January 27, 2008
Our two villians this week certainly share at least one thing in common - male pattern baldness. Luther, despite his more modern persona as an egotistical, clever though second-rate thug , was in fact orginally scripted as a business mastermind, owning much of Metropolis, but with no moral compass, and a perchant for murder. It’s a habit that started early, beginnning with the planned deaths of both parents to ensure be was the beneficiary of their millions. However, despite the richness of his persona and psychology, Luther’s Blogsearch result returns just 5,672 results.
Based on the EG Index, Luther scores a 1.56 - supported by highs in charisma, intelligence, lack of reformability and to a lesser extent, leadership. His score, however, is undermined by a lack of super natural powers (SNP), (and we all know how this put him at a disadvantage when General Zorg and his comrades blasted onto planet Earth), as well as his general level of susceptibilty (he is only human after all).
His competitor is Davros, a creation of immense intelligence, ambition, hatred and meglomania. What more could you want in a guest? Following a 1000-year war which took an enormous physical toll on the guy, the scientist persisted in developing a technology fondly known to us as the Daleks - a mechnical master race with a limited vocabulary (matched only by their inability to traverse stairs. Interestingly, though, escalators are not all together out of the question!)
On the Google Blogsearch, Davros scores a respectable 70,253 results, and on the EG Index scores an impressive 1.70. Near perfect in many respects, the mastermind is hampered in any final showdown by his susceptibility - the guy’s locked into a mobile iron lung - a lack of charisma (way too serious) and simply little to speak of in terms of SNP. Once again, its the guy in the breathing apparatus which takes the cake.
In our second round, the correlation between an individual’s EG score, and their level of popularity, remains very strong.
Next week: Regan McNeil (aka the demon Pazuzu in The Exorcist) and Michael Myers (of Halloween fame). What a fascinating encounter that will be.
January 16, 2008
Nothing creates fame, or infamy, more effectively than a dastardly deed. Our attraction to the ‘dark side’ or more specifically, its agents of evil, might be put down to a combination of attributes like wit, self-assuredness, ambition and intelligence. So what if they exhibit sociopathic or sadistic megalomaniac tendencies, it’s the e-factor – how entertaining they are as personalities - which scores some time-out in front of the TV, PC or cinema screen.
So is there a correlation between fame and the power of pure evil? Good question. This is where the Evil Genius Index comes in. All profiles in the index must meet two criteria – they must be fictional and not generic (like vampires), but actual personalities living off their Hollywood (or Bollywood) residuals.
The inaugural title fight is a lop-sided affair. In the blue corner, weighing in at just 14kg is Feathers McGraw (aka the evil penguin), star of the Wallace & Gromit production, the Wrong Trousers. In the red corner, weighing in at more than 120kg (excluding life support system) is Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith. Vader has starred in four of the Star Wars films, though arguably his last outing was more of a cameo (boo Mr Lucas).
Feathers scores 1.42 on the index, which isn’t convincing. The penguin is let down by low charisma, no super-natural powers (excluding the efforts of a penguin to carry and use a pistol) and would not be seen as particularly intimidating if a random person came across the little guy in a dark alley way. On the other hand, this flightless bird is smart, utilises technology with ease and has little chance of being reformed.
Vader scores 1.77 on the index, which makes the effort to build an EG Index all worthwhile. Leadership, technology, intelligence and rage are there in bucket loads. However, some disappointing aspects to his character include a general lack of charisma (never cracks a joke, except maybe when he makes a snap inspection of the second Death Star and suggests the Emperor is “not as forgiving I am”), and a susceptibility to being brought back from the dark side by playing on his sentimentality.
Now, where do these two sit in terms of fame and fortune? Using Google’s Blogsearch as the barometer, Feathers scores 357 ‘hits’, versus more than 1.7 million for Vader. In a sample of two, some correlation does exist between fame and evil, but on these results, you would have to say Feathers doesn’t have the fame he deserves. Arguably the whole Wallice & Gromit franchise could learn a few things from Lucas – give the penguin more airtime (and a light sabre).
Next up: Lex Luther (Superman franchise) and Davros (creator of the Daleks). Stay tuned.
