Mento (comics)

Mento is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

Mento
Mento with helmet as seen in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #37 (August 2006), art by Tony Daniel
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Doom Patrol #91 (November 1964)
Created by	Arnold Drake (writer) Bruno Premiani (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Steve Dayton
Team affiliations	Doom Patrol Seven Soldiers of Victory Hybrid Justice League Dark
Notable aliases	The Crimelord
Abilities	Psionic Abilities All types of empathy Empathic burst Empathic projection Lie detection All types of telepathy Thought projection Memory manipulation Telekinesis Telekinetic shield Telekinetic force manipulation Limited mind control Mind reading Extrasensory perception Clairvoyance Clairaudience Psychometry Precognition Enhanced intuition Danger intuition

Mento appeared in his first live adaptation on the first season of the Doom Patrol television series for DC Universe played by Will Kemp and Dave Bielawski.

Publication history

Mento first appeared in Doom Patrol #91 (November 1964) and was created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani.[1]

Fictional character biography

Steve Dayton, the world's fifth richest man, builds a helmet to enhance his mental abilities and calls himself Mento. This is an attempt on Dayton's part to impress Elasti-Girl (a.k.a. Rita Farr) of the Doom Patrol.[2] Although his arrogant manner annoys the male field members of the team, he is successful, and in Doom Patrol #104 (June 1966), Mento and Elasti-Girl are married.[3] They soon adopt Beast Boy (aka Garfield Logan). After Elasti-Girl's death, Mento becomes involved in the hunt for her killers, General Zahl and Madame Rouge.[4]

In Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #49-50 (June-July 1986), Mento is recruited by John Constantine for a small gathering of powerful beings, in order to assist in a battle taking place in Hell. The demonic forces are facing an entity that could easily overwhelm and destroy them, even with the aid of the divine forces. Using Mento to get a 'read' on the situation, John assists the battle with magical power. Despite the defeat of the entity, Sargon the Sorcerer and Zatara both burn to death and Mento is driven insane[5] (this was before the Swamp Thing and John Constantine switched into the Vertigo continuity and the event has subsequently been referred to in several mainstream DC Universe comic books). Shortly thereafter, Dayton, now in a wheelchair, resumes his Mento identity and lashes out at Garfield Logan, blaming him for the deaths of the original Doom Patrol. He then proceeds to create his own team, the Hybrid, to challenge the Teen Titans. After multiple encounters, the members of the Hybrid defy Dayton and join the Titans in curing him. Raven cures him of his madness and he seems to discard the helmet.[6]

Much later, Dayton hires Deathstroke the Terminator to find the Titans during the Titan Hunt. Afterwards, he becomes the Crimelord[7] and tries to frame Deathstroke for murder, but Dayton's dual identity and plans are revealed and Deathstroke is cleared of all charges.[8] The Crimelord's plans also involved nuclear bombs placed across the country, but this is neutralized by a large gathering of superheroes, mainly current and former Teen Titans members.

One Year Later

Main article: One Year Later

Steve Dayton is revealed to have returned with the rest of the Doom Patrol. Though a member of the Patrol, he furiously writes novels (remarking that he intends to entitle the series My Greatest Adventure), supposedly spurred on by a creative streak created by the helmet. He also seems to have developed an addiction again to his helmet, as he claims that Rita is only in love with Mento and not Steve Dayton. He claims to remember his days as the Crimelord, calling them "a glitch in the helmet".[9]

Retaining his age, though clean-shaven again, Dayton's Mento helmet is now red, and he wears a black costume with a yellow lightning bolt across it; this coloration of helmet and costume resembles his original look from the original incarnation of the Patrol.

