Danny the Street
Danny the Street is a fictional character appearing in comics of the DC Universe. Danny is a living and sentient piece of urban geography who can magically and seamlessly place himself in any urban landscape at will, without any disruption to his surroundings. They can freely interact with any other sapient being through various forms of visual printing within his proximity.
He was created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case and first appeared in Doom Patrol #35. His name is a pun on female impersonator Danny La Rue, as "La Rue" is French for "the Street".
Danny the Street appeared on the first two seasons of the Doom Patrol television series for DC Universe and HBO Max.
Fictional character biography
Danny is a stretch of roadway who has long served as a home and haven for the strange, outcast and dispossessed. Danny possesses superpowers, including the ability to teleport by integrating into a city's geography; roads and buildings simply make room for him. Danny does this mostly at night, when no one is looking. Danny travels the globe, and sometimes beyond, happily seeking out people and communities in need of shelter, safety and community. Thus, it is possible to turn a corner on the way to work, and find oneself walking down Danny's roadway. Danny once teleported into the City Under The Pentagon and can teleport into the wildernesses when needed.Danny's flamboyant personality and propensity for cross-dressing is evidenced when he lines his street with typically masculine stores decorated with frilly pink curtains and lace. Danny speaks by altering his form. For example, Danny communicates with signs in his windows, messages on typewriters, and with letters formed from manhole vapor or broken glass shards. Danny speaks English, heavily flavored with Polari, a largely antiquated form of slang spoken among certain British subcultures, including some of the LGBTQ community. "Bona to vada" is Danny's favorite way of greeting friends. Danny's personality is based, at least partially, on British drag performer Danny La Rue. Danny is kind, compassionate, quick to joke and slow to anger. If pushed past his limits, however, he can even the score by manipulating his environment.
Danny first came in contact with the Doom Patrol when he and his residents were attacked by Darren Jones and the Men From N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Jones' obsession with normalcy and with enforcing his "50s sit-com" worldview, made Danny an obvious target. The struggle took Danny to downtown New York City, where the Doom Patrol investigated the disturbance. They worked hard to protect Danny and his residents, but it was ultimately the members of Danny the Street's Perpetual Cabaret who defeated Jones. In addition to the Doom Patrol and the Perpetual Cabaret, Danny housed Flex Mentallo, protecting the hero during the mental breakdown that followed his first and only failure.
Evolution
Eventually, Danny left the DC Universe, and inhabited an alternate Earth. Pledging to protect and nurture the needy of all dimensions, he became Danny the World. Danny's friend, former Doom Patrol member Crazy Jane, later became a resident of Danny the World.In the pages of Teen Titans, during the One Year Later time-shift event in the DC Universe, a portal to Danny was seen in Dayton Manor; Crazy Jane was also seen through the portal.
Danny was leveled in Doom Patrol Vol 5 #7 by Mister Somebody Enterprises. Crazy Jane managed to escape the destruction and fled to Oolong Island, carrying with her a brick taken from one of Danny's buildings which contained Danny's sentience - effectively making him Danny the Brick.
The New 52
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Danny is re-introduced in Teen Titans #3. Danny becomes a full member of the team and as a teenager himself, spies for Red Robin.During the cross-over event "The Culling", Danny is presumed dead by the group. They find that Danny did not die and is on a mysterious island with them in Teen Titans #10, but he later dies during the strain of returning the rest of the group to civilization. It was suggested Danny survived as "Danny the Alley".
DC Rebirth
Danny shows up in DC Rebirth in Gerard Way's iteration of the Doom Patrol. Danny is revealed to have reverted to Danny the Brick and is now only able to make words appear on his surface. Danny the Brick tours the universe, carried by Crazy Jane. Danny the Brick and Crazy Jane then meet a man named "D" who uses Danny to kill a god. After this, Danny is able to become Danny the World; however, Danny does not pick up outcasts but instead creates his own citizens.Danny makes his comic book character Casey "Space Case" Brink from Danny Comics become real to see what she would be like on earth. Danny later contacts Casey because the Vectra are hunting him, an evil alien race that wants to use him to make meat for fast food restaurants, and wants her to reassemble the Doom Patrol. He contacts her by becoming Danny the Ambulance. Casey and the Doom Patrol save Danny the World and defeat the Vectra, and he becomes a member of the new team.
While Danny is acting as Danny the Ambulance, he still runs the ever-growing Danny the World.
Powers and abilities
Danny the Street can teleport. He is a living pocket dimension that can incorporate more and more space as he gains more residents. He can create any conceivable thing as long as he has the strength.In other media
- In the 2018 Titans episode "Doom Patrol", the Doom Patrol mansion is located on "Danny Street".
- Danny the Street first appeared in the DC Universe live-action television series Doom Patrol eighth episode, "Danny Patrol". Danny is described as a "sentient, genderqueer, teleporting street" who is on the run from the Bureau of Normalcy. In the episode "Frances Patrol", Danny leaves Cyborg and Crazy Jane a clue that leads them to Flex Mentallo. In the episode "Penultimate Patrol", Danny agrees to help the Doom Patrol locate the villain Mr. Nobody despite being afraid of him. In the episode "Ezekiel Patrol," Danny the Street is later captured by Mr. Nobody and manages to teleport the Doom Patrol to Doom Manor so that they can rescue Danny and the Chief's daughter from Mr. Nobody. After Ezekiel the Cockroach and Whiskers the Mouse exploded, Danny was reduced to a brick with the inscription "Danny Brick Co." In season two, Dorothy Spinner first split apart and then repaired Danny's brick form and later turned it into a tire when Danny shares her sentiment.
- In the video game typing "Danny The Street" into Maxwell's notebook will summon a living street, symbolizing Danny.