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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 20, 2008 18:05:19 GMT -5
79. Mr. Blonde Who is he: A sadistic criminal. What is he from: “Reservoir Dogs.” What has he done: Did something horrible at the jewelry store robbery; kidnapped a policeman and cut off his ear. Intelligence: He's no mindless thug but a bit too reckless to be in charge of things. Power: He’s a hired hand. Vileness: For millions of people, listening to "Stuck in the Middle with You" will never be the same. Sway: His low-key approach definitely throws his fellow Dogs, especially Mr. White and Mr. Pink. Purity: He doesn't care what anyone else thinks and takes every opportunity to show that, both physically and verbally. Physical Prowess: A fairly big dude who knows how to handle a gun...and a straight razor, and looks good with sunglasses. Name Coolness: “Mr. Blonde” has a weird coolness to it, and his real name, “Vic Vega,” is pretty badass. Created by: Quentin Tarantino. Portrayed by: Michael Madsen, though he had some trouble playing the role. During a scene in which Mr. Blonde tortures the police officer, actor Kirk Baltz ad-libbed a line about being father of a young child. Madsen, who himself had just become a father, was so upset that he had a great deal of difficulty finishing the scene. On some copies of the DVD, as Baltz completes the line, a voice can be heard off-screen saying "Oh, no, no ..." The ad-lib compounded Madsen's original reluctance to do the scene, due to his real-life aversion to violence. Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son, "Nice Guy" Eddie (Chris Penn), are planning a jewel heist; and they hire Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) and Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) to do the job. However, the job goes bad, though it’s never shown on screen. After the job, Mr. White, driving with one hand, is trying to comfort a hysterical Mr. Orange, who has been shot in the lower abdomen and is bleeding profusely. They arrive at an abandoned warehouse, later revealed to be the rendezvous point for the armed robbery they have just committed. Mr. White leaves Mr. Orange on the warehouse floor. Mr. Pink appears and angrily suggests that the jewelry heist was a setup. Mr. Brown has been killed by the police and the whereabouts of Mr. Blonde and Mr. Blue are unknown to Mr. White and Mr. Pink. Mr. White and Mr. Pink are enraged at Mr. Blonde, who shot and killed several civilians after the alarm went off. They argue about whether or not to take the unconscious Mr. Orange to a hospital. The argument turns violent when Mr. White reveals that he told Mr. Orange his first name. They point their loaded pistols at each other. Mr. Blonde, who has been watching the action from the shadows, steps forward and tells them not to leave the warehouse because Nice Guy Eddie is on his way there. Mr. Blonde takes them outside to his car and opens the trunk to reveal Marvin Nash (Kirk Baltz), a police officer he has captured. Mr. Pink and Mr. White brutalize the officer, and then Mr. Blonde tapes him to a chair. Eddie arrives at the warehouse and orders Mr. Pink and Mr. White to come with him to retrieve the stolen diamonds (that Mr. Pink stashed after fleeing the scene) and get rid of the hijacked vehicles, while ordering Mr. Blonde to stay with the dying Mr. Orange and the "cop". The officer denies knowing anything about the setup, and begs to be released. Mr. Blonde then draws a straight razor from his cowboy boot and tunes a radio to K-Billy's "Super Sounds of the '70s", which is playing "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel. Dancing around to the music, Mr. Blonde slashes the officer's face and cuts off his ear. He then splashes the officer with gasoline and prepares to ignite it with his cigarette lighter when Mr. Orange suddenly shoots Mr. Blonde several times in the chest, killing him. Mr. Blonde is cruel, sadistic, and pretty much ruined “Stuck In The Middle With You” for a lot of people. That torture scene sealed him as a great movie villain for years to come. I mean, he had already beaten the cop. He cut off his ear, doing it while dancing to such a cheerful song. And, he planned to set him on fire. He didn’t just want that cop die; he wanted him to suffer. And, he would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for that meddling Mr. Orange. However, we don’t really see all the bad things Mr. Blonde did in the movie. The jewelry store robbery is never shown, and it was during it that he shot a whole bunch of people. We don’t who he shot, how many people he shot, and how bad they were shot. That makes Mr. Blonde’s deed a lot scarier because it has our imaginations running wild. Some people might see him shooting several people. Some might see people heads and limbs falling off and blood everywhere. Some might even see him shooting a baby. Our imaginations give Mr. Blonde a free-range on how evil he can be.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 20, 2008 18:06:16 GMT -5
Tomorrow, numbers 78 and 77. Here are the hints:
He must break you, and he doesn't like absent people.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 21, 2008 20:03:49 GMT -5
78. Principal Ed Rooney Who is he: Principal of the high school in Shermer, Illinois. What is he from: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and the short-lived TV show Ferris Bueller. What has he done: Tried to ruin Ferris’s day off. Intelligence: Most likely a degree in education. Power: He’s in charge of a high school, but that’s about as his power stretches. Vileness: Looks like he might have a mean streak. Sway: Can intimidate teenagers with threats of detention, suspension, and expulsion. Purity: The man goes through hell to try and prove that Ferris isn’t sick. Physical Prowess: He looks a little chubby and out of shape. Name Coolness: “Rooney” ain’t cool. Created by: John Hughes. Portrayed by: Jeffrey Jones played him in the movie, and Richard Riehle played him in the TV show. Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is an irreverent high school senior from the fictional northern Chicago suburb of Shermer, Illinois, who decides to skip school for a day on the town by pretending to be sick. We later learn that he has done this many times throughout the school year. He convinces his nervous hypochondriac friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) to take his father's carefully restored 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California out for a spin, although Cameron's father has memorized the car's mileage. Ferris promises to erase any miles they put on the car by driving the car home in reverse. Masquerading as her father, Ferris springs his younger girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) from school on the premise that her grandmother has died. Meanwhile, school dean of students, Edward Rooney (Jones), doesn’t believe Ferris's illness, as he has been tracking Ferris's many absences from school on his computer. Ferris remotely deletes these absences from the computer while Rooney watches helplessly. Lacking proof of the truancy, he sets out to catch him in the act, suffering injuries and humiliation in his quest. Ferris leaks a rumor to some 9th-graders that he is near-terminally ill, and he becomes the town's favorite son. A campaign by the students to "Save Ferris" is a running joke throughout the film. His twin sister, Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), is outraged at Ferris's ability to defy authority unpunished and becomes as determined as Rooney to prove that her brother is lying. Her efforts lead to her being home when Rooney visits the house, which she misinterprets as an attempt to attack her. In response to the misinterpretation, Jeanie kicks Rooney in the face several times while screaming and running around the house, and then she goes to the police. Later, Rooney believes he sees Ferris in a low-scale restaurant, but it turns out to be just a girl with short hair, who spits soda in Rooney’s face. Rooney also faces some trouble with a dog, but luckily for him, it gets knocked out by a potted plant. After a long day of fun and adventure, Ferris has to quickly get home before his parents do. He runs through neighbors' backyards and hops fences in an attempt to get home first (during this sequence, though in a hurry, Ferris briefly stops to greet a pair of female sunbathers). He arrives back home, but Rooney catches him. However, Jeanie opens the door and thanks Rooney for driving Ferris home from the hospital. Jeanie then reveals that Rooney left his wallet on the kitchen floor during his earlier visit, leaving Rooney with a vicious dog. Ferris manages to get into bed in time for his parents to check on him. The closing credits play beside scenes of Rooney receiving jeers and odd looks while riding the school bus. At a point during this scene, a girl sitting next to him offers a "gummy bear" claiming that they have been in her pocket and they're "real warm and soft". Rooney looks depressed and sickened as she says "Bet you never smelled a real school bus before". The TV show isn’t worth mentioning. Poor guy. Ed Rooney goes through a lot of crap to try and prove that Ferris was skipping school. And, just when he thinks he has succeeded, victory is taken from his grasp. He is forced to walk away and take the bus back to school. You almost feel sorry for the guy. ALMOST! I mean, I could feel sorry for him; all he was trying to do was his job: make sure the kids are going to school. But, I just can’t. For one, he’s a buzzkill. Ferris just wants to have some fun with his friends. It’s just three teenagers skipping school. The world isn’t going to end if three teenagers skip school. Second, he’s so weaselly. I mean, just look at him. He looks conniving, like he’s hatching some devious plan. I could easily see Rooney as a global terrorist (with a different name of course) as I can see him as a high school principal. But, the main reason is his ego. If he hadn’t been so goddamn smug and cocky, then I could muster some sympathy for him. However, Rooney has got quite the ego. He thinks he can easily outwit Ferris Bueller, but Ferris is two, three, even four steps ahead of Rooney. Ultimately, his pride prevents him from winning. I mean, he had Ferris dead to rights! All he had to do was grab Ferris by the collar, take him into the house, and tell his parents of all the things Ferris has done. But, no! He just had to gloat. Sure enough, Jeanie saves Ferris; and Rooney has to fend off a dog and take the bus back to school. It sucks that Rooney had to go through so much crap, but he basically brought it all on himself.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 21, 2008 20:27:39 GMT -5
77. Ivan Drago Who is he: A boxer. What is he from: “Rocky IV” What has he done: Killed Apollo Creed in an exhibition match. Intelligence: He’s a boxer, so I doubt he’s got much. Power: Usually, other people are telling him what to do. Vileness: He is as cold as the Russian winter. Sway: I doubt many people would say no to him. Purity: Will do anything to win, even take steroids. Physical Prowess: The man is huge, ripped with muscles, and has a powerful punch. Name Coolness: “Ivan Drago” has a very cool combination: foreign, rolls off the tongue nicely, and sounds scary. That makes it very cool. Created by: Sylvester Stallone. Portrayed by: Dolph Lundgren. Stallone has stated that the punching between him and Dolph Lundgren in the first portion of the fight is completely authentic. One particularly forceful punch to Stallone's chest slammed his heart against his breastbone, causing the heart to swell and his breathing to become labored. Stallone, suffering from labored breathing and a blood pressure over 200, was flown from the set in Canada to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica and was kept in intensive care for eight days. Additionally, Stallone claims that Lundgren nearly forced Carl Weathers to quit in the middle of filming the Apollo versus Drago exhibition fight. Lundgren tossed Weathers into the corner of the boxing ring, prompting Weathers to leave the ring and announce that he was quitting and calling his agent. The story opens to Eye of the Tiger during the climax of Rocky Balboa's rematch against Clubber Lang (Mr. T), where Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) defeated Lang with a KO to regain his title. The picture then fades and we see Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) presenting his favor to Rocky shortly after the Lang fight for helping him train, a friendly sparring match with him for fun, just as their punches connect the camera then fades once again. Rocky returns to his home to celebrate Paulie's (Burt Young) birthday and shows evidence of a punch from Creed. Apollo also has given him a hat. It's also Rocky and Adrian Balboa's (Talia Shire) (almost) 9 year wedding anniversary. Meanwhile, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a highly intimidating 261 pound Soviet boxer, arrives in America with his wife Ludmilla (Bridgitte Nielsen), a gold medalist swimmer, his manager, Nicolai Koloff (Michael Pataki), and a team of trainers headed by Igor Rimsky (George Roman) to challenge the best American fighters. Koloff takes great pride in showing off the giant's gym to the American press. The training room is spotless and antiseptic, looking more like a laboratory than a place for athletes to get in shape. Koloff goes on at great length at how all of this aids in improving their man's performance, while Drago, hooked to electrodes and computers, waits for an order to be given. When asked what the result of all this is, Koloff replies, "Whatever he hits, he destroys." Seeing Drago on TV, Apollo Creed, motivated by patriotism and a desire to prove himself after five years of retirement, quickly jumps at the chance to step back into the ring in an exhibition bout against Drago. Despite apprehension from Rocky, who eventually agrees to help train him, Apollo sets the match between himself and Drago in Las Vegas. With Rocky in his corner, Apollo flamboyantly makes his way to the ring with an even bigger show than when he first fought Rocky, which includes fireworks, James Brown performing "Living in America," and a patriotic theme, including a crowd implacably hostile to the visiting Soviet boxer. Apollo starts the fight in his trademark manner, dancing around the ring and flicking jabs at Drago. Apollo's punches, however, have no effect on the giant Russian, and Drago throws a crippling right hand that sends Apollo reeling. Drago remorselessly batters Apollo with a series of devastating punches, leaving him bloodied and battered at the end of the round. Rocky pleads with him to quit the fight, but Apollo refuses to give up, despite the punishment he's taken. The match ends in tragedy in the second round as Drago brutally smashes the very life out of Creed. Duke (Tony Burton) begs Rocky to throw in the towel, but Creed refuses to let him, diving rashly back into combat. Drago starts launching blow after blow, and following one final hard punch, Creed drops lifelessly to the canvas. After Apollo's funeral, feeling wracked with grief over not stopping the fight, and incensed by Drago's cold indifference to Apollo, ("If he dies, he dies.") Rocky decides he must avenge Apollo's death and sets a match with the Russian, for Christmas Day, in Moscow, but neither Rocky's world heavyweight title is on the line nor is there any purse, for the boxing commission refused to sanction the fight. Finally, Balboa decides to get away from everything by training in Russia. Adrian tries to talk Rocky out of it, fearing for his life, but Rocky is undeterred, realizing that Apollo was right, that fighters are a breed apart and there are certain things they have to do. After saying goodbye to his son, Robert, Rocky flies with Duke and Paulie to a remote and rustic part of the Soviet Union to train. Serious training begins in earnest for the two warriors, although their methods differ wildly. Drago, ever attached to electrodes and constantly monitored by computers, works out with ultra hi-tech equipment. Like a machine responding to the flick of a switch, he snaps out punches at blinding speed whenever ordered, coupled with regular injections of what are implied to be anabolic steroids. Rocky, on the other hand, uses only whatever material is available. He climbs rope, does pull-ups on wooden beams, jogs past Russian peasants, chops wood, runs up snowy embankments, lifts huge rocks, and struggles mightily with a rock-filled sled, dragging it up the side of a mountain. KGB agents also follow Rocky's movements wherever he goes. He is almost ready, but he's missing one thing. When Adrian shows up unexpectedly, to support him emotionally, providing more reason to succeed, Rocky begins to train harder than ever before. His heart is restored, and he is once again at his physical and emotional best. After intense preparation for both fighters, the two men finally meet in the ring. Rocky once more dons Apollo's stars and stripes shorts as he did against Clubber Lang. The match is set in Moscow, before the Politburo, and is broadcast across the globe. Much like Apollo did in the previous fight, the Soviets introduce Drago with an elaborate, patriotic ceremony that puts the attending audience squarely on the side of Drago, leaving Rocky to be fiercely booed, much like the American crowd cheered Creed and booed Drago in Las Vegas. After the ring introductions, an impassive Drago tells Rocky, "I must break you." After a pulverizing first round, with the Russian easily winning, Rocky comes back toward the end of the second and lands a shot that cuts Drago just below his eye. With Drago's confidence shaken by the injury and Rocky's apparently limitless endurance and resilience, this is a turning point as Rocky and Duke see that Drago is not superhuman as he appears, conversely while Drago describes Rocky as non-human and a "piece of iron." The fight degenerates into a brutal battle of stamina and will across all fifteen rounds. Towards the end, the Soviet crowd has been won over by Rocky's determination and endurance, and they begin chanting his name. Koloff, angered by the crowd's change in mood and fearful of retribution from the Soviet premier, gets up from the premier's box and goes to Drago's corner to berate his performance. Drago clutches Koloff by the throat, lifts him off the ground, and tosses him aside, saying "I fight to win ... for me ... FOR ME ....!!" (the last part directed at the premier) The bell rings for the last time and Rocky, all but dead on his feet, takes one crushing blow after another from Drago. The crowd starts chanting, "Rocky, Rocky..." and suddenly, Balboa comes alive and smashes away at the Soviet, eventually knocking him down and out of the ring as Drago's endurance finally runs out. Following his victory, Rocky gives an impassioned speech to the crowd, acknowledging their initial and mutual disdain for each other, and how they've come to respect and admire each other during the fight. Saying that the brutal battle between him and Drago in the ring was better than war between their two countries, he brings the crowd, including the Politburo, to its feet in applause, by claiming that "if I can change... and you can change... everybody can change!" Ivan Drago may just be the coldest fictional character of all time. Okay, I won’t go that far; but he is pretty cold. I mean, he beats Apollo Creed to death. And, as Rocky holds the dying Creed in his arms, Drago emotionlessly says, “If he dies, he dies.” He has no compassion or remorse for Creed. To him, boxing is a war. There must be a winner and a loser. In order to win, you must be willing to anything. And, if the loser dies, then well, he dies. That’s what happens in war: people die. He also shows no emotions most of the times. Hell, there times you might suspect that he is a robot. However, when he does show some emotion, it is usually anger. Plus, he just looks evil. His body is chiseled out of marble. He looks like the Aryan poster boy. And, his voice is a monotone drone that gives out no life what so ever. Everything about him gives off the villain vibe that Ivan Drago had to be put on this list. That, and I’m a little afraid I’ll start having nightmares where Drago beats me to death in the ring. And, I fear that Drago’s punches are so powerful that can kill people through the dreamworld. HEY! DON’T LAUGH! IT’S A PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE FEAR! IT IS! OH SCREW YOU PEOPLE!
