#and it's even more aaa that he's the main antagonist of the book and doing horrible horrible things in present time

[allbuthuman]

not ready for the analysis post yet but fucking hell verlaine's character makes me even more insane the second time around i'm so so sad for him

[kanohivolitakk]

So, given your well-documented appreciation for a certain traitorous toa-turned-nightmare, what are your thoughts on Bionicle's other prominent insectoid tragic bastard: Krika?

I feel like you may have described such thoughts before, but if so, I have forgotten and would love to hear them again :P

First of all aaa thank you so much for sending me this ask. It made me super happy to see it here, I always love recieving asks, especially ones with interesting topics. Also slfklmsddlkfsm you refering my Nidhiki loving as well documented made me freaking grin so hard you have no idea.

I have mentioned Krika a few times, but those were a while ago and were either short or silly meme posts. I haven’t really expressed my deep or complex thoughts on him (save on really liking how his design and characterization are a paradox). But I do like Krika a lot. In fact, there was a time Krika was either my second favorite character if not outright favorite. While I’m not sure if he’s in my top 5 anymore (blame there being quite a few characters I like a lot), he’s definitely a big favorite of mine and I have a soft spot on the guy, so much so that my online alias (Kirika) is partially after him. As such, I’m happy to share my thoughts on him.

For starters, let me tell you I ADORE Krikas design. He probably has one my favorite designs in the series, being a skeletal robobug. I always loved me sharp monstrous yet slender designs, so Krikas fits right uo my alley. Theres something so eerie, yet utterly badass about him I cant help but adore. ALSO HIS COLORSCHEME. White + black +red is such a kickass colorcombo I can’t help but adore it.

One of the reasons this post took so long is because I wanted to take a picture of my Krika but sadly I couldn’t find his mask for whatever reason :C. As such, have a cutesy(?) Krika doodle as consolation.

Now or his characterization...Krika is one of the most interesting characters in the series in my book, and a fanfavorite for a good reason.

By far the main reason Krika is a such a beloved character (for me and many others) is due to him being a complex and even sympathetic villain in a franchise that (up until that point) had mostly lacking them, favoring more simple “pure evil bastards” style when it came to characterizing its villains. Sure, in the early years the foes the Toa had faced off weren’t really that evil, just creatures that were just doing what their purpose was (Bohrok probably are the best example of this as they weren’t completely animals/drones but rather just designed with a benefical purpose in mind). Even Makuta himself had some sympathetic implications in the earlier years (remember the Mask of Light oddities). But once 2004/5 started to do a shift from “antagonists are mooks/drones” to antagonists being characters, the villains became more “ambitious warlords and cunning masterminds” type.  I have talked many times how the series kinda has a bad habit of characterizing its villains in not only in a very samey way (Greg has his preferred archetypes and BOY does it show sometimes) but also...simplistically? Sure, some of them did have implications of emotional complexities but a lot of time this was more unintentional than intentional depth (Best examples of this by far are Nidhiki (more or less confirmed, Greg just saw him as an ambitious and selfish bastard who got what he deserved, while parts of the fandom kinda read him in a more complex and sympathetic light) and Takadox (not sure if his complexity is confirmed to be accidental but Takadox def has some characterization quirks that make him a bit more complex than most of the series villains)) . Krika feels different from the way Greg usually writes his villains as not only is he one of the rare intentionally complex villains the series had til this point (Brutaka being the other one I can think of) but also the first and only sympathetic/anti-villain the series had after the change of how it characterized it’s villains. This, is what I feel made Krika such a refreshing and beloved villain in the community, for how he feels unlike any other .

But now, lets go deeper into Krikas character and analyzing his complexity, shall we?Krikas defining character trait is that he is the reluctant and regretful antagonist stuck in the role of a villain, because he sees it as his only purpose. He doesn't want to be a bad guy, and resents his place in the world, but at the same time, he sees him as having no other choice. For Krika, were he to revolt, Teridax would kill him instantly, and Krika does have a sense of survival.

A big reason I like this part of Krikas character is how it tackles one of the central themes of the series, that being the idea of determinism, fate and nature vs nurture. Whether its intentional or an accident, Bionicle does tackle the idea of pre-determined Destiny and whether our “code” or experiences has an effect for ho we are as people. The Makuta are a species that essentially is “programmed” to be arrogant and haughty and are p much all evil because its the survival tactic due to Teridax wiping out anyone who opposed him. Yet despite that...Krika still has a coincidence, he still feels regret over his actions and hates who he is. He knows he is evil because that’s what his species is meant to be, yet he absolutely hates  that notion. I think this quote sums his character quite well:

"Do you know why we Makuta hate Toa so much? It's because you are what we could only pretend to be, once upon a time -- heroes who do good for no reward. And so we call you fools, and even slay you... because we could not be you."

