SINISTER MONSTER DOOM LEGION pt.29
I decided very early on while creating SCAPULA that I didn’t want the character to be insane. Mental illness is something that is so rarely depicted accurately in comics (not to mention in other media); many times characters are written as “crazy” simply out of laziness or ignorance on the writer’s part. It would have been far too easy to have made Scapula a half-baked rip-off of the Joker, so I firmly chose that he was sane. A character’s choices are essentially what makes the character, and this seemed far more appealing that a villain who just cackled maniacally and committed wanton crimes.
…and then this storyline came along and threw all of that up in the air.
The decision to make Darkevilhelldeath-Man a part of Scapula instead of a separate, unrelated entity (as he was originally conceived) was a big experiment in character development, and I like to think that it paid off. I have no regrets, but am nonetheless anxious to hear the opinions from you bewildered readers. I also leave it up to you to decide for yourself whether you feel that Scapula is insane or just an emotional mess.
That’s all for Scapula (for now), but there’s still one last loose end to tie up. Tune in next week for the conclusion (phew!) to SINISTER MONSTER DOOM LEGION.
I look at him as someone who so wants to be accepted by anyone that he feels the only way he will get attention is by being a criminal. So he either found the robot not knowing what it was or in his vulnerable state was promised power by an unknown entity. He was suckered in like a cult member.
Is scapula missing the little robot, or the girl ?
Anyway, when scapula is shouting “don’t leave me”
I want to sing :
“Don’t leave me this way
I can’t survive, can’t stay alive
Without your love, oh baby
Don’t leave me this way, no”
20+ years of working around a forensic mental health setting and not one criminal genius in the lot. Malingered mental illness aside, some psychopaths present as being superficially bright but there is no depth to it. I enjoy the strip and wouldn’t mind seeing how DEDM came to be on Scapula’s hand.
Aw, shucks…
I feel a bit sorry for Scapula
(I’m kinda’ hoping the doctor changes her mind)! 🙂
@Bearman Very insightful theories (I’m always flattered when people notice some depth to these comics). Methinks you’ve spent some time amongst the criminal minds of society…or perhaps…you ARE ONE?! Egad! The Bearman really IS going to take over the Sinister Monster Doom Legion!
@mehdi Dude, you must be a king at the karaoke bar. Someone get this guy another mai tai!
@Mgnostic Nice to meet you, and thanks for leaving a comment! I don’t know if I’d go as far as to call Scap a psychopath (there’s a whole lot of different permutations to that term, as I’m sure someone with your experience knows), but at this point I can’t necessarily bunk any other theories…except the theory that Darkevilhelldeath-Man is an alien. That’s just bullplop.
@SpilledInky The deleted panel was Dr. Jeraukov running towards Scapula with open arms, as flowers appear from the sky and the Turtles’ classic “Happy Together” plays on the soundtrack…actually, that’s a lie. I’m sorry I lied to you, Rob.
I believe that ‘insanity’ is just an overall label that’s placed on people as an excuse to ignore other underlying problems. You could say that Hank is insane because he does things that are considered abnormal to society. But, like you, I feel that there’s a difference between being insane and merely making bad choices.
Great analyzation and you captured everything perfectly, Aidan! Very powerful!
Well Scapula *did* choose to give up DEHDM. His fault all the way.
The art in the sixth panel is really well done (as usual!).
@George There’s a world of difference between “temporary insanity” (when our emotions cause us to make bad decisions) and actual mental illness, but it’s always treated as if were just one step over the line. This is why the “insanity plea” really gets to me; so many people who are very, very guilty of crimes use this as a ‘get out of jail free’ card with no respect towards those who actually can’t adjust to society. I could go off on a huge rant, but I’ll spare you all of my long-winded grumblings (…but if anyone out there wants to throw in their two-cents please feel free).
In any event, I’m glad you enjoyed, George, and as for Hank…well, there’s a room waiting for him at Arkham Asylum.
@InvaderZimFan Absoultely true. He rejected him. And now there’s no going back (remember that before you dump someone, young lovers!).
@Dan Thank ya kindly! Don’t worry about side-stepping the discussion; all of us are just “playing doctor”…well, playing psychologist. It’s the same, only no one takes off their clothes.
Alone again… Naturally.
That song springs quickly to mind as I read today’s strip. I think the last three panels really drives the emotional nail into the heart. I have had a dream or two where I had yelled that out. You almost feel sorry for Scapula… almost. You realize then that the choices he has made has led him down that road of loneliness. Crazy… no. Depression induced villainy, seen many go down that road. Well done, I can’t wait to read next weeks.
The feeling I get from ole Scappadoo is that he’s an emotional mess. However, having said that, I also feel like if someone came up to him and gave him a hug and emotional compassion, he’d end up in the fetal position, on the floor, sucking his thumb while yelling, STELLLLLLLLAAAAA! … I dunno why. o.O
I may have said to much and revealed my own psychological wackiness there!
Aw…. Somebody needs to hug Scap. I feel badly for him. Hugs really do release endorphins and all that. Scap needs some endorphins.
Emotionally messed up is much more interesting than just plain old insane. Insane is an excuse for itself…. EMU makes you want to find out why…? And you’re right… the Joker already covered that base.
@Roland Again, more wonderful insight. However much of Scap’s current miserable life is caused by his choices or coping with the world is up to the reader to decide.
Whew…who would have thought comics were so therapeutic? Especially ones with killer sock puppets?
