Legion is a 1983 novel by William Peter Blatty, the sequel to The Exorcist, and the basis for The Exorcist III, also written and directed by Blatty.
Tropes featured:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Despite all he's done and his utter lack of remorse, the death of the Gemini and his primary host body — that of Father Karras — come off as tragic, especially when his brother speaks just before he dies.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Once all the loose ends from Reagan's exorcism are tied, the Gemini's father dies, and the Gemini allows himself to Face Death with Dignity without claiming anymore victims.
- Body Surf: The Gemini Killer primarily resides in Father Karras' body, but whenever he wants to kill someone, he'll possess another patient.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Anyone who has "K" as an initial can expect to become a victim of the Gemini, due to his father being named Karl and his brother's negligent nurse having it in her surname. Detective Kindermann is exempt from this, though, as the Gemini doesn't believe he has a K in his name.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: James Venamun's murderous spree is fueled by the death of his mentally handicapped brother, who he looked after throughout his childhood.
- Freudian Excuse: The Gemini's life is basically one big Trauma Conga Line. His father was an abusive, alcoholic evangelical pastor who beat him and his brother regularly, which led to said brother being institutionalized and the young Venamun would go out to visit him regularly until a nurse left him in the dark, inducing a heart attack.
- Satan Is Good: Strangely enough for a book written by the Catholic Blatty, an In-Universe book called Satan argues that Satan, due to being an angel, still loves humanity. Kindermann develops a theory that the fall of Lucifer created the Big Bang, and that evolution is him piecing himself back into an angel, thus, we are all pieces of him.
- Serial Killer: The Gemini, of course, being an expy of the Real Life Zodiac Killer.
What's the work?
One that's already been through here and had a candidate approved for each: the Knights of the Old Republic games. The first follows an amnesiac Jedi who is none other than the former Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Revan, who was usurped by his apprentice Darth Malak, and the sequel is set a decade after the events of the first, serving as a Deconstructor Fleet to many tropes present in the Star Wars universe, and following a Jedi exile who is taken under the wing of a mysterious, cynical old woman. Here, I'll be focusing particularly on the Restored Content Mod (RSCM) for the second game.
Who is HK-47? What has he done?
Analysis: HK-47 is a misanthropic, murderous droid constructed by Revan himself, and he is hilarious. He is fluent in many languages from across the galaxy, and is tasked with carrying out assassinations on Revan's behalf.
Is he magnificent?
Unnecessary Explanation: Of course he is. After all, he's programmed as such and is well-versed in many different languages from all across the galaxy. There are times where he comes off as almost Wicked Cultured. He also brags about pretending to be a piece of furniture so that his targets never see him coming.
Addendum: As said before, he is hilarious. See, for instance, his infamous definition of love:— "Definition: 'Love' is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope."
Addendum: The above quote, however, is not a case of Evil Cannot Comprehend Good. The rest of the quote is as follows:
- "Love is knowing your target, putting them in your targeting reticule, and together, achieving a singular purpose against statistically long odds."
Is he a bastard? Too much?
Mocking Answer: Did "misanthropic, murderous droid" not tip anyone off? I mean, you can't possibly be a misanthropic, murderous droid and a bastard at the same time, can you?
Unnecessary Honesty: Yes, he is a bastard, and doesn't pretend to be anything less. He knows that he's a murderer and is proud of it, viewing murder as "art" and torturing a few HK-50 units to acquire the location of their factory while the crew of the Ebon Hawk looks on. He may very well be the most blatantly evil of the party members, even more so than Kreia.
Rebuttal: But he also objects to the senseless wanton slaughter that his "new and improved" counterparts are so fond of, and also saved Bao-Dur's remote — and the Exile — from G0-T0, even teaming up with a few of the HK-50 units he so despised to do so.
What's the competition?
Analysis: He has Revan, Canderous Ordo/Mandalore, and Kreia to all compete against. While his ambitions are not quite as grand as any of theirs, he is still utterly determined in his goals and achieves them through intelligence and cunning... as well as violence.
Verdict?
Indecisive Conclusion: You decide.
