V (character)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the titular character from the graphic novel comic book V for Vendetta. For his successor, see Evey Hammond. For other characters, see V (disambiguation).

V
V in V for Vendetta
Art by David Lloyd.
Publication information
PublisherVertigo imprint of DC Comics
(originally Quality Communications)
First appearanceWarrior #1 (March 1982)
Created byAlan Moore
David Lloyd
In-story information
Alter egoN/A
Notable aliasesPatient #5, The Terrorist, Codename V, Project V, The Man from Room Five
Abilities

V is the

heroism. According to Moore, he was designed to be morally ambiguous, so that readers could decide for themselves whether he was a hero fighting for a cause or simply insane.[1]

V made his first live appearance in the 2005 film

third season.[3]

Fictional character biography

Origin

V's background and identity are never revealed. He is at one point an inmate at "

actress imprisoned for being a lesbian, kept in "room four", who wrote her autobiography on toilet paper
and then pushed it through a hole in the wall.

Over time, the man is allowed to grow roses (

mustard gas and napalm
. On a stormy night (namely, 23 December in the novel or 5 November in the film), he detonates his homemade bomb and escapes his cell. Much of the camp is set ablaze, and many of the guards are killed by the mustard gas. The camp is evacuated and closed down. He adopts the new identity, "V", and dons a Guy Fawkes mask and costume. V spends the next five years planning his revenge on Norsefire and building his secret base, which he calls "The Shadow Gallery". He then kills off most of the over 40 surviving personnel from Larkhill, making each killing look like an accident.

The "Villain"

Four years after his escape from Larkhill, V blows up the

communion wafer laced with cyanide. V then injects Surridge, the one Larkhill official who feels remorse
for her actions, with a poison that kills her without pain.

V stages an attack on the government's propaganda broadcasting station, strapping himself with explosives and forcing the staff to follow his orders under threat of detonating them. V then broadcasts a message to the people, telling them to take responsibility for themselves and rise up against their government. He systematically kills the head officials of Norsefire except Eric Finch, the head of Norsefire's police force, whom he senses is a decent man. V also radicalizes Evey by kidnapping and torturing her and leading her to believe she is a prisoner in one of Larkhill's camps; when she announces that she would rather die than inform on him, he reveals the ruse to her. While she initially condemns him, she eventually comes to understand what he was trying to do and becomes his accomplice. V explains to her that he is an anarchist in the strict political sense of the term, and essentially believes all governments will eventually turn into oppressive fascist states. V's goal is not simply to overthrow the Norsefire regime, but to destroy the organized state entirely. He hopes that from the rubble will emerge a utopian anarchistic society – not "the land of take what you want" but "the land of do as you please".

In the climax of the graphic novel, V destroys the government's

Viking funeral
, fulfilling his final request to Evey, who takes on the mantle of "V."

In other media

Film

Hugo Weaving as V in the 2005 film V for Vendetta

The 2005 film adaptation of the comic book starred Hugo Weaving as V. James Purefoy was originally cast as V, but was replaced by Weaving six weeks into production. Purefoy stated that he found it hard to act while wearing the mask, and that was the reason for his departure. Although some of Purefoy's performance was used in the final film, Weaving received sole credit.

The film depicts him as being disfigured as a result of the torture he suffered at Larkhill, and having near-superhuman physical abilities as a result of the biological experiments he was put through. He claims to have lost all memory of his past, completing his transformation into the "everyman" he claims to be in the comic.

Several events involving V differ markedly from the comics. He sets his first bomb to destroy the

Houses of Parliament one year later, but he does not blow up the Post Office or 10 Downing Street
and the bomb he leaves in Jordan Tower is safely defused (with it being unclear if he ever legitimately wanted that bomb to go off or just set it up as an excuse while he transmitted his message). Also, where the comic V was portrayed as a political anarchist who sought the destruction of all governments, the movie V focuses his anti-government philosophy exclusively on Norsefire, commenting to Evey as he prepares for his final stand that he leaves it up to her if Parliament should be destroyed, as he recognizes that he does not have a right to shape a world he will not see. V is also shown sobbing out of guilt for what he put Evey through, and admits before his death that he fell in love with her.