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 21, 2008 20:29:30 GMT -5
Tomorrow, we finish 1/4th of the countdown with 76 and 75. Here are the hints:
He pretty muchs contols the "they" conspiracy nuts talk about, and he likes chainsaws.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 22, 2008 20:02:25 GMT -5
76. Cigarette Smoking Man Who is he: A high ranking member of the Syndicate and leader of the Men In Black. What is he from: The X-Files. What has he done: Behind pretty much all of the conspiracies shown on the show, including Scully’s abduction, assassinating political figures like JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the development of a fatal alien virus. Intelligence: Well, you have to be really smart in order to orchestrate numerous conspiracies. Power: Pretty much has the power to do what he wants. Vileness: Will do anything sinister without a second thought. Sway: His position in the Syndicate and control of the Men In Black gives him a lot of power to have things done. Purity: Will do anything in order for the Syndicate’s goals to be met. Physical Prowess: He’s an old man with bad lungs. Name Coolness: “Cigarette Smoking Man” sounds pretty cool. He’s also known by the other cool names “Cancer Man”; “C.G.B. Spender,” which falls under the Initial Default Syndrome; “Cigarette Man”; “Smokey Man”, “Black-lunged Son of a Bitch”, “Old Smokey” (all names Mulder later uses), “Mr. Hunt” (the name he gave to Lee Harvey Oswald (possibly a reference to E. Howard Hunt)), and “Raul Bloodworth.” Created by: Chris Carter. Portrayed by: William B. Davis, who has defended CSM as a heroic figure in many of his interviews, and has said that he based his performance off of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein, among others. Actor Chris Owens for a time portrayed CSM as a young man. He later plays CSM's son, Jeffrey Spender. Young CSM was first played by Craig Warkentin, with Davis's voice dubbed over ("Apocrypha"). During the first season, CSM was mostly seen in the offices of FBI Section Chief Blevins or Assistant Director Skinner; if not there, he was shown in an underground vault in the Pentagon, secreting evidence in a vast storehouse of classified materials. He had few lines during the season. Coupled with his tendency to lurk in the shadows, he was seen as embodying the "dark hand" of the conspiracy. In season two, he has his Man in Black underling, Alex Krycek, spy on Mulder, and authorizes Scully's abduction. With help from Skinner, who had recently stood up to CSM for the first time, Mulder tracks him down to his apartment (presumably in the DC area). There, Mulder confronts CSM, whose first real dialogue has become one of the most famous moments in X-Files history. This scene does much to establish the nature of their relationship. In the Season Two finale "Anasazi", CSM pays his old colleague William Mulder a visit, revealing their relationship for the first time. Not long after, CSM orders Krycek to execute William, presumably because he felt the disillusioned William had grown to be too great a liability to the security of "The Project." Season Three put the Syndicate onscreen for the first time. Almost immediately, it becomes apparent that the individual members do not exactly trust one another. It is shown that CSM is not the all-powerful leader of the Syndicate; in fact, many other members look down on him. In the finale, "Talitha Cumi", a rebel alien named Jeremiah Smith, is taken prisoner by CSM. Pending execution, the two have a dialogue that echoes The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor. During their conversations, Smith repeatedly unnerves CSM by morphing into people whose deaths CSM had ordered in the past. CSM learns that he is dying of lung cancer and quickly gives Smith his freedom in exchange for a cure (some aliens have remarkable healing abilities). Also during this episode, the question of whether CSM is actually Fox's and/or Samantha's biological father is first presented when he is shown to have had a past relationship with Mulder's mother. In Season Four, the episode, "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man", presents a possible history to CSM. The Lone Gunmen, during some of their own investigations, discover some information concerning CSM, which they recount to Mulder and Scully. According to the episode, CSM was born on or around August 20, 1940, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He grew up an orphan (his father was executed for treason). In 1962 he was stationed, along with Bill Mulder, at the US Army Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In the episode, he is portrayed as a deadly assassin with a long history in black operations and American intelligence. He was involved in training Cuban nationals in the Bay of Pigs, aided Dominican locals in the assassination of Rafael Trujillo. The young Special Forces officer is called into a room and older men in suits ask him about these accomplishments. He calmly denies everything. He is offered a further role in black ops, one that will involve his leaving the Army and every formal written record of his life being destroyed. He is soon involved in the plot that assassinated both John F. Kennedy (firing 2 shots from a Dallas storm drain) and Martin Luther King, (in what the production staff admitted was a joke) fixed the Super Bowl to ensure that the Buffalo Bills would never win a championship, drugged the Soviet Union's goalie in the Miracle on Ice, and thinks nothing of insulting J. Edgar Hoover to his face or putting Saddam Hussein on hold. He is also shown as a failed writer whose sci-fi stories based on the Syndicate's truth are rejected for being too unrealistic. After making a sale, he plans to retire from the conspiracy, but he soon discovers that his work has been published as text filler in a pornographic magazine, and the ending has been altered. In a scene parodying that year's Oscar winner Forest Gump, after a tramp sits down next to him eating a box of chocolates from out of a bin CSM says “Life is like a box of chocolate. Cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable because all you get back is another box of chocolate. So you’re stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down till there’s nothing left to eat. Sure once in a while there’s a peanut butter cup, or an English toffee, but they’re gone too fast and taste is fleeting. So you end up with nothing but broken bits filled with hardened jelly and teeth shattering nuts. And if you’re desperate enough to eat those all you’re left with is an empty box filled with useless brown paper wrappers.” He then forestalls his retirement leaving the magazine at the bus stop, which the tramp then picks up and begins to read. During this episode, the Smoking Man meets with Lee Harvey Oswald to discuss his part in the assassination of J.F.K.. During this conversation, Lee refers to the Smoking Man as Mr. Hunt. This may be linking the character of Smoking Man to a real life Smoking Man, E. Howard Hunt, who was heavily involved in the Watergate scandal among other operations. During the first mytharc fifth season episodes, the Elder has decided that CSM is no longer useful, and orders MIB operative Quiet Willy to eliminate him. While in his apartment, CSM was ruminating over a photograph of Mulder and Samantha when an assassin firing through the window shot him in the chest. During this episode he also helps Mulder find a cure for Scully's cancer (which she learned about in season 4), and presents him with a Samantha clone, whom he purports is Mulder's sister. Despite this, Mulder refuses to work for him. CSM later appears hiding in a remote area of Quebec. Missing his talents, the Syndicate welcomes him back at the end of the season. In the sixth season's full disclosure two-parter ("Two Fathers"/"One Son"), his name is revealed to be C. G. B. Spender. It is revealed that he was formerly married to Cassandra Spender, with whom he had a son, Jeffrey. Diana Fowley is revealed to be a subordinate of his; together, they escape the annihilation of the Syndicate. In the episode, his confidence in Jeffrey, whom CSM hoped would become greater than Mulder, wanes, and he confronts his son and apparently kills him. The episodes also presented further evidence suggesting CSM is Mulder's father. Eventually, Fowley also splits from CSM, siding with Mulder and Scully. With the Syndicate dismantled, CSM still managed to keep the conspiracy going, and was presumably now free to operate as he wished. His cancer resurfaced about a year later and he became wheelchair-bound. He also acquired a trachea hole, though this in no way lessened his chain-smoking. At the end of the 7th season, after carrying out an operation at the behest of CSM, Krycek turns on him and throws him down a flight of stairs. For about two years, CSM was presumed dead. During this time, Mulder was abducted, found and then disappeared on his own, Scully eventually left the X-Files division and had a child, William, and a new conspiracy, the New Syndicate, surfaced. In the episode "William", it is learned that CSM's attempted murder of Jeffrey Spender failed. Jeffrey was then subjected to experiments at the orders of CSM, which left Jeffrey horribly scarred. Also, it is revealed in this episode that he is Fox's biological father. In the two part Series Finale, Mulder and Scully travel through remote New Mexico, and reach a pueblo where a "wise man" reputedly lives. It is in fact CSM. He is shown to be in the same condition as when he disappeared, but has degenerated further and is now quite unkempt. He has a shock of long white hair, and is living a primitive life in hiding from the New Syndicate. He reveals to Mulder and Scully all he has left to tell (including the fact that the aliens are scheduled to invade in 2012) and shortly after is finally killed, shot by a black helicopter rocket. Sometimes you don’t need brawn or superpowers to get evil things done. Sometimes you just need to be in a very powerful position. And, that is how the Cigarette Smoking Man does things. Sure, he did start out as the guy the Syndicate would go to if they needed something done or someone assassinated. Eventually, he became the one who made the orders; and those people are usually the most evil ones. They make the decisions to have people killed or lives ruined or whatever, and they send other people to do it. You don’t have to actually do an evil deed to be evil. You can have other people do the evil deeds for you. And, the Cigarette Smoking Man has been behind a lot of evil deeds. Some are significant: assassinating John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Some are personal: he shot his own son, leaving him for dead. Some are trivial: he kept the Buffalo Bills from winning the Super Bowl and allowed Marisa Tomei to win an Oscar. He is also tough and conniving. He was able to last both inside the Syndicate and outside it for as long as he did primarily due to the fact that he always ensured that he had too much valuable information to be expendable, his experience as an assassin, and his connections with elements of the extraterrestrial presence and others. Eventually, however, this internal struggle comes to a head later on in the show, when power struggles and what were perceived as frequent failures resulted in the Elder ordering that the Cigarette Smoking Man was to be assassinated (an attempt which failed). In the end, it was the Syndicate that disappeared, and the Cigarette Smoking Man ended up running the Conspiracy himself. Plus, he just looks so evil, with his old face and the cigarette smoking.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 22, 2008 20:42:42 GMT -5
75. Leatherface Who is he: A chainsaw wielding madman. What is he from: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. What has he done: Killed a bunch of people and ate them. Intelligence: Inbreeding has made him mentally retarded, but some (his family) say he’s just misunderstood. VERY misunderstood. Power: He’s not the head of the family, but he sure is the most dangerous. Vileness: All that blood and gore says he’s pretty vile. Sway: The chainsaw does all the talking. Purity: While he is completely insane, deep down he is a human being and feels pain. Physical Prowess: Appears to be stronger than the average man and looks scary as hell with those masks made out of human faces. Name Coolness: “Leatherface” is pretty cool. Created by: Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. Portrayed by: Gunnar Hansen played “Leatherface” in the first “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” Bill Johnson played him in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” R.A. Mihailoff played him in “Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.” Robert Jacks played him in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.” And, Andrew Bryniarski played him in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”: “Leatherface” is a member of the Sawyer family, who kidnap people, kill them, and turn them into food. His real name is unknown, although older brother Chop Top calls him "Bubba" in the second movie. His surname would most logically be Sawyer, sharing the last name of his older brothers, making his full name Bubba Sawyer. In the original film, Leatherface is never seen without one of his human-flesh masks on. The reason for this is unknown. The people Leatherface kills are later made into barbecue and chili, which are sold by his oldest brother, Drayton Sawyer. Aside from Leatherface and Drayton, the Sawyer clan includes his two more brothers, Nubbins and Chop Top, as well as Grandpa, Grandma and Great-Grandma (real names unknown). In the first film, Bickering siblings Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and wheelchair-bound Franklin (Paul A. Partain) visit their grandfather's grave in a cemetery in rural Texas with their companions, Sally's boyfriend Jerry (Allen Danziger), his friend Kirk (William Vail), and Kirk's girlfriend Pam (Teri McMinn) after hearing that the graveyard has been vandalized and graves have been robbed. While driving to the Hardestys' now-deserted former house they pick up an odd-looking hitchhiker who talks and acts strangely, cuts his own hand, and finally cuts Franklin on the arm. They kick him out of the van, and as they drive away he smears blood on the side. Running low on gas, the group pulls into a gas station/barbecue, but the owner says that they won't have any fuel until later that afternoon. Upon learning where the teens are going, the owner advises them against going there. The group finally arrives at the Hardesty farm. Following Franklin's directions to a childhood swimming hole, Kirk and Pam set off to find it while the others stay at the old house. Finding the swimming hole dried up, Kirk and Pam hear the sound of a gas-powered generator which attracts them to another farmhouse nearby. They find a camouflaged junkyard of vehicles next to the house. Hoping to buy some gas, Kirk knocks on the door and eventually goes inside. Suddenly he is attacked by a huge man, Leatherface (played by Gunnar Hansen), who hits him with a sledgehammer. Pam then enters searching for Kirk, but also falls prey to Leatherface, who hangs her on a meat hook while he disposes of Kirk. As night approaches, Sally, Franklin and Jerry become concerned, so Jerry goes to search for Pam and Kirk. He finds Pam, who is barely alive, but is attacked and killed himself by Leatherface. As night falls, Sally and Franklin decide to search as well. Their cries attract Leatherface, who bursts upon them and attacks Franklin with a chainsaw, repeatedly driving it through his body. Sally flees through a forest, cutting herself on branches before finding the house. She enters it, but after discovering that the house belongs to Leatherface and finds him blocking the exit, escapes by leaping out a window. With the maniac relentlessly pursuing her, Sally runs all the way back to the gas station. On arrival, Leatherface apparently disappears while she appeals to the gas station owner for help. He tells her he will help but then returns with rope and a burlap sack, subdues her and bundles her into his truck. This character, known only as the "Old Man", is now revealed to be Leatherface's brother. He takes her straight back to the farmhouse, reaching the driveway at the same time as the hitchhiker, who is Leatherface's other brother. Sally is taken into the house and tied to a chair. When they remove the sack, she and the hitchhiker recognize each other, and he immediately taunts her. He and Leatherface then bring down the withered figure of "Grandpa" (John Dugan) from the upstairs bedroom, slicing open Sally's finger so he can suck the blood from it — she then passes out. She awakens to find herself in a horrific dinner scene where the true extent of their insanity is revealed. The hitchhiker repeatedly exclaims that the Old Man is just the "cook," and complains that he and Leatherface handle all the killing. The scene ends with the brothers trying to assist Grandpa in killing the girl, who they have untied to bring her to the other end of the table. Grandpa repeatedly drops the hammer yet still manages to give Sally a head wound with assistance from Leatherface. A family argument then erupts that gives Sally the opportunity to escape by jumping out the window. Outside, dawn has arrived. Sally flees the house and attempts to escape onto the highway. The knife-wielding hitchhiker and the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface give chase. Just as the hitchhiker reaches her and begins slashing at Sally, an eighteen wheeler truck suddenly appears. The hitchhiker is struck and killed. The truck driver stops and gets out, only to find Sally being chased at close quarters by Leatherface. As she and the driver climb into the truck, Leatherface attacks the vehicle with the chainsaw. Escaping through the other side of the cab, the driver throws a large wrench at Leatherface which hits him in the head, knocking him down and causing him to cut his right leg. The truck driver flees down the road. As Leatherface rises to his feet and limps after Sally, a pickup truck arrives on the scene. Sally manages to hop in the back of the truck and it drives away. Frustrated, Leatherface spins around and around in the middle of the road, waving the chainsaw. The film ends with Sally laughing in hysterics at Leatherface as the truck drives away. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”: The story opens as two rowdy high school seniors race along an abandoned stretch of Texas highway en route to a weekend of fun in Dallas. They are heavily intoxicated and use their car phone to call and harass on-air DJ Vanita "Stretch" Brock (Caroline Williams). Unable to convince the boys to hang up, Stretch is forced to keep the line open as what began as a simple game of chicken quickly turns into a nightmare. The two teens encounter a large pickup truck that runs parallel to them on a remote bridge. Leatherface, wielding a chainsaw, emerges from the back of the truck and attacks the boys. Stretch records their gruesome deaths on tape at the radio station. The following morning, at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright (Dennis Hopper), former Texas Ranger and uncle of Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother Franklin, arrives to help solve the crime. Lefty has spent the last fourteen years investigating their disappearance while investigating reports of mysterious chainsaw killings across Texas. Though looked upon with disdain by his peers, he is able to get the local paper to carry a tiny article about his quest. This sparks the interest of Stretch, who brings him a copy of the taped death of the two teen boys. At first mortified, Lefty asks Stretch to play the tape on her nightly show. As the sounds of this horrible incident echoes across the airwaves of Texas, Leatherface's family shows up to the radio station. While preparing to leave for the night, Stretch finds Chop Top (Bill Moseley),(who was stationed in Vietnam during the first film and is a twin to the "Hitchhiker" from the first film) waiting in the lobby. When she tries to get rid of him, Leatherface emerges from the darkness. Stretch manages to escape. Leatherface joins Chop-Top as they haul Stretch's near-dead coworker off to their home. Stretch follows them and winds up trapped inside the Sawyer home, which is actually an abandoned carnival ground decorated with human bones, multi-colored lights, and carnival remnants. Lefty turns up with a chainsaw of his own and begins to carve up the home in a rage, shortly before he finds the remains of his nephew, Franklin. The Cook (Jim Siedow) finds Stretch roaming the grounds, and the family takes her captive. Lefty eventually finds her being tortured at the dinner table and saves her. A battle between Lefty and the Sawyer family ensues, ending with a chainsaw duel between Leatherface and Lefty. In the end, Lefty and most of the sawyer family (Leatherface, Grandpa and the Cook) are apparently killed (offscreen) when one of the Cook's grenades goes off prematurely. Only Chop-Top and Stretch escape, where they do final battle in a carved-out rock tower that overlooks the property. Despite being slashed several times with a straight razor, Stretch grabs a chainsaw held by the mummified remains of the family's grandmother in a ritual shrine on the rock tower. Stretch then gets the upper hand on Chop-Top as she cuts him with the chainsaw, where he falls off the tower to a presumed death. The final shot shows Stretch standing on top of the tower and emulating Leatherface's famous chainsaw dance from the ending of the first film. “Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III”: Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler) are on a cross country trip from California to Florida, returning a car to her father. However the trip takes a terrifying turn as the pair witness a series of bizarre events. Firstly, in the darkness of night, the pair get held up by traffic, due to the grisly discovery of corpses nearby. Then, stopping off for gas, they experience a crazed man shoot a cowboy, who advises them on what road to take. A dog falls on their windshield. Soon after a road collision they are stranded in the middle of nowhere, though not alone; they cross paths with a weekend warrior, but the chainsaw wielding maniac Leatherface is soon in full swing, as the pair run for their lives, aided by the survivalist. Michelle soon stumbles into the killer’s home, where she is held captive and experiences the gruesome, dysfunctional insanity of a cannibal family. “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation”: This movie, which is a semi-remake of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, is about a group of four teenagers on prom night who decide to leave early and end up getting into a car accident. They end up at an insurance office in the middle of nowhere, and meet up with a seemingly normal woman, named Darla, who offers to have her husband tow their car. Unfortunately for the teens, this woman is married to a psychopath, named Vilmer, whose brother is the serial killer Leatherface. Also part of the family is Leatherface's brother, named W.E., who also participates in the killings. The teens are taken to a secluded, old farmhouse where the previously cannibalistic family of the earlier films live. In this version, Leatherface is inexplicably not a cannibal but a pizza-eating transvestite involved in an Illuminati conspiracy to provide society a source of horror. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2003): The movie starts out with police footage of the crime, with police doing a walkthrough of the basement. On August 18, 1973, five college kids, Erin, Kemper, Pepper, Andy, and Morgan, are on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert in Dallas. The kids are returning from a trip to Mexico, where Kemper, unbeknownst to his girlfriend Erin, bought marijuana. As they are driving through Travis County, Texas, they see a girl about their age walking in the road. After nearly hitting her, Erin insists that they pick her up, and they do so. She is in a hysterical state and goes on about a "really bad man". They try pulling over to get help but the girl becomes more hysterical. She then pulls a gun out from her dress, sticks it in her mouth and shoots herself. The five are shaken and go to find help. They are told to go to the Old Crawford Mill to find the sheriff. They arrive, and no sheriff is found. Erin and Kemper take off through the woods to find the sheriff's house, leaving the other three at the mill. Erin and Kemper come to a large house in a field. Erin is allowed inside by the owner, an old man in a wheelchair with no legs, but Kemper is told to wait outside. Kemper is fed-up with waiting and goes into the home where he is killed by Leatherface and dragged into the basement. The sheriff arrives at the mill and takes the body of the girl, and as Erin arrives she finds that Kemper is missing. Andy and Erin go back into the house looking for Kemper and the old man soon summons Leatherface, who taunts and chases them with his chainsaw. Erin escapes, but Andy's leg is severed and he is taken inside where he is hung on a meat hook in the basement. Erin arrives back at the mill in a panic. Erin tries starting the van, but it doesn't work. The sheriff soon shows up again, and he orders the three out of the van and forces them to the ground. He makes Morgan re-enact the suicide, and then kidnaps him, leaving the girls alone at the mill with the van. Leatherface shows up (wearing Kemper's face) and cuts Pepper in half with the chainsaw. After a game of cat and mouse chase, Erin is finally caught by Leatherface and taken to the basement. After searching around the sick and twisted place, Erin finds Andy. And In an act of sympathy, she kills him with a large knife. Soon after, she finds Morgan with the help of Jedidiah, who distracts Leatherface long enough for them to escape. They find an abandoned house and hide in the upper level of the house. Erin is caught by Leatherface, but then saved as Morgan sacrifices himself for Erin to escape. Morgan is hung on a chandelier before Leatherface splits him in two up the crotch, killing him. Leatherface continues the chase after Erin. Erin hides in a meat factory where she later chops off Leatherface's arm with a meat cleaver. Erin again escapes and after a mishap with a trucker, steals the sheriff's car and runs him over repeatedly, killing him. She also sees a family at the eatery that they were at in the beginning and a little child sitting in a chair. She watches as the mom goes away and then goes in to rescue the baby before it faces the same fate as her friends. As she drives on, Leatherface appears in the road, brandishing his chainsaw in his other arm. He slices the drivers' side door of the car but Erin is unharmed. Leatherface, who is irate, just breathes heavily from the blood loss and stares as the car drives away. The other half of the police footage is shown, and Leatherface kills the policemen and cameraman. The narrator comes on and says that Thomas Hewitt was never caught, and we are shown the only known image of Thomas Hewitt, the man they call "leatherface". The case remains open. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”: August 7, 1939, Thomas Hewitt is born in a meat-packing plant in Travis County, Texas. His mother dies right after birth and the plant boss abandons the newborn in a dumpster, at which point he is discovered by Luda Mae Hewitt while she searches for food. She takes Thomas to the Hewitt residence where the seeds of one of the most deranged and infamous murderers in American cinematic history are planted. July 1969, brothers Eric (Matthew Bomer) and Dean (Taylor Handley) are driving across the country with their girlfriends Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) and Bailey (Diora Baird) before they're to be shipped out to Vietnam. This will be Eric's second tour of duty as he is returning to watch over his recently drafted little brother. Unknown to Eric, Dean has plans to dodge the draft and head to Mexico with Bailey. While driving, they stop by a local eatery where they find a group of bikers who taunt the girls. As the group pulls away from the eatery, they are followed by Alex, a female biker. A chase ensues, and the group crashes into a cow and flipping their car. In the process, Chrissie is thrown from the car and lands in the weeds, out of sight of the others. Sheriff "Hoyt" (R. Lee Ermey) arrives on the scene. He immediately shoots Alex and forces the teens out of the wreckage. After finding Dean's burned draft card he pulls Eric and Dean in front of him and demands to know which man is Dean. Eric covers for his brother and says he is Dean. Hoyt places the body of the biker in the car and forces Eric, Dean and Bailey into the car with him. The Sheriff calls for a tow truck to tow the wreckage. The tow truck comes and Chrissie, hiding in the wreckage of the car, is taken along. The Sheriff takes the group to the Hewitt House and calls for his nephew Tommie (aka 'Leatherface') to butcher the body of the biker, Alex. Eric and Dean are brought to a barn and hung by their arms from the rafters and Bailey tied to the kitchen table. Chrissie ends up at the Hewitt household and sees her friends tied up by Sheriff Hewitt. She runs back to the highway and flags down one of the bikers, Holden, from the diner for help, telling him about the kidnapping of Alex, who is Holden's girlfriend. He follows Chrissie back to the Hewitt residence and they wait for nightfall. Meanwhile, Eric and Dean are sprayed down with water by Hewitt. He reveals to them he developed a taste for human flesh while as a prisoner of war in the Korean War. To punish Dean (actually Eric) for trying to avoid the draft, he wraps Eric’s face in plastic wrap in an attempt to suffocate him. Dean admits that it is his card and Hewitt tells Dean to do twenty push-ups and he will let him go. Hewitt then beats Dean with a billy club while he does his push-ups, eventually knocking him unconscious. Eric gets free as well and the duo approaches the house to rescue Bailey. During the rescue Eric is beaten with Hoyt's shotgun and Dean is caught in a bear trap. Bailey finds the tow truck and begins to drive away, however Leatherface hooks her in the chest with a meat hook and drags her from the truck. Eric is taken to the basement and strapped to a wooden table. Leatherface skins one of his arms, exposing the muscle and tissue and his screams are heard from the house. Holden enters the house searching for Alex and surprises Sheriff Hewitt. Hewitt leads him to 'the girl', but it is actually Bailey. Leatherface then attacks and kills Holden. Chrissie finds Eric and tries to release him from the table, but is unable to release the metal straps bolted to the table. Leatherface comes downstairs and Chrissie hides under the table while he runs a chainsaw through Eric. Leatherface then skins Eric's face and puts it on as his own. Chrissie escapes from the basement to find the front door open leading to freedom, but reconsiders after hearing Baily's desperate screams and decides to save Bailey who has been tied-up on the second floor. As Chrissie attempts to untie Bailey she is caught by Hewitt and Leatherface and brought downstairs for dinner. Hoyt has possibly knocked out Baileys teeth before having supper, and Leatherface proceeds to slit Bailey's throat with a pair of scissors and then grabs Chrissie to bring her downstairs. On the way to the basement, Chrissie manages to free herself by stabbing Leatherface in the back with a screwdriver and escapes by jumping out a window with Leatherface in pursuit, chainsaw in hand. As this occurs, Dean regains consciousness at the dinner table, assaults Hewitt by smashing his head repeatedly into the solid concrete porch and Dean heads off to help save Chrissie. The trio's chase takes them to a nearby farm where Chrissie hides in a slaughterhouse. She slits Leatherface's face with a knife, but is dragged to the floor. Dean interrupts and Leatherface impales Dean on his chainsaw as Chrissie looks on in horror. She then makes her way to an automobile and drives off into the night. Chrissie is desperately looking for help and sees a sheriff's deputy that has pulled over a citizen. As Chrissie heads to apparent freedom, Leatherface suddenly appears in the back seat and gores Chrissie with his chainsaw. The car loses control and crashes into the deputy and citizen. The movie closes with the narrator explaining the number and gruesomeness of the murders that are to follow, as Leatherface walks slowly back along the dark road. The comics: Leatherface was a prominent character in Wildstorm Comics's continuation of the movies. With the family exposed after the events of the first film, the comics find the Hewitt family living in a series of tunnels in the sewers of Travis County. As he was at the end of the first film, Leatherface is missing an arm in the comics. Halfway through the first arc, Leatherface's uncle Monty helps Leatherface build a 'prosthetic arm' (consisting of a hook attached to a bone and tied to Leatherface's arm with a belt) to assist with his nephew's handicap. Leatherface later uses this hook in addition to his chainsaw on victims, at one point spearing a man's leg to prevent him from escaping. The comics also imply that the rest of the town, while perhaps not involved with the Hewitts' cannibalism, are at least aware of it and have agreed to help them deal with outsiders: in one scene, when a potential victim runs into a bar looking for help, she is stopped from calling the police and told by the patrons that they "don't want no Hewitt trouble" and later reprimand Leatherface for not looking after his "livestock". Later one-shots published by Wildstorm also dealt with Leatherface. One of them, "About a Boy", focused on the parts concerning Leatherface's childhood that The Beginning neglected to show. It revealed that Thomas Hewitt was severely picked on as a child and thus spent most of his time alone drawing in his notebook, and hunting and skinning animals, later making clothing out of them. His future as Leatherface is further foreshadowed when, after being bullied severely by another of his peers, Thomas attacks him and skins off his face while he is still alive. About a Boy also detailed how his family was for the most part apathetic towards Thomas's actions. His uncle Charlie (the future Hoyt) helps him get rid of the bully's body (his only criticism being that Thomas needs to "learn how to fix 'em proper", after putting the faceless victim out of his misery with a shotgun). Later, after Thomas's teacher questions her about her son's behavior and tells her that he's going to file a report with the city to get him some help, Luda May bashes his head in with a shovel, stating "There is nothing wrong with my boy." Leatherface is one of the most iconic horror characters of all time, up there with Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Mike Myers. However, he differs from them in that he is not so much sadistic or evil; he is in fact mentally retarded and most of the time he only does what his family tells him to do. Gunnar Hansen has stated that Leatherface is "completely under the control of his family. He'll do whatever they tell him to do. He's a little bit afraid of them." Tobe Hooper has argued on the documentary The Shocking Truth” that Leatherface is a 'big baby' and kills in self-defense because he feels threatened, pointing out that in the first film Leatherface was actually frightened at all the new people entering his house. This does give Leatherface some sympathy, but it doesn’t excuse his actions. He still kills people. In fact, he’s the most dangerous member of the family. He has been abused and tortured by them. That builds up a lot of anger. And, who receives the brunt of that anger? Anyone other than his family. He is afraid of them, so scared that he can’t even attack them. So, he takes out all that anger on the unlucky victims in the movies. And, that has left a trail of dead bodies that are later served as barbeque. So, you can sympathize with Leatherface all you want. Just do it from afar. Or else, you’ll get a chainsaw to the face.