What makes someone evil? Is it a troubled past? A traumatic event? There are many answers for many different people. For Madame Rouge it’s more of the latter. How so? Let’s find out!
Laura De Mille was an impressive French actor, able to take on any role and melt away aspect of herself that wasn’t the character. Then Laura would get into a terrible car accident. There was some sort of damage to her psyche from it that split her mind into two personalities: one good and one evil. While Laura was the good side of herself, Madame Rouge would become the evil side. Where Laura was an actor, Rouge was a master of disguise to perform crimes.
This activity garnered the attention of the Brotherhood of Evil, particularly it’s leader, The Brain. He saw great potential in Laura becoming Madame Rouge full-time. Through surgeries, Madame Rouge was able to take full control of her body, locking Laura away. Rouge would be the only female member of the Brotherhood and found her disguises, while useful, paled in comparison to her compatriots’ genuine super powers. Going under the knife once more, she would gain true mastery of disguise by gaining shapeshifting abilities.
The main goal of the Brotherhood of Evil was to wreak havoc on the world but to do so, they had to deal with the constant thorn in their side, the Doom Patrol. While she would do her part, she would find herself in a romantic relationship with their team leader, Niles Caulder. This relationship would help bring about the return of Laura able to take back control and become an ally of the Doom Patrol.
Unfortunately, this victory for Laura was short-lived as Rouge would regain control and was infuriated at the state of affairs she was in. Seeking vengeance, she would be able to do what few villains have succeeded at, she killed the Doom Patrol, as well as the Brotherhood of Evil for good measure. After this time, she would have a daughter who inherited her shapeshifting powers and would go by the name of Gemini.
Some time later, Robotman and the Teen Titans would finally find Madame Rouge to bring her to justice. However, since Rouge had killed Beast Boy’s adoptive parents, Elasti-Girl and Mento, since they were both in the Doom Patrol at the time of their destruction, he would kill Madame Rouge. With her dying breath, Laura would resurface, apologizing for killing his parents and forgiving Beast Boy for what he had just done.
There you have it! Madame Rouge has been a staple of the Brotherhood of Evil. She’s been animated several times on the small screen. She has recently made her premiere in live-action on the small screen, as well. Where she’ll pop up next is anyone’s guess. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Doom Patrol #86
New Teen Titans #15
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
