Madame Rouge
Encyclopedia
Madame Rouge is a fictional DC Comics
supervillainess. She first appeared in Doom Patrol
v.1 #86.
. At this point, she attracted the notice of The Brain
and his associate, Monsieur Mallah
. With Mallah's help, the Brain performed surgery on De Mille that was, from his perspective, successful, sublimating her good personality and allowing her evil personality to remain dominant. As Madame Rouge, De Mille became the only female member of the Brotherhood of Evil
, and assisted the Brotherhood in its continuing conflicts against the Doom Patrol
. At first, Madame Rouge was simply a master of disguise; subsequent surgery by the Brain eventually gave her the ability to alter her appearance and stretch her limbs.
Later, Rouge's split personality manifested again, with her good personality occasionally appearing. Rouge was romantically linked to the Doom Patrol's leader, Niles Caulder
("The Chief"), who was able to help Rouge overcome her evil side and ally with the Doom Patrol.
Ultimately, Rouge's mind reverted back to its evil state, causing her to seek vengeance against both the Brotherhood of Evil and the Doom Patrol for their previous interference. She was apparently successful in murdering both groups. Years later, Robotman
and the Teen Titans tracked down Rouge and her ally, General Zahl
. Beast Boy
(then Changeling) killed Rouge, although at the moment of her death, her good side apparently manifested; she forgave Changeling and called to Niles, her apparent true love.
Madame Rouge's daughter, Gemini
, also a shapeshifter, appeared years later to seek revenge against Beast Boy.
In 2004, DC writer John Byrne restarted the Doom Patrol series and declared that the previous history had never happened. In spite of this, Madame Rouge was a zombie summoned by Brother Blood
to keep the Titans from freeing Kid Eternity
in Teen Titans #31 (2006). Since then, Byrne's reboot of the Doom Patrol franchise was overturned as a continuity glitch created by Superboy-Prime. As such, Madame Rouge is still dead and her history has been left intact. However, her daughter Gemini has taken up wearing her mother's costume and is a member of the new Brotherhood of Evil.
In Blackest Night, Madame Rouge has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice
. Madame Rouge's corpse is revived as a Black Lantern
during the event.
In the Teen Titans animated series, Rouge retains her abilities of disguise and stretching, but her powers appear to be greater. She can reform her body, repairing any damage yet seen, can "flow" through fences similarly to the Terminator T-1000
, alter her color, and has sufficient strength to throw people around like dolls or smash brick walls with her stretched limbs. She can mimic voices and use her body to surround and smother her opponents. She can be hurt by flame or frozen by cold, and has trouble maintaining a disguise in high temperatures, but appears to be able to repair damage simply by shapeshifting into an undamaged form.
In the animated series she could extend her limbs to great lengths for surprise attacks such as seizing an enemy in her arms, and at speeds that allowed her to strike and defeat Kid Flash
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
supervillainess. She first appeared in Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
v.1 #86.
Fictional character biography
Laura De Mille was originally a French stage actress. After an automobile accident, she developed a dual good/evil split personalityDissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
. At this point, she attracted the notice of The Brain
Brain (comics)
The Brain is a fictional character, a supervillain in the and frequent enemy of the Doom Patrol. He is a French mastermind and criminal genius...
and his associate, Monsieur Mallah
Monsieur Mallah
Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent gorilla supervillain in the and the criminal and romantic partner of the Brain. Monsieur Mallah first appeared in Doom Patrol Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent gorilla supervillain in the and the criminal and...
. With Mallah's help, the Brain performed surgery on De Mille that was, from his perspective, successful, sublimating her good personality and allowing her evil personality to remain dominant. As Madame Rouge, De Mille became the only female member of the Brotherhood of Evil
Brotherhood of Evil
The Brotherhood of Evil is a group of DC Comics supervillains, archenemies of the original Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans.-Origins:The Brotherhood of Evil was founded by the engimatic villain the Brain. In the beginning, the group's motivation was world domination...
, and assisted the Brotherhood in its continuing conflicts against the Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
. At first, Madame Rouge was simply a master of disguise; subsequent surgery by the Brain eventually gave her the ability to alter her appearance and stretch her limbs.
Later, Rouge's split personality manifested again, with her good personality occasionally appearing. Rouge was romantically linked to the Doom Patrol's leader, Niles Caulder
Chief (comics)
The Chief is a fictional character from DC Comics and the leader of the Doom Patrol. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
("The Chief"), who was able to help Rouge overcome her evil side and ally with the Doom Patrol.
Ultimately, Rouge's mind reverted back to its evil state, causing her to seek vengeance against both the Brotherhood of Evil and the Doom Patrol for their previous interference. She was apparently successful in murdering both groups. Years later, Robotman
Robotman (Cliff Steele)
Robotman is a fictional character, a cyborg superhero in the . Robotman first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 and was created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.-Fictional character biography:...
and the Teen Titans tracked down Rouge and her ally, General Zahl
General Zahl
General Zahl is a DC Comics villain. He first appeared in Doom Patrol vol. 1 #121.-Biography:General Zahl is a former Nazi U-boat captain who tangled from time to time with the Doom Patrol, originally as "Captain Zahl."...
. Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
(then Changeling) killed Rouge, although at the moment of her death, her good side apparently manifested; she forgave Changeling and called to Niles, her apparent true love.
Madame Rouge's daughter, Gemini
Gemini (DC Comics)
Gemini is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Beast Boy #1 , and was created by Geoff Johns, Ben Raab and Justiniano.-Fictional character biography:...
, also a shapeshifter, appeared years later to seek revenge against Beast Boy.
In 2004, DC writer John Byrne restarted the Doom Patrol series and declared that the previous history had never happened. In spite of this, Madame Rouge was a zombie summoned by Brother Blood
Brother Blood
Brother Blood is the name of two fictional comic book characters in the DC Universe. The first Brother Blood debuted in New Teen Titans vol. 1 #21 , and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.-First Blood:...
to keep the Titans from freeing Kid Eternity
Kid Eternity
Kid Eternity is a comic book superhero who first premiered in Hit Comics #25, published by Quality Comics in December, 1942. The character - as well as all of Quality's intellectual properties were sold to DC Comics in 1956...
in Teen Titans #31 (2006). Since then, Byrne's reboot of the Doom Patrol franchise was overturned as a continuity glitch created by Superboy-Prime. As such, Madame Rouge is still dead and her history has been left intact. However, her daughter Gemini has taken up wearing her mother's costume and is a member of the new Brotherhood of Evil.
In Blackest Night, Madame Rouge has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice
Hall of Justice (comics)
The Hall of Justice is the fictional headquarters of the Super Friends, in the eponymous animated series. It has subsequently been incorporated into the DC Comics main shared universe, the DC Universe as the new headquarters of the Justice League....
. Madame Rouge's corpse is revived as a Black Lantern
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
during the event.
Powers and abilities
Originally, Madame Rouge was a master of disguise. Later, she gained the ability to stretch any part of her body to incredible lengths, and could alter her facial features to disguise herself as any person.In the Teen Titans animated series, Rouge retains her abilities of disguise and stretching, but her powers appear to be greater. She can reform her body, repairing any damage yet seen, can "flow" through fences similarly to the Terminator T-1000
T-1000
The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some...
, alter her color, and has sufficient strength to throw people around like dolls or smash brick walls with her stretched limbs. She can mimic voices and use her body to surround and smother her opponents. She can be hurt by flame or frozen by cold, and has trouble maintaining a disguise in high temperatures, but appears to be able to repair damage simply by shapeshifting into an undamaged form.
In the animated series she could extend her limbs to great lengths for surprise attacks such as seizing an enemy in her arms, and at speeds that allowed her to strike and defeat Kid Flash
Wally West
The Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
.
Teen Titans
- Madame Rouge appears as a major antagonist in the Teen TitansTeen Titans (TV series)Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and the final episode "Things Change"...
animated series, voiced by Hynden WalchHynden WalchHeidi Hynden Walch , known professionally as Hynden Walch, is an American actress.One of her most known roles is Starfire in Teen Titans. She also voiced Penny Sanchez on the Nickelodeon show ChalkZone and Elsie on the Disney Channel show Stanley...
. As the most conventionally super-powered of the core Brotherhood, the Brain views Rouge as one of his most valuable agents and sends her to take out Wildebeest, Hotspot, Kid FlashWally WestThe Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
, and RobinDick GraysonDick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
, all of whom she personally defeats in some form or other, but is shown to be extremely vulnerable to Jinx's "bad-luck" powers, which led to her undoing. Personality-wise, Rouge has been shown to be a rather cold, brutal, and merciless fighter, and is also quite stern, arrogant, and somewhat sadistic, taking pleasure in physically and emotionally tormenting anyone she seems to view as "children". Her accent in the series is not French, but sounds more Eastern European or Slavic, and her costume is red instead of blue, which is consistent with her name ("rouge" is French for "red"). She does not think much of JinxJinx (DC Comics)Jinx is a fictional character, a supervillainess appearing in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in Tales of the Teen Titans #56 , and was created by Marv Wolfman and Chuck Patton.-Publication history:...
at first, as she patronizes and demeans Jinx, the other H.I.V.E. membersH.I.V.E.The H.I.V.E., which stands for the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination, is a DC Comics supervillain organization.-1st Incarnation:...
, and their base, believing them to be "amateurs"; however, once Jinx attacks her, the ferocity of her powers impresses her, and claims that they'll "be in-touch". Along with the rest of the Brotherhood, she was flash-frozen into an ice sculpture at the end of "Titans Together" – ironically by Wildebeest, Hotspot, and Jinx, all of whom she had personally antagonized.