@jynksie Scott, ol’ buddy, sometimes I think ALL of psychology is wackiness.
Again, more true words. Keep in mind nearly every time Scap has been shown any compassion in these stories it was in the form of people trying to trick him. You lose a lot of faith in the world when love is nothing but a ruse.
@squidrowmommy The Joker is one of those strange cases where sympathy just doesn’t seem to work for a character; the readers love him for his charisma and entertainment value alone. While many great comic villains have had tragic strokes to them (Dr. Doom, Two-Face, Magneto, etc), not all of them benefit from showing their vulnerable sides. The Joker, to me, never really works when presented as a tragic figure (and a good many storytellers have tried this approach, namely Alan Moore in “The Killing Joke”). I don’t think he’s any less of a character for not being able to make sane choices, he’s just a different type of character altogether. There’s probably a few fanboys out there who will debate me on this, but that’s just my opinion.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, Scapula…he could use a hug.
I don’t often think of criminals being insane, but more than likely are just desperate, sociopathic, or just bullies. I believe a large percentage are probably just not that bright, which is why they resorted to crime in the first place.
I think the only thing in reality close to supervillains are megalomaniacal dictators.
@JerryBenedict Man, I’m loving the insight of my readers! Smart bunch of cookies you all are.
The motivations of supervillains are, of course, just as varied as those of real-life criminals. Dr. Doom’s megalomania isn’t the same at all as the Joker’s madness, Luthor’s ego, Magneto’s vengeance, Galactus’ empty tummy, and so on, so forth.
Well, at least Scap is not obsessed with boners, like the Joker…
http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=32%3Aseduction-index&id=303%3Abatmans-boner&Itemid=36
@Hoomi I normally don’t allow hyperlinks in the comments section (especially ones to potentially dirty sites), but I allowed this one simply because it refers to an actual piece of comics history. The Joker’s “boner” adventure was a real Batman story, and in this day and age it’s unbelievably hilarious. Makes you wish Heath Ledger had dropped a few ‘boners’ in “Dark Knight” (but he already did that in “Brokeback Mountain”…ZING!)
I love the way you laid out the last four panels. It really drives the emotion home. Great job. 🙂
I wouldn’t post a link that was to a site that might offend, at least not without warnings. The first time I came across that page, I laughed so hard I thought I was going to be sick. I can only imagine the writers and artists all having a good laugh, knowing they were slipping so many gags right by the censors.
@WannabeHero Glad you enjoyed, pal! I’m just worried I may have subconsciously ripped off the cinematography from somewhere…just can’t put my finger on it at the moment. Oh well; when they find me they can sue my pants off, then I’ll cry out loud just like Scap!
@Hoomi I don’t know if “boner” meant the same thing then as it does now (there was a children’s comic strip named “Boner’s Ark”, which has probably lost a lot of its innocence now). In any event, it’s amazing that decades later we can still laugh our asses off at this old comic; I can only wonder what people in 2081 will think of these SCAPULA strips.
To pull a boner just meant that one made a mistake. Its erotic reference is much more recent.
I agree that Scapula isn’t insane, just vulnerable. Pathetic and vulnerable.
Like what you wrote about the development of the character of Scapula. I don’t think he is insane although I have only read the last few months of your comic. I really like your thinking behind the character and where you are taking him and the whole story. Great work.
@macsnafu It makes you wonder how much our slang is going to be misinterpreted by future generations. I still can’t believe there was a time when everyone said ‘radical’ and ‘gnarly’. Actually, ‘gnarly’ already sounds like something very perverted.
“Pathetic and vulnerable” sounds like an apt description of Scap. They’ll chisel it on his epitaph for sure.
@FrankMHansen Glad you liked, man. Character development is something that I’m happy to really begin to explore in this comic, although it’s kind of a gradual thing. More to come.
Poor Sapula just needs a big hug. And a few decades behind bars.
@Binky Do the crime, do the time…but a hug makes it go down much easier.
DH, as a life-long fan of dramatic, cinematic evil (the first Star Wars came out when I was 5), I love the Joker because he’s never been sympathetic or a tragic victim of someone else’s actions (ignoring Burton’s Batman) – and I can’t figure out how The Killing Joke is an exception to that. Alan Moore’s version seemed just as brilliantly unsympathetic and unapologetic as ever, if not moreso.
Don’t suppose you’d be willing to elaborate?
@UrbanPagan No problemo (like I need an excuse to go on a long-winded comics diatribe?).
“Killing Joke” didn’t work for me for one real simple reason: Batman having sympathy for the Joker feels very, very out of place. True, in his initial explanation (his talk to the Joker imposter in one of the opening scenes) it’s not so much that he cares about Joker necessarily, so much as he doesn’t wish to continue the pointless war they continue to have. Still, it feels wrong that Batman would pull any punches with the Joker (especially that THIS, of all stories, contains some of the Joker’s most despicable acts ever); the final scene, where the two laugh at a joke, has never quite sat right with me. It just feels wrong for both characters.
You could argue that Gordon set an example by not giving in to madness and vengeance by not killing Joker (that’s understandable), but that final happy joke-in-the-rain is really what I feel is trying to force some sort of sympathy for the Clown Prince of Disgustingly Evil Crimes, and it just doesn’t work.
That’s just my opinion. Sympathy does not work with Joker. You can present the HUMAN aspects of him, absolutely (Brian Azzarello’s JOKER graphic novel was great in that regard), but feeling sorry for him? Now THAT’S just crazy!