Seeing the truth about Dr. Niles Caulder (a.k.a. the Chief), who is trying to convince Kid Devil to join the Doom Patrol by telling him that his own teammates, the Titans, will always despise him as a freak, Dayton shakes off his addiction and finally removes the helmet. Thinking clearly again for the first time in years, he takes the control of the Doom Patrol from the Chief, claiming respect for the other members of the squad, and threatening the Chief if he ever reclaimed his leading role from him.[10]

Mento is later shown, fully in possession of his mental faculties, as an occasional helper of the Justice League, filling with his cybernetically augmented mental abilities the role once held by the late Martian Manhunter. In such a role, he diagnoses Jericho's dissociative identity disorder, spurring the League to seek professional help for him.[11]

In Final Crisis #6, Mento (along with Miss Martian) is shown amongst a group of psychics who are trying to purge the world of the Anti-Life Equation.

In the current (2010) run of Doom Patrol, Mento is revealed to have left the Patrol, despite still being in contact with Caulder. Estranged from his wife, as his marriage failed when Rita found out how Dayton routinely used his mind-reading powers on her, he is called back by Caulder to stop an alien hive mind by using Rita's enlarged form as a proxy. Upon becoming aware of this new violation, Rita decides to break every remaining tie with him, blaming Caulder too for her mistreatment.

Other versions

Teen Titans: Earth One

Main article: Teen Titans: Earth One

Steve Dayton is Garfield Logan (a.k.a. the Changeling)'s adoptive father. Even though originally only dedicated to the project, he has developed a liking to Gar, actually considering him to be his son. Terra once commented that she heard the Marines kicked him out for being "too tough".

Though not explicitly mentioned, it is implied that Steve is gay and has a relationship with his S.T.A.R. Labs colleague Richard.

Powers and abilities

Steve Dayton wears a helmet of his own invention that amplifies his own latent psychic powers. While wearing the helmet, he has the powers of telepathy, psychokinesis, intangibility, and limited mind control. The helmet has the negative side effect of increasing Dayton's paranoia and dementia. Raven is eventually able to cure him of these side effects.

In other media

Television

Mento as depicted on Teen Titans.

• Mento appears in the Teen Titans two-part episode Homecoming, voiced by Xander Berkeley. He is depicted as being the Doom Patrol's stubborn leader and obsessed with stopping the Brotherhood of Evil. As in the comics, he possesses the incredibly powerful psionic abilities of telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance. He has issues with Beast Boy's inability to follow orders. Although it is never clarified whether or not Steve is Beast Boy's adoptive fatherly figure in the series, he does refer to him as "son" and at one time says "That's my boy".
• Mento appears in the third season of Young Justice, voiced by Scott Menville. He was Beast Boy's legal guardian after the death of his godmother (and Mento's wife) Rita Farr. The two greatly dislike each other and are relieved when they do not have to spend time together. Mento hates his old hero name which Beast Boy uses to annoy him. Beast Boy becomes legally emancipated from him when he forms the Outsiders.
• Mento appears in Doom Patrol, portrayed by Will Kemp as a young man and by Dave Bielawski as an old man. This version was a member of the original Doom Patrol until they disbanded after their defeat at the hands of Mr. Nobody. Mento is altered from his reality and is kept sane by Joshua Clay. In the episode "Doom Patrol Patrol", he, Celsius, and Lodestone are visited by Crazy Jane, Larry Trainor and Rita Farr. Mento's history with Rita was kept intact where they dated back in 1955. He subjects Jane, Rita, and Larry to delusions of their painful pasts until Rita calms him down.

Miscellaneous

• Mento appears in issue #7 of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold comics.

References

1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
2. Wells, John (2015). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 978-1605490458.
3. Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 978-1605490557.
4. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2004. p. 200. ISBN 0-7566-0592-X.
5. Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #49-50 (June-July 1986)
6. New Teen Titans #34 (1987)
7. New Teen Titans #115 (1994)
8. Deathstroke #50 (1995)
9. Teen Titans (vol. 3) #36 (July 2006)
10. Teen Titans (vol. 3) #37 (August 2006)
11. DC Universe: Decisions #4