Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Doom Patrol's season 2 finale.
Season 2 of Doom Patrol introduced the Candlemaker, one of the strangest and most powerful villains from the original Doom Patrol comics; yet, while the show's production team captured the essence of the character perfectly, many viewers were still confused about just what the Candlemaker was, what his powers were and just what happened during his battle with the Doom Patrol in the series' season 2 finale.
Doom Patrol season 2 introduced Dorothy Spinner, a special young girl who had inherited her mother's power to bring imaginary creatures to life as well as her immortality. This posed a problem for Dorothy's father, Dr. Niles Caulder, who had learned of the dangers Dorothy's powers posed and began taking steps to protect the world from his daughter. These included placing her in the care of a sentient street named Danny, as he searched the world trying to find a way to prolong his life so that he would always be there to take care of his daughter and, if need be, kill her if she became a menace to society.
Dr. Caulder's search for immortality led to his committing various wicked deeds over the years, creating the unusual patients with whom he shared his home. Despite their finally learning of this in the penultimate episode of Doom Patrol season 1, they all elected to stay with Dr. Caulder and reluctantly agreed to help him when the Candlemaker manifested. The second season ended on a cliffhanger, with Dorothy preparing to face the Candlemaker on her own after the rest of the team, save her father, were seemingly covered with wax or transformed into living candles by the Candlemaker.
Candlemaker's Origins In The Comics
The Candlemaker first appeared as a shadowy figure in Doom Patrol Vol. 2 #44, but he wouldn't be named until the final pages of Doom Patrol Vol. 2 #57. While the Candlemaker appeared briefly throughout Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, it was not until the final story arc that the strange villain was given a defined background or motivation. This was oddly fitting, given Candlemaker's ultimate goal was to become a tangible being after untold eons of being an insubstantial possibility, similar to cosmic horrors like Cthulhu. The being that became known as the Candlemaker was originally an egregore: a non-physical entity born of a collective fear, like the fear of the total annihilation brought on by a nuclear war. Egregores are impossible to define by nature, as the act of giving meaning to an egregore causes them to stop being an egregore. Ironically, this usually robs them of their power (or at least makes them easier to combat) as egregores feed on vague feelings of anxiety.
Thankfully most humans lack the sheer psychic strength to allow an egregore to manifest. Unfortunately, one egregore was able to attach itself to a young psychic named Dorothy Spinner and prolonged its existence by taking on the form of one of Dorothy's imaginary friends, the Candlemaker. The original Candlemaker was a kindly figure created by a young Dorothy, when she was still afraid of the dark. This Candlemaker made candles to protect children from the monsters in the dark and granted wishes when they were blown out. However, Dorothy's guardian became a nightmare after she learned about how candles were also lit to honor the dead. This knowledge twisted Dorothy's image of the Candlemaker, whom she now imagined killing people so he could light more candles. Dorothy buried her memory of the Candlemaker deep inside her head, where the egregore was waiting and seeking a shape.
The Candlemaker first manifested physically after Dorothy was bullied by a neighbor boy named Bernard Muller. After one particularly bad day, Dorothy wished that Bernard was dead, not suspecting anything would happen when the Candlemaker appeared in her head, presented her with a candle and instructed her to blow it out and make a wish. This enabled the Candlemaker to leave Dorothy's mind and manifest just long enough to kill Bernard. Horrified, Dorothy once again tried to confine the Candlemaker to the darkest parts of her mind and promised never to make another wish for as long as she lived. Unfortunately, she broke the promise to save the hero Flex Mentallo from a monster called the Telephone Avatar. When Dorothy wished a third time (this time to resurrect her friend Joshua Clay) the Candlemaker was finally free to leave her head forever and set about the purpose Dorothy had imagined for him: killing everyone in the world.
Candlemaker's Powers and Weaknesses
Defined by Dorothy Spinner's nightmares, Candlemaker was an almost all-powerful being. Beyond being super-strong, invulnerable, telekinetic and capable of flight, Candlemaker could kill people with a touch or manifest blasts of heat vision from its third eye. What made Candlemaker truly frightening, however, is that he could alter reality at will, read minds and attack people on the astral plane, killing their dreams and destroying their souls before their bodies finally died.
Ironically Candlemaker's status as a monster born of the vague fears of a child was also his greatest weakness. He could only act in the manner defined by his creator and could be redefined or bound by a particularly strong-willed psychic or magician. He could also be contained by another sentient idea, such as Danny The Street. Strangely enough, Candlemaker had problems dealing with anything that violated the rules of reality as he understood them and became confused and paralyzed into inaction when confronted by things as unreal as himself. Finally, Candlemaker was clumsy, being unused to having a physical mass and operating in only three dimensions.
Candlemaker in DC Universe's Doom Patrol Season 2
The Candlemaker of Doom Patrol seems to be identical to his comic book counterpart in terms of power, though his origins are quite different. This Candlemaker seems to have been created by Dorothy Spinner as a protector, who was bound only by her belief that she needed something scary to watch over her until she grew up. As an imaginary construct, Candlemaker was able to enter into The Underground, the psychic realm containing all of Crazy Jane's personalities, killing several of them, after Dorothy wished for Babydoll to die. When Dorothy became convinced she had finally become a grown-up (thanks to a tell-tale sign of puberty) in the penultimate episode of Doom Patrol season 2, "Dad Patrol, " Candlemaker was freed from Dorothy's mind and began destroying the carnival where Dorothy and her father had spent the day together.
The Wax Effect Explained
The Doom Patrol confronted Candlemaker in the season 2 finale, "Wax Patrol," but were hopelessly outclassed. Rather than attacking them directly, Candlemaker manifested in the forms of their own imaginary childhood friends, striking each member of the team down by attacking their own insecurities. This left each member of the team paralyzed as they became covered with wax, seemingly transformed into giant candles. While Candlemaker never attacked anyone in this manner in the comics, he did attack people psychically based on their own personal traumas and leaving them covered in wax as they were defeated offered an interesting and distinctive visual component that translated better to television that the more physically mundane deaths Candlemaker caused in the comics. It also allowed the episode to focus on each member of the team as they confronted their own baggage while facing their imaginary friends, which proved to be more interesting and true to the spirit of the show than a traditional superhero fight scene.