Impotence -- The Fate Worse Than Death (Snake Woman #5)

Characters

Main Hero: JessicaPeterson

Main Villains: Harker, Robinson

P'Shat

After a long, drug-induced flashback/expository-plot-device, Jessica has learned that she is the reincarnation of the Snake Goddess, whose soul first entered a girl born during a massacre in India, and reincarnated in each generation. Based on this wrong committed long ago by 68 British soldiers, each reincarnation of the Snake Goddess and "The 68" are at constant war. If Jessica is able to kill all 68, then the cycle ends and the souls can rest. If she fails, however, then everyone tries again in the next lifetime. The Snake Goddess has never gotten out of the 20s in any generation, however.

This time, though, there is a twist. While The 68 clamor for Jessica's death, Harker has decided that he is tired of the constant reincarnations. As the only one who retains his memory from one life to the next, Harker knows that an initial snake bit left him impotent, and he remains so in each subsequent life.

Thus, the plan is thus for Jessica to kill each of The 68 with Harker's assistance (now 65, following the killings of date Ryan in #1, assistant Barkley #4, and pedophile Robinson in #5), before Jessica finally kills Harker, all the time leaving The 68 to think that she has alread been killed. Jessica resists her role as a murderer, but Harker's threat of the killing of everyone she knows and loves convinces her to sign on.

With a new mission in life, Jessica loses all her inhibitions. She grabs her love-interest Raj out of the club they are in, pulls him into the Men's Room where they immediately begin having sex.

Drash

Apparently, repressed women like Jessica secretly want to have sex in a public men's room. It is only their inhibitions that prevent them. Once those inhibitions are lost (through a couple or three cold-blooded murders), there is nothing stopping one from rutting away against a men's room stall.

On the opposite extreme, all of the power and money in the world -- combined with an unlimited number of lives -- are completely worthless to a man like Harker who can't have sex. You can try to compensate through accumulations of wealth, or by other sorts of "extreme" Fight-Club-like activities, but in the end, after a couple hundred years, having your throat eventually ripped out by a Snake Goddess is clearly preferable to a flaccid penis.

Because, you see, it's all about sex. Women want it, but are too repressed to ask for it. Men want it, but are sometimes prevented by situations out of their control, from having it. While we must acknowledge that, of course, child rape is a bad thing, and pedophiles must be tortured and murdered, we all know that true happiness for both genders consists of a grand heterosexual orgy of consenting adults.

Or, at least, that's my take-away lesson here. Am I missing anything?

The Virgin Line: Devi 1-4, Snakewoman 1-3, Sadhu 1-3

I have been really enjoying the Virgin Comics that have been published over the last few months, but:

P'Shat

Devi 1-4: Tara is an Indian commoner who is now relatively wealthy due to her rich boyfriend. She does not know that she is really the "Devi", and embodiment of the powers of all of the gods. Forces of evil are trying to destroy her before she discovers her true nature. Forces of good are trying to protect her until that time, and trying to show her her true nature.

Snakewoman 1-3: Jessica is an average American living in Los Angeles and waiting tables. She does not know that she is really the "Snake Woman", and embodiment of the powers of the reptile. Forces of evil are trying to destroy her before she discovers her true nature. Forces of good are trying to protect her until that time, and trying to show her her true nature.

Sadhu 1-3: James is a young working class Englishman who takes a job serving in the English army in India. He does not know that he is really the "Sadhu", an expert in eight mystic arts that control nature. The rest of the British army is trying to kill him before he discovers his true nature. Forces of good are trying to protect him until that time, and trying to show him his true nature.

Drash

Anyone noticing a pattern here?

There is value, of course, in variations on a theme, and at this early point one can assume that they will all eventually learn their true nature and go on to fight evil in their own ways. But, at this point, I'm kind of reading the same story three times.

But then, there is their methods of discovery:

Tara -- She seems to have been taking a nap for the pass two months, while the spirits of other incarnations of the Devi try to teach her the true path. Through four issues (although, to be fair, this incarnation doesn't appear in #1), she hasn't done anything more acting than nap. Lots of men are trying to save her for their own purposes. A man and Lord Bala are trying to kill her, and there are two "ambiguous" women, who are either trying to save or kill her.

Jessica -- Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Jessica doesn't have to "discover" her powers. They are right there on page 1 of issue 1. She doesn't know what they are, however, and through 3 issues hasn't made any real progess in controlling them. Men are trying to kill her, and one man, so far, has saved her.

James -- The British captain captures him, and kills his (pregnant) wife and child in front of his eyes. After being "Dibneyed", a friend helps James escape into the wild, where natives rescue him and tell him he is the "Sadhu". No, I'm not, James protests. Yeah, you are, the natives say. This goes back and forth for a while, and then James realizes, "Hey, yeah! I am the Sadhu!" and has immediate full control over his powers by the end of #3. What have been three issues of turmoil for the girls was condensed into about three pages for the guy.

Now, none of this would have been so obvious had the book not had the EXACT SAME PLOTS so far. I am going to continue to buy them (and Ramayan, which only has 1 issue out so far), because of the great art, the interesting stories (or, story) and the potential. It's an interesting case study, though, because of the similarities.