The Grey Tide: Why we want an affair with the Dark Side?
😈 9 lesser known grey stories, indie projects and artists
“Whatever horror waited beyond the stars was being given a way through.”
quote from our narrative artbook Omnimorphs: Beyond the veil
Welcome to the Dark Side, Apprentice,
When Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace came out, I was a 1st or 2nd grader in primary school. My friend and I still spent our breaks with role-playing games in hidden parts of the yard. (Not to be disturbed by bullies because of our nerdy ways.)
We began by choosing sides, and it always went like this for me: he chose the dark side character (Darth Maul, of course) while I was left with one of the green or blue lightsaber dudes. Red was way cooler, and it had two blades!!
I always wanted to pick the dark side, the villains, too, but was also ashamed of it. I considered myself a good guy, even though the teachers were 100% sure that I was the spawn of the devil.
Today, I find myself gravitating towards characters with flaws. Greyish personalities, that feel more grounded in reality, even in a narrative universe that is filled with wizards or superheroes.
And whenever a story is black and white, I tend to consider them dull, and find it hard to invest in their world.
This made me wonder. Why do I and seemingly every other nerdy friend of mine have an affection towards evil characters? Is this something still prominent in our culture? And if yes, what are the current upcoming projects that fit this zeitgeist?
I’ll answer these in the shortest way possible
Prince Hamlet, Raskolnikov, Joker, Darth Vader, Arthas Menethil, Kratos, Geralt of Rivia, Billy Butcher, Shrek, Deadpool, Alucard, Paul Atreides, Severus Snape…
Fascination with anti-heroes and morally ambiguous characters has always been with us, but their rise in modern media seems significant.
It may be due to the sheer volume of entertainment, but I think there is something more to this trend. The characters, that blur the lines between good and evil, resonate deeply with audiences because they reflect the complexities of real-life morality in modern days.
Why are we drawn to them?
One explanation of our fascination with these characters is tied to Carl Jung’s idea of a “shadow side” —the part of ourselves that harbours forbidden impulses and desires. Watching characters act on these impulses allows us to explore our own darker sides without compromising our real-world morals.1
Another reason for their popularity is relatability. Unlike traditional heroes, Billy Butcher, Alucard and the likes are flawed and complex. Their inner logic often challenges conventional notions of right and wrong. The moral ambiguity of their decisions invites us to empathize with them on a more intimate level. Even (and maybe especially) when their actions are questionable.2
Is this prominent in today’s culture?
Well, absolutely. But why?
The struggle of surpassing the fear of death —becoming a hero— or taking a cynical approach to life —embracing the anti-hero— seems to accompany human beings throughout history.3
Although anti-heroes may be more popular now because of increased scepticism towards traditional authority figures, and growing acceptance of moral relativism.4
The desire for more nuanced, realistic portrayals of human nature can be the result of the interplay of our psychological fascination with our darker sides and a new craving for realness in a seemingly fake world.
These characters bring gritty complexity to stories, challenging traditional notions of heroism. In today’s fragmented society, audiences are more willing to explore narratives that acknowledge the greyness of the human experience.5
So what?
Wondering about the allegiance of Snape or Loki, pondering the great deeds of V or Paul Atreides may seem useless in a world obsessed with productivity. But these stories, instead of advertising us fast consumable solutions, can prompt us for introspection about our own values and beliefs.
The Dark List
Let’s observe out of curiosity and the love to learn or even mimic like Omnimorphs.
🎨 Drawing: WiggleWood
I found this pretty new weird page, that create strange, old school, retro, humorous, pixelated animations and somehow even nail the voice acting and the boxy sound effects. This ultimately reminds me when I was playing with my Sega console, as a kid. Also makes me recall those point & click games like the Broken Sword series (although in terms of graphics that game was a bit more advanced, but the vibes are similar) and The Secret of Monkey Island.
Anyway, not much else to say about this, have a look. They’re short, funny, and if blew the air through your nose a bit louder, give them a follow on Instagram, as I hope there’ll be more where these came from.
Dani
🎥 Movie: Batman: Caped Crusader
My all-time favourite comic hero has to be Batman. I dressed up as him for farsang, which in Hungary is kind of like Halloween. I had Batsuit pyjamas, a very cool alarm clock that lit up the Batsignal in my dark room when it was time to wake up. So yeah, I was a fan of him from a very young age.
