How about seeing this in a spot-light? |
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With all of the animal-inspired vigilantes out there, but only one receiving any real prominence, I figured it was time to shine the Hollyweird spot-light on a lesser known hero (I use the word "hero" for lack of a better way to describe a guy who wears a spandex costume and goes around beating up muggers and hunters while battling his multiple personality conflicts in his mixed up, chemically imbalanced brain - Absolute Alpha.) We have all seen the success of the Batman franchise as of late. Now there is the impending release of WOLVERINE: ORIGINS so the mammal-based anti-hero swing is in effect. The two characters I mentioned have things in common. They both have witnessed the brutality of losing a loved one(s) right in front of the very eyes, they both have vigorously trained to hone their respective skills to nigh-perfection, and most importantly they have a sense of honor and nobility masked by the outward appearance of rage and insanity. My question to you is, "what if Batman or Wolverine truly were insane?" My answer is the Badger.
Let me get this crazy ball rolling with a little background of the man behind the mask, Norbert 
Our hero ladies and gentlemen. |
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Sykes. Norbert was a Vietnam vet who suffered from a severe multiple personality complex triggered by years of abuse, both physical and mental, from his step-father Larry (a name that Norbert had taken to calling people randomly throughout the series - Adept Alpha.) This mental damage was further agitated by the killing he witnessed during the Vietnam war. He was sent to a mental institution for his own well being where he mentally linked with another patient there named Hamaglystwythbrnxaxlotl (or Ham for short - Abbreviating Alpha), a 5th century Druid who had awoken from an 800 year coma (later indicated 1,500 by dialog - Attention to detail Alpha.) Ham hired Norbert to be his bodyguard and provided him with a room at his castle. Ham used his mystic arts to gain wealth and escape physical harm. Any act of violence upon Ham, say stabbing with a knife, would manifest the injury on the attacker leaving Ham free from injury. Norbert also had assistance from his caseworker Daisy, his wife/Vietnamese martial arts expert Mavis, and a demon named Lord 
Needless to say he wasn't thrilled with Nintendo's "Duck Hunt" either. |
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Weterlackus who temporarily empowered Ham. So basically we have a crazy former mental patient who works for a Druid as his unnecessary bodyguard while moonlighting as a masked vigilante who beats up anybody that harms the weak and defenseless or cute and cuddly wild-life. Do you all 3 follow me so far?
Now with a magic formula like that, how could you go wrong? Well for starters you could make it so serious that it comes off as pretentious and snotty if you aren't familiar with the source material. Or you could make it overly comedic and shticky, making it seem like some parody of the source material like THE MASK. Basically the same pitfalls you suffer with any comic book adaptation. After all you wouldn't want to do something like take a character created by the great Will Eisner, inspiration for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, and hand it over to someone who might changed the character from a noble yet fallible hero into a man-whore (but that is just my take on it - Annoyed Alpha.) I won't get into any casting decisions because my opinion differs greatly from those of the people in charge of picking out the totally improper A-listers in an 
They is gonna make a movie about me? |
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attempt to bulk up the marketability of a movie that should already have a built-in audience waiting eagerly for it to hit the big screen.
Here is where you would want a more stylized approach. The main character has a multiple personality complex so it should be greatly utilized. I am not thinking the of way first-person perspective was used in the final sequence of DOOM, but the way most of 12 MONKEYS was shot. There has to be a chaotic feel to it, which could be furthered by having the separate voices in Norbert's spread throughout different channels in whatever stereo system the theatre is playing the movie in. I would love to hear the voice coming from every direction, depending on which one is talking. The cinematography from 28 DAYS LATER or DAWN/LAND OF THE DEAD, with the frantic yet controlled camera work, would also be great.
All in all this has the potential to be another BATMAN BEGINS/THE DARK KNIGHT-type movies. I may revisit this idea in a later column, but for now I think my point is made, nuff said. Thanks for reading true believers, EXCELSIOR!
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Bringing you a vast wealth of comic book movie knowledge from a 4,000 plus book collection and experience at Rain City Comics.
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| The Alpha Craig |
I am the first and the last, maybe not. I'm 31 years old and still spend my disposable income on comic books. Might as well put it to good use.
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