[UA] Dark Stalker (was The Villain Archetype)

[Eric Brennan]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chad Underkoffler" <chadu at yahoo.com>

> Well, I'm not Ken or James, but I'd say that the Dark Stalker is
> not an actual archetype-- it's the current, negative spin on the
> Vigilante.
>
> The Vigilante follows only his own code, one that may point more
> towards entropy than order-- which is why they clash with
> Masterless Men. Unlike the Executioner, the Vigilante takes
> matters into his own hands. The Vigilante has granted himself
> the right/duty to decide what is just, what must be done, and to
> do it. The Vigilante fills a mental niche between Masterless
> Man, Pilgrim, Hunter, Executioner, and Judge.
>
    James Ellroy said (and I agree) that our fascination with the Dark
Stalker (he referred to serial killers, but...) is that they have power.
They can do whatever they want, they don't have to respect societal mores,
they don't care what anyone thinks, and the ability to take a life is the
ultimate "power" over other people.
    So yeah, the Vigilante fits.  There's the whole blowing off society/the
courts element; there's also that hold over others by taking the power of
deciding whether or not they deserve to die.

    My lingering problem is that Vigilante (in my mind) already has a
negative aspect without turning to the Dark Stalker, embodied in the whole
unjust reality of the Vigilante's power.  I mean, the Klan were
Vigilantes--so were the guys in "Hang 'Em High" and  "The Ox-Bow Incident."
Of course, recent, real life Vigilantes--I'm thinking here of Bernie Goetz,
mainly--definitely avoided a lot of that negative spin.  I mean, they had
him on SNL!

--Eric


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