DOROTHY WALKER
Real Name: Dorothy Nancy Walker
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Comic book writer, entrepreneur
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Lesley Aull, Avarrish, Miss Bliss, Defenders (Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nighthawk, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)), Dolly Donahue, Donald Grant, Mary Meeke Grant, Nan Hale, Tom "Tubs" Hale, Mr. Krautmann, Millie the Model, Rod, Milton Rosenblum, Specs, Susan, Hedy Wolfe, Mr. Wolfe, other residents of Centerville, California
Enemies: Blackheart
Known Relatives: Patricia "Patsy" Walker (Hellcat, daughter), Mickey Walker (son), Joshua Walker (ex-husband), Robert "Buzz" Baxter (Mad Dog, former son-in-law), Daimon Hellstrom (Son of Satan, former son-in-law), Sophia McConnell (sister, or sister-in-law), Grandpa Parker (father, or father-in-law)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Montclair, New Jersey;
formerly Centerville, California
First Appearance: (BTS) Avengers I#144 (February, 1976); (Seen) Defenders I#88 (October, 1980)
Powers/Abilities: Dorothy was a talented writer and entrepreneur. She had the potential of increased life due to a deal with demons, but the deal fell through and she died of natural causes.
History:
(Defenders I#111 (fb) - BTS) - Dorothy married Joshua Walker, and the two had a daughter, Patsy.
(Avengers Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - They also had a son, Mickey.
(Defenders I#109 (fb) - BTS) - Joshua and Dorothy continually argued, and he eventually left his family and moved away.
(Hellcat II#1 (fb)) - When Patsy was six, Joshua left the family. Dorothy stood on the porch and called him weak.
(Defenders I#111 (fb) - BTS) - With greater monetary resources, Dorothy maintained custody of Patsy.
(Iron Man and Hellcat Annual#1 (fb) - BTS) - When Patsy was growing up, Dorothy told her about an estate she'd lived in when her last name was McConnell, and she told Patsy the house had burned down. Over time, Patsy learned that Dorothy had many secret estates around the world.
(Defenders I#89 (fb) - BTS/Marvel Comics: History of the Marvels (fb) - BTS) - Dorothy began publishing comic books (under publisher Atlas Comics) and merchandising about Patsy and her friends. The family housekeeper, Dolly Donahue, frequently took care of Patsy.
(Defenders I#107 (fb) - BTS) - Grandpa Parker passed away.
(Hellcat II#3 (fb)) - When Patsy was 12, Joshua showed back up at the house to get her, ignoring Dorothy's protests. He told Patsy he had become a minister now and wanted to help her get rid of the devil, but she just laughed in his face as Dorothy watched.
(Avengers Annual 2000 (fb) - BTS) - Dorothy signed up everyone in the town to appear in the comics. Patsy and her best friend Hedy Wolfe became the most famous characters. Others included Miss Bliss, Donald Grant, Mary Meeke, Nan Hale, Tom "Tubs" Hale, Mr. Krautmann, Rod, Specs, Susan, and Mr. Wolfe.
(Marvel Fanfare I#59 (fb) - BTS) - Patsy’s aunt, Sophia McConnell, acted as Patsy’s business manager.
(Defenders I#89 (fb) - BTS) - Dorothy built a modeling career for her Patsy, using her contacts with Millie the Model for Patsy to show off children’s fashions, and eventually developed the idea to make up stores about Patsy as a teenage romance idol. Patsy quickly became famous as a comic book star, and starred in hundreds of books which were reprinted repeatedly.
(Hellcat II#3 (fb)) - When Patsy was 16, she was caught writing papers for other kids, and a boy named Chet was blamed. Patsy came clean, but when Principal Walker called Dorothy to tell her, Dorothy used pressure (and bribes) to make sure Chet was still blamed anyway.
(Avengers I#144 (fb) - BTS/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#5) - Dorothy did not support Patsy’s eventual marriage to Robert ‘Buzz’ Baxter. Patsy later divorced, and Dorothy lost contact with her.
(Defenders I#89 (fb) - BTS) - Dorothy eventually sold many of her assets and bought a nice home in Montclair, New Jersey. Her long-time friend and housekeeper, Dolly Donahue, moved with her. Dorothy kept boxes of Patsy’s old books in her attic.
(Defenders I#88 (fb) - BTS) - Years later, though ill in the hospital with cancer, Dorothy demanded to be released and was sent home. She soon had a relapse and called an ambulance.
(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat#7 (fb) - BTS) - Before her death, Dorothy Walker formed contracts that allowed Hedy Wolfe to control future book publications, and made deals where those featured in the books, including Tom Hale, would get shares of the profits. Dorothy was under morphine use at the time, and her actions would later be determined to be inadmissible.
