- "But all these years, the only thing keeping me alive is the talisman hanging around my neck...."
- —Niles Caulder to Cliff Steele[src]
The Longevity Talisman is a magic artifact that was turned into a talisman with a piece of the deity Immortus and that Niles Caulder used to significantly slow down the aging process and extend his lifespan.
History[]
Immortus's Defeat[]
After the deity Immortus lost its longevity in parts, a fragment was made into a necklace, known as the Longevity Talisman and was purchased over time through shady bargaining measures.[1]
Payment for Metahuman Abilities[]
In 1948, Eric Morden approached Heinrich Von Fuchs, to whom he "forked over a king's ransom" for metahuman abilities, a payment which was later revealed to be the longevity talisman.[2] [3] In the puppet show of his life, Von Fuchs added a reference to this payment, citing it as "something of great value" to him.[4]
Niles Caulder and the Search for Immortality[]
After discovering his daughter, Dorothy, at a London freak show in 1927, Niles Caulder began his quest to outlive his daughter by a single day. In 1948, his research took him to Paraguay, where he interrupted the meeting of Eric Morden and Heinrich Von Fuchs. Niles stole the longevity talisman from Von Fuch's lab, hoping to achieve the immortality that he had been searching for. Unfortunately, the powers of the talisman were "limited," and it was only able to serve as a temporary solution, sustaining Niles while he continued on with his efforts to achieve true immortality.[3]
Niles continued to wear the longevity talisman for another 72 years, until he was 139 years old. When the Doom Patrol (minus Larry) were miniaturized following the battle with Ezekiel, Niles reluctantly traded the talisman to Willoughby Kipling in order to return the team to their natural size, at which point he began to age again.[3][5]
Properties[]
Longevity[]
The longevity talisman is able to extend the bearer's lifespan by unknown means. Though it was able to successfully keep Niles Caulder from aging for 72 years, he described the talisman's powers as "limited," and maintained that it did not grant "true" immortality, possibly because the effects of the talisman are lost as soon as the bearer removes it from their body.