Project Rainbow and the Poughkeepsie Experiment is the first of two stories in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #11, by DC Comics. It was followed by the reprint, Whodunit?
Premise[]
After an internet video claims to have uncovered a classified naval experiment, Mystery Inc. travels to Poughkeepsie, where the experiment allegedly took place, to investigate.
Synopsis[]
Shaggy and Scooby watch a viral internet video claiming to expose a classified naval experiment during the Second World War. According to the video, as part of the Poughkeepsie Experiment, the United States Navy used an advanced cloaking device to make the USS Eldridge disappear. The video alleges a government conspiracy to cover up the experiment, as navy admiral Paul Eisenberg refuses to answer reporters' questions. Shaggy and Scooby believe the video and speak with Fred, Daphne, and Velma, so they decide to visit Poughkeepsie to investigate further.
There, they visit a museum and gift shop, where the tour guide provides them with more details about the experiment, but when Velma points out inconsistencies in the timeline, the tour guide refuses to address them. They leave, but realize Scooby is missing, so they return, but find no trace of him. Strangely, they see a photo of him on the wall dated 1943. Realizing they could not investigate without the museum owners around, they sneak back into the museum past closing time. They find Scooby in the basement, but they also find a miniature movie set used to fake a video.
Mystery Inc. films an exposé revealing the museum fabricated the entire legend, filming a fake video with a movie set and special effects. They did this to sell related merchandise at the gift shop. As their video becomes viral, the museum behind the hoax quickly goes out of business, and Shaggy and Scooby learn to question what they hear online.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- None
Villains:
- Museum owners (only appearance)
Other characters:
- Superman (first appearance)(poster)(cameo)
- Newscaster (only appearance)(TV or computer screen)
- Admiral Paul Eisenberg (only appearance)(TV or computer screen)
- Museum goers (only appearance)(no lines)
- C.R. Hamilton (only appearance)(portrait)
Locations[]
- Clevertown
- Mystery Inc.'s clubhouse
- Poughkeepsie, Upstate New York
Objects[]
- Pizza
- Gang's flashlights
Vehicles[]
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Admiral Paul Eisenberg | He got angry when the press asked him about Project Rainbow so Shaggy thought he had something to hide. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Museum owners | To sell merchandise to gullible tourists. |
Notes/trivia[]
Cultural references[]
- The Poughkeepsie Experiment is based on the Philadelphia Experiment, a real-life conspiracy theory. The name of ship involved (the USS Eldridge) and the date it allegedly occurred (October 28th, 1943) were kept the same.
- On the first page, Shaggy and Scooby watch a video from a website parodying YouTube.
- Clevertown is a reference to Cleveland, Scott Gross's hometown.
Coloring mistakes[]
- None known.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]
- The gang lives in Clevertown, same as in The Goal Line Ghost of Terrible Terry. However, their hometown has been established several times within the DC Comics canon to be Coolsville, which was adapted from the A Pup Named Scooby-Doo TV series.
- Shaggy's poster has Clevertown spelled as two words.