Is Harry Potter the antichrist? According to Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 2009 he is...well, sorta. In an advance review by Laura Sneddon that was published in The Independent, Sneddon points out that the literary heroes in Century 2009 find themselves in modern times facing the ultimate in evil who seems to be a touch similar to a fella who looks and sounds and smells like the iconic boy wizard.
Sneddon writes:
At no point does Moore use the words "Harry" or "Potter," but a magical train hidden between platforms at King's Cross station, leading to a magical school where there are flashbacks of psychotic adolescent rage and whimpering children pleading for their life, all strewn with molten corpses, does rather suggest a link to the Boy Who Lived. A hidden scar and a mentor named Riddle, though possessed as he is by the real villain, completes the picture.
As you guys probably know Tom Riddle is the name of Potter bad dude Voldemort.
This news is mighty fitting since, like every 5 minutes, we seem to be discussing the ethics surrounding the use of Alan Moore's Watchmen characters in Before Watchmen as well Alan Moore's use of lots of other creators' characters, including, as it seems, a chap who is heavily-inspired by J.K. Rowling's bespectacled buddy.
What do you think, Potter fans? How do you feel about your beloved boy wizard being reinterpreted as essentially Satan? Is Moore just baiting us headline hungry sites by including such SEO-friendly characters in his work? Is Moore sending up our fabricated, pop culture-obsessed culture by skewering one of the most popular and enduring pop culture figures of the last 20 years? Is Moore just having some fun? Is Harry Potter the antichrist?
Take to the comments and discuss!
[Source: The Guardian]
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