The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Initially it began as a straightforward Victorian Justice League, extracting the literary precursors of popular superhero characters, but Moore gradually realized he had created something ambitious, a history of the world as reflected in the literature. As such the books deconstruct the relationship of literature, storytelling and culture to the given society it portrays, where several characters of fiction tend to be Expy and Captain Ersatz of real historical figures.- Moore typically foregrounds the subtext of a given story, emphasizing aspects that have been forgotten or often adapted out, which is why the characters that he steals from famous works of literature are not consistent from how they are popularly known. In a lot of cases this takes the form of the character in the comic being more engulfed by their own worst habits. Most of which are taken up to high levels for the sake of deconstruction. This is particularly emphasized in the Victorian League:
- Mina Harker is the heroine of Dracula, a work where she is the Damsel in Distress, here she is a divorced ex-Music Teacher, a depiction in contrast to the loving marriage we see in the narrative of the book but follows on the more feminist interpretations of the book, as seen in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation. It also heavily subverts Angst? What Angst? with her, while she acts cool and collected, she is secretly scarred (mentally as well as physically) and traumatized by what happened to her.
- Likewise, Allan Quatermain, rather than the stereotypical Great White Hunter, is initially The Load of the League because of his crippling opium addiction, rather than the sure hero of popular imagination and he constantly relapses into his old behavior.
- Perhaps the biggest stretch is Captain Nemo or Prince Dakkar of Bundelkhand working with The British Empire, when in Jules Verne's stories he is a N.G.O. Superpower anti-colonialist rebel. Though the idea of an old imperialist and a colonialist rebel on the same team is a nice touch.
- Mr. Hyde is essentially The Hulk, which Moore notes is the literary origin of the Marvel character. This is partially justified since it is noted that Hyde did grow through Stevenson's original story and he could conceivably have achieved Hulk proportions if he and Dr Jekyll lived long enough. Even Hyde being able to see and smell Griffin could be justified, because Dr Jekyll's account in Stevenson's book speaks of new sensations and how the world seemed different when he changed into Hyde. That Mina finds Mr Hyde terrifying but far from the worst she has seen is also justified. Stevenson points out that Hyde is natural, though representing the very worst in nature. Bram Stoker points out that his Dracula is utterly unnatural. There is, though, no hint in the Stevenson's book that Hyde was particularly xenophobic, like Moore's version. Also, while Dr Jekyll says the sins which embarrassed him terribly were no worse than what some men might have boasted about, it was probably a little bit more than not returning a borrowed book and occasionally masturbating over homosexual fantasies, as Moore's Hyde claims.
- Griffin has gotten so used to the freedom Invisibility allows that he now considers himself completely immune to consequences. He kills a constable to wear his coat, not caring that it makes him very noticeable, and when Hyde reveals that he's always been able to see Griffin, Griffin can only stand there in shock and protest that it "isn't fair".
- In Volume II, Internal Deconstruction sets in. The various members' vices, flaws, and prejudices lead to the team falling apart, with Griffin's treachery, Hyde getting himself killed attacking the Martians, and Nemo abandoning the remaining members when England's actions once again prove to be too much for him to tolerate.
- The hybrids created by Doctor Moreau seen in Volume II deconstruct Half Human Hybrids by showing what they would really be like: Body Horror, Uncanny Valley, Bestiality Is Depraved, Carnivore Confusion, and Nightmare Fuel all ensue.
- A running theme in the first two books is that "The British Empire has always had difficulty separating its monsters from its heroes." Blurring the lines between hero and villain, with M revealed to be James Moriarty, and his, and Sherlock Holmes' death, used to extend his cover. Later Ms include morally ambiguous characters like Mycroft Holmes and subsequently, Harry Lime of The Third Man.
- The concepts of Expy and Suspiciously Similar Substitute are deconstructed with the Warralson League, a group of individuals similar to the members of the Murray League brought together by MI6 to replicate them. Being different people, they fail to relate and work together in the same way that the Victorian League did, which ends up causing them to horribly botch their first and only mission before disbanding.
- As told in The Black Dossier, totalitarian governments such as the one in Nineteen Eighty-Four are deconstructed. Ingsoc's methods of brutality and limited freedoms turn out to be self-destructive, and it ends up falling to pieces after only about a couple decades. It also deconstructs the mythology these totalitarian governments build around themselves - for instance, the dreaded Room 101 is just another dingy interrogation room.
- Galley-wag was originally the Golliwog, an arguably racist caricature, so grotesque and stylized that it really only barely resembled an actual human at all. Moore ran with this and put the character in a realistic context, making him a completely inhuman alien being made out of dark matter.
- Orlando eventually deconstructs Living Forever Is Awesome. He/she embraces Immortality and accepts everything about it... including the occasional bouts of Ax-Crazy bloodlust that result from the apathy living forever brings. To enjoy immortality, Orlando has to overlook all the violence he/she causes because of it.
- The idea of long running stories with open endings for sequels to make a franchise get torn a new one in ''2009''. The heroes realise how awful fighting forever can be and are physically and mentally exhausted of fighting and just want their stories to end.
Allan Quatermain: I could have just been a traveller. You could have taught music. But no. We always have to be the heroes, don’t we?- "The Tempest #2" returns to the typical theme of blurring the lines between heroes and monsters. Jack Nemo on meeting the surviving League Lampshades his kitsch supervillain trappings which he uses as propaganda to scare the world from his more noble plans, while the true villain is "Jimmy" the revived James Bond. Jack Nemo outwardly resembles the typical Bond villain, i.e. ethnic cultured mad scientist with his own island base, but it's James Bond who is the man who commands and uses nuclear bombs to drop around the world on his enemies, complete with his own crew of henchmen who torture and murder people to cover their tracks, as well as achieving immortality and wanting to Take Over the World. James Bond has in effect become the rare case of a Bond Villain who actually wins.
