How Old Is Dorothy In Doom Patrol?
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While WandaVision proved that the Marvel Cinematic Universe can get weird when it wants to, the craziest comic book show on TV is undeniably Doom Patrol, now streaming on HBO Max. It follows a truly bizarre set of heroes who aren't the typical caped crusaders in big budget adventures. Led by Dr. Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton) their missions usually force them to go up against invaders from other dimensions, an omniscient being called Mr. Nobody and, oh, a giant cockroach.
But the second season fleshed out Niles' character even more by introducing his daughter, Dorothy Spinner (Abigail Shapiro). Yes, she looks like she's wandered straight out of The Wizard of Oz, but she has the ability to bring her haunting imaginary friends to life. And she's even harboring a terrifying entity called the Candlemaker who is destined to bring about the end of the world.
Clearly, Dorothy is a metahuman – but she inherited a special ability from her Mother, Oyewah, also known as Slava. Oyewah was the last surviving member of her tribe because she's an immortal metahuman, but when she gave birth to Dorothy, she passed on a diluted version of that immortality. That means Dorothy is a lot older than she looks.
Dorothy is over 100 years old
During the 1910s, Niles Caulder was working for the Bureau of Normalcy in an effort to hunt down metahumans and anyone else who was exhibiting strange powers. A mission at the time took Niles to the Yukon to hunt for Oyewah/Slava, but he ended up falling in love with her when he broke his leg and she nursed him back to health. Around 1913, Oyewah gave birth to Dorothy, who has the power to bring imaginary creatures into reality and also ages at a decreased rate.
Because Niles was aware of the Candlemaker's existence and how Dorothy could be used to kickstart the apocalypse, he searched for ways to make sure she stayed as an 11-year-old girl forever. He left her in the care of Danny the Street (yes, a sentient street) for decades until she was freed in the ending of Doom Patrol season 1.
In the third episode of the first season, Robotman/Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser) makes a joke about "Justice League 2020," seemingly placing Doom Patrol in the present day. So by the time Dorothy is brought out of Danny the Street, that would place her at approximately 107 years of age.
Obviously, Dorothy is still aging slightly. The catalyst for the second season is that, when Dorothy becomes a woman, the Candlemaker will be unleashed on the world and bring about Armageddon. Unfortunately, because work on the finale was never finished due to the pandemic, we don't yet know if, or how, Dorothy will put a stop to the Candlemaker. Here's hoping Doom Patrol season 3 arrives sooner rather than later.