who's suffered the most due to no longer being human. A brain (what's left of his humanity and original body) buried deep in a metal shell, a monstrous looking sight to many. 

And yet for all their dysfunction, the shared way that they received their powers from horrible accidents and a penchant for attracting weird villains, they're a family.
A fucked up family, but a family nonetheless.

I will say, personally, I miss the Chief that was a bit of an asshole, but not a total manipulative son of a bitch who was revealed to ultimately be the guy who directly caused, or help cause, the accidents that made them the way they are now.

That seems to be another thing the X-Men and Doom Patrol have in common; they both have leaders/father figures that were later ret-conned into being evil. manipulative bastards.

Proof once again that not all retcons were created equal or worth creating in the first place.