Sympathy for the Devil
 

I was reading eposode 750 again. The End of Everything.
Oy. Here's the link:
http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=060930

It just bother's me every time I see that panel with BM shaking his fist as the world (even the little moon) is blown to smithereens. I mean, why is the poor guy so angry?He's gotta be the most tortured soul in the world. Even as the entire world is wrought to ashes, he is still fumingly furious.

I don't know. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think Brian has done a fine, yet subtle, job of building quite a bit of character into his seemingly simplistic characters.

BM always seems like the dumbest, most shallow character, you know. He's got mad black magic and he recklessly kills everything. His lack of emotion makes me unsympathetic to his cause and genuinely uninterested in everything he does, which is fine because all his schemes fail (Obviously, since everybody's still alive.)
The other peculiar thing I notice, however, is that EVERYBODY else seems to be in love with BM. They detect something in his simple, stupid character that means something to them. It's like the majority of 8-bit readers don't associate much with the Thief's quest for money and national pride, RM's quest for knowledge and success, or even Fighter's mission to try and do the right thing. Everybody here seems to believe that the path of the intelligent is a path of wanton hatred that ends nowhere and in utter unfulfillment.

I'm trying to figure it out.

Do you realize that every time he casts his favorite spell, a little bit of the limited amount of the Love that exists in the world is sapped and eradicated. At the same time, he feels some kind of love for WM. That's a paradox. That's the sensation of your soul being torn in half because it is comprised of two opposite factors that cannot create itself.
My theory is: Even if he destroys the world and everything in it, he may not ever be able to inflict enough pain to equal what he already suffers.

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Anyway, this thread needs a purpose.

How about we call it a Discussion of the Character of Black Mage.

Tell me if my theory is something like what you have come up with as a response to the behavior of BM. Or, if you feel he is something completely different, explain how you view his character with reference to his struggles.

I want to try and understand why and how we seem to relate to this character, or, at very least, why we like and care about him enough to put him in our avatars and maintain him as the simplest and most stable unaltered character (personality-wise) throughout the entire comic.

Interesting...( food for thought or whatever in the depths you call it).

The reason people like BM is because in points of the comic they can relate to wanting to destroy the world or at least some people around them.

I mean: Person who feels hate, Person who sees life as a game, Person who robs from everyone they see or Person who has a fixation about something. Which do you relate to more?

In good society, mass murder, stabbing, and general loathing of the universe are signs of someone we are not meant to like. If, in fact, someone like Black Mage existed, we'd all think that it's horrible, and what's the world coming to these days. But there's something in the back of our head--not so much repressed, I'd say, because I hate Freud--but some tiny part of our nature that takes delight in the behaviors we do not allow ourselves to take part in. It's why murders and massacres make front pages. We are interested in that which we cannot have.

Also, there is the explicit knowledge that BM is not real. It's a comic strip. Good clean fun. Therefore, it's okay to get a little excited over these evil things.

In short, Black Mage is a forbidden fruit. Sorta.

My insane theory is this:

Whenever I get stressed by something or someone to the point where I respond violently. I get a small sense of relief when releasing that stress through that violent action. Don't you deny it, we all get that feeling. Whenever BM assaulted someone, immediately afterwards he seems to be relieved.

Therefore, it could be possible that BM is psychologically addicted to that fleeting sense of relief thats results from his violent actions. Worse yet, the abuse from his teammates, WM, Sarda, and almost everything else in this universe is adding fuel to this very emotional fire.

Bm has partially admitted to murdering his family. This leads me to believe that BM suffered incredible abuse in his early childhood. When he began to fight back, the feeling of relief would follow. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he could feel greater relief if he eliminated the source of his abuse. His family (:rmage: [I]DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!![I]).

After murdering all of his family members, he was relieved. After that, BM's subconscious came to realize that brutal violence brings him great relief. He began to solve all aggravations in the same manner. Bullies at the Black Magic Academy? STAB! Problem teachers? BEHEADED! Bad TV shows? BOLT 2! The more violent the action, the greater the relief was for him.

But then came the biggest source of stress in the cosmos, Fighter (:rmage: Another DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!). No matter what BM did to kill fighter, it never worked. causing greater and greater rage to swell. He couldn't get any relief.

It was then he knew what he had to do...


That is why Black Mage is evil. And the same reason we love him so. He does what we can't. Solve problems in the most simplest manner possible. With violence.:cool:

I think these might be some reasons:

-His dialogue-based jokes, to me, feel a little bit more modern, but he also has physical comedy in his violence and how he is tortured.

-He's the most on-screen character, and he's not annoying, subtle, insignificant, interchangable, or a party pooper.

-There just seems to be an attraction to characters who don't follow the rules. You could almost say it's because he's a fun "party guy." He can do stuff without making you say "why would he do that?!"

-Like others have said, he's more relatable. (Is that a word?) His sins are the kind you usually keep inside of you. If you're lazy, you show it. If you're greedy you show it. If you're prideful, you probably show it. But BM's wanting to make everyone's head explode anger is something you don't usually let out. And if you are violent, it could be related to sloth/greed/pride, so more criminals can relate to him!

I wouldn't call BM dumb. Rather, I'd say he lacks competence.

In a way, BM better speaks for the viewers. By this, I mean, like the readers, BM notices what is wrong with a situation and points it out. He knows Thief is trying to pull a fast one on him, he knows RM's plans won't work. Alas, his party drags him into danger and suffering despite this.

Plus, he does have a lot of nice jokes surrounding him. ^_^

BM is competent in all things except eliminating his group and hooking up with WM, other than that he accomplishes his goals on a daily basis.


BM does what we all wish we could, simple as that.

Maybe identification is going too deep into it. He has incredible magic power, and that's cool. Power is arousing. I think it could really be that simple.

Black Mage seems very adolescent to me. Like those XBox kids who completely hate you over the internet. I think that's why he has so many fans. When I was 13, I know I hated everything.

I think Black Mage just wants a little love. But he sucks, so nobody loves him. In a way, White Mage is the perfect foil to his character. Black Mage can never have her, but he really really wants her anyway. He can't deal with it so he gets angry and blows shit up. The worst part is that no one will accept him because he's a disgusting person and he has no control over that (more self esteem issues).