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 22, 2008 20:50:20 GMT -5
Tomorrow, numbers 74 and 73. Here are the hints:
What cherubs see with, and he was the answer to one of TV's biggest mysteries.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 23, 2008 19:15:12 GMT -5
Time for more villains as the countdown rolls on. Here's number 74: 74. Angel Eyes Who is he: The Bad, a ruthless, unfeeling and sociopathic mercenary, a sergeant in the Union Army. What is he from: “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.” What has he done: Interrogates (i.e. tortures and kills) people in order to find some Confederate gold hidden in a tomb. Intelligence: Street smarts. Power: He holds the rank of Sergeant and has a powerful position at the prison he is stationed at. Vileness: Will kill and torture people with no remorse. Sway: His torture techniques get some results. Purity: Cares only about that Confederate gold. Physical Prowess: A pretty big man in the Wild West who is very deadly with a gun. Name Coolness: “Angel Eyes” is pretty damn cool. Created by: Sergio Leone, Luciano Vincenzoni, and Age & Scarpelli (Agenore Incrocci and Furio Scarpelli). Portrayed by: Lee Van Cleef. Originally, Sergio Leone wanted Charles Bronson to play Angel Eyes but he had already committed to “The Dirty Dozen.” Leone thought about working with Lee Van Cleef again: "I said to myself that Van Cleef had first played a romantic character in ‘For a Few Dollars More.’ The idea of getting him to play a character who was the opposite of that began to appeal to me." In a desolate ghost town, bandit Tuco (Eli Wallach) narrowly escapes three bounty hunters, shooting his way to freedom. Miles away, Angel Eyes (Van Cleef) interrogates a former soldier about a missing man and a cache of Confederate gold, shooting the soldier after he identifies the missing man as Bill Carson (Antonio Casale). Angel Eyes takes this information to an infirm man who seemingly hired him to interrogate the soldier, then gleefully holds a pillow over the man's face while shooting him point blank. Meanwhile, Tuco's journey across the desert leads him into a group of bounty hunters, who prepare to capture him when they are approached by Blondie (Clint Eastwood), a mysterious lone gunman who challenges the hunters to a draw, which he wins with lightning speed. Initially elated, Tuco is enraged when Blondie delivers him to the local authorities for the reward money. Hours later, as Tuco awaits his execution, Blondie surprises the authorities and frees Tuco. The two later meet and split the reward money, revealing their lucrative money-making scheme. The two repeat the process at another town before Blondie, weary of Tuco's consistent complaints and ominous warnings, abandons him in the desert. A livid Tuco rearms himself in a nearby town and tracks Blondie to another town, surprising him in his hotel room by coming in through the window while three men attack from the door. As Tuco prepares to kill Blondie by hanging him, a cannonball demolishes the room, allowing Blondie to escape, the empty noose swinging. Following a relentless search, Tuco ambushes Blondie and marches him through the harsh desert. As Blondie collapses from dehydration, Tuco prepares to kill him when a runaway carriage approaches on the horizon. Inside, Tuco discovers a dying Bill Carson, who reveals that Confederate gold is buried in a grave in Sad Hill cemetery but falls unconscious before giving the name on the grave. When Tuco returns with water, he discovers Carson dead and Blondie slumped against the carriage. Before he passes out, Blondie reveals that he knows the name on the grave. Tuco takes Blondie, both disguised as Confederate soldiers, to a Catholic mission run by Tuco’s brother, Father Pablo Ramirez (Luigi Pistilli), a Franciscan friar. In deleted scenes this is revealed to be a famous mission in San Antonio, Texas (a.k.a. the Alamo). After Blondie’s recovery, the two leave, still disguised as Confederate soldiers when they inadvertently encounter a force of Union soldiers, who capture and march them to a Union prison camp. At the camp, Corporal Wallace (Mario Brega) begins a roll call, and Tuco answers for Bill Carson, catching the attention of Angel Eyes, a Union Sergeant stationed at the camp. Angel Eyes has Wallace torture Tuco into revealing Sad Hill Cemetery, but confesses that only Blondie knows the name on the grave. Angel Eyes offers Blondie an equal partnership in recovering the gold. Blondie agrees and rides out with Angel Eyes and his posse while Tuco, being escorted by train to his execution, escapes. Blondie, Angel Eyes and his posse stop at a war-ravaged town to rest. Across town, Tuco aimlessly wanders through the wreckage, oblivious to the bounty hunter (Al Mulock) who tracks and ambushes Tuco in the middle of a bath. Despite the surprise, Tuco kills the bounty hunter. Blondie leaves to investigate the gunshot, tracking down Tuco and informing him of Angel Eyes's involvement. The two resume their old partnership, skulking through the wrecked town and killing Angel Eyes' henchmen before discovering that Angel Eyes has escaped. Tuco and Blondie track down Sad Hill Cemetery when they discover a great battle brewing between massive Union and Confederate forces, separated only by a narrow bridge. Eager to disperse the standing armies, Blondie and Tuco disguise themselves as medics and wire the bridge with dynamite to explode. During the process, the two trade information, with Tuco revealing Sad Hill Cemetery, while Blondie saying the name on the grave is Arch Stanton. The two detonate the bridge and take cover as the two armies angrily resume their battle. The next morning, the Confederate and Union soldiers have disappeared. Tuco abandons Blondie to retrieve the gold for himself and stumbles upon the sprawling Sad Hill Cemetery. Frantically searching the sea of makeshift tombstones, Tuco finally locates Arch Stanton's grave. As he begins digging, Blondie appears to offer him a shovel. Moments later, the two are ambushed by Angel Eyes, who holds them at gunpoint. Blondie kicks open Stanton's grave to reveal only a skeleton. Declaring that only he knows the real name of the grave, Blondie writes it on a rock in the middle of the graveyard and challenges Angel Eyes and Tuco to a Mexican standoff, the winner of which will have the name and the gold. The three stare each other down, calculating alliances and dangers before suddenly drawing. Blondie shoots Angel Eyes, rolling him into an open grave, while Tuco discovers that Blondie unloaded his gun the night before. Blondie directs Tuco to the grave marked Unknown next to Arch Stanton's. Tuco digs and is overjoyed to find bags of gold inside, but is shocked when he turns to Blondie and finds himself staring at a noose. Blondie forces Tuco atop a grave marker and wraps the noose around his neck, binding Tuco's hands before disappearing with half his share of the gold. As Tuco screams for mercy, Blondie's silhouette returns on the horizon, aiming a rifle at Tuco. As Tuco screams in rage, Blondie fires and severs the noose rope, dropping Tuco face-first onto his share of the gold. Blondie smiles as the livid Tuco screams threats, before turning and riding into the frontier. Angel Eyes has got all the makings of a classic villain. For one, there’s the greed. It is the root of all evil, and the root of Angel Eyes’s evil. All his dastardly deeds are done in order to find the gravesite where the Confederate gold is hidden. Second would be those dastardly deeds. The man is a ruthless psychopath with no human feeling who kills anyone in his path including a young boy, the son of Stevens (Antonio Casas) in the film. He afterwards brutally beats up a young prostitute. He shoots the man who told him about the gold and then shoots the sick man who hired him to interrogate the other man about the gold. We also get the impression that he is cruel to the Confederate soldiers at the Union concentration camp he is stationed at from the scene where he is talking with the dying Captain Harper (Antonio Molino Rojo), whose leg is slowly deteriorating by gangrene. The good captain warns Angel Eyes not to be dishonest on his watch, but Angel Eyes holds him in contempt and deliberately ignores his orders. He will also torture anyone in order to find the location of the gold. He has no morals, and the only thing he cares about is that gold. Finally, there’s his look. He just looks evil, with that devilish grin and the aura of glee and happiness he has as he commits his evil deeds. It seems like he enjoys being such an evil asshole. He is definitely the perfect representation of “Bad” in the film.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 23, 2008 19:53:06 GMT -5
73. Bob Who is he: A demonic entity who feeds on human pain and suffering and has taken possession of a human man. What is he from: Twin Peaks. What has he done: Killed Laura Palmer. Intelligence: Unknown. Power: As a demon, pretty powerful; as a man, not so much. Vileness: He feeds on pain and suffering; that’s pretty vile. Sway: Can get his way through fear and intimidation. Purity: No remorse whatsoever. Physical Prowess: Can possess anyone and thus take on their physical strength. Name Coolness: “Bob” isn’t really that cool, but he’s also known as “Killer Bob,” which is pretty cool. Created by: David Lynch and Mark Frost. Portrayed by: Frank Silva, who got the part by accident. The impetus for the series Twin Peaks was the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. When production began on the pilot, series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost had decided that the murderer would be revealed as Leland Palmer, Laura's father. During the filming of a scene in the pilot taking place in Laura's room, Frank Silva, a set dresser, accidentally trapped himself in the room prior to filming by inadvertently moving a dresser in front of the door. Lynch had an image of Silva stuck in the room and thought that it could fit into the series somewhere, and told Silva that he would like for him to be in the series. Lynch had Silva crouch at the foot of Laura's bed and look through the bars of the footboard, as if he were "trapped" behind them, and filmed it, then had Silva leave the room and filmed the empty room; after reviewing the footage, Lynch liked the presence that Silva brought to the scene and decided that he would put him somewhere in the series. Later that day, a scene was being filmed in which Laura Palmer's mother experiences a vision which frightens her; at the time, the script did not indicate what Mrs Palmer had seen to frighten her. Lynch was pleased with how the scene turned out, but a crew member informed him that it would have to be re-shot, because a mirror in the scene had inadvertently picked up someone's reflection. When Lynch asked who it was, the crew member replied that it had been Silva. Lynch considered this a "happy accident," and decided at that point that the unnamed character, who would later be called Bob, to be played by Silva would be revealed as Laura Palmer's true killer. TV show: Bob (Silva) is a demonic entity from the Black Lodge, a realm of pure evil which exists on an alternate plane of reality. He spends most of his time on earth possessing human beings, although he also travels in the form of an owl. While possessing humans, he commits horrible acts to elicit pain, fear, and suffering from those around him; these feelings, which Black Lodge residents refer to collectively as "Garmonbozia," act as a form of nourishment. Bob first appears on the series at the end of the second episode, in which FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) has a dream in which he learns that identifying Bob will help him solve the murder of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). In the dream, Cooper learns that Bob was once a serial killer who committed his crimes with an accomplice named Mike (Al Strobel), who later repented and killed his old partner. In the dream, Cooper also learns that Sarah Palmer (Grace Zabriskie) had a vision of Bob on the morning after Laura's death; this turns out to be true, and Cooper sends Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz) to make a sketch of Bob; Sarah and Cooper both identify the man in the resulting sketch as the person they saw in their respective dreams/visions. At the beginning of the second season, one of Bob's intended victims, Ronnette Pulaski (Phoebe Augustine), awakens from a coma induced by her torture at Bob's hands, at which time she identifies Bob as Laura Palmer's killer. Cooper and the Twin Peaks Sheriff department canvass the town with wanted posters of Bob, using Andy's sketch; Leland Palmer (Ray Wise), Laura's father, identifies the man in the poster as "Robertson," and says that he lived near his grandfather and used to taunt Leland when he was a child. It is later revealed that Bob is in fact possessing Leland, and has been possessing him ever since Leland first met him as a child at his grandfather's house. Under Bob's influence, Leland molested, raped, and finally murdered his own daughter; he additionally raped and murdered a prostitute named Teresa Banks (Pamela Gidley), whom Bob/Leland thought looked like Laura, and tortured and murdered Madeline Ferguson, Leland's niece (Sheryl Lee), who bore a striking resemblance to Laura. Following each of these murders, Bob/Leland placed a type-written letter beneath the left ring finger of each of the victims, to spell out "ROBERT." Following Madeline's murder, Cooper correctly determines that Bob is possessing Leland, and tricks him into walking near an open holding cell at the Twin Peaks' sheriff's department. Cooper and the sheriff's deputies throw Leland into the cell and lock him in, at which time Bob makes his presence known, taunting Cooper before forcing Leland to commit suicide. In his dying breaths, Leland makes obscure references to the man at the lake molesting him as a child ("He came inside me") before stating that he never knew when Bob was in control of his body (a statement apparently added in due to the series' being on primetime network television). After Leland dies, Cooper engages in a philosophical debate with Sheriff Truman (Michael Ontkean) and Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) over how real Bob was, and whether or not Bob was in fact a physical incarnation of Leland's repressed personal demons. Although the men cannot agree on a unifying idea, they do come to the conclusion that Bob is a manifestation of "the evil that men do." Following Leland's death, Bob takes the form of an owl in the woods outside Twin Peaks, and isn't seen again for several episodes. He briefly resurfaces when Sheriff Truman and Cooper attempt to arrest Josie Packard (Joan Chen); Bob apparently kills Josie by feeding on her overwhelming sense of terror, before mocking Cooper and casting Josie's soul into the wood of the Great Northern Hotel. He briefly appears again in a cameo near the end of the series, as a cosmic event causes an opening in the fabric of space and time that separates Earth from the Black Lodge. In the final episode, Cooper ventures into the Black Lodge to apprehend his former partner, rogue FBI Agent Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh), who is attempting to harness the power of the Lodge for himself. When Earle tries to strike a bargain with Cooper in which Cooper will sell his soul to Earle in exchange for Earle not murdering Cooper's lover, Annie (Heather Graham), Bob appears, causing time in the Lodge to reverse to the moment before Cooper agreed to sell his soul. Bob informs Cooper that the Black Lodge is his domain, and thus Earle has trespassed by coming into it and demanding Cooper's soul for himself. As a punishment, Bob kills Earle, taking Earle's soul for himself. Cooper attempts to flee, but Bob traps Cooper in the Lodge, exiting in the form of a doppelganger of Cooper. The series ends with Bob examining his new body in a mirror. “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me”: The movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me retconned several elements of Bob/Leland's backstory, which themselves seemed to have been crafted to make the series more suitable for its timeslot. In the film, it is revealed that Leland had some degree of culpability in the sexual assault of his own daughter; he is aware that it is happening, and shifts between the personalities of a distraught father and eager sexual predator, indicating that Leland normally represses his incestuous feelings for Laura, but gives in to them under the influence of Bob. The film also reveals that, while possessing Leland, Bob only kills girls who look like Laura Palmer, a further fusing of Bob's desire to cause misery and Leland Palmer's repressed sexual desire for his daughter. The film also fleshes out the backstory between Bob and Mike/Man from Another Place. Bob worked for/with Mike/Man from Another Place, collecting garmonbozia for the inhabitants of the Black Lodge. However, Bob went rogue and began keeping the garmonbozia for himself. He is ordered to turn over garmonbozia to the Man from Another Place, a duty which Bob fulfills by turning over the pain and suffering Laura Palmer experienced at the moment of her death, embodied by her blood. This dispute is still ongoing at the time the series begins, giving reason for Mike/The Man from Another Place's willingness to help Cooper identify Bob's host and imprison him, as a punishment to Bob for his disobedience. If there is anyone who can create a truly twisted and sick villain, it is David Lynch. We’ve already seen the über-creepy Frank Booth. However, Bob is a little more twisted. This evil being take pleasure in seeing people suffer physically and emotionally. It is basically his crack, and he is deeply addicted, at the “will give strangers blowjobs” point. The worse thing about Bob is his ability to possess other beings. You see, Bob can take over anyone he wants. He could be people you trust and love, like a family member. And, Bob truly loves to do it, because killing someone as a trusted love one can create a lot of psychological suffering. That is why he possessed Laura Palmer’s father. Imagine how she felt as she was dying, thinking her own father was responsible. It is just so sick and twisted that it would obviously be the kind of suffering that Bob loves. And, the worst thing of it all is that Bob ends up winning in the end. In the last episode, he traps the hero of the series, FBI Agent Dale Cooper, in the Black Lodge Hotel. Then, he leaves in a doppelganger body of Cooper. Now, that’s the mark of a good villain: winning in the end.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 23, 2008 19:55:51 GMT -5
Tomorrow, numbers 72-69. Here are the hints:
The World is his, he's killed thousands of people in the universe for the love of an abstract, he loves oil and milkshakes, and you will kneel before him.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 24, 2008 12:23:46 GMT -5
It's time for more villains. Here's 72: 72. Tony Montana Who is he: A Cuban refugee who rose to become the kingpin of the Miami cocaine scene. What is he from: “Scarface.” What has he done: Killed and cussed his way to the top of the Miami criminal underworld; killed his best friend because he married Tony’s sister. Intelligence: Street smarts and later became wise in cocaine trafficking. Power: He eventually becomes the most powerful gangster in Miami. Vileness: Will kill anyone, even his own best friend. Sway: His power and meanstreak can get a lot of things done. Purity: Driven to become a powerful criminal at any means, but cares deeply for his sister and refuse to blow up a man along with his wife and kids. Physical Prowess: Average male strength, gets angry easily, and can fire a gun very well. Name Coolness: “Tony Montana” is pretty cool and rolls off the tongue. Created by: Oliver Stone, though he loosely based it on the 1932 Howard Hawks “Scarface” and the main character Antonio 'Tony' Camonte Portrayed by: Al Pacino, whose portrayal of Tony Montana has become one of his most, only second to Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” movies. “Scarface” has become an important cultural icon for many gangsta rap artists and fans, inspiring posters, clothing, and many other references. The film begins with a description of how, in 1980, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro let the gates open on Mariel Harbor in Cuba allowing thousands of Cubans to immigrate to Florida on boatlifts. However, some of these immigrants were criminals or ex-convicts. Enter Tony Montana (Al Pacino), one of the thousands of Cubans that immigrated to Miami, Florida. He and his best friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) are met with resistance, particularly because of their criminal records, and are placed in limbo (so to speak) in Freedomtown, a place where Cuban refugees without Green Cards are kept. Manny makes Tony aware of a deal where they can leave Freedomtown and receive their Green Cards. But, they have to kill Cuban Communist Emilio Rebenga in order to obtain it. Tony does this without much thought, and they receive their American citizenship. Tony and Manny begin working in a small Cuban food stand to make money, but Tony soon grows restless. They both make a deal with drug dealer Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) (the same man who made the "Rebenga deal") to get paid for getting narcotics from Colombian dealer "Hector the Toad". Tony dislikes Omar's attitude, but obliges. Although the deal with Hector soon turns bad, Tony and Manny both escape alive and with the cocaine. Instead of allowing Omar to take the cocaine to his boss Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), Tony takes it to Frank personally, already untrusting of Omar. Tony manages to win Frank over with his sense of humor and bold attitude, and he ends up getting a job under Frank in his drug dealing business (along with Manny). Meanwhile, Tony takes an interest in Frank's girlfriend, Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer). While Tony flirts with Elvira, she doesn't show any interest in Frank (or anyone else for that matter). Tony pays a visit to his estranged family's home. It is implied that Tony's father walked out on the family years ago, but his mother (Miriam Colon) and his younger sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are home. Gina is excited to see Tony (who hasn't seen the family in 5 years), while his mother isn't too thrilled. When he offers his mother $1,000 (claiming he's "made it"), his mother declines the offer. She believes he's still up to no good, and wants him to leave because she doesn't want him rubbing off on Gina. Tony leaves, but Gina runs after him. He slips her the $1,000 secretly, and tells her to spend it on whatever she wants and to give his mother a little from time to time. It is clear he cares for his sister greatly, but later on in the film gives proof that he is very overprotective of her. While in Bolivia, Tony and Omar begin discussing business plans with Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar) on the behalf of Frank who couldn't make it down. Tony begins making major decisions about distribution of the drugs (decisions that Omar believes Frank should be approving). Omar and Tony begin arguing over the matter, while Alejandro offers Omar a quick helicopter ride back home. However, Alejandro makes one of his henchmen hang and kill Omar, who was allegedly an informant for the police. Alejandro believes Tony, however, is trustworthy and makes him one of his business partners. When returning to Florida, Tony comes under heat by Frank, who is angry at what had occurred in South America. Tony and Frank end their business relationship, while Tony begins making bolder passes at Elvira, one of them right in front of Frank. At a nightclub, Tony is nearly shot and killed by two henchmen. Tony is convinced Frank is responsible for the hit, and he and Manny hunt Frank down and kill him once he admits to it. Afterwards, all seems to be going well for Tony. He marries Elvira, takes over Frank's empire and becomes very wealthy. However, cracks in Tony's "perfect life" begin to form. Both he and Elvira become addicted to cocaine. He becomes more paranoid and untrusting of those around him, and she becomes more bored and distant. Manny and Gina begin dating behind Tony's back, afraid of what his reaction would be if he found out. Tony is arrested for tax evasion, and faces up to three years in prison. Soon, Elvira becomes tired of the lifestyle, and leaves Tony after a fight at a restaurant. During a trip to New York, Alejandro hires Tony to help put a hit out on a Congressman (who went on a television talk show and mentioned Alejandro, his henchmen, and their drug dealing). Tony orders one of the henchmen not to set off the bomb underneath the Congressman's car once he finds out his wife and children are in the car as well. When the henchman doesn’t listen, Tony grows angry and shoots him dead. He returns to Florida to find his mother upset over Gina's new attitude (whom she believes Tony corrupted) and Alejandro threatening to kill Tony for not going through with the plan. Tony goes to find Gina at an unknown mansion, and sees her and Manny together in nightrobes. Realizing Manny has slept with his sister, he shoots Manny dead in a cocaine-fueled rage (which he later regrets), and highly upsets Gina (who reveals they eloped and were going to surprise Tony). Tony and his underlings take Gina back to his mansion. Meanwhile, Alejandro Sosa's numerous henchmen are surrounding his mansion, with plans to kill him. They take out everyone else in the mansion one by one, until Tony is left to fight them off. He emerges from his room with an M-16 rifle, and begins shooting wildly at the men, and manages to kill some and stay alive. He believes he is victorious, until an assassin known as the Skull slowly walks up behind Tony and shoots him in the back with a shotgun. Tony plunges off the second floor, over the balcony, and into the small pool in his living room. He lies dead as a statue ironically stands above him reading "The World Is Yours". Ah, Tony Montana. He is one of the most influential cultural icons of the last 20 years. He is a huge presence in the film but not just because he’s the main character. He has this cocky swagger and bravado that obviously lets people know he is a bad man you do not want to mess with. He wants to become the most powerful criminal in Miami and will kill anyone to do so, which he pretty much those. “Scarface” is one of the bloodiest films ever, and a large portion of that blood is spilled because of Tony. He gives a whole new definition to cruel and ruthless. However, he does have some compassion. His downfall is the result of refusing to kill a Congressman while he is in his car with his wife and kids and kills a henchman to prevent him from blowing up his car. While he will kill any man without remorse or sympathy, he does draw the line at women and children. And, of course, there’s his sister Gina. He loves her and is very protective of her. In fact, he’s too protective of her. Hell, you could say that Tony is in love with Gina and not get any argument from many people. He attacks a man he saw Gina with in the bathroom. But, the best example would be when he finds out that Manny and Gina have been having a relationship. What does he do when he finds out that his best friend and his sister are in love and sees them after they have just had sex? He shoots his best friend. That is cold. However, despite all these things, Tony has become an idol to many rappers. They have may Tony Montana into a hero of sorts. But, they are missing the point of the movie. Tony Montana isn’t a hero. He doesn’t do nice and honorable things that should be immolated and imitated. You shouldn’t follow his example because, while he did make something out of himself going from refugee to rich and powerful criminal druglord, he and his action were also responsible for his own downfall. And, yes, he did go out fighting; but he still ended up dead at the end of the movie. Tony Montana isn’t a hero; he is a villain.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 24, 2008 13:33:58 GMT -5
71. Thanos Who is he: A Titan (from the moon of Saturn). What is he from: Marvel Comics, most notably Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War, Infinity Crusade, Warlock and the Infinity Watch, Infinity Abyss, Marvel: The End, his own series Thanos, and Annihilation. What has he done: Killed 30,000 Titans, including his own mother, and half the sentient beings in the universe, all because of his love of Death. Intelligence: A super-genius according to the Marvel Encyclopedia. Power: He was the most powerful Eternal of Titan. Vileness: If they could speak, all those dead beings would say he pretty vile. Sway: I imagine he could use fear to get what he wants. Purity: He cares for only one thing: Death. Physical Prowess: Superhuman strength, stamina, and particularly durability; capable of absorbing or directing enormous quantities of cosmic energy, using it to shield himself, matter manipulation, telekinesis, and resistance to powerful telepathic assaults; can temporarily increase his powers by absorbing energy from an unknown source of quasi-mystical nature; formidable combatant, but typically prefers to outwit his enemies Name Coolness: “Thanos” is pretty cool. Created by: Jim Starlin. Portrayed by: Gary Krawford was the voice of Thanos in the short lived 1998 FOX cartoon The Silver Surfer. So far, except for the video games Marvel Superheroes (SNES), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, that has been his only appearance outside of comics. Thanos is born on Titan, a moon of the planet Saturn to Mentor and Sui-San. Due to a genetic quirk, Thanos is born with the Deviant gene and as such resembles the Deviants — the Eternals' cousin race — more than his own people. Although treated fairly by his race, Thanos is mindful of his appearance and becomes distant, only keeping company with his brother Eros. Thanos matures to adulthood, and via the use of bionics and mysticism augments his abilities to become the most powerful of the Titanian-born Eternals, and is often referred to as the Mad Titan. Bitter at being an outsider, Thanos becomes fascinated with nihilism, embarking on his quest to "please" death, and begins by conducting a nuclear bombardment of Titan that kills millions of his race. Thanos' mother is thought to have died during the bombardment, but years later it is discovered that he kidnaps and then dissects her. He later travels to Earth, and prior to landing his vessel destroys a nearby car to prevent anyone from becoming aware of his existence. Unknown to Thanos, two of the family members in the vehicle survive; the father's spirit is preserved by the Titanian cosmic entity Chronos and is given a new form as Drax the Destroyer while the daughter is found by Thanos' father Mentor and is raised to become Moondragon. Many years later, Thanos begins his plan to conquer the galaxy; he builds a base on Earth and constructs a space vessel in the solar system that acts as a "universal translator" for his huge army of alien mercenaries, so that they can understand each other's language. It is at this time that Mistress Death, drawn by the level of Thanos' obsession