And just that duality within his character and how it tackles a major idea of the series is so so SO fascinating for me. Krika is a character that really dances between the idea of whether a creature that’s designed to be evil can be something else or if its his destiny, his programmig (for lack of a better term) to be evil. He has self-awareness and does somewhat try to fight aggainst it, given how he did oppose Teridax orders a few times (see him sparing Miserix for instance) and eventually started actively oppose him.

Another thing I LOVE about Krika is his nobleness and how he honours his opponents. He still acts respectfully towards his enemies, which shows his “not like the other girls” nature in action. He really has this honorable warrior born in the wrong side of conflict, which makes his character tragic.

However, while Krika being complex is a good thing, I can’t help but wonder if he’s a bit too complex for the series good. I have brought up a few times how despite the complexity of the plot and world, the characters themselves aren’t too complex (most of the time anyways) and the series isn’t really that interested in exploring them (most of the time anyway). As such, while Krikas complexity is more than welcome, at the same time I feel that he isn’t explored as much as he could’ve been. Theres also his death, which I’m very mixed on. On one hand, I feel he having a tragic fate fits his character...but also it’d been really nice had he switched sides and joined the Toa to stop Teridax. There’s also the fact that thematically speaking, Krika dyingbefore he could turn good kinda enforces the idea that bad beings are always bad and can’t be redeemed, something which doesn’t really sit with me.

All in all, Krika is a great, interesting and tragic character who adds something new to the franchises roster of villains. He may been with us for a short time, but the short time was incredibly memorable and he was utilized as best as he could considering Gregs writing style and how we really had only an arc to spend with him.

[goneseriesanalysis]

Caine Soren

Hiya guys, so here are my thoughts and opinions on Caine from my re-read of the first book. I was planning on writing this quicker but my ADHD told me no. I’m prolly gonna write up a bunch now though because I’m ✨in the zone✨ Also, apologies but this is another long one because I am physically incapable of being concise 

Spoilers for Gone down below

Original Opinion: Most of my criticism on him as a character came as a result of later development so I’m not quite sure whether that will change as of yet. But as far as his role as a villain, I really enjoyed his character and what he brought to the story.

New Opinion: I still maintain that Caine is a good main villain for this book. I found him to be waaaaay different and way less competent than I remember, but boy is he interesting. I have so many thoughts on Caine and it was a real struggle getting them all down.

1.) CAINE’S APPEARANCE:

Ok so we are first introduced to Caine in chapter 14 through Sam’s POV. We see him standing apart from the other Coates kids “wearing a bright yellow V-necked sweater instead of a blazer.” This is obviously done to set him apart from the other Coates kids, and (forgive me for going all English teacher on you) the colour yellow has connotations of corruption and deceit, which fit in pretty nicely with Caine as a character. Sam then goes on to give us a more detailed description:

“He was handsome, even Sam noticed that. He had dark hair and dark eyes, not much different from Sam himself. But this boy’s face seemed to glow with an inner light. He radiated confidence, but without arrogance or condescension. In fact, he managed to seem genuinely humble even while standing alone, looking out over everyone else.”

This is one of my least favourite descriptions in the whole book because it simultaneously manages to tell us almost nothing about Caine’s appearance whilst making me cringe so hard that my muscles start to atrophy. Seen as we get very little description of Sam, telling us that Caine looks like Sam is pretty much useless – although it nicely sets up the brother twist – and dark hair and dark eyes could mean anything. Are his eyes blue, brown, black?? Is his hair black or brown?? Who knows?? Not me. And don’t even get me started on his face glowing with an inner light. Because no. I hate this line so much it actually hurts. I thought at first it may be in reference to his connection with the gaiaphage. But that makes no sense. It reminds me of the scene in The Great Gatsby where Nick describes Gatsby’s smile for about half a page and he just sounds ridiculous. I will admit the last two sentences give a good example of Caine’s ability to charm and manipulate those around him but the rest is just aaa

We also learn that he is handsome, which is then followed by what I consider to be a writer’s greatest sin. “He was handsome, even Sam noticed that” – Every. Single. Time a male character describes another male character who just so happens to be attractive in any given book from any author, we get this line. It is the writer’s equivalent of saying no homo and I’m going to make it my personal mission to call them all out on it.