In place of Finch, Norsefire official Peter Creedy and his men confront V at the end of the film, bringing High Chancellor Adam Sutler (

Viking funeral
, but Finch arrives with the intent of arresting her. However, he relents and allows Evey to start the train, having finally decided to turn his back on the tyrannical Norsefire regime. The two watch, along with thousands of spectators dressed as V, as the train explodes and destroys the Houses of Parliament.

Television

Main article: Pennyworth (TV series)

On 29 July 2019, the day following the

second season premiere.[6][7][8] Characters wearing V's Guy Fawkes mask (led by Francis Foulkes; portrayed by Paul Kaye) were later introduced in the series' 2022 third season, set five years after the first two seasons.[3]

Bibliography

Warrior

  • Warrior #1–16, 18–26, with an Alan Moore V for Vendetta feature in #17
  • V for Vendetta
    • Vol. I of X V for Vendetta September 1988
    • Vol. II of X V for Vendetta October 1988
    • Vol. III of X V for Vendetta November 1988
    • Vol. IV of X V for Vendetta December 1988
    • Vol. V of X V for Vendetta December 1988
    • Vol. VI of X V for Vendetta December 1988
    • Vol. VII of X V for Vendetta January 1989
    • Vol. VIII of X V for Vendetta February 1989
    • Vol. IX of X V for Vendetta March 1989
    • Vol. X of X V for Vendetta May 1989

Trade paperback

See also
Concepts and themes
Character lists

References

  1. ^ "A FOR ALAN, Pt. 1: The Alan Moore interview". GIANT Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2006.
  2. ^ a b Gomez, Manny (29 July 2019). "EPIX'S Pennyworth: Setting Up 60's DC London And The Road To V For Vendetta – SDCC2019". LRMonline. Retrieved 29 July 2019. The arcing story this season is about a civil war that is brewing, and that came from a conversation from myself and Bruno [Heller] where we were considering doing V for Vendetta, we were like "that is much a very 80's 90's kind of show, what would it be in the 60's?' What kind of world would be have to create, like in Gotham there would eventually be Batman in this there would eventually be V for Vendetta [Norsefire and V]. So we took that brewing civil war as a stepping stone. – Danny Cannon
  3. ^ a b Barsanti, Sam (8 September 2022). "Trailer for the third season of Pennyworth has a truly confounding comic book cameo". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  4. ^ Kade, Leigh (19 July 2019). "New "Pennyworth" Series Confirmed Same Universe as "Gotham"". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. ^ Heller, Bruno (12 October 2020). Pennyworth Season Two Cast & Producer Interview – EPIX. Popverse. Retrieved 12 October 2020 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Heller, Bruno (11 December 2020). (Video) Pennyworth: Bruno Heller Talks Season 2, V For Vendetta, & The War That Breaks London. CBR Presents. Retrieved 11 December 2020 – via YouTube. "The V For Vendetta world conceptually — it's [like] where this world may or may not end up. What [V for Vendetta creators Alan Moore, David Lloyd and Tony Weare] did so well was to create a [Fascist] version of England that felt like England. It wasn't Nazi Germany imposed on that world. It was very much the parochial, familiar world of England transformed into something dark. That's what we've tried to do, and what [Cannon] did so brilliantly with the visuals, particularly in this season. It's England with this shadow across its face." – Bruno Heller
  7. ^ Zachary, Brandon (13 December 2020). "(Article) Pennyworth: Bruno Heller Talks Season 2, V For Vendetta, & The War That Breaks London". CBR. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  8. ^ Harper, Rachael (5 February 2021). "Pennyworth Season Two Secrets: What's It All About, Alfie?". SciFiNow. Retrieved 5 February 2021. "One of the few stories that have been told in this kind of world is V for Vendetta [and] conceptually, this [civil war is a] prequel to V For Vendetta. God, I wouldn't hold us up against Alan Moore, but with comic books you have to find a throughline, and that's very political [for Pennyworth]." – Bruno Heller

External links

(Wayback Machine copy)

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