Reptilians, Skrulls, Chitauri, Oh My!

In hardcore conspiracy theorist circles, one of the most prevailing and popular theories is that of the "Reptilians."

In brief, the theory goes that there are reptile-like "shape-shifters" who have infiltrated our society. The origin of these green shape-shifters depends on who's telling the tale. Some say that they are fairly recent visitors from another planet, others claim that they are indigenous to Earth and evolved from dinosaurs parallel to human development. But a key part of most of these theories circles around the creatures' ability to take the form of other humans.

Reptilian

According to popular conspiracy theorist/new age dude David Icke, the Reptilians have committed their deception at the highest levels of government and high society. From the Wikipedia entry on Icke:

"In 1999, he published The Biggest Secret, in which he wrote that the Illuminati are a race of reptilian humanoids known as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Kris Kristofferson, and Boxcar Willie.^"

The idea of the "Illuminati" is another quite popular both with Icke and conspiracy circles in general. It is also the name of the comic that more or less "officially" kicked off Marvel's "Secret Invasion" series of books, a series that concerned a shape-shifting alien race called "Skrulls" who had infiltrated the Earth ages ago, impersonating human beings.

Skrull

It would seem that the Reptilian theory is quite similar to the crux of the "Secret Invasion" plot -- that green shape-shifters from another planet have taken the guise of prominent world figures and plan to take humanity over from within.

Now, the Skrulls, as far as I know, were invented in the early 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They predated the Reptilian theory by several decades. It might even be possible that the champions of the theory have simply been influenced by the comics of their youth but don't consciously remember it.



None of this is to say that the "Secret Invasion" plot was ripped off of a popular conspiracy theory (though if he did, it would be nothing to be ashamed about -- Grant Morrison has been doing the very same thing for years). The archetype of the green invader from another planet, the reptile-appearing alien, and the extraterrestrial shape-shifter covertly disguised as human has been with us for some time. In the end, unless you are a talented folklorist, it might be impossible to tease out where these ideas all started.

For example, regard the 1980s ABC miniseries "V," in which Reptilians in human "skin" set out to enslave humanity:



Now flashforward to another ABC show this Fall, the sitcom "The Neighbors." It also features Reptilian-looking aliens who masquerade as humans, the Zabvronians:

Only this time around, they are portrayed truly as our "friends":

 
A final point that brings this discussion all the way back to David Icke. In the "Avengers" movie, the Skrulls were replaced with their "analogues" if you will, the Chitauri:

 

In Marvel's alternate Earth "Ultimate" line of comics, the Chitauri are a version of the Skrulls, and are shapeshifters:

But I have heard of the Chitauri way before I read either the "Ultimate" comics (first published in 2002) or watched "The Avengers." And that's because I viewed the series of interviews David Icke had with Zulu Shaman Credo Mutwa, released on a videotape/DVD called "The Reptilian Agenda" in 1999.

Here is Mutwa's illustration of the alien race called the Chitauri, his knowledge of which he claimed to have received through his ancestors:

 ...and that's where I'll end this post.

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The Obsessed Comic Fan Dream

I had this creepy dream just before I woke up today, and I've decided to record it here while it is fresh. It contains several themes I've discussed on this blog before, notably Neo-Nerdism and James Holmes. It also involves larger themes of becoming obsessed with (in the case of this dream, pop-culture) nostalgia to the point of madness, themes showcased in the recent films "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Looper"; an examination of both movies will require a substantial amount of spoiler-alerts (another "neo-nerdist" term/concept that I think gets taken to too many extremes), so I'll do that in another post.

In the dream, a young man calmly walks into a generic work-space or store-space, hangs up a banner advertising his comics and toys sale, and just sets up his wares on the shelves. Completely with not asking the owners of said space for any permission to do so. It is immediately assumed he has some serious mental condition, and everybody, including me, are all on alert.

The image on the banner is supposed to be that of a sweet red-haired moppet like Raggedy Andy -- but looks more like Chucky from "Child's Play"!

The toys and other "collectibles" he's selling clearly look like memorabilia from his childhood -- action figures, comics, and whatnot, all with little tags hanging off of them with prices far more than any of these things are worth. Some of the objects are broken, and all have that sort of stale, slightly soot-encrusted look of things that have been stored in a basement or attic for a long time.

As for the man himself, I place him somewhere between mid-Twenties to mid-Thirties. Doesn't fit the pop-culture stereotype of the "Comic Book Guy" a la "The Simpsons," but rather is much more like a James Holmes type -- average weight, buttoned shirt, sort of boy-next-door. But the clean-cut look is all rather superficial the closer you look at him: then you notice he's a little "dirty," subtly disheveled, and kind of "off."

The most vivid detail I remember of this character was, though, his smell. If "crazy" had a specific odor, he had it. He smelled like formaldehyde.

The boss/owner -- who in the dream looks more like an older, Perry White sort of guy -- tells us to quietly file out of the space, as to not set-off this strange man who has set up shop out of nowhere and looks sort of quietly insane.