Ok moving on – sorry about that. Rant over.

Sam then says that “His voice was clear and just a little higher, maybe, than Sam’s, but strong and determined. He had a way of looking at the crowed before him that made it seem he was meeting every person’s eye, seeing every person as an individual.” This is good at further establishing Caine as a leader, and shows his relationship with crowds, it gives the reader some indication of his ability to control. He is able to easily win over those of Perdido Beach with his charm.

Caine gets referred to as being attractive by a few other characters throughout the book, but the last main description we get of him is from Drake’s POV in chapter 20:

“Caine sat in his over-large leather chair, the one that had previously belonged to the mayor of Perdido Beach. It made him look small. It made him look very young. And to make matters worse, he was chewing on his thumbnail, which made it almost look like he was sucking his thumb.”

This description is kind of reminiscent of the scene with Sam and the shirt that I talked about in my Sam Temple post. He has taken over the mayor’s chair but he is not fit to take on the position of mayor. Whereas Sam’s weakness in leadership stems from his insecurities and doubts, it is Caine’s narcissism and over-confidence that make him unfit to lead. Michael gives Caine the compulsion of biting his thumbnail when he is nervous. This is a habit that people often pick up to deal with challenging emotions is a less destructive way (as opposed to having a meltdown or getting angry) and works nicely for Caine’s character. It shows that while he does have his moments where he loses control, he is capable of controlling himself to a certain degree, making it seem more likely that someone like Diana might align herself with him. This also helps to further the idea that despite his narcissism and delusions of grandeur, he is still just a kid. And of course sets up the idea that Drake is somewhat resentful towards Caine.

2.) CAINE’S PERSONALITY:

Caine’s personality is a difficult one to analyse as there are two main aspects to it – the personality he projects in order to manipulate people and his actual personality – and sometimes the line between these blurs to the point where it becomes unclear which one we are seeing. One thing that I did notice is that in this book we don’t actually get a Caine POV until the Thanksgiving battle, so we mostly see him through the eyes of Sam, Jack, Drake and Diana, who all have very different relationships with him.

As I mentioned before, we first see Caine through Sam’s POV, where we are introduced to what I’m gonna call his fake personality. Michael uses phrases such as “Caine appeared interested” alongside Astrid’s commentary, which lets the reader know that Caine is not what he appears to be, but of course the general population of Perdido Beach are not aware of this. One criticism I had towards the way that Caine’s character is portrayed is that it is initially hinted that the reason he is able to gain such control over people is because of his proficiency in manipulation and his superficial kindness (such as when he comforts the kid who asks for his mum). And yet he manages to fool almost no-one?? Astrid, Sam, Edilio, Albert, Mary and Howard all immediately see through his façade, which makes it hard to believe that this is how he gained such influence over people. (And of course all the kids at Coates who were cemented saw through it too). In fact I found myself to be kind of confused as to why anyone follows him at all?? Is it just a fear of his power?? That’s… a little disappointing. He doesn’t become mayor because he charms the population. He becomes mayor because no-one else wants to do it, and no-one can be bothered to oppose him. And even when people start to become more afraid, they aren’t afraid of Caine. It’s Drake. Although, you of course have to take into account the fact that these are just children who want someone they can look towards for help and guidance. Perhaps Caine’s persuasive abilities are less about using his charm to completely win people over and more about him being able to take advantage of situations that are presented to him. He has just enough superficial charm and makes just enough beneficial changes (such as laying down rules and protecting the food) that people are willing to overlook some of the more sinister things that he does.

That being said, I think my main issue with so many characters being able to see through Caine so quickly, is what it says about or “hero.” Sam doing nothing to stop Caine, despite him clearly knowing that Caine is bad news makes him seem a little selfish?? His insecurities stop him from doing what is right, and while it is good to have a flawed hero, his willingness to allow Caine to terrorise Perdido Beach up until he threatens Sam personally seems less like a small character flaw and more like a pretty big lapse in morality and compassion. Would Sam have ever taken control if Caine hadn’t kidnapped him?? If Sam had been fooled by Caine’s manipulation that would imo have made both of their characters better fit their respective roles of protagonist and antagonist.

