365 DC Comics Paper Cut-Out Villains - One Villain, Every Day, All Year…
November 30th - Ragdoll II
Peter Merkel Jr. is the son of the first villain to call himself The Ragdoll. In a desperate effort to win his father’s attention and approval, Peter underwent drastic experimental surgery to implant cybernetic joints that enabled him to replicate his father’s multi-jointed physique. The surgery left Peter badly disfigured, requiring regular doses of an emollient lubricate to prevent his bones from pricing through his skin. The procedure allowed him to twist and contort his body in extreme ways and he cultivate a special fighting strategy that utilized his inhuman physical abilities. Despite all of this, Peter’s father rejected his son as an unworthy imitator. Mentally broken, Peter took up the mantle of The Ragdoll, donning a garish costume. He ended up recruited into The Secret Six, acting as a member of the team across multiple iterations. Following the Secret Six’s ultimate defeat and dissolution, Ragdoll was brief incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. He later broke out and battled Batgirl. A version of the second Ragdoll has featured in The Flash television series portrayed by contortionist Troy James and voiced by actor Phil LaMarr. The second Ragdoll first appeared in the pages of Villains United #1 (2005).