In the next scene, the cops are raiding this guy's house. It looks like the Dahmer house. Bones everywhere, filling the bathtub. But creepiest of all, are these little "ritual" packets he's made with the names of well-known figures in both the comics industry and media. The packets are made of something translucent that looks like rice-paper, and contains bones, feathers, and other crap.

At this point I wake up and am totally skeeved out.

Biggest impression I got about the dream was James Holmes, but a far more "in fandom" comics aficionado than Holmes. This was a person who placed far more worth on the pop-culture icons of his childhood than they deserved, and in the process was sort of stuck in time -- a baby-faced adult, but not in a cute way. All the names on his "hit list" were public figures in comics that he might have "blamed" for changing his characters into ways that he didn't agree with.

Do crazy people in comics fandom who are potentially like the person I've described in my dream really exist? Yes, they do. They send multiple death threats over things like changing the racial identity of a certain superhero, or "breaking up" a prominent comic book couple, and etc. Some have stalked females in the industry and fandom over years, threatening death and rape. Some, on the Internet, offer to rape the wives of editors who allow "travesties" in the comics; offering to cut off the editor's eyelids so he can watch his wife suffer.

fans got violently upset after a storyline where Spider-Man "broke up" with his wife

After my comics came out from Marvel, I was very paranoid about getting shot or attacked at these public comic events, and stayed under-the-radar for a few years. I got those threats, saw that nobody was taking them seriously, and just said "fuck it." Even now, I'm not completely cool about being at a certain venue if it's been publicly announced exactly where I'll be.

These obsessed fans seem, at the core, to have a very deep fear of CHANGE. They want to keep their fandoms, whether it be comics or whatnot, very pristine and untouched. Movies like "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Looper" feature characters literally driven insane in their attempts to bring back the past (although, of course, in "Looper" the idea of the past is relative).

This, coupled with what I feel was more of a James Holmes motivation -- to "be somebody" -- I think is a very dangerous combination. This is something I've been talking about for years, with very few people taking it seriously. "Death threats are common in comics," they tell me. It's like "Internet threats." They're not real.

Well, I hope nothing like what I saw in my dream really does happen. But even if it doesn't, this obsession with nostalgia -- something I've detailed in posts like "Jurassic Park Thoughts: How Dennis Nedry Ruined Entertainment" and "Twilight of the Action Movie Gods" -- strangles creativity and new ideas, the Old literally cannibalizing the Young like Cronus devouring his godlings.

ahhh...NOSTALGIA!

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In The Comics, Texas Has Already Seceded

The push by some residents of Texas (and othe states) to secede from the United States and create "their new government" -- continuing the "Civil War" narrative that I believe will dominate our pop-culture for some time -- has already been foreshadowed in the Marvel comic book "Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates." To give you more perspective, this comic basically features the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor) of a more "realistic" comic book universe.

In the storyline "Divided We Fall," Washington D.C. (including a president that looks like Obama) has been bombed into a crater by outside warring forces -- this area is now known as "Ground Zero". America is in a panic, and a bunch of states secede from the U.S., including Texas. Each issue includes a "map" so you can follow along.

By Issue #14 the United States is divided as follows:

"Anti-government militia hot spots":
Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Georgia

"The West Coast":
California, Oregon, Washington (there is a refugee zone in Southern California)

"Great Lakes States" (status unknown):
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

"Sentinel-controlled no-man's land" (abandoned by the U.S. Government):
New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma

"New Republic of Texas" (nuclear-armed nation):
declared state of independence; Dallas is capital city

"Eastern Seaboard Control Zone" (secured under National Guard under emergency powers committee):
New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia

All other states are "U.S. Government Control Zones"

By the most recent issue, #17, Texas has been taken back, the Great Lakes States have formed their own independent nation, the "anti-government militia hot spots" are still causing trouble...and, well, Captain America has been kicking ass as the new president, voted in during a "special election."

So what we essentially have is "white knight" Captain America, backed by the military/CIA type group S.H.I.E.L.D., stepping in to bring "order" back to the United States (by this time the story title has changed to "United We Stand.")

Meanwhile, Thor's son, Modi, wants to go back to the "old ways" and create a Norse paradise; stop me if you've heard this one before. So he manipulates the "anti-government militia hot spots" people into forming what is basically a fascist army using the "Hydra" (coded Nazi) symbol.

Modi: combines Lucifer/"Evil Businessman" look, plus Hitler theatrics

Modi, in my view, represents this Nazi impulse to go back to a  Nordic Golden Age -- in this story, the "militia people" (as indicated on the map) are equated as following a Nazi-like spirit (Hydra). Regard the following passage:

I find it fascinating that this entire storyline, that began earlier this year, seems to mirror or even predict some of our current events.

The point is -- many comics on the shelves right now contain tons of commentary, imagery, and symbology on not only current events but even more esoteric matters. I think comic books have always had some of those elements -- perhaps they, like sci-fi novels and movies, are more "palatable" and playful mediums within which to discuss these topics.

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