(Defenders I#88) - The ambulance driver, Lesley Aull, took Dorothy in and the doctor determined she was close to death. He ordered the nurses to find Patsy's number.
(Defenders I#89) - Dorothy passed on and the news was given to Patsy. The lawyer of her friend Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk), Milton Rosenblum, made all the arrangements for the funeral. Patsy attended the funeral with Bruce Banner (Hulk), Richmond, and Valkyrie, with Rosenblum, Dolly, and the priest there as well. Patsy bid Dorothy farewell and verbally expressed her recriminations about being raised the way she was, but she stated that she was moving on and trying to forgive Dorothy.
(Defenders I#95 (fb) - BTS) - Dorothy Walker promised the soul of her daughter to Avarrish of the Six-Fingered Hand in return for being restored to life, though her body was ridden with deadly cancer.
(Defenders I#94) - Avarrish failed to claim Hellcat, and Dorothy remained dead.
(Iron Man and Hellcat Annual#1) - Dorthy's soul, and those of her family members, were held by Blackheart and demons in Hell. Soon Blackheart captured Hedy Wolfe, and Hellcat and Iron Man came down to save them. Blackheart offered to let Dorothy and the others go if Hellcat agreed to stay in Hell and serve him. Hellcat defeated him, and Dorothy was returned to the house as a ghost.
(Hellcat II#1) - The ghost of Dorothy watched Patsy and Hedy get into a fight, and commented about how they never changed.
(Hellcat II#2) - Patsy asked her mother's ghost about her father, Joshua Stanley, but Dorothy was evasive with her answers.
(Hellcat II#5) - After Patsy was put in a mental hospital, Hedy went to her home and used a spell book to banish the ghost of Dorothy Walker.
Comments: Created by Ed Hannigan, Don Perlin, and Pablo Marcos.
Much of Dorothy Walker's history is convoluted and confused. She first (likely) appeared in the various "Patsy Walker" comics, which aren't necessarily considered Marvel canon, and this profile is only meant to corroborate the information revealed about her in the "modern age." There is no direct connection from Dorothy to Mickey Walker except for the last name. Joshua and Dorothy have never even appeared in a flashback together, and appeared in the Defenders book in separate storylines. Questions to be answered in time, perhaps, including how Dorothy made contact with Avarrish.
Her full name was given in the Hellcat profile in OHotMU Women 2004.
(Huh, "Nancy Walker," like the actress, didn't notice that before.)
--Ronald Byrd
Profile by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dorothy Walker
has no known connections to
Lesley Aull
(Defenders I#88) - An ambulance driver, Lesley Aull grew frustrated when sick patient Dorothy Walker was released to home when still sick, and even more so when the doctors didn't follow her advice to keep her in the hospital. She took Mrs. Walker back in, and was put in her place by the doctor for complaining.
--Defenders I#88
images: (without ads)
Defenders I#89, p15, pan1 (main)
Defenders I#88, p7, pan3 (2nd)
p7, pan2 (Lesley Aull)
Appearances:
Avengers I#144 (February, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), George Perez (penciler), Mike Esposito (inker), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Defenders I#88 (October, 1980) - Ed Hannigan (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Pablo Marcos (penciler/inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#89 (November, 1980) - David Kraft & Ed Hannigan (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Pablo Marcos (penciler/inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#94-95 (April-May, 1981) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#107 (July, 1982) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Sam Trapani, Rick Magyar, Jack Abel (inkers), Al Milgrom (inker/editor)
Defenders I#109 (September, 1982) - Mark Gruenwald & JM DeMatteis (writers), Don Perlin (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#111 (September, 1982) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), A. Mushynsky (inker), Allen Milgrom (editor)
(New) Defenders I#125 (November, 1983) - JM DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Kim DeMulder (inker), Carl Potts (editor)
Marvel Fanfare I#59 (October, 1991) - Richard Howell (writer), Al Milgrom (editor)
istory of the Marvels Comics#1 (July, 2000) - Tom Brevoort (writer), Matt Hicks (editor)
Avengers Annual 2000 (2000) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Norm Breyfogle (penciler/inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat#7 (August, 2016) - Kate Leth (writer), Britney L. Williams (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Iron Man and Hellcat Annual#1 (August, 2022) - Christopher Cantwell (writer), Ruairi Coleman (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Hellcat II#1-3 (May-July, 2023) - Christopher Cantwell (writer), Alex Lins (artist), Martin Biro (editor)
Hellcat II#5 (September, 2023) - Christopher Cantwell (writer), Alex Lins (artist), Martin Biro (editor)
First Posted: 04/28/2007
Last updated: 09/03/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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