and his now considerable power, manifests itself before Thanos, being an abstract entity and the personification of the universal concept of death. Thanos becomes determined to prove his "love" to Death for this sign of affection by destroying all life in the universe, and embarks on a quest to find the artifact the Cosmic Cube. It is at this time that Thanos finds himself opposed by the superheroes of Earth, who initially fight Thanos' forces in a rather disjointed fashion: Iron Man and Drax storm Thanos' base and fight Thanos' minions, the Blood Brothers. Captain Marvel becomes aware of Thanos courtesy of his cosmic awareness and explains the threat to Daredevil, the Black Widow, and Moondragon while Thanos hunts for the Cosmic Cube. The Avengers destroy the vessel acting as a translator for Thanos' mercenaries. Thanos eventually locates the Cube and uses his minions the Super-Skrull and the Controller to try and destroy Captain Marvel, who rallies Eros, Mentor, Drax, Moondragon, and the Avengers against Thanos. Thanos uses the Cube and wills it to allow him to be part of - and therefore in control of - everything. Although Thanos is now omnipotent and easily defeats the heroes, he makes the mistake of discarding what he believes to be a now-drained Cube. Captain Marvel shatters the Cube, which undoes Thanos' wish. Thanos then discovers that Death has abandoned him as result of this defeat, and retreats. Iron Man later investigates Thanos' old base and together with the Thing battles the Blood Brothers again. Thanos journeys into deep space and learns of the Universal Church of Truth, led by the being the Magus, a warped and future version of the hero Adam Warlock. Deciding that the Magus is a threat to his plans, and after finding the child Gamora, whose race has been exterminated by the Church, Thanos raises and trains her to assassinate the Magus. Thanos also joins forces with Adam Warlock, who is unaware of the fact that the Magus is actually the Champion of Life and that Thanos is the Champion of Death. The two eventually battle, and Thanos feigns defeat to allow Adam Warlock time to manipulate the timeline and undo the Magus. It is during this alliance Thanos secretly siphons off the energies of the Soul Gem that Warlock possesses, and after leaving Adam Warlock, Thanos embarks on his next quest to appease Death. Thanos combines the energies from the Soul Gem with the energies of the other Infinity Gems to power a weapon that is capable of destroying a star. Thanos then plans to painstakingly snuff out every star in the universe as a gift to Death. Gamora discovers Thanos' intentions and attempts to kill him, but is mortally wounded herself. Adam Warlock's unsuspecting ally Pip the Troll is also killed. Gamora lives long enough to warn a returning Adam Warlock, who travels to Earth and enlists the aid of the Avengers, Captain Marvel, and Moondragon. After attacking and dealing with Thanos' mercenary fleet, most of the Avengers and Moondragon storm Sanctuary I, Thanos' vessel. Thor and Iron Man follow Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel, who confront Thanos directly. Captain Marvel destroys the weapon's launcher, but Thanos then kills an attacking Warlock. Thor holds off Thanos while Iron Man destroys the weapon itself, and an enraged Thanos then defeats the remaining heroes with Sanctuary I's weapons. The cosmic entities Lord Order and Master Chaos intervene, and via a subconscious message draw Spider-Man and the Thing into the battle. Spider-Man frees the fallen heroes, and then makes contact with the Soul Gem, releasing the spirit of Adam Warlock, who then turns Thanos to stone. Years later, the Silver Surfer witnesses the resurrection of Thanos by Mistress Death, who feels that Death needs a champion once again. A revived Thanos decides to collect the Infinity Gems, which he takes from the In-Betweener and the Elders of the Universe. Thanos then combines the gems on his left glove to create the Infinity Gauntlet, which allows him to exceed the power he once possessed with the Cosmic Cube. Thanos honors Death by erasing half the population of the universe, but a group of Earth's superheroes almost defeat an overconfident Thanos. He then goes on to defeat an assembly of the cosmic hierarchy (here Galactus, the Stranger, Epoch, Kronos, two Celestials, Lord Chaos, Master Order, Mistress Love, Sire Hate), and even Death finally decides to join them. The conflict culminates in single combat with, and victory over, Eternity itself. As Thanos abandons his corporeal self to assume Eternity's position, the space pirate Nebula, who claims to be his granddaughter, takes the Gauntlet. Nebula then undoes all of Thanos' changes; to shortly afterwards lose the Gauntlet to Adam Warlock. Warlock had earlier made Thanos realize that it was his own self-doubt that subconsciously engineered his defeats, and when confronted by the superheroes he activates a nuclear device in his costume, telling them he prefers death to imprisonment. With no time to deactivate the device, Thor throws his hammer Mjolnir into Thanos, hurling him miles away. Thanos, however, teleports away just as the device detonates. Only Adam Warlock, in possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, is aware of the deception, and notes that Thanos now has a chance to reform. Thanos does reform for a time, and is eventually given the Reality Gem by Adam Warlock to safeguard. At one point Thanos uses the gem to resurrect the hero Captain Marvel, who died during the time that Thanos himself was dead. Thanos seeks forgiveness for his past actions and claims he wished to test the power of the gem. Captain Marvel, however, knowing of Thanos' self-doubts, guesses the truth and suspects that he has been resurrected to try and dissuade Thanos from his real goal: using the gem to make Mistress Death love him. Thanos confesses and at Captain Marvel's request allows him to return to the afterlife. Thanos then assists Adam Warlock and Earth's superheroes against first the Magus and later the Goddess- the evil and good personas of Warlock, who expunged them to become omnipotent when possessing the Infinity Gauntlet (Although none of Earth's heroes entirely trust him after his past actions). After fighting Thor, now strengthened by the Power Gem, in single combat, Thanos uses an invention to imprison him, and takes Thor to Asgard, home of the Norse Gods. Once in Asgard Thanos, and the Silver Surfer engage Thor's father Odin in battle, but are overpowered. It is at this point, however, that Odin discovers he is indirectly responsible for Thor's insanity, and aids Thor in curing himself. Thanos later discovers via an oracle a new extraterrestrial threat: Tyrant, a failed creation of Galactus. Thanos allies himself with Galactus' former Herald Terrax, the hero Jack of Hearts, a second generation Captain Marvel, and Ganymede, a warrior-priestess dedicated to destroying Tyrant. Together they attack Tyrant's base, at which point Thanos abandons the battle and taps into Tyrant's computers to learn of his origin. Thanos then steals one of Tyrant's "power orbs" - containing power drained from Galactus' Herald Morg. Thanos then confronts the entity and dares Tyrant to stop him. The battle allows Thanos' allies to escape and destroys much of Tyrant's base, at which point Thanos teleports away to safety. Tyrant is then confronted by Galactus, who negotiates the terms of a truce (including the release of other prisoners the Silver Surfer, Gladiator, and Beta Ray Bill). Soon after this Thanos recovers his vessel Sanctuary II from the android Quasimodo, and saves the Silver Surfer and Spider-Man in the process. Thanos is later revealed to be trapped in an alternate dimension. He employs the aid of the brother of Ka-Zar, Parnival Plunder, to attempt escape, planning to control all vegetation and cause universal havoc. A year later a now gigantic Thanos is still trapped, and attempts to use the Hulk as a physical anchor back to the Earth-616 universe. He is, however, defeated by the Hulk and the mutant X-Man. Thanos reappears two years later, having escaped the alternate dimension. He now seeks the Chalice of Ruins, Map of All-Ending, and Illumination Stone, which when united will enable the user to destroy the universe. Thanos enlists the aid of the Asgardian monster Mangog and the traitor Tarakis, and storms Asgard and ravages entire worlds hunting for the artifacts. After several bloody battles, the Thunder God Thor defeats Mangog with the help of Orikal while his ally Firelord defeats Tarakis. Just as Thanos unites the items and realizes his goal, Thor dons Asgardian armor which allows him to match Thanos' new power levels and defeats the Titan. Thanos later requires the aid of Thor and Genis (Captain Marvel's son) against the death god Walker, who attempts to woo Mistress Death and then destroy the entity after being rejected. Thanos and the heroes are successful, and it is revealed at this time that Thanos' retaking of his vessel and previous encounters with Ka-Zar and Thor were planned and served as useful preparation for the battle against Walker. Thanos then devises a plan to become the All-Father of a new race of Gods created by himself. Thanos, however, finds himself opposed by the Avengers, former member Mantis, and her son Quoi, apparently destined to be the Celestial Messiah. Thanos abandons this plan after having to unite with Mistress Death to destroy the Rot, an aberration in deep space that is apparently their offspring. Thanos once conducted extensive research on genetics, and after studying many of the universe's heroes and villains cloned them and gene-spliced his own DNA into the subjects. Although he later abandons the project, five clones survive, being versions of Professor X, Iron Man, Gladiator, Doctor Strange, and Galactus respectively. A sixth and unnamed version of Thanos also appears, and it is revealed that many of Thanos' recent encounters with Earth's superheroes were simply clones impersonating him. The true Thanos - with the aid of Adam Warlock, Gamora, Pip the Troll, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, and Dr. Strange - destroys the remaining clones. Sometime later Thanos finds and uses the artifact the Heart of the Universe to stop an alien pharaoh called Akhenaten who conquers Earth. The artifact makes Thanos a part of everything, and able to absorb the entire universe - even the other cosmic entities. With his newfound omnipotence, Thanos discovers that the constant resurrection of beings has caused an impurity in the old universe that only he can fix. Thanos then restarts the universe and sacrifices himself to fix the flaw. A repentant Thanos apparently survives and is accompanied by Adam Warlock to New Rigel-3, where Thanos uses his power to atone for previous acts committed against the Rigelians. The grateful Rigelians ask Thanos to assist with a problem on Rigel-18, which is revealed to be Galactus. Galactus is attempting to unite and use the Infinity Gems to stop his need to devour inhabited planets. Galactus, however, is being manipulated by an inter-dimensional parasite called Hunger, which devours entire cosmoses. The Hunger tricks Galactus into creating a machine, requiring the power of Infinity Gems, that allows Hunger access into the Earth-616 universe. With assistance from Moondragon and Pip the Troll, Thanos discovers the truth and attempts to stop Galactus but is easily outmatched. As Hungers begins to enter their universe, Galactus briefly stalls the entity and Thanos fails to destroy the portal that separates it from the vast bulk of its being. As Hunger and Galactus battle, Thanos forces Rigel-18 to collide with another planet and also detonates a large nuclear arsenal at the point of impact. Galactus survives the explosion, and Hunger is believed destroyed, although a tiny remnant of Hunger apparently survives by attaching itself to Galactus and then fleeing. Thanos states that although Galactus' intent was noble, his arrogance nearly destroyed the universe, and that should they encounter each other again, it would be as enemies. Thanos then visits the Kyln, an inter-galactic prison on the edge of the universe. It is here that Thanos meets the chaos mite Skreet, who chooses to accompany him, and the Fallen One, the very first Herald of Galactus. The Fallen One attempts to find and destroy Galactus, but Galactus simply teleports him back to Thanos. Thanos defeats the Fallen One by igniting a gas giant, and after mind wiping him employs the cosmic entity as his own personal Herald. Another clone of Thanos recently appeared at the trial of Eros' and stated that his brother inspired his obsession with Death when they were children, when attempting to make young Thanos accept the death of an animal he had involuntarily killed. By Titanian law Eros had to then take full responsibility for all the genocides Thanos had later committed. It is then revealed that this is a false memory implanted by the true Thanos as a personal joke. Thanos recently aligned himself with the genocidal villain Annihilus, who is employing the Annihilation Wave to decimate the universe. Thanos does so as he is "curious to see how a radical tilt in the universal balance would play out." Thanos also convinces Tenebrous and Aegis - two of Galactus' ancient enemies - to defeat the World Devourer. Annihilus desires the secret of the Power Cosmic and asks Thanos to study Galactus, but once Thanos learns of Annihilus' true goal (to use the Power Cosmic to destroy all life and remain the sole survivor) he decides to free Galactus. Drax the Destroyer, however, appears and kills Thanos before he can do so. During a climactic battle with Annihilus, the hero Nova is near death and sees Thanos, now standing with Mistress Death as her apparent consort, observing him. Ah, love. It can make people do crazy things. People driven by love will be willing to anything to prove their love to the person that they love. Thanos is one such person. He does all his evil deeds out of love. However, he isn’t in love with a physical being; he loves Death. Yes, death, the abstract we have know use to call what happens when stop living. Well, in the Marvel universe, Death takes on the physical form of a woman. As a young Titan, he became fascinated with nihilism and death. Eventually, it turned into love; and Thanos began to think of ways to appease Death. Of course, he came to the conclusion that Death would be most appeased with people dying, the death of every single living being to be precise. So, Thanos set out to kill as many as he could. He killed thousands of his fellow Titan and eventually half the beings in the Marvel Universe to please Death. That’s a lot of people dead, simply because he was in love with an abstract. He has been captured, defeated, and imprisoned in dimensions created solely to imprison him, but it has not stopped him in his quest. Though he has reformed at times, which puts a damper on the villain thing, over the years; it has been hard to tell whether he is good or bad. Nevertheless, he has killed for love, even though the object of his desire, Death, is extremely fickle. Death has usually spurned Thanos’s advances and offerings, which led to Thanos feeling betrayed and killing because of the betrayal. However, Thanos eventually did die and has apparently become Death’s consort. This is a good, because now he won’t be around to kill more people to appease his beloved.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 24, 2008 14:25:15 GMT -5
