Post by LuckyLadybug on Oct 15, 2012 23:34:36 GMT -8
Not necessarily your most favorites, but which antagonists do you find have the most depth?
My votes would have to be for:
- Dr. Loveless. Such a series of contradictions, you never know quite what he'll do next. But one thing you can always be sure of is that he has a complex plan. And his motives usually go towards bettering mankind in some ways (while still setting himself up as the ruler over them).
What does he really want and what does he really care about, underneath everything he claims? He can have unusual sympathies one week (rescuing flies), but be perfectly willing to trap and kill animals for sport another week (Terror Stalked the Town). And he generally seems to care about children (or so he says), but as Jim rightly points out in Green Terror, many children will suffer and die because of what he's doing. He does cringe interestingly when Jim says that, though.
Perhaps the single most fascinating thing about Loveless is his relationship with Jim. Despite them being enemies, and despite him always wanting to kill Jim, somehow he also has a great deal of respect for the Secret Service agent. And he and Jim each have quite an in-depth understanding of the other. Every time they meet, it's a definite battle of wits.
- Coley Rodman (Sudden Plague). Gang leader. He isn't above shooting a man who gets in his way, but he doesn't seem to make a habit of killing. He stops his man from gunning down the frozen people in Sand Hills for the "fun" of it, indicating that regardless of their orders to apparently not kill, he doesn't want it that way if it doesn't have to be.
He acts sadistic with Arte after capturing him, threatening to turn some sick ferrets loose after covering Arte with bacon scent. He tells the mad scientist's daughter that even if he let them loose, he wouldn't let them bite enough to really hurt Arte, but still, yikes!
Even so, despite the fact that it would net him a lot of loot if he allowed it, he is repulsed by the mad scientist's new plan to destroy all the residents of towns and cities instead of just temporarily freezing them in place. Some criminals probably wouldn't care, and some sadists like his counterpart Pinto might even be gleeful, but Coley absolutely refuses to go along with it. The realization of the true plan is what makes Coley decide the gang has to break ties with the scientist, and what leads to the final showdown between Coley and the scientist.
The scientist's daughter absolutely loathes him, and probably with good reason (it sounds like he wants her for his girl at one point), but at the same time, she's either completely oblivious to or completely denies the fact that her father is very aware of what the gang is doing and that he's even the real mastermind. She thinks that he's innocently being held prisoner by the gang. In actuality, while maybe he is a prisoner, he's using all of them. Most of them (with the exception of Coley) are scared to even go near him. I do have to wonder how much of the daughter's opinion of Coley is colored by her refusal to accept the extent of her father's involvement. She'd rather blame everything on Coley instead of acknowledging how far her father has fallen.
- El Sordo (Jack O'Diamonds). Thief and sometimes murderer, you never know quite when he might help you or turn on you. But he fought for Mexico's freedom and has respect and a soft spot for former ally President Juarez. He steals the titular horse, but upon learning that it's a gift for Juarez, El Sordo immediately wants to do all he can to see that the president receives it. And he even seems concerned about Jim when Jim gets himself into quite a spot fighting alone against their shared enemies. He insists that Arte come with him so they can help Jim.
Of course, then he turns around and decides to rob both Jim and Arte after getting the drop on them by apparently letting them think he's dead. But he does leave them a horse....
My votes would have to be for:
- Dr. Loveless. Such a series of contradictions, you never know quite what he'll do next. But one thing you can always be sure of is that he has a complex plan. And his motives usually go towards bettering mankind in some ways (while still setting himself up as the ruler over them).
What does he really want and what does he really care about, underneath everything he claims? He can have unusual sympathies one week (rescuing flies), but be perfectly willing to trap and kill animals for sport another week (Terror Stalked the Town). And he generally seems to care about children (or so he says), but as Jim rightly points out in Green Terror, many children will suffer and die because of what he's doing. He does cringe interestingly when Jim says that, though.
Perhaps the single most fascinating thing about Loveless is his relationship with Jim. Despite them being enemies, and despite him always wanting to kill Jim, somehow he also has a great deal of respect for the Secret Service agent. And he and Jim each have quite an in-depth understanding of the other. Every time they meet, it's a definite battle of wits.
- Coley Rodman (Sudden Plague). Gang leader. He isn't above shooting a man who gets in his way, but he doesn't seem to make a habit of killing. He stops his man from gunning down the frozen people in Sand Hills for the "fun" of it, indicating that regardless of their orders to apparently not kill, he doesn't want it that way if it doesn't have to be.
He acts sadistic with Arte after capturing him, threatening to turn some sick ferrets loose after covering Arte with bacon scent. He tells the mad scientist's daughter that even if he let them loose, he wouldn't let them bite enough to really hurt Arte, but still, yikes!
Even so, despite the fact that it would net him a lot of loot if he allowed it, he is repulsed by the mad scientist's new plan to destroy all the residents of towns and cities instead of just temporarily freezing them in place. Some criminals probably wouldn't care, and some sadists like his counterpart Pinto might even be gleeful, but Coley absolutely refuses to go along with it. The realization of the true plan is what makes Coley decide the gang has to break ties with the scientist, and what leads to the final showdown between Coley and the scientist.
The scientist's daughter absolutely loathes him, and probably with good reason (it sounds like he wants her for his girl at one point), but at the same time, she's either completely oblivious to or completely denies the fact that her father is very aware of what the gang is doing and that he's even the real mastermind. She thinks that he's innocently being held prisoner by the gang. In actuality, while maybe he is a prisoner, he's using all of them. Most of them (with the exception of Coley) are scared to even go near him. I do have to wonder how much of the daughter's opinion of Coley is colored by her refusal to accept the extent of her father's involvement. She'd rather blame everything on Coley instead of acknowledging how far her father has fallen.
- El Sordo (Jack O'Diamonds). Thief and sometimes murderer, you never know quite when he might help you or turn on you. But he fought for Mexico's freedom and has respect and a soft spot for former ally President Juarez. He steals the titular horse, but upon learning that it's a gift for Juarez, El Sordo immediately wants to do all he can to see that the president receives it. And he even seems concerned about Jim when Jim gets himself into quite a spot fighting alone against their shared enemies. He insists that Arte come with him so they can help Jim.
Of course, then he turns around and decides to rob both Jim and Arte after getting the drop on them by apparently letting them think he's dead. But he does leave them a horse....
The scene with the bacon really made me think of Pinto. Coley definitely could have been sarcastic about not letting the ferrets do much biting, especially since he definitely did seem to be relishing the torture, and yet it's a bit hard for me to reconcile that scene with the scenes where he seems to show some remaining sparks of decency. Hence, why it's easier for me to believe that maybe he meant what he said to Anna, and perhaps was really relishing more the threat of and the build-up to the apparently looming torture, instead of the torture itself. Maybe he has a terribly macabre sense of humor.