That being said one of my absolute favourite lines regarding Caine is “Then let’s go in together,’ Caine said. He turned and marched purposefully up the church steps. The rest of the chosen fell in behind him.” in chapter 14. I think this perfectly captures the contrast between what Caine says and what he does, and I really love it.  One of Michael’s strengths is adding little throw away lines that can perfectly sum up a character and their intentions. And this idea of Caine saying something but meaning something else is pretty central to his character – the biggest pay-off we get from this in book 1 is him promising to protect the little’s and then (horrifyingly) feeding them to the coyotes in the final battle. This was a scene that I did not previously remember and man did I feel some emotions when reading it. There wasn’t even a second thought, absolutely no indication of remorse. I know a few times it’s mentioned throughout the books that the difference between Caine and Drake is that Caine only does what is necessary – but the scene with the coyotes really contradicts that idea.

Caine’s ‘real personality’ imo is shown in little moments throughout the books. By Caine’s real personality, I’m referring to the part of him that we don’t really see at all in this book, the part of him that is only really hinted at by Diana, and occasionally Drake. Even when Caine is around Diana and Drake, he still tries to keep up a persona – this time that of a cold and detached boy with little to no emotions. But this isn’t really who he is. I think the ‘real’ Caine is an extremely emotional person (although I would like to clarify that by emotional I mainly mean angry and sometimes scared) and there are a couple of moments where this does shine through. There are a few times where Caine loses his temper with both Drake and Diana, using his powers to injure them and to reiterate the power he has over them. I think this shows how insecure Caine truly is, despite what he would have others believe. He only ever breaks character when his authority is mocked or threatened, even if the threat holds no real intention (such as Diana’s jibe after he kisses her). I do find it interesting that, at the core, Sam and Caine are quite similar. It is how these insecurities manifest and project themselves that really define them as different. Caine’s insecurities also shine through in these quotes from Diana:

“Yes. Sam is a four bar. And Caine would freak.” – Chapter 29

“Caine, despite his over-sized ego, his looks, his charm, was terribly awkward with girls.” – Chapter 39

Caine needs to be in control. He needs to be the most powerful person in the room at all times, and the only two people who can really be considered a threat to him in this way are Diana and Sam. Sam is his main threat and Diana, of course, holds a certain amount of power over him due to his feelings towards her. However, any time that Diana seems to be gaining or trying to gain more power (most notably when she makes fun of him for kissing her and when she tries to make him call off the coyotes) he reacts with violence. But I’ll go into that more when I make a post about their relationship.

Another thing that I noticed about Caine that I hadn’t previously remembered is that, he’s a bit of a coward. We first see this in chapter 34 when Little Pete frees the Coates kids “Caine was quick. He backed away, turned, and ran for the building.” The one thing that really got me about this is that he didn’t wait for Diana. He just turned and saved himself. Which kind of brings into question why Diana stays with him. Does he offer protection?? He certainly didn’t here. He literally abandoned her and ran for the hills. The other time we really see this side of him when he uses Astrid as a human shield in chapter 45. Diana even comments on this, telling him to “be a man for once.” I don’t have much else to say about this, but I think it’s an interesting aspect of his personality that certainly makes it easier to dislike him.

Now the last thing I want to talk about in regards to his personality is chapter 36 (the chapter where Drake gets his arm cut off). Caine gets in three good moments during this scene, the first one being:

“It’s not Diana or Chunk or even me,’ Caine said. ‘It’s none of us, Drake. It’s Sam. It’s Sam who did this to you, Drake. You want him to get away with it? Or do you want to live long enough to make him suffer?”

This is one of my favourite Caine moments in the book, and it’s really one of the only times that we see his manipulation actually work on someone. He knows exactly what to say to Drake in order to shift the blame in the direction he wants. Forget that I left you behind to deal with Sam and the escaped kids yourself. Forget that Diana is sawing your arm off. Just focus on Sam. And I think this line had such an effect on Drake’s psyche (which I will explore more in my Drake post) and really excellently shows off Caine’s ability to take advantage of a pre-existing situation in order to benefit himself.

The next two moments are where I really think the lines between Caine’s persona and the ‘real’ Caine blur to the point where it’s unclear which side of him we are seeing – and I think there is an argument for both although imo I feel like it’s his persona that we are seeing.

“It’s the only way to stop the pain,’ Caine said, almost showing some emotion, some pity. ‘The arm is done for Drake-man.”

“Don’t cut off my arm,’ Drake cried. ‘Let me die. Just let me die. Shoot me.           ‘Sorry,’ Caine said. ‘But I still need