Line #140 WMG/Gorillaz


1	[[WMG: Murdoc has demon blood.]]
2	Has already been suggested by at least one fanfic (see [[FanficRecs/{{Gorillaz}} the fic recs]]). We don't know whether it's from his mother's or father's side but, since we know very little about his mother, this could go some way towards explaining where he came from.
3
4	Also, normal people, even within the cartoon {{canon}}, don't have green skin.
5	* Murdoc has repeatedly said that the green skin was from tanning.
6	* And Murdoc is infamously an UnreliableNarrator.
7	* Murdoc may not necessarily ''know'' if he has demon blood. He probably has enough contacts in both the living world and the underworld to find out about his parentage, but he may simply not care enough to bother. If he does know, then he's likely not telling.
8	* He's been practically living on rum for several months and is still alive. ("[[Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures You mean it's NOT full of vitamins and nutrients?]]") Okay, presumably he's been eating food as well, but [[ImmuneToDrugs most people would be dead of alcohol poisoning by now]].
9
10
11	[[WMG: 2D is an alien.]]
12	Think about it... he's not stupid, he's just not used to earth ways.
13
14	The blue hair explains a bit.
15
16	The falling out of a tree story is a cover story.
17
18	His eyes could have been for disguise, which explains why he can function perfectly well without them. He still has eyeballs, but they both have eight-ball fractures (effectively a bruise on the eyeball). Logically, he probably should be blind; but since he's an alien, it's compensated for.
19
20	[[WMG: 2D isn't as dumb as he puts on]]
21	He has extensive knowledge of music and, if pressed, probably knows quite a bit about headache pills and machinery. I'd like to put forth the theory that 2D is ObfuscatingStupidity and doing a very good job of it.
22	* It's possible. He'd said quite philosophical, deep stuff on several occasions.
23	--> '''2D on the ''Demon Days'' track''': "You remember when you were a little kid and you would look at the clouds in the sky as the sunlight bounced off them. And something that simple would make you feel a part of everything and all alone at the same time. And that feeling's got something you can never put into words so you spend your whole life chasing it; making Carols, taking pictures, painting... whatever, in the hope that other people will understand that sense or... feeling. As creative entities we look for signs of life outside ourselves, for a connection to... alleviate the sense of solitude. That's why we all do what we do, whether we know of it ourselves or not."
24	** He's also had a couple of moments of wit. Murdoc once described himself as being "a genie unleashed" when working on the first album, and 2D's response was "There's a difference between being a genie and just being trapped in a bottle."
25	** It should also be noted that 2D has a serious painkiller addiction, so it's likely that his intelligence is stumped because he's constantly high on painkillers, making him an EruditeStoner of sorts.
26	* During the iTunes sessions, 2D goes into a complete DeadpanSnarker mode.
27
28
29	[[WMG: Russel is either gay or asexual.]]
30	We hear plenty about 2D and Murdoc's various flings, not to mention the illegitimate children that have come from them, but not his, even when he stuck around the increasingly hedonistic LA party house well after the rest of the group left. He seems completely apathetic about his surroundings in the Feel Good Inc. video. And he calls Del his "soulmate" (which admittedly was literally true).
31	* Or maybe he's straight but having other people hanging around in his head while he's having sex just creeps him out enough that he avoids it.
32	* Or maybe he's just seen what Murdoc and 2D get up to and decided it's far more trouble than it's worth.
33	* Murdoc might have given another hint towards it when he once mentioned that at first he thought Russel was making a euphemism when told everyone he lived in ''Ike Turner'''s basement for awhile. Or Murdoc might just have been trying to be a dick. It's hard to tell.
34
35	[[WMG: The music video for the song DARE is Murdoc's wet dream.]]
36	The majority of the video involves Noodle dancing around and then, just before the end, Murdoc waking up in bed with another man. This could be symbolic of repressed desires -- in this case, pedophilia and homosexuality. Then there's the fact that the lyrics could be interpreted as lyrics about masturbation. Finally, at the end of the video, Murdoc wakes up sweaty and frightened, or confused at what's just happened.
37	* This is most likely not accurate, as Murdoc mentioned being molested at age 9 in ‘’Rise of The Ogre’’
38
39	[[WMG: Noodle didn't escape Hell, she was set free to do the devil's dirty work for him.]]
40	Russel's band profile was just recently updated with a letter containing the phrase that [[spoiler:returns Noodle's memories to her after she, or someone else, used the codewords to erase them.]] It also mentioned that he's still been [[spoiler:chased by demons]] all this time, so he could have heard something about what happened to her in Hell from them, to know if it's needed.
