Rita Farr (New Earth)

Rita Farr, alias Elasti-Girl (later Elasti-Woman), is a member of the Doom Patrol able to grow to an enormous size. She married her teammate Mento and they adopted Beast Boy.

History

Origin

Rita Farr was once a Hollywood actress who was exposed to unusual volcanic gases while shooting a film in Africa. When Farr recovered, she discovered that she could expand or shrink her body at will, from hundreds of feet tall to microscopically small. When she gained greater control of her powers, she became able to return to her normal size, or enlarge one limb at a time.

Rita was considered a freak and a menace, her Hollywood career was ruined.^[1] However, Rita was approached by Dr. Niles Caulder (also known as The Chief), who offered her a place among fellow "freaks", attempting to use their powers for good. As Elasti-Girl, she joined Caulder's team, the Doom Patrol. Rita fell in love with, and then married, Steve Dayton, the hero known as Mento. Later on, the couple adopted young Garfield Logan, who would become the Teen Titans' Beast Boy.

Martian Manhunter once told Rita that he was something of a fan of her "chiller pictures" and that he was disappointed that she did not continue making films. Flattered, she kissed him on the cheek and later told him that she had met Aliens actress Sigourney Weaver, and Rita was sure she would approve of him.

Tragedy struck when the Doom Patrol's enemies, the Brotherhood of Evil, threatened a small New England fishing village. Each member of Doom Patrol elected to sacrifice themselves to save the innocent townspeople, and were killed in an explosion. Although it was later revealed that several members of the team actually cheated death, Elasti-Girl was the sole member of the original Doom Patrol who remained dead.

Infinite Crisis

This situation was explained as an after-effect of Superboy-Prime's pounding on the barrier to reality, which created ripples that changed reality for several characters, including the original Doom Patrol.

The retonned Doom Patrol members retained no memories of their previous lives, until Superboy-Prime broke the Phantom Zone barrier, during his battle with the Teen Titans and their allies. At that moment, D.P.'s minds discerned visions of the previous Doom Patrol, and Rita remembered everything — her husband, her son, and her own death.

One Year Later

Following the "One Year Later" event, Doom Patrol was changed considerably, losing several members and gaining Beast Boy, Bumblebee, and Vox.

The Chief had salvaged a piece of Elasti-Girl's skull, and used his technology to regrow her entire body, which was possible due to its malleable form. Consequently, Elasti-Girl was very docile, and was reluctant to question the Chief. The Chief hinted that her malleable form hampered her thinking abilities, leading to her lack of personal initiative, which made her dependent upon Caulder. Observing Rita's interaction with the Chief, Robin suspected that the Chief has brainwashed Rita and the other Patrol members. Also at that time, Rita's husband, Mento, was under the control of his Mento-helmet, and believed that his wife would never love him without it.

Following their battle against the Brotherhood of Evil, the Titans and the Doom Patrol witnessed the Chief working to convince Kid Devil that he was a freak, and that the Titans actually disliked him. This pushed the teams to confront the Chief; Mento finally removed his helmet, and pointedly told the Chief that he was no longer leader of the Patrol, and if he ever again insulted his wife and son, Dayton will use his powers to destroy the Chief's intellect. Rita firmly stood behind her husband, breaking out of the Chief's control.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Size Alteration: Rita has the ability to grow and shrink her entire body. Her powers of expansion allow her to become as large as a skyscraper. She has the ability to shrink to microscopic size. Rita can selectively shrink or expand parts of her body. John Byrne's Elasti-Girl could change the size of objects and people by touching them; when she releases them they revert to their normal size.
  • Superhuman Strength: In giant form, she is easily able to lift 20,000 lbs. or 10 tons with one hand.^[2]
  • Plasticity: Ability to stretch her entire body, arms, legs, fingers, toes and neck or stretch any of her limbs and parts.
  • Regeneration: She is able to regrow entire limbs.

Abilities

• Acting: As a civilian, Rita Farr was an accomplished actress known worldwide for her talent and beauty.
• Swimming: Won an Olympic gold medal in swimming.^[3]

Notes

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  

Trivia

• Due to the fact that DC owns the rights to the name Elasti-Girl, the similarly named female lead of the superhero homage The Incredibles is only called that in the film and stories based on it - in merchandising she is called Mrs. Incredible. DC gave limited permission for the name's use, as they once did with the Karate Kid.^{[citation needed]}

Related

• 179 Appearances of Rita Farr (New Earth)
• 64 Images featuring Rita Farr (New Earth)
• 6 Quotations by or about Rita Farr (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Rita Farr (New Earth)

Footnotes

Doom Patrol member This character was at some point primarily a member of the Doom Patrol. A long-running team of rag-tag misfit heroes who work together for the common good, fighting evil against all odds. This template will categorize any article that includes it into the Doom Patrol members category.