How did a talking cockroach that may be a rejected Supernatural character find his way into the cast of Doom Patrol? That story is nearly as strange and unusual as the concept of a talking cockroach who screams like a street preacher as he revels in the destruction around him.
The connections between Supernatural and the DC Comics universe are far stronger than one might think at first glance. Years before he starred in his own series, Jeremy Carver, a show-runner of the long-running CW show, wanted John Constantine to do a cameo. While their request was denied by Warner Bros, they still paid tribute to the con-man magician by modeling the appearance of the character of Castiel on him. Ironically, in recent years Warner Bros. did approve of an official crossover between Sam and Dean Winchester and Scooby Doo, who had also teamed up with various DC Comics heroes in the comics and cartoons. Yet none of this explains the talking roach character from some of Doom Patrol’s early advertising.
Doom Patrol’s Executive Producer Jeremy Carver revealed the history of Ezekiel The Cockroach in an interview with Collider. A former producer on Supernatural and the Syfy production of Being Human, Carver built his career on fantasy series centered around families of misfits. This made him ideal for the role of Doom Patrol’s show-runner. Despite his reputation as a brilliant writer, there was one crazy idea Carver had which he was never allowed to incorporate into any series he had worked on before Doom Patrol - a “doomsday prophet-in-the-making cockroach.”
“I’ve tried before and I was always thrown out of the room,” said Carver regarding the core idea behind Ezekiel The Cockroach. While the character may have been too strange for Supernatural, Carver was overjoyed to find that his bosses thought his idea was a perfect addition to the world of Doom Patrol. Indeed, Ezekiel fit into the core concept so well that even the most devout fans of the comic book were fearful they were missing a nod to an earlier story when he first appeared in the trailers.
Given that the world of Doom Patrol is as strange as that of Supernatural, this would seem a fair assumption. The character of Cyborg was added to the show’s roster of characters despite never having been a part of the Doom Patrol in the comics, so it was entirely possible that a talking cockroach character from another comic book might have been added into the cast as well. With allies that include a sentient cross-dressing street, enemies with the power to drain the sanity from those around them and adventures that included rescuing Paris from a painting that eats cities, it would be fair to say that the typical Doom Patrol adventure is anything but typical and that a super-villain cockroach perfectly fits into the oeuvre.
It is unclear what role Ezekiel may have to play in future episodes of Doom Patrol. The character made his first formal appearance in episode 2, “Donkey Patrol,” and barely had any more time on screen than he did in the trailer where he first appeared. However, with his voice being provided by veteran actor Curtis Armstrong, it is certain that he’ll have a major role to play in the events of the season to come. Sadly, it seems unlikely that we’ll see Sam, Dean and the rest of the Supernatural crew joining forces with Robotman and Crazy Jane anytime soon.