41
42	If [[spoiler:her memory ''was'' wiped, either of her own will or because the devil knew the code]], Satan gone on to muck around with her brain however he wants to, and sent her on her way. What would his aim be? Well, Murdoc ''has'' freely admitted on many occasions that he's managed to duck out of paying up on his end of his DealWithTheDevil, and Noodle's just about the only person that he'd head straight for with his guard dropped when he heard she was around, ''so''...
43
44	[[WMG: Murdoc's red eye back in Phases 1 and 2 had something to do with his DealWithTheDevil.]]
45	Some fans have brought up the idea that the red eye was a symbol of the contract with the devil. The fact that it now appears to be gone may have worrying implications.
46
47	Other theories about the eye include:
48	* Injury, possibly at the hands of his father.
49	* Injection of drugs directly into the eye (crystal meth is a possibility).
50	* It was a contact lens, either because he actually needed vision correction (some people get prescriptions for red lenses in glasses, it could happen) or because he liked the look and/or wanted to spread bizarre rumours about it for kicks. Or, alternatively, ''both'' his eyes are naturally red, the black one was a contact lens, and now he's wearing contacts in both eyes.
51
52	[[WMG: Noodle suffered head injuries while she was missing.]]
53	Her hair has faded from purple to blue, according to the "On Melancholy Hill" video. 2D's hair was apparently turned blue when he suffered a head injury in childhood, so possibly Noodle now has the same condition.
54	* Or she's just running out of hair dye.
55	** Or using ''more'' hair dye, since her hair started out being black when she was ten.
56
57	[[WMG: Real!Noodle's appearance in ''On Melancholy Hill'' is a tribute to 2D.]]
58	She has ''blue hair'' instead of purple or black as she has before, a l Iong TV similar to the T-shirts he wears, and a similar mask in the same video. It might have been her way of remembering the band if her memory was really [[spoiler:wiped clean]].
59
60
61	[[WMG: The psychic link Murdoc suspected exists between Noodle and the Cyborg works both ways.]]
62	Murdoc thought that the Cyborg started talking on her own because "maybe there’s some kind of organic, 'psychic' link between the two." At the same time, Real Noodle seems a lot more angry and quick to use violence than she used to be (though admittedly it's understandable in the situation, and who knows how often pirates have gone after her since "El Mañana" to wear down her patience). So, the connection could be effecting both of them; the Cyborg's developing a few more human traits while Noodle's being hit by Robo!Noodle's lack of empathy and pirate-killing bodyguard programming.
63
64	[[WMG: Sun Moon Stars has some connection to the Strange Folk from Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head]]
65	The designs for both are strikingly similar. Beyond that SMS seems to be a general corrupting force fueled by greed like the Strange Folk from "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head".
66
67	[[WMG: The DNA Murdoc found at the crash site? It wasn't Noodle's -- it was Jimmy's.]]
68	It makes sense if you think about it -- yes, Cyborg!Noodle ''looks'' like Real!Noodle, but her ''personality''? Let's see here -- violent, gun-happy, and a tendency to be as creepy as possible? Yep, sounds a lot like Jimmy to me. Both Noodle and Jimmy were in the lighthouse at one point; if Murdoc got it from in there, there's a pretty equal probability that it was Jimmy's rather than Noodle's.
69	* You know, actually, there's a possibility he's gotten a sample that contained both the DNA of Noodle and Jimmy. That would pretty much clear everything up.
70	** Um, the only way a DNA sample could contain both of their DNA would be if... something interesting went on in the lighthouse between the two. otherwise, he could find a sample with both of their DNA in it but the clone would only be of one of them.
71	* Or maybe even [[ComicBook/TankGirl Tank Girl's]].
72
73
74	[[WMG: The last word in the codephrase that erases Noodle's memory is "Noodle".]]
75	Her old memories are erased while the phrase is spoken and new ones start being made as it ends, and her very first new memory ends up being the last word in the phrase. Which is why it was the only English word she knew when she first arrived at Kong, and why it would stick out in her mind when she was deciding how to greet the new people around her.
76	* Makes sense, if you think about it. Both codephrases would have something to do with food (ocean bacon restores her memory) and her creator was working as a chef when she found him, wasn't he?
77
78	[[WMG:Noodle's hairdo is inspired by 2D and Murdoc's]]
79	When I first saw phase 2 Noodle this immediately struck me -- when she grew her hair out it turned out to look like a halfway point between Murdoc and 2D's, with jagged spikes and a thick fringe. Influence from two important figures in her life? Coincidence? Deliberate artistic choice? Either way!
