Geek Syndicate Issue 8 | Page 81

Geek Syndicate
A History of THE Monster ...
or

Frankenstein’s Monster to
be precise. The Monster is
infinitely more famous than
the man who gave him life,
Baron von Frankenstein, or
the woman who created
the story, Mary Shelley.
With I, Frankenstein due
out January 24th, we
thought we’d do a potted history of Frankenstein’s Monster on
film: from the legendary Karloff, to Star
Wars’ Dave Prowse,
Clancy Brown, Bobby de Niro and soon,
a turn by Aaron Eckhardt. We’ll focus
purely on the movies
here, but there will be
a passing nod to the
Monster in comics,
such as his appearance in the Creature
Commandos.

Mary
Shelley’s
Frankenstein
Let’s go back to first
principles though. If
your most memorable
recollection of the Monster is Boris Karloff’s iconic
turn as the lumbering boltneck assembloid, it’s worth
pointing out how wide of the
mark that portrayal was in relation to the source material.
In Shelley’s magnum opus,
the Monster (referred to
also as the Wretch, the
Creature and the Beast),
was much, much more.

Image © Penguin Books

…

The Source Material

After he was created, the Monster unsurprisingly went into
hiding following the revelation that every time he saw a
human they were usually followed by a pack of others brandishing burning torches and
pitchforks. As his self awareness kicked in, he learned English and even read the classics
of the day. Finally, the Monster
hatched a very calculated plan
of vengeance against the Baron, who had abandoned the
Monster in his hour of need to
his ghastly existence. Embarking on a European tour, the
Monster set about killing the
Baron’s little brother, framing
his best friend for that murder
and killing his new wife. Not
quite the slow dumb giant we
are used to.

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