Niles Caulder

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

## Biography

### Niles Caulder: 1963 - Present

The son of a prominent Scottish engineer and neurosurgeon who emigrated to the States, Niles was not only born into the privilege of wealth, but also with an exceptional mind and his parents used their wealth to handsomely invest in their son's education and were rewarded for their efforts when they watched their son grow up to be a master scholar and scientist. As a professor at Ivy University, Niles was among the first people to put forth a theory of that the meteorites which littered the Earth during meteor storm of 1978 had an effect on the human genome. He was also one of the first professionals academics to undergo serious research to study the rumor of highly-evolved apes in Africa due to meteor exposure. When Niles' interest in this phenomenon got in the way of his work at the university, he chose to go to work as a researcher for one of his former students, Dr. Harrison Wells, who offered him a job at newly created STAR Labs. At STAR Labs, Niles was engaged in studying the effects of meteor rocks on apes.

One day, a gorilla that had been part of the research escaped confinement and caused havoc in the lab. In the chaos, the gorilla caused an explosion which crippled Niles and engulfed his lab partner in flames. Niles barely was able to escape the destruction, dragging himself to a blast door and sealing the lab, trapping his burning partner and the violent gorilla to their fates among the burning lab and poisonous vapor. After this traumatic event, Niles suffered additional loss of falling into a depression which resulted in his wife leaving him. Pulling himself out of his funk, Niles decided he was done with the private sector and went to work for the government, hoping to use his genius to help the world (perhaps also feeling responsible for the death of his lab partner).

Niles found work as a profiler for the FBI until the Extranormal Taskforce (precursor to the DEO) asked him to use his knowledge to find superpowered beings willing to work for the government. That is how Niles, the eccentrically quirky and paraplegic genius chocoholic became the Chief of the Division Office of Operative Metas, better known today as Doom Patrol. In his time as the Chief of the DOOM Patrol, Niles recruited a number of operatives: Robotman, Negative Man, and Elasti-Girl were his first. He soon recruited Steve Dayton to help as psychiatric counselor for his team, but soon Chief and Dayton compared notes and before they knew it, they created a heroic identity for Dayton and recruited some of Dayton's other patients onto his team.

In 2007, DOOM was canned. Still the Chief had too many open mysteries to ignore and so he began to privately sponsor the team, moving the team to the sentient street known as Danny they had encountered earlier in their adventures. For two years, the Chief kept the Doom Patrol alive on his own dime, until Mr. Bones contracted Caulder and offered to covertly sponsor the program in exchange for their assistance. The Chief was happy to help... and thus the Chief and Earth's Strangest Heroes are still going strong!

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* Genius Intellect
* World-Class Psychologist
* Master of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
* World-Class Medical Expert and Surgeon
* World-Class Robotics Engineer
* World-Class Expert on Metahuman Genetics
* Master Strategist
* Expert in Mysticism and Occult Lore
* Immense Financial Wealth (~$4.2 Billion)

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* Tom Manning is his associate.
* He coined the term "metahuman."
* He had Arani Desai released from hospital and let her stay with him while he ran his tests. Arani had began to fall in love with him until she learned he had learned about her after receiving a call from the Kiplings. The two got into an argument, and Arani ran away again. Except Arani did not get far. The strange rumors from the hospital had caught other's attention. Without any actual understanding of how to tap into her potential, Arani was captured by a band of cultists who had sprung in the chaos of the disaster that plagued the city. A year passed before Arani was rescued by Niles and her uncle Will.
* Michael Barnes used his government connections to have him and Harrison Wells help his children Alan and Pamela. The two created a treatment program which would give the children some relief and help them on their path toward learning to use their ability. The Barnes children would even go on to be featured in the published works of both men's studies (being referred to by pseudonyms to protect their privacy as they were minors).
* He created many items which allow the Doom Patrol members to function, like the bandages that absorb the radiation from Negative Man's body and the robotic body that houses Robot Man's brain.
* He pressured Steve Dayton into getting Dorothy Spinner into his young psychic program. It ultimately failed due to legal problems (she was a Canadian citizen), but Niles found a way around it by adopting the girl and bringing her to the states.
* He requested to have Deborah Marlow be made their official DEO liaison. The way he saw it is Director Bones was not going to give them what he wanted unless they were willing to play by his rules, and his rules required a liaison.
* He helped with stopping Shyleen Lao's rapid aging, and then Mikey Milk's.
* He has hosted some dramatic readings of classic literature on the Perpetual Cabaret's stage.
* The Brain is his enemy and tries to destroy the Doom Patrol to settle the score.

### Notes

* His address is a nod to his first comic book appearance: *My Greatest Adventure #80* in 1963.

## Oracle Files

Oracle Files Niles Caulder.pngOracle Files: Niles CaulderNiles Caulder 1.jpgOracle Files: Niles Caulder (Old Version)
## Appears In

Doom Patrol (Casual).jpgThe Chief with the Doom PatrolDoom Patrol.jpgDoom PatrolWorld's Strangest Heroes.jpgWorld's Strangest Heroes

## Links and References

* Appearances of Niles Caulder

1. ↑ Oracle Files: Niles Caulder
2. ↑ Network Files: Tom Manning
3. ↑ Network Files: Arani Desai 1
4. ↑ NFX: Pamela Barnes
5. ↑ Network Files: Dorothy Caulder
6. ↑ Network Files: Dusty Marlow
7. ↑ Network Files: Shyleen Lao
8. ↑ Network Files: Mikey Milk
9. ↑ (E27 Info) Perpetual Cabaret