80
81
82	[[WMG:Murdoc is soulless -- or, at least partly.]]
83	Assuming that Murdoc really ''did'' go into Hell to look for Noodle, Beelzebub could have seen a perfect opportunity to collect on Murdoc's promise of his soul. However, he only managed to take a portion of Murdoc's soul before he escaped. A lot of the fanbase seems to agree that Murdoc has become a lot more heartless and unhinged between Phases 2 and 3, and losing part of his soul may explain some of this. This may also explain why the Boogieman is after him: to collect the portion of Murdoc's soul that's left.
84
85	[[WMG:Murdoc's biological mother was very, very underage.]]
86	If he's telling the truth about hitting puberty at the age of eight, it might run in the family.
87
88	[[WMG:2D is a masochist.]]
89	* Or he could just be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_abuse psychologically]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_abuse battered.]]
90
91	In addition to this theory...
92
93	[[WMG:Murdoc is a sadist]]
94	All but outright stated, considering his [[ComedicSociopathy sense of humor.]]
95
96
97	[[WMG: Had Noodle remained missing, Murdoc would have attempted to integrate Vocaloid technology into Cyborg Noodle's programming.]]
98	Maybe he would have gotten word of Music/{{Vocaloid}}'s success somehow, and attempt to imitate/cash in on such a phenomenon. Gorillaz is a virtual band after all, something Mudz seems to be at least partially aware of. However, the plan would backfire because:
99
100	1) The whole thing would create a widespread {{Broken Base}}. Some would criticize, contending that it strays too far from the philosophy of "Reject False Icons." Others would contend that it takes just as much creativity to program a Voca-Cyborg to sing a well written song as it does to sing one naturally.
101
102	2) Copyright issues.
103
104	3) Unseen and unstoppable forces -- i.e. Damon and Jamie -- would have prevented the plan from coming into fruition, had it crossed their minds at all, for the previous reasons.
105
106	[[WMG: The Band's name was inspired by Music/TheMonkees]]
107	Two bands, separated in time but both spread "artificially" -- and they're both named after misspelled simians.
108
109	[[WMG: Murdoc's deal with the Boogieman was primarily for the creation of Cyborg Noodle.]]
110	Come on, it's ''Murdoc'', does it seem likely he could make something that complex (even with the issues she has)? It seems different from his initial deal, he appears to be the same age as he is now when we see it happen if nothing else. If they decide to make Murdoc's trips to hell in search of Noodle canon (that really happened and wasn't just him making up stories) he could have met up with the Boogieman then, and the deal was made so he'd bugger off. Unfortunately for the Boogieman she was created to be a little ''too'' loyal to Murdoc, and turned on him when he came to collect whatever his end of the bargain was.
111
112	[[WMG: 2D will return from the whale as a hardened badass.]]
113	And within five minutes, Murdoc will [[BreakTheCutie break him back down]] to his usual submissive self.
114	* Jossed. He's shown to be alive and living with the others in an apartment from the latest video, "[=DoYaThing=]". He's also as submissive as ever.
115
116
117	[[WMG: The Phase 3 b-sides will be called [[PunnyName Sea-Sides]]]]
118	* Because {{Pun}}s
119	* Jossed, but that is the fan name being used.
120
121	[[WMG: Murdoc has secretly slept with men.]]
122	It's a bit of a RunningGag with there being dropped hints of Murdoc being gay, or bisexual. He's also a sexually active person with the ladies -- and even more so than 2-D. But that doesn't mean that he'd also completely hold back his desire for men. An infamous question once asked to Noodle was if she's "picked up boys with a nice pair of chopsticks." Her response was Murdoc claiming that he's "picked up boys using his dictaphone." There's also that dream he woke up from at the end of "DARE," where [[spoiler:he found himself happily sharing a bed with [[Music/HappyMondays Shaun Ryder.]] ]] So, as much as he'd deny his true sexuality, Murdoc has had to have slept with other men before, while no one else is looking. Not just make off-handed remarks about them while he's drunk/[[IncrediblyLamePun not thinking straight.]]
123
124
125	[[WMG: Had Phase 3 gone as planned, 2D and Murdoc would have been OutOfFocus during the second album.]]
