Mento (comics)
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| Mento | |
 Mento with helmet, Tony Daniel, artist |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Doom Patrol #91 (November 1964) |
| Created by | Arnold Drake Bruno Premiani |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Steve Dayton |
| Team affiliations | Doom Patrol Seven Soldiers of Victory Hybrid |
| Notable aliases | Crimelord |
| Abilities | Psychokinesis, flight, telepathy, and intangibility. |
Mento is a fictional superhero from the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Doom Patrol #91 (November 1964).
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[edit] Character history
Steve Dayton, one of the world's richest men, 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. 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. They soon adopt Beast Boy (a.k.a Garfield Logan). After Elasti-Girl's death, Mento goes mad and creates the Hybrid and blames Beast Boy for the deaths of the original Doom Patrol. The Hybrid is defeated and Raven cures him of his brain problem.[1]
Steve Dayton later helps in the battle against the Wildebeest Society. Later on, he becomes Crimelord [2] and tries to frame Deathstroke the Terminator (a.k.a. Slade) for murder, but it is later revealed that Crimelord did it and Deathstroke is cleared of all charges.[3] Crimelord's plans also involved nuclear bombs placed across the country, but this is neutralized by a large gathering of superheros, mainly current and former Teen Titans members.
[edit] One Year Later
In Teen Titans (v. 3) #36, Steve Dayton is revealed to have returned with the rest of the Doom Patrol. Though a member of the Patrol, he furiously writes novels, 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".
Retaining his age though clean shaven again, Dayton's Mento helmet is now red, and 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 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.
[edit] Alternate versions
In Swamp Thing #50, Steve 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 Heavenly beings. 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 burn to death and Mento is left insane. Whether this story takes place as part of regular DC Comics is uncertain.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Mento appears in Teen Titans season 5 episodes "Homecoming: Part 1" and "Homecoming: Part 2" voiced by Xander Berkeley. He is depicted as being the Doom Patrol's leader and obsessed with stopping the Brotherhood of Evil. He has issues with Beast Boy's inability to follow orders, when the boy's actions are justifiable. The implication is that this is the reason Beast Boy left the Doom Patrol. Although it is never clarified whether or not Steve is Beast Boy's adoptive father in the series, he does refer to him as "son" and at one time says, "That's my boy". As in the comics, he possesses the power of telekinesis, though he also appears to be telepathic.
[edit] 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 affect of increasing Dayton's paranoia and dementia. Raven is eventually able to cure him of these side effects.