70. Daniel Plainview Who is he: A very successful oil man. What is he from: “There Will Be Blood.” What has he done: He abandoned his boy and drank your milkshake! ;D Seriously, he killed a man claiming to be his half-brother, force a preacher to renounce God and beat him to death with a bowling pin. Intelligence: Incredibly smart in oil drilling. Power: Becomes a powerful oil man in California. Vileness: Hates people and is very competitive. Sway: Is very good at manipulating people and getting his way. Purity: He does care for his son, but that eventually goes away he feels his son betrays him by leaving. Physical Prowess: Is pretty strong and tough, even pulling himself up from mine shaft after falling and breaking his leg. Name Coolness: “Daniel Plainview” has got a cool, old-timey quality to it. Created by: Paul Thomas Anderson, who loosely based him and the film on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil! Portrayed by: Daniel Day Lewis, who won his second Best Actor Oscar for the role. In fact, he was so good that there are reports that he scared the original actor playing Eli Sunday, Kel O’Neill, into dropping out of the film. O’Neill had been intimidated by Day-Lewis's intensity and habit of staying in character on and off the set. Both Anderson and Day-Lewis deny this claim, and Day-Lewis stated, "I absolutely don't believe that it was because he was intimidated by me. I happen to believe that — and I hope I'm right." The story opens in 1898 with prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) discovering crude oil deposits in one of his silver mines. Plainview begins extraction operations, eventually refining his extraction techniques with self-designed drilling and rigging equipment. He soon earns enough money to build a small drilling company. One of his workers is killed in a work accident, and Plainview takes the man's orphaned child as his own. He begins a much larger enterprise with the boy, whom he names H.W. (Dillon Freasier), as his partner. By 1911, he has become one of the most successful oil men in California. Plainview is approached by young Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) who, in exchange for $500, alerts him Plainview to the presence of oil on the Sunday family's property in Little Boston, California. Plainview and H.W. travel there under the guise of hunting quail and discover oil seeping to the surface. Plainview then attempts to buy the property without telling Paul's father, Abel (David Willis), of the oil, but Paul's twin brother, Eli (also Paul Dano), knows of the oil and raises the price to $10,000, which he intends to put into the founding of his own church. Plainview pays the Sundays up front for their ranch and promises $5,000 as a donation to the church. Plainview leases the surrounding ranches, with the exception of one, owned by Mr. Bandy (Hans Howes), whom Plainview brushes off when Bandy demands that Plainview see him personally. Expecting the $5,000 donation, Eli plans an expansion of his Church of the Third Revelation, where he styles himself as a faith healer. Plainview constructs a large oil drilling rig, initially accepting Eli's request to bless the rig before Plainview starts the rig. At the ceremony that occurs before the rig is started, though, Plainview blatantly snubs Eli and says a short blessing himself. Not long thereafter, a worker is killed by falling material at the derrick, and H.W. loses his hearing in a blast from an explosion at the rig. Eli irks Daniel by repeatedly telling him that these disasters wouldn't have happened had he been allowed to bless the derrick. When Eli comes to the derrick to request the money Plainview owes him, Plainview violently attacks him, berating him for being unable to heal his son. Humiliated, Eli returns home, where he beats his father for selling the family's land at a greatly undervalued price. A man approaches Plainview claiming to be his half-brother Henry Brands (Kevin J. O'Connor). Taking Henry into his confidence, Plainview confesses his general hatred of people and his need to win out over all other competition. That night, H.W. attempts to burn the bed in which Henry is sleeping. Plainview sends him away to a school for the deaf. Henry and Plainview set out to survey and map a potential route for an oil pipeline, and later make a deal with Union Oil. Plainview eventually becomes suspicious that Henry is not who he says he is, and at gunpoint Henry admits being an impostor: Plainview's real brother was Henry's friend, who he claims died of tuberculosis. Plainview then shoots and buries Henry. The next morning Plainview is awakened by Mr. Bandy, who agrees to lease his property for a pipeline Plainview plans to construct on the condition that Plainview be baptized into the Church of the Third Revelation. In addition to his property being vital to Plainview's oil pipeline, Bandy's leverage is his knowledge of Plainview's murder of Henry. Plainview, who has no interest in religion, agrees, and suffers a humiliating initiation at the hands of Eli. Plainview sends for H.W., but is still unable to communicate with the boy, who is now learning sign language. Eli leaves Little Boston on missionary work. The story jumps to 1927. H.W. (now played by Russell Harvard) asks his father (through an interpreter) to be released from their partnership so he can take his wife Mary Sunday, to Mexico in order to form his own oil company. Feeling betrayed, Plainview tells H.W. that he was adopted, repeatedly calling him a "bastard from a basket." Later, Eli visits Plainview in his mansion, to beg for money after losing investments in the depression. He attempts to get Plainview to partner with him to drill the Bandy Ranch, upon which Daniel never had placed an oil rig. Before agreeing, Plainview forces Eli to admit that he is a false prophet and assert that God is a superstition. Plainview then informs Eli that he has already drained the oil from Bandy's land with his surrounding wells. He taunts Eli, eventually attacking him. The confrontation escalates until Plainview beats him to death with a bowling pin. His butler enters from the stairs and, upon seeing Plainview kneeling and exhausted beside the body of Eli, speaks to him. Plainview answers only with "I'm finished" and the film ends. Once again, greed rears its ugly head. It is a driving force for many evil men, in the real world and the fictional ones. It is not surprising that it is considered the root of all evil. Our greedy villain today is Daniel Plainview; a man is consumed with becoming very rich off of oil. He lies, tricks, manipulates, intimidates, and bullies his way into becoming a successful oil driller in California in the early 20th century. However, it’s not just greed that drives Plainview; it’s competition. He even says so: I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people. In competition may even drive him more than greed. He can’t stand when people look down on him or get the better of him, and he has to prove that they are wrong. For example, when Plainview is trying to build a pipeline, one of the people looking to build it for him tells him to sell his oil to them. He says that they will make Plainview rich so that he can spend time raising his boy (this is after H.W. has gone deaf). Plainview gets angry and even says “One night, I'm gonna come to you, inside of your house, wherever you're sleeping, and I'm going to cut your throat.” Later, when he is in a restaurant eating with his son, he sees that same man, walks over to him, and tells him that he is raising his boy right. You can just feel the smugness as he enjoys his “victory.” Another example is when he has to join Eli Sunday’s congregation in order to build his pipeline on someone’s land. Eli had been a thorn in his side since he started drilling. You can almost feeling the anger and hatred he has having to join Eli’s congregation, especially when Eli forces him to admit his sin of abandoning his son on a train because he couldn’t raise him. It all comes as he yells “I’VE ABANDONED BY BOY!” He has a very big temper as well, and it comes out when he kills. He only kills two people: the man pretending to be his half-brother and Eli Sunday. But, you just know he could kill more. But, he does have some compassion for his boy. H.W. isn’t even his, but he takes care of the boy after his real father dies. He tries to care for H.W. when he goes deaf, but he has to send him to a special school. Then H.W. announces that he wishes to leave and go to Mexico to start a new life with his wife Mary Sunday. Feeling betrayed, his love for his son dies, and Plainview yells that H.W. is adopted, calling him a “bastard from a basket.” Ultimately, Plainview does win in the end. Eli comes to him in his waning years, wanting to partner with him in drilling the oil under the Bandy Ranch. Plainview agrees if Eli with call himself a false prophet and say that God is a superstition. He reluctantly does, with the same anger that Plainview let out when he had to admit that he abandoned his boy. Then, Plainview cheerfully tells him that he has drained the oil from his other wells, using the infamous “milkshake” metaphor. Then, he chases Eli around and kills him with a bowling pin. In the end, Daniel Plainview yells out “I’m finished!” because he has won, and he has nothing left to do.
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 24, 2008 16:10:53 GMT -5
69. General Zod Who is he: A Kryptonian general. What is he from: DC Comics, most notably the Superman comics; “Superman II.” What has he done: Murder, treason, tried to take over Krypton, tried to take over Earth. Intelligence: A leader and strategist, Zod definitely has the brains, especially in his gang in “Superman II,” and made the most of them. Power: Was a high ranking official in the Kryptonian military and government. Vileness: Destruction and terror are just the appetizers to the main course: reshaping Mount Rushmore in his image! Sway: Extremely intimidating; it takes a strong personality to make the President quake in his boots (or it should). Purity: You will KNEEL BEFORE ZOD! Physical Prowess: Is as powerful as Superman, with superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, senses, intelligence, regeneration, and longevity; super breath, heat vision, and flight Name Coolness: “Zod” is pretty cool and gets even cooler due to the Military Default Syndrome. Created by: Don’t know. Portrayed by: Terrence Stamp (“Superman II”). Stamp’s portrayal of Zod is the most famous. Hell, it may just be more famous than the actual comic book character. He was even the voice of Zod on Smallville. Rene Auberjonois was the voice of Zod in the Ruby-Spears Superman animated series. Dru-Zod, or simply Zod, was often portrayed as a megalomaniac. Zod was originally one of a number of Kryptonian villains trapped in the Phantom Zone. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961). Once Military Director of the Kryptonian Space Center, Zod had known Jor-El, Superman's father, when he was an aspiring scientist. When the space program was abolished after the destruction of the inhabited moon Wegthor, which had been caused by renegade scientist Jax-Ur, he attempted to take over Krypton. Zod created an army of robotic duplicates of himself, all bearing a resemblance to Bizarro. He was sentenced to exile in the Phantom Zone for his crimes. Zod was first released by Kal-El (during his career as Superboy) when his term of imprisonment was up. However, he attempted to conquer Earth with powers gained under the yellow sun. Zod was sent back into the Phantom Zone, occasionally escaping to target Superman. Later, another version of Zod came from a Krypton in a pocket universe created by the Time Trapper. He, along with companions Quex-Ul and Faora, devastated the Earth of that universe following the death of its Superboy, despite the best efforts of a Supergirl created by this world's heroic Lex Luthor. Eventually, the survivors of this world managed to contact the Superman of the main universe to help them, and he was able to take away the powers of the three super-criminals with gold kryptonite (As he was not from that universe, the Kryptonite of that reality would have no effect on him). However, as the three vowed to some day regain their powers and return to Superman's world to kill him, Superman was forced to execute them with Kryptonite, and it was this action that caused him to question his powers and how to deal with evil doers. This version of Zod is based closely on the Pre-Crisis version; the significant difference is he has killed everyone on the pocket Earth rather than conquering them with ease since there's no Superboy/Superman to stop him. Another incarnation of General Zod was introduced in the 2001 storyline "Return to Krypton." He was the head of the Kryptonian military in an alternate reality created by Brainiac 13. Like the Pre-Crisis version, Zod held the Kryptonian equivalent of fascist beliefs. He sent aliens to the bottle city of Kandor and planned a military coup. Zod was defeated by Superman and the Jor-El of that Krypton. Then came another Zod. This General Zod is a Russian who was affected prior to his birth by Kryptonite radiation because he was the son of two cosmonauts whose ship was too close to Kal-El's rocketship. This Zod is unnaturally weak under a yellow sun, but superpowered under a red sun (the opposite of Superman). After his parents died of the radiation, he grew up from birth in a KGB laboratory under the name "Zed." Apparently spoken to by the spirit of the Pocket Universe Zod, Zod created a suit of red armor that filtered the sunlight and declared himself ruler of the former Soviet state of Pokolistan. After several inconclusive encounters with Superman, he revealed his long-range plan to turn the sun red and take Superman's place. This was temporarily successful until Lex Luthor rescued Superman, gave him a blast of yellow solar radiation to regain his powers, and worked to restore the sun. Superman returned to battle Zod, but refused to kill him. When the sun turned yellow again, the now vulnerable Zod still struck Superman with all his power, but was killed. Introduced in the twelve-issue For Tomorrow (Superman #204-#215) storyline, written by Brian Azzarello and penciled by Jim Lee, this Zod resides in an alternate Phantom Zone alone and resents Superman for tampering with it. According to him, he comes from the same Krypton as Superman, and was exiled to the Phantom Zone by Superman's father Jor-El. This Zod wears black armor, and when unmasked, slightly resembles an older version of the film Zod. This interpretation also uses a variation of 'Kneel before Zod'. It is possible that this Zod is not a real Kryptonian, however. He appeared in Metropia, a version of the Phantom Zone created by Superman to resemble a living world, including seemingly living beings. Since Superman created the world of Metropia to bear similarities with Krypton, it has been revealed that this, yet again, is not the real Zod. One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Lex Luthor used a shard of sunstone, which had the word "doomsday" engraved upon it in the Kryptonian language, along with a stockpile of Kryptonite to reactivate the Kryptonian battle cruiser, Doomsday, which had been dormant within the earth for an unknown period of time. Luthor revealed that the vessel was in fact the flagship of the Kryptonian fleet, had belonged to an Admiral Dru-Zod and scoured entire planets clean of life. In October 2006, film director Richard Donner, noted for his work on the first two Superman movies, became co-writer of Action Comics along with Geoff Johns. At the end of Action Comics #845, Zod, Ursa, and Non have apparently been freed from the Phantom Zone by someone he refers to as his and Ursa's son, implying that the Kryptonian boy that landed on Earth in the story is his son. Somehow owing their freedom to the landing on Earth of Dru-Zod and Ursa's son, after a brief stop to the newly restored Fortress of Solitude to gain information from Jor-El's projection they fly to Metropolis, where Ursa confronts Lois to win her unwilling son back and Zod sends Kal-El to the Phantom Zone after freeing the other Kryptonian inmates. The back-story for the three Kryptonions was revealed in Action Comics Annual #10; Non had once been a brilliant scientist on par with Jor-El. Both were researching the event that would ultimately destroy Krypton. Zod entered their lab with troops (at this point Zod was still working for Krypton's Council). Both Jor-El and Non were arrested by Zod and given a warning by the High Council to halt their research, then released. Jor-El set to work creating the rocket that would send his son Kal-El to Earth, while Non began to spread the word of the planet's impending doom. Non's message swayed both Zod and Ursa that Krypton was soon to be destroyed. Non then disappeared from public life, only to return with a mutilated brain. The council had transformed him into a mindless brute and this act inspired Zod and Ursa to rebel against the Kryptonian government. Without any sense of right and wrong, Non now fought alongside Zod and Ursa. Zod attempted to recruit Jor-El to their cause; however Jor-El saw the plans were fueled by greed, a lust for power and violence. This rebellion was short-lived and the rebels were again arrested and set to be executed. Not wishing to resort to execution, Jor-El appealed on their behalf, to exile them instead. The council accepted this on the condition that Jor-El would be the jailer. Thus Zod, Ursa, and Non were imprisoned, and embittered against Jor-El for years to come. In addition, it is hinted that the revolution and war they attempted resulted in instability of Krypton's core. The origins of Zod, Ursa, and Non are similar to the events shown in Superman II. Zod now closely resembles his movie counterpart, with the addition of a black trenchcoat. Alternate versions: The General Zod of Earth-15 became Superman instead of Kal-El, and is semi-retired but is on call if needed. This version of Zod first appeared in Countdown #30 when the Red Hood, Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Bob the Monitor and the Jokester traveled to Earth-15 where Jason, Kyle, and Donna met their own counterparts, who has assumed the roles of Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman respectively, along with that world's