I think the idea with Dorian Grey is going to be that he is invulnerable, all damage being absorbed into the portrait.
As for Mina, I think that Volume 2 made it as explicit as we’re ever going to get. She’s not a vampire. The “power” she has over Hyde is that she’s fearless, or rather, she’s lived through the worst and remained strong.
For all the horrible changes the movie makes to the comic, the addition of Tom Sawyer and Dorian Grey don’t bother me. In fact, I think they’re pretty neat ideas. They fit right in with the premise of the comic (Sawyer more than Grey) perfectly.
That’s not to say that there won’t be plenty to complain about in the movie, just that it won’t be that.
See, I was also under the impression that Mina is an “unknown”. Her ability to stare down Hyde with the threat of removing his arm was rather impressive, and in the last issue I read, Quatermain got a glimpse of her throat and she made a comment along the lines of “Not the pretty little fang marks you were expecting?” So, I’m still willing to believe something more is going to come about in the future. What, who knows, but I’m still on the fence.
And I love the addition of Dorian Grey. His story was always one of my favorites, and it’s good to see him getting some more attention. Plus, I think he seems to fit rather well into the group. It will be a matine movie for me, but it should still be fun.
Well, yes, since his immortal.
I just finished reading the Picture of Dorian Grey, and I have to say… Booooooring. I mean, I could see where it might be co-opted to make him more ‘superheroic’ figure, but in the book, he’s pretty much sociopathic until it all catches up with him in the end. The story implies that the painting takes the appearance of age away from him, as well as any -moral- stains (as Wilde was stating in the story that all immoral people are ugly). A physical immortality (except the age thing) is never hinted at.
I’m rather of the opinion that Moore wanted to leave it ambigious, but the LXG movie forced his hand and he got all pissy about it. Sort of a british thing he does when the drooling fanboys attack. I somewhat expect Mina to be killed off, now.
You’re right; The Lost World was published in 1912. My error.
How about Raffles?
From the book, though, that seems to be the appeal of all of the characters, which is what I found really interesting. On top of being “Extraordinary”, these men were all pretty much the worst humanity had to offer. I mean, cripes, when they find Hyde, he’s friggin’ EATING some guy, and the Invisible Man is rapping some poor girl. If the character’s a sociopath, he just fits in even more.
True, it is Tom Sawyer who doesn’t fit, not Dorian Grey. Then again, I have never understood why they couldn’t just use the story from the first series of this comic and do that.
I am only dimly familiar with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels (I have a friend who’s a fan, but I’ve never read them), but even I was puzzled by the inclusion of Dorian Grey. First of all, as ArrrMatey said, the literary Dorian Grey did not have any special talents or abilities. He was just this guy who kept his good looks, despite his age and lifestyle, thanks to a supernatural portrait. That’s it. He was not immortal, invulnerable, or even particularly bright. He’d be no good to the League at all without massive changes, which is apparently what the screenwriters have done.
But why? This is the second problem. I don’t think the character is really all that well-known to the general American public. Tom Sawyer at least has genuinely high name-recognition value. But Dorian Grey? Not to knock Oscar Wilde, who I think very highly of, but do they really think they’re going to lure people into the theaters with freakin’ Dorian Grey? They might as well throw in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. And make her a ninja. Yeah, a ninja!
Have you not seen the previews? That’s pretty much what they’ve done with Mina. It’s done by the director of Blade, so there’s a lot of flying martial arts moves in the trailers that I’ve seen.
I believe he was using salt to power the fuel cells, since the ocean would never run out of it. But it’s been a while since I read the book.
I don’t see how age has anything to do with it. 20,000 leagues under the sea took place in 1866(1867?), and the sequel(prequel?) took place, stangely enough, during the civil war and Nemo dies(or did I get it wrong?). So Nemo is not only dead in 1898, but 30 years older.
Quite so. In the comic, Mina and Quatermain are the only ones who aren’t dangerous psychos. (Hyde and Griffen both enjoy killing, Nemo does so easily, if not so eagerly.) And Quatermain was an opium fiend. I’m not quite sure how Mina fits in there, but…hey.
Sawyer’s a double-misfit - he’s neither a psycho or British.
But Hyde’s not eating someone when they find him - he’s beating the living hell out of Mina, who’s trying (successfully) to lure him out after he’s committed a series of prostitute murders.
I’m not even too sure about Jekkyl. Why’s he still hiring the prostitutes after Hyde starts killing them?
I’m pretty sure Moore has taken that into account. One of the comics (I have the paperback collection of the first run, so I don’t know which issue it was in) has a collection of portraits of the main characters. Nemo’s is dated the 1860s, and it features him with a neat goatee instead of the full-chest bush he has. And many other characters (Griffin, Jekyll, Quatermain) died off in their respective works as well, so Moore probably submits that Nemo faked his own death as well.
Actually, as far as I know this “Agent Sawyer” could very well be a Tom Sawyer Jr. I’ll have to wait until this weekend to find out.
But this guy as Mycroft Holmes? Did he gain 300 pounds since this picture was taken?
Well, I just read the novelization of LXG, and the guy known as “M” who organizes the league is actually:Professor Moriarty, who is in disguise as the “Phantom.”
Regarding the automobile: There is one in the latest (v.2, no.5) issue of the comic. It’s quite small, though; it belongs to Mr. Toad (of The Wind and the Willows fame).
My brother and I are watching the ads and notice two things.
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Sean Connery seems to be playing himself. “A Vampire, a monster, an immortal… Sean Connery must lead them to save the world!”
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They seem afraid to admit that Tom Sawyer’s in the movie. Probably because Tom is not a dynamic action hero.
Phantom: So you see, Sawyer, that’s how I’ll use Cavorite to destroy London!
Tom: Well, that’s great. But I have to go whitewash this fence.
Phantom: Hey, that looks like it’s fun!
Tom: I’ll let you give it a shot if you give me the Cavorite.
Yep, Nemo faked his death. The “mysterious island incident” is mentioned at most point.
As for Mycroft Holmes, most people don’t even know Sherlock Holmes has a brother, let alone that he’s an enormous fatty.
Heh. Ninjas.
Actually, I have a theory that I -really- hope is wrong. Dorian Grey is a hedonist, and a very dark character. Darker, I feel, than many of the others; he actively embraced what was happening to him, knowing that he was going beyond the bounds of morality. And what was his ‘ability’? To remain young looking and handsome forever. Yep. I think they’ve added him in just to have a sexy ‘bad boy’ character, likely to try to seduce Mina to her ‘dark side’ (sigh), and probably fail as Tom will be the one to bring her to her ‘good side’ or somesuch. I’m -really- hoping I’m wrong about this, because it smacks of a lot of stupid cliches that, obviously, weren’t in the original graphic novel.
Thank God I wasn’t drinking anything when I read that! Bravo!