126	Phase 3 had enough music recorded for three albums and thus was given an elaborate storyline to span across those albums before getting cut short. The second album's story would've focus mostly on Noodle and Russel, what happened to them during the time skip. and how their journey to Plastic Beach went, with 2D and Murdoc playing more background roles. The third album would then unite the band as they attempt to stop the apocalypse.
127
128	[[WMG: The Boogieman would've turned out to be an IneffectualSympatheticVillain.]]
129	After getting built up as the ultimate evil and the one thing that Murdoc was terrified of, it was supposed to be a twist that he was actually far less threatening than he seemed. WordOfGod describes him as ThePeteBest of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with the terrible title of "Flatulence", and the [="DoYaThing"=] video shows him casually rooming with the Gorillaz. Most likely his failure to take Murdoc's soul would result in him getting kicked out of the group and result in the other horsemen and the Apocalypse in general serving as the true antagonist of Phase 3, with the Boogieman rooming with the Gorillaz now that he's out of work.
130
131	[[WMG: Feel Good Inc. is about 2D having a mental breakdown.]]
132	* Not likely, given that Noodle wrote everything on Demon Days. They do however mention that Feel Good Inc. is about the emptiness and self-destruction caused by living the life of a celebrity, which applies much more to 2D and Murdoc than it does to her.
133
134	[[WMG: The Fall was made by 2D while on Plastic Beach.]]
135	2D would probably want to make his own music without Murdoc's intervention, so he did so in secret. This would also explain why many of the songs on The Fall are either sad or vaguely unsettling (Amarillo, Revolving Doors, The Speak It Mountains); They're reflections of 2D's mental state, which evidently has been getting worse since he was kidnapped by Murdoc. When Murdoc discovers the music 2D has been making, he forcibly releases it as a new Gorillaz album.
136	* Jossed, since both 2D and Murdoc say that he composed the album while they were on tour in Phase 3 during the radio show plugging the album.
137
138	[[WMG: Phase 4 will have the band become revolutionaries.]]
139	Several pieces of artwork revealed on Jamie Hewlett's Instagram account have a military theme, with the band wielding guns and Murdoc and Noodle wearing fighter pilots jackets. In one of the most recently released pictures, Russel is wearing a Black Panther uniform, which suggests more of a revolutionary military than a more formal organized one. Both Russel and Noodle have emblems on their outfits that say "G-Foot" on them. Based on this, it can be inferred that the storyline of the phase will consist of the group forming a terrorist cell known as "G-Foot" in some third world country.
140	** Jossed. Phase 4 doesn't have a set narrative, and is mostly just the band having various one-off adventures.
141
142	[[WMG: Noodle wasn't trapped in a literal Hell.]]
143	Murdoc meant she was trapped in a more metaphorical Hell. That explains how she was on a normal Earth ship later. Or Murdoc meant Hell California/Michigan.
144
145	[[WMG: As of Phase 4, the [=DoYaThing=] video falls into CanonDiscontinuity.]]
146	More of an observation than a guess, but the lore in the new pre-Phase 4 "Books" suggest that the video (and perhaps the planned ending for Rhinestone Eyes) could not have happened. [[spoiler:Noodle was in Japan, Russel was in North Korea and there shrank down to normal size, and Murdoc was in jail. Not to mention that Cyborg Noodle may be alive.]]
147
148
149	[[WMG: The ghosts in Saturnz Barz link to the band member's issues and concerns.]]
150	It seems that each ghost is somehow related to something that troubles the respective member, or problems they don't know they have, albeit with a skewed priority.
151
152	Noodle's issue is either unrequited love or fear of commitment, taken the form of the eye snake. Unlike the armghost Russel deals with, eye snake wasn't openly hostile, just...clingy. It's possible that Noodle has a crush on someone but second guesses her chances or is outright afraid of being rejected since she's an ex-child soldier, something the target of her affections might find weird. Probably either some side character or 2-D, since Murdoc is Murdoc and Russell's played father figure for her for so long. Thus, her subdued feelings take the form of eye snake and try to get her to at least try it.
153
154	Russell is plagued by the armghost that blinks between black and negative. Maybe it's grief, keeping him up at night. It could be that Russell has a mindset which makes him blame himself for tragedies he had no way of preventing. The ghost is the only one openly angry and even yells at Russell - shorthand for Russell berating himself for not being able to save Del and the others. But it's not about the shootout, that one might for all intents and purposes have been out of his hands. It's about Del and the others getting taken away by the Grim Reaper. By the end, he'll angrily force himself to not think of it and go to sleep, represented by the armghost throwing him to bed before Murdoc's house ride.
155
156	2-D's issue is overeating. This is why skewed priorities were mentioned, as clearly the bigger issue is how he's so submissive he's a punching bag for Murdoc. Either that or the ghosts think he's got it pat down with his passive agressive revenge plot, inconveniencing Murdoc until he figures out 2-D's not his plaything anymore while trying to hold on to their friendship of sorts, and latches on to the other issue. 2-D's a big eater, as far as the video is concerned, as he goes straight for the fridge and is implied to plan on eating an entire cake. The pizza's showing him why eating too much is a bad idea, by showing just the worst case scenario of him literally choking to death on food.
157
158	Murdoc's issue is inflated ego. The ghosts plan a scare him straight plot with the usual "this insignificant speck is you" aesop.
159
160	Murdoc proceeds to swim through space and jetski through hyperspace on a dollhouse. BrokenAesop, anyone?
161
162	[[WMG: Murdoc has something to do with the shootout that killed Del.]]
163
164	In the video Clint Eastwood Del breaks free of Russell and summons zombie gorillas to attack the band. Yet only Murdoc is targeted. He's the only one who gets grabbed by a zombie gorilla hand, and both during and after the second verse the gorillas ignore both Russell (he's Del's host, of course they ignore him) and 2-D (who's just singing and probably viewed as another victim of Murdoc's by Del) and even Noodle (someone who Russell protects, and thus spared by Del) who's having the time of her life kicking gorilla face. Contrast Murdoc, who gets chased by a gang of zombie gorillas and taken down with a dance number for added insult to injury. We know Murdoc is about as close to a VillainProtagonist as a guy can get, and probably worse around that time. It's not much of a stretch to imagine Murdoc played a major role in or at least caused the shootout which killed Del and his friends. As for what he did? It might be he stole the gang's vehicle in time to run 2-D over with it and pinned the blame on Russell, whose friends were made an example of by the incensed gang.
165	** Murdoc stealing the shooters' car is highly unlikely, given that Russel and his friends were in New York whereas Murdoc and 2D were in England at the time. Del's targeting Murdoc during ''Clint Eastwood'' is more likely just the result of Del knowing that Russel hates Murdoc's guts.
166
167	[[WMG: Murdoc is a changeling]]
168	Let’s see, green skin and pointed ears? Check. Starts out looking normal but gets uglier as they age? Check. We have no idea who his mother is and he was found in a carriage? Check. Love of music? Check. In an area where changeling mythology is most common? Check.
169
170	[[WMG: 2D's eye color dictates how well he can see]]
171	Eight ball fractures tend to leave the victim either completely blind or with impaired vision. In phases 1 and 2, when the fractures were more recent, 2D was more spacey and almost always drawn with black eyes. During phase 3 where he became the OnlySaneMan and was more aware of what was happening, he was depicted with white eyes more often. During Humility, 2D has white eyes for the majority of the video and possess exceptional skating skills. When Russel trips him and his eyes turn back, 2D seemingly loses all of his skating skills. While his eye color may double as some sort of mood ring or be symbolic of his awareness, his eyes returning to black could also be the blood coming back in and obscuring his vision.
172
173	[[WMG: Russel was originally intended to channel the spirits of every artist that the band collaborated with.]]
174	His backstory states that the ghosts of ''all'' of his rapper friends inhabited his body after being killed, but we only ever see Del. Collaborating with hip-hop artists has been a staple part of the group's music from the beginning, so it seems like a strange detail to overlook. Presumably the initial idea for his gimmick was that he would channel the spirit of whoever the current collaborating rapper was during the music videos, but it was dropped at some point during development. Presumably this is because it would make the videos too repetitive if done over and over again.
175
176	[[WMG: Both Paula Cracker and the Boogieman are in league with [[WesternAnimation/VillainousCartoonNetwork Black Hat]].]]
177
178	[[WMG: Each member of the band represents a different Great Ape.]]
179	* Russel: Gorilla. The largest and [[StoutStrength huskiest]] member of the group. Despite his gruff demeanor and large size, he is actually a very goodhearted, caring and protective person.
180
181	* Noodle: Orangutan. The only member of the group to come from Asia, is cheerful but doesn't talk very much. (Orangutans in real-life are the only semi-social instead of fully social apes.)
182
183	* Murdoc: Chimpanzee. Extremely hedonistic, sadistic and violent, but is actually much smarter than he appears as well as having a MoralityChain. (Despite their cruel behavior, most chimpanzees do have loved ones.)
184

Context WMG / Gorillaz