Warning: Contains spoilers for Doom Patrol episode 4.
In Doom Patrol season 3 episode 4, “Undead Patrol,” the show gave the first confirmation of the Sisterhood of Dada, a group that has a complex origin and history in the comics. The name of the group had previously been teased, along with the Brotherhood of Evil, in the Doom Patrol season 3 trailer. However, this was the first use of the name in the show and the episode also named one of their key members from the comics.
Michelle Gomez’s character was announced before the show aired as Madame Rouge, an important member of the Brotherhood of Evil who led to the group's downfall as well as the deaths of the original Doom Patrol. In the series itself, the character has amnesia and has only just remembered her name. She discovered an old film in Doom Manor that showed two members of the Sisterhood of Dada, Shelley Byron and herself, providing her with her real name: Laura De Mille.
Given that Laura De Mille/Madame Rouge has time-traveled from the past, it is unclear how the rest of the Sisterhood of Dada, who would have been her contemporaries, might appear in the present-day Doom Patrol. However, the show has played fast and loose with time (previously having introduced Doctor Tyme) and the longevity of many characters. Here’s everything to know about the origins of the Sisterhood of Dada, their powers, and what it could mean for Doom Patrol.
Sisterhood Of Dada Comics Origins
In the comics, the Sisterhood of Dada is called the Brotherhood of Dada with the name being a deliberate play on the Brotherhood of Evil. They first appeared in “Doom Patrol” issue #26 and were created by Grant Morrison. The group was formed by Eric Morden, AKA Mr. Nobody who was the main antagonist for Doom Patrol season 1, played by Alan Tudyk. Originally a member of the Brotherhood of Evil, Morden attempted to betray the group but was forced to flee to Paraguay where, as part of an experiment at the hands of a Nazi scientist, he was turned into Mr. Nobody.
With his new power, Mr. Nobody decides to start a new Brotherhood of his own but instead of focusing on evil, a concept Mr. Nobody views as overplayed, he focuses on celebrating the absurdity of life. The name of the Brotherhood of Dada draws on the avant-garde art movement from early-20th century Europe, which - to give a simplified description - rejected logic and reason as a response to the incomprehensible atrocities of World War 1. Mr. Nobody traveled the world and collected members for his new group which includes The Fog, The Quiz, Frenzy, and Sleepwalk.
The original Brotherhood of Dada executed a plot where they used a painting that they took from a collector called Eismann. The painting could absorb anything and swallowed up Paris, the Brotherhood of Dada, and the Doom Patrol. While Paris and the Doom Patrol were able to escape, the Brotherhood made a new home in the painting. Mr. Nobody was later able to escape and formed a new version of the Brotherhood of Dada.
How Doom Patrol Is Changing The Sisterhood of Dada
For Doom Patrol, it seems likely that they are changing the origin story drastically. Mr. Nobody embodied many of the traits of his Dada-esque comics portrayal but never mentioned his own supergroup. The painting that swallowed Paris appeared in both Doom Patrol season 1 and 2 and has captured Mr. Nobody (aside from the possible fourth wall breaking of Alan Tudyk getting another DC gig on Harley Quinn). With Mr. Nobody and the painting already used, it is likely that the series will invent an entirely new origin for the group.
The Brotherhood of Dada consisted of both men and women, with both Sleepwalk and The Quiz being female. The series is switching it to the Sisterhood of Dada, helping it to be a more obvious dichotomy to the Brotherhood of Evil, and including more female members. The Fog’s name in the comic drew on two Romantic era poets, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, to be Byron Shelley. In Doom Patrol season 3, the series seems to be having the character present as female and has switched their name to be Shelley Byron.
Laura De Mille’s Madame Rouge has also been added to be a part of the Sisterhood of Dada as well. As Laura De Mille is a shapeshifter and might have been the true target of the Brotherhood of Evil’s assassination, not Rita Farr, it is possible that Madame Rouge was still a member of the Brotherhood of Evil. This would suggest that the show is taking Madame Rouge’s betrayal of the Brotherhood of Evil and using it as the spark for her to take over Mr. Nobody’s storyline as the origin of the Sisterhood of Dada.
Every Sisterhood of Dada Member Teased In Doom Patrol
Aside from Madame Rouge, the only member of the Sisterhood of Dada that has been confirmed within Doom Patrol itself is Shelley Byron’s The Fog (played by Wynn Everett who portrayed Whitney Frost in Agent Carter). In the comics, The Fog can turn into a sentient haze that will absorb the souls of anyone it touches. The minds of those devoured remain trapped inside The Fog’s head and become a part of them in a similar way to Marvel’s Legion.
The Doom Patrol season 3 trailer, as well as showing The Fog, also teased versions of all the other members of the original Sisterhood of Dada. In the comics, Sleepwalk/Holly McKenzie (Anita Kalathara) has prophetic abilities along with extreme strength and endurance, but only when she is asleep. Frenzy/Lloyd Malcolm Jefferson (Miles Mussenden) was born with bicycle wheels protruding from his back and had the power to turn into a living cyclone. Finally, Doom Patrol is introducing The Quiz (Gina Hiraizumi) has one of the most powerful abilities of all: she has any power that her opponents have not thought of. There has been no hint of any of the second iteration of the Brotherhood of Dada, but if Michelle Gomez’s Madame Rouge survives Doom Patrol season 3, she could easily return with a whole new team in season 4.
Doom Patrol releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.