I loved The Animated Series when I was a kid (I still do, the style is just chef's kiss) so I was super happy to see that Amazon released something in a similar vein. I’m only a few episodes in, but I’m really liking this more mature take on his character. The new series brings freshness to the villains as well, which can be weird at first, but there’s only so many times I can watch the exact same origin story, you know. I do love they can be quite grey characters, including Batman. They’re not perfect, and that always felt more “realistic” to me compared to heroes like Superman, for example.
Something I also want to mention, is that almost every single animated series or game, since I was alive, Batman was voiced by Kevin Conroy — who was perfect for this, until he unfortunately passed away 2 years ago. So I was a bit worried when someone else was doing the voice acting, as most of the time it feels off for me, but have to tip my hat to Hamish Linklater.
I still have some episodes left, but just wanted to let you all know about this, as I think it kind of fell under the radar for many people.
Dani
🎮 Gaming: BUTCHER
One of the most entertaining subgenres of power fantasy video games is "monster simulators". While most of the time you'll want to identify with a morally righteous protagonist, there are those times when it can be satisfying to watch the (pixelated virtual) world burn.
Butcher is a game that caters perfectly to such appetites. It is a game where you literally play as a terminator tasked with exterminating humanity. As for its genre, it is a retro-inspired pixel side scroller that is a love letter to MSDos-era action games.
Another interesting trivia about the game is that it's the lesser-known first title of indie developer Phobia Game Studio, who became known for their hit success CARRION, which is, unsurprisingly, also a monster power fantasy pixel side scroller, probably the best out there.
Huba
🎥 Movie: Blink Twice
Not exactly a classic anti-hero scenario, but there is an undeniable charm to movies where the villain is played by a famous, “lead” type actor at a later stage of their career. The recently released Blink Twice is such a movie. It is an enjoyable and exciting psychological thriller exploring feminist themes.
The reason it's featured on this particular list is that the main villain of the movie, the sinister tech mogul Slater King is played by Channing Tatum, who I felt really nails the part and in general his casting and presence creates that fun cognitive dissonance in the viewer that they need to fear a face they usually root for.
Huba
❔ Your art: Leave a comment
This could be the part where we recommend your favorite artist, developer, or maybe even you. If you want to fill in this place with your suggestion (for absolutely free, of course), send a link in a reply to this email or comment below.
🎥 Movie: Memories
For anime fans, this anthology from before The Matrix is a must! This might have been one of the inspirations for the Wachowskis. The three short stories have many of the funniest and visually stunning sequences from the golden age of anime.
🎥 Movie: Batman: Gotham Knight
It’s been a while since I watched this treasure. I don’t think it is well known, but correct me, if my bubble is just too mainstream. I remember, that it is a collage of different but somehow similar art styles, like an anthology with the themes of the rise of Batman. Imho the producers of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have a great taste for Gotham.
🎥 Movie: HarmonQuest
If you like humour and ambiguous characters, maybe even Rick and Morty and D&D, this is for you. Dan Harmon is the creator of this series, where he plays D&D with comedian guests and a fixed cast while animators bring their crazy but surprisingly deep ideas to life in oh-so-fine detail.
🎥 Movie: Mushishi
The very existence of Mushis are a grey area, they live-not-live between death and life, and have no purpose, it seems, but are in relation with the humans of Mushishi’s world. I love everything about this series, that is based on a best-selling manga. Although, I heard the anime alters the original in some sense, I still think it is a beautiful series of loosely linked episodes of a grey, yet magical universe. I still listen to the soundtrack from time to time.
📖 Book / 🎨 Drawing: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Prequel Graphic Novel
Doesn’t really need introduction, or if it does, check out the original games. I remember checking out the demo on my PSX for the first time, and I was amazed how cool it was to suck souls and change between worlds.
The title’s new kickstarter made me realise that I regret not knowing more about Soul Reaver’s world. Check out the rewards, they plan a hardcover edition with Dave Rapoza’s cover art!
Who is your favourite grey character?
Tell us in a comment, so we can all explore our own darker sides with the help of them.
Time to escape to your world of creativity and build!
Adrián
Scribe of the Omniscient
👁🗨