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What can I can about J.M. Dematteis, other than the fact that the man seems
bound and determined to prevent me from finding out if 'Ernest Saves
Christmas?' I have corresponded with him off and on for the past year,
initially discussing another project I've been working on, but those discussions
have gone off on some very interesting tangents. You'll see the original topic
very soon. I promise. In the meantime, I have this to say.
The evil demon taking possession of someone else's body is one of the oldest
fantasy stories in existence. The Ancient Greeks told tales of mind control.
In terms of modern science fiction and fantasy the list is very extensive.
Granddaddy of them all is the classic film The Exorcist. Apparently demons
are very interested in murder, vomiting and contortions.
Captain Kirk has gotten mind controlled on several occasions probably most
notably in 'The Turnabout Intruder'.
In terms of comics, there is Venom. He failed to possess Peter Parker but
managed to take subtle control over every other host he's had.
The Titans fought Trigon, who occasionally worked through inhabited hosts.
Speaking of the Titans, during the Deathtrap, Jericho has echos of everyone
he's ever taken control of in his head and it slowly turned him into a
homicidal maniac.
Then there was the incident in which Superman was taken over by Maxwell Lord.
My question is 'Why are beings that posses you always evil? You almost
never see heroes doing that.' That's not necessarily true- or is it?
There are the Trill on Star Trek. In all but two known cases, the host had
full knowledge and understanding of what could happen to their mind when joining,
then granted consent. When Commander Riker took on the Odan symbiote, as a non
Trill, he couldn't truly understand what that meant and there is no way he could
have prepared for it. He gave consent, but it was not informed consent. Then
there was Ezri Tegan who became Ezri Dax. She didn't want to be joined but had
to or the symbiote would die. Hosts have to be trained for the incoming new
lives or get their minds consumed with too much knowledge. In most cases the
joining of a Trill symbiote and host is more akin to birthing a new gestalt
persona rather than a true possession.
Firestorm always had one mind being dominant and the other playing support.
The first time the powers came together neither of them knew what was
happening. Later on, one or the other would initiate the change occasionally
against the other's will.
As previously noted, Jericho of The Titans had the ability to posses people.
Early on in his career he seemed rather benevolent.
There is also the Deadman who not only takes over people's bodies to fight
Criminals, but also to taste food or go to the movies.
On the surface level these may seem harmless.
Possession can be seen as a metaphor for two things.
Classically it has been seen as a metaphor for mental illness. The possessed
person often moves and speaks differently than they normally would and hears
voices or talks to themselves. These are now known to be symptoms of
Schizophrenia. Now in most sci-fi, when a character has voices in their head
they aren't exactly imaginary.
Let's look at the situation of Ezri Dax. In times of stress, she would often
engage in the behaviors of a previous host with little or no control. Emony had
been a gymnast, so Ezri would do handstands. Tobin had love of card tricks.
Jadzia had been married to Worf. Near the end of Deep Space Nine, Worf got
lost in the Badlands. Ezri stole a runabout and went to rescue him even though
she wasn't sure if it was because it is what she wanted to do or if it was what
Jadzia would have done. Later, after she rescued Worf they had an argument,
which this being Hollywood, led to sex. At least some fans have asked the
question, since Worf was aware that Ezri was prone to engaging in acts not
entirely her own accord when stressed and could possibly be acting on some psychic
remnant of Jadzia- is he a rapist? Starship captains from Kirk on down have
said how much more enlightened the Federation is over 21st century Earth. Even
as far back as the 20th century taking physical advantage of the mentally ill or
incompetent has been a crime so I think in the legal and ethical sense the
answer is fairly clear. Some would argue that this might not be so according to
Klingon culture. Worf was raised amongst humans and the Federation from the age
of about eight years old. Furthermore, he accepted that authority by joining
Starfleet. Of course, this being Hollywood it took sleeping with Worf for
Ezri to finally sort out which voices in her head were hers and which were the
previous hosts. Which is why five episodes later she was sleeping with
Bashir. Still just because no charges were filed doesn't excuse Worf's
actions.
Possession can also be taken as metaphor for one being's need to use means
ranging from propaganda, seduction, drugs or brute force to control and
manipulate another person. Demons and angels are metaphors as well. The demons
are our darkest and most twisted desires. The angels are our better selves, the
heroes we wish to be. The hero is supposed to be compassionate. Force of
will denies compassion. Which begs the question: Is Deadman any more moral
than Maxwell Lord?
Most readers would say: Of course he is. I've read Deadman stories before
and he's never taken over somebody without good reason. That's just it. We
only get the story from the perspective of Boston Brand. We never get the story
from the host's point of view. The host is usually some character we've never
seen before so who cares? Their mind is blank the whole time anyway. The
host has no say and we're supposed to be okay with that because they are a
non-entity. In stories with Maxwell Lord using his mind control abilities, it is
always from the point of view of the Justice League or Superman or some other
interested party. Can there be any doubt that if a story were to be written
from Max Lord's point of view that he would present the reader with an argument
as to why brainwashing and murdering people were things that absolutely had to
be done? That he had no other choice? Max Lord lives by a code with only
three rules. 1) Intra Arma Enim Silent Legges. ( 'In times of war the law falls
silent'.) 2) Oceania is at war with Eurasia. 3) We've always been at war with
Eurasia.
Another thing we must consider is what exactly is the source of Deadman's
Powers? Originally it was the goddess Ramna Kushna, a deity who serves to
balance karma. It is easy to confuse balance with good. The Balance is just
another name for the status quo. If you look around at the world, it is easy
enough to see that the status quo is by no means perfect. It is preferable to
absolute chaos and should be defended from those things which would plunge us
back into it. However- a hero must do more than keep things the way they are.
As Jor'el said:'They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only
lack the light to show the way.' On this standard, Deadman sadly falls short
of this. I think however, in some way or another, we all do.
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