Superman and the Atom. This Zod, along with all of the heroes of Earth-15 were killed by Superman Prime. Books: General Zod is the main antagonist of The Last Days of Krypton, a novel by Kevin J. Anderson In this incarnation, Dru-Zod is the son of Cor-Zod, formerly the head of the Kryptonian Council. Rather than taking his famous father's place on the Council, the younger Zod is put in charge of the Commission for Technology Acceptance. Commissioner Zod reviews, and at the instruction of the Council, usually rejects the inventions and theories brought forth by Jor-El. After Brainiac shrinks the capital city of Kandor, Zod steps into the now Council-free power vacuum and begins a military build-up with the help of Jor-El who is unaware of his more sinister plans for Krypton. Zod marries Aethyr-Ka in an unorthodox ceremony and begins to eliminate dissidents, trapping them in the Phantom Zone which, among many of Jor-El's devices, Zod has secretly hoarded in an effort to build up an arsenal. Although Jor-El receives long-awaited cooperation from Zod, he comes to distrust the new leader of Krypton. Zod moves his capital city to Xan City, formerly inhabited by Jax-Ur, a warlord responsible for a very dark period in Kryptonian history. With the help of the mute Nam-Ek and his wife Aethyr-Ka, Commissioner Zod declares himself General Zod and declares war on Zor-El, brother of Jor-El, attacking Argo City. The attack fails and Zod and his cohorts are captured and banished to the Phantom Zone. Movies: The movie version of Zod has immense popularity amongst comic fans. The recent reintroduction of Zod into DC comics continuity (co-authored by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns) shares the same back-story and Svengali-influenced appearance as the movie version. At the beginning of Superman, General Zod (Terence Stamp) is introduced as one of three Kryptonian criminals on trial. Zod was originally the leader of the Kryptonian military, who was entrusted with the defense of Krypton by the governing council. Conspiring with Non (Jack O'Halloran) and Ursa Sarah Douglas), Zod was planning to overthrow the Kryptonian government and replace it with his own, which would have been a military dictatorship. The three were captured instead, and the council unanimously agreed to exile Zod, Ursa, and Non to the Phantom Zone. Before Zod is thus exiled, he attempts to persuade Jor-El to join them. When Jor-El refuses, Zod becomes enraged, swearing revenge upon him and his offspring. The Phantom Zone portal is launched into space shortly before Krypton's destruction. In Superman II, the detonation of a hydrogen bomb that Superman throws into space destroys the Phantom Zone portal that has trapped Zod and his cohorts. For the 2006 Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, the original written scene was created, tying into the climax of the first film (which was the original ending). In this version, their escape is made possible by the shock wave created by the exploding XK-101 nuclear missile flung into space by Superman. After discovering that their Kryptonian physiology gives them each the same powers as Superman under Earth's yellow sun, they quickly subdue the U.S. Army and force the President of the United States to abdicate his position to Zod. This occurs shortly after Superman, unaware of their escape and presence on Earth, has stripped himself of his powers to be with Lois Lane as an ordinary human. After witnessing Zod's megalomania and defiance on a television news broadcast, Superman realizes the terrible mistake he has made. While Clark treks back to the Fortress of Solitude in a desperate attempt to regain his powers, Lex Luthor approaches the Kryptonian villains at the White House. In exchange for Zod's promise to give him Australia (another attempt to acquire "beachfront property" after failing to do so in the first film), he offers to bring them to Metropolis to confront Superman. The villains invade the Daily Planet; although Superman is not present, Luthor quickly points out that Lois Lane, whom Ursa calls Superman's "favorite" human being, will be effective bait to draw the Man of Steel out. Superman, with his powers restored, arrives and accepts Zod's challenge. This leads to a devastating, comic-book-style battle throughout downtown Metropolis. It quickly becomes clear that the villains have the upper hand. They outnumber Superman, and, significantly, they care nothing for the lives of the city's inhabitants. Continually distracted trying to save people whom the battle is endangering, Superman finally realizes he needs to rethink his strategy and move the battle away from a populated area, and he withdraws to the Fortress. Luthor offers to tell Zod about the Fortress of Solitude if Zod spares his life, and the three villains pursue Superman north, bringing along Luthor to guide them and Lois Lane as a hostage. In the climactic battle, Superman outwits the villains and gains the advantage, almost defeating Zod. But Non and Ursa grab Lois and threaten to tear her apart, forcing Superman to surrender. In a whispered aside, Superman tells Luthor about the molecule chamber which earlier stripped away his own powers and proposes tricking the villains into it. Luthor betrays Superman and tells Zod about the chamber, and Superman is forced inside and seemingly loses his powers again. With this, General Zod's revenge on Jor-El seems complete, as he tells Superman to kneel before him, take his hand, and swear eternal loyalty to him. But Superman has NOT lost his powers a second time; instead, he has stripped Zod, Ursa, and Non of theirs while he remained safe--and as super-human as ever--in the molecule chamber! As he takes Zod's hand, he crushes it (making the general moan in pain as he does) and then overpowers Zod, throwing him into an icy crevasse, where the general disappears into the mist. Non and Ursa are similarly dispatched; Non tries to fly over the same pit, but instead falls down it, and Lois punches Ursa down the pit as well. Luthor realizes that Superman used him to trick the Kryptonian villains: knowing that Luthor would betray him, Superman reconfigured the molecule chamber so that its red sun radiation would be projected throughout the Fortress, robbing Zod, Non, and Ursa of their powers while Superman was protected inside the chamber. A scene deleted from the movie (but shown in some TV versions) shows the trio alive and in custody, implying that they lost their powers permanently and were captured. The 2006 reedited version Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut retains the original theatrical film's implication that Zod and his colleagues are dead, though the footage of their arrest by Arctic police is included in the deleted scenes. Super Friends: A Phantom Zone villain named Zy-Kree, who resembled the movie-version of Zod, appeared in the Super Friends animated series. Ruby-Spears Superman series: General Zod was featured in the Joseph Ruby-Kenneth Spears animated Superman series in an episode titled "The Hunter," where he is in the Phantom Zone and creates a monster called the "Hunter" in an attempt to free the Zod trio from the Phantom Zone. He appears on Earth very briefly near the end of the episode. His appearance in the episode differs from that of Superman II. He is seen in his "Silver Age" Pre-Crisis grey military uniform with a general's hat and clean-shaven as opposed to Superman II, where he is seen with a mustache, a goatee beard, and a plain black outfit. Being Kryptonian like Kal-El, Zod is superpowered under the yellow sun of Earth and is seen flying like Superman. However, in the Ruby-Spears animation, Zod's criminal companions are two women, rather than the woman and the man as whom the Zod trio is usually portrayed. Rene Auberjonois provided Zod's voice. Superman: The Animated Series: Zod was not featured in the cartoon Superman: The Animated Series, although a similar villain named Jax-Ur did. Jax-Ur had been featured previously in some Silver Age stories of Phantom Zone criminals. In the animated series, he appeared along with a new character called Mala, who was seemingly based on Faora/Ursa. However, in the accompanying Superman Adventures comic book series in issue 21, Zod was portrayed as an Argosian (like the animated Supergirl) who co-opted Jax-Ur and Mala as his lieutenants (essentially giving Jax-Ur the Non/Quex-Ul role). It is revealed that in this universe Zod had staged a coup d'etat on Supergirl's homeworld of Argo, killing all of Argo's leaders and anyone else who he wanted. General Zod had already prepared a fleet to attack Krypton when it emerged that his colonels had secretly become convinced Zod had become too murderous and power-hungry. They had turned on Zod, exiling him to the Phantom Zone. Following Zod's removal from power, the colonels took over as the new leaders of Argo and worked to reinstate Argo's republic as it was before the coup. From that point on, the name of Zod instilled fear in all Argosians, and he was used as a "boogeyman" to Argo's children. This character resembles the Terence Stamp version from Superman: The Movie and Superman II. When Supergirl uses Kryptonite to weaken Jax-Ur and Mala, as it has no affect on her Argosian body, she suddenly realizes who she has met when it has no effect on Zod. It is unrevealed if General Zod suffers any weaknesses. Justice League Unlimited: General Zod later appeared issue #34 of the Justice League Unlimited comic based on the series. This time, he is portrayed as his regular Kryptonian general role. He and his group of foot soldiers were banished into the Phantom Zone for insurrection against the Krypton ruling council. This group included Mala and Jax-Ur. In this issue, Zod and Mr. Mxyzptlk worked together to kidnap Superman. Their plans were foiled when the Justice League came to rescue Superman. When Mxyzptlk was accidentally sent to the Phantom zone, Zod and his men took him. They probably tortured him too. This issue, released June 2007, marked the first meeting of Superman and Zod in the animated continuity. In the Justice League Unlimited episode "For The Man Who Has Everything," while under the influence of an alien plant, Superman has a dream in which he has a wife and son on Krypton. His wife briefly mentions her son will be attending a birthday party for "little Zod." Legion of Super-Heroes: Zod is a voice in the Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, a character named Drax appears too. A young man who Clark accidentally frees from the Phantom Zone, Drax has the typical array of Kryptonian powers, in addition to an immunity to Kryptonite. On his chest, in a sort of parallel to Superman's "S", you can see a "Z". It is speculated that Drax could be Zod's son because in the episode, Drax mentioned his parents. Zod is capable of contacting him, prompting him to attempt to free them and the other phantom zone criminals. Like his father, Drax has a hatred of Superman, as well an air of superiority about him, and taunts the young Clark with the fact that he has no idea of his future or what he will become. He was born in the Phantom Zone and claims that's where he gets his powers from. The Pre-Crisis version of Zod can be seen as a cameo as one of the many Phantom Zone villains attacking the Legion members when they were temporarily trapped there. He is shown speaking to the trapped Legionnaires in a similar voice as the one speaking to Drax. Smallville: In Smallville, the voice of Jor-El is provided by Terence Stamp. This, combined with the apparent difference in character from other versions of Jor-El- apparently having sent Clark to Earth with the intention that he would rule the planet, often attempting to force Clark to become the 'perfect Kryptonian' that Jor-El felt he should be to fulfill his destiny, led to fan speculation that Jor-El was really Zod. Series creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough denied this rumor, and it is later revealed that Jor-El's characterization was misinterpreted. Recent portrayals of the character are somewhat closer to his normal characterization, showing compassion for his son and providing him with aid and advice when needed, although he still tends to demand obedience. In the series' fifth season, General Zod was featured as an off-screen presence. The fifth season premiere, "Arrival", featured two Kryptonian disciples of Zod searching for Clark shortly after their arrival on Earth during the recent kryptonite meteor shower that bombarded Smallville in the fourth season finale, "Commencement." After finding Clark, they opened a portal to the Phantom Zone and attempted to throw Clark into it. Clark managed to overpower them and send the two of them through the portal, trapping them in the Phantom Zone. In the episode "Solitude", Milton Fine, the human identity of the Kryptonian artificial intelligence known as Brainiac, persuades Clark to take him to the Fortress of Solitude. After arriving at the Fortress, Fine tricks Clark into freeing Zod from the Phantom Zone, temporarily opening a vortex in which the image of a figure similar to Terence Stamp's Zod can be glimpsed. It is also insinuated that Zod was a fascist leader on Krypton and ruled with an iron fist, and apparently considered Jor-El as his primary nemesis. At the end of the episode "Oracle", Chloe deciphers a Kryptonian message which Clark reads as, "Zod is coming." In the following episode, "Vessel", Jor-El reveals that Zod was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for crimes that resulted in Krypton's destruction. Zod's physical body was destroyed to prevent him from escaping from captivity, and therefore, he now required a vessel to inhabit on Earth. Brainiac had earlier injected Lex Luthor with a vaccine that granted him Kryptonian superpowers, and therefore, Lex was to be the vessel for Zod's consciousness. Through the actions of Clark and Brainiac, Zod is freed. After inhabiting Lex's body, Zod imprisons Clark inside the Phantom Zone, leaving no one to stop him, and begins his plans to conquer Earth as the trapped Clark is sent flying into space. In the sixth season premiere, "Zod", after a brief sojourn in the Phantom Zone, Clark escapes with the help of a Kryptonian woman who claims to have been Jor-El's aide. She gives Clark a crystal bearing the sign of the House of El (Superman's characteristic stylized "S"). Back on Earth, Clark confronts Zod/Lex, but Zod, a trained soldier, easily pummels Clark into submission. In homage to the climactic scene in Superman II, Zod issues his infamous command, "kneel before Zod" although in a much more serious tone, and then wordlessly commands Clark to take his hand. But instead of crushing Zod's hand as in the movie, Clark takes the opportunity to press the crystal into it, evicting Zod from Lex's body and sending him back into the Phantom Zone (in another allusion to the movie, the face of Zod's spirit as it is forced out of Lex strongly resembles that of Terence Stamp as Zod). Lex returns to normal with no memory of these events. However, he later discovers a shard of a Kryptonian device that Zod left on his laptop; Brainiac's hard drive. Zod is one the most interesting villains. However, while he may be a comic book villain, it is his movie version that is the most famous. In “Superman II,” Zod is a pathologically arrogant and pompous aristocrat. He is almost bored with his incredible powers and disappointed with the ease of overtaking Earth. But, he is very dangerous. Not only does he have the same powers as Superman, but he also has two loyal followers, Ursa and Non, who also have superpowers as well. But, what make him really dangerous is that he is obsessed with Superman, wanting to see him broken, destroyed, and forced to worship him. He is extremely driven and will do anything to see this happen. Hell, took over the entire planet to get at Superman. In fact, seems that “Kneel before Zod!” isn’t a command so much as it is a promise. That line, "Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!", has become part of pop culture and is one of the most famous movie lines of all time. It has spilled over into the current day comic portrayals of Zod. But, it is much more than a good quote. It is the very core of Zod’s nature. He wants power. He craves it like a drug. He is a junkie desperate for another fix. He wants everyone to kneel before him, but he mainly wants Superman to do it. In fact, that is his downfall. He is defeated by forcing Superman to relinquish his powers at the Fortress of Solitude. However, Superman tricked Zod, reconfiguring the molecule chamber that took his powers to protect him as the whole Fortress and robbing Zod, Ursa, and Non of their powers instead. If he hadn’t been so obsessed with his goal to see Superman kneel before, then Zod would have probably noticed the trick. But that was not the case and ended up defeated and most likely dead.
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