A common idiom about the true nature of good deeds is that "The road to Hell is paid with good intentions." This is the case for Robbie Baldwin, who makes a foolhardy decision that costs 600+ people their lives in the Stamford Disaster which starts the Superhero Civil War as explored in previous postings. Robbie takes his poor decision to heart, and believes that his suffering is what he deserves in life as he carries all those tragic deaths on his shoulders. Robbie's transformation into "Penance" is indicative of his guilt and dark pessimism. Robbie suffers time and again in order to atone for his wrongdoing, as he is violently assaulted and ridiculed by the public and those close to him. His own family eventually deserts him to distance themselves from their "terrorist" son. Robbie truly believes that he deserves all the suffering he undergoes, and eventually befriends the horrors he faces daily in order to transform from a happy-go-lucky superhero, into a dark, tortured and violent supervillain. Robbie's transformation is a tragic view of one man's journey into a pessimistic, tortured soul.
As explored above, Robbie's poor decision leads to the deaths of 600+ people in the Stamford Disaster, which he narrowly survives. Robbie is incarcerated as an unregistered combatant and co-conspirator in the Stamford disaster, which makes him public enemy number one for average people that feel superheroes are too dangerous to remain autonomous. This is perfectly illustrated in an exchange between Robbie and a prison guard:
"'Look...You guys have family, right? I mean, just let me get a message to someone. You guys look pretty smart. You know this is bull-- (Robbie punched by guard)' 'Yeah...I got a family. As a matter of fact, I got a cousin in Stamford, Connecticut. I used to have. And she died 'cause some attention-seeking moron in a costume decided to record a crime-fighting spree on National TV'" (Jenkins, Frontline, 51).
Robbie is truly hated for his actions, and cannot escape what he's done. Robbie doesn't initially believe that he has done any wrong in the stunt, and maintains his innocence until it becomes too much to bear. Robbie eventually accepts that he is hated and becomes more sarcastic and angry as his struggles continue in prison. This eventually boils over into a dialogue with his mother as he argues with her over his plight. He and his mother argue during visiting hours, his mother stating how:
"You could die in this place! What's happened to you, Robbie? They described you as 'The most hated man in America!' Do you have any idea how it feels for a mother to hear that about her son? Do you? I love you. Nothing can change that---" 'Hey! This was fun right? Next time, see if Dad wants to come! I sure miss listening to both of you shout at me at once!' 'There won't be a next time, Robbie. I'm never coming back'" (Jenkins, FL 116-118).
This exchange sets the trajectory for Robbie's sharp mental decline into motion. Though he doesn't consider himself to be 'the most hated man in America,' he still doesn't take his mother's words at face value until she states her removal from his life. At this point, Robbie's world is turned upside-down, and he begins his slow, bitter decline. This manifests once Robbie is transferred into an inter-dimensional prison, and describes the horrors he lives with in a letter to his mother: "Dear Mom... Wish you were here. (sic) My buddy in the next cell was called Jonathan. Back in the real world, he used to be called Digitek. He told me that when he was a hero, he had the power to re-form parts of his body into machinery, or weapons. Yesterday, Jon formed an M-110 particle shotgun out of his right arm,... and then blew his own head off. Not that it matters, you probably won't ever get this letter" (Jenkins, FL 172-173). Robbie's world becomes darker and darker, as his struggles become more and more difficult to fathom, let alone coming to grips with a suicide only a room over from him. The pessimism of his plight begins to seep into his personality, until it becomes too much to bear, and Robbie accepts his culpability in the Stamford disaster.
During a prison breakout, Robbie is pinned by a violent offender named Razor Fist, and threatened within an inch of his life as the other inmates escape. Robbie, by being violently assaulted previously, has discovered that pain is the mechanism by which his powers are activated. This also feeds into his dark, introspective decline as his pessimism is fully embraced. Robbie seeks to receive pain, in order to violently retaliate against those that would do harm. Razor Fist doesn't realize what he's done when he threatens Robbie: "'Shut your mouth, Baldwin! You're nothing! You're human meat--cannon fodder! Just you remember that.' 'You're hurting me.' 'You think I care? 'No...I like it'" (Jenkins, FL 373-374). After this exchange, Robbie embraces his pain, leveling the room of guards and inmates, knocking them unconscious in his wrath. Robbie has no remorse or sympathy for those he's hurt, as he has become fully versed in his self-inflicted retribution. Robbie no longer is the man he was before, as his actions are sociopathic at best.
Robbie welcomes his new-found pain, and becomes the supervillain Penance. His tailor reflects on the materials used to construct the 'iron-maiden-like" torture suit he wears to cope with his actions: "The plates are constructed of super-hardened plastics, reinforced with certain alloys, making it the hardest substance that can possibly be manufactured. The insides of the suit are exactly as specified---the lesser spikes protrude just over half an inch: painful, but hardly incapacitating. The larger spikes no doubt will break the skin of the wearer" (Jenkins, FL, 412). Seeing as Robbie wishes to suffer for his crimes, he requests a suit that will constantly remind him of the pain and misery he's inflicted upon the world at large. This borders on the extreme, as Robbie seeks to suffer eternally for what he's done wrong. He can no longer see the brightness or positive aspects of life, and seeks to suffer to understand his new reality. Robbie's pessimism truly defines him as he explores the different pain points in his suit and the lives they represent:
"I know how to pay for all the pain I've caused. Six hundred and twelve people died at Stamford. So every day I'll carry with me six hundred and twelve points of pain. Sixty of those people were innocent children who burned to death in a schoolyard. Their blood is on my hands. I'll feel their pain every time I throw a punch. Every single point of my pain will be a reminder until the day I mercifully die. And all of that pain is fuel. Robbie Baldwin is dead. Now it's time for Penance'" (Jenkins, FL, 415-417). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Cwfrontline10.PNG
Though Robbie's journey is initially one of redemption as he attempts to clear his name, his life quickly spirals out of control as he witnesses the horrors of prison life, while he is verbally and physically assaulted frequently over his journey. After his breakout, Robbie becomes a conduit for pain and anguish, utilizing his misery in order to inflict more pain on the world. Robbie's outlook is a very bleak one, and in his "iron-maiden-like" suit, he manages to atone for his wrongdoing by suffering on a daily basis. Robbie's bright, cheery attitude quickly deteriorates into one of stark pessimism, as he will continually suffer as long as he lives, until the day he dies for the pain he's caused. Robbie's journey transforms him from a lighthearted and optimistic young man, convinced of his innocence and eventual release, into a tortured and pessimistic villain that continually suffers for his crime. Robbie Baldwin's suffering and transformation into Penance is a horrific exploration of how pessimism can completely change an individual. Penance is analogous of pessimism, continuously suffering on his tortured journey of redemption.
http://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel//universe3zx/images/4/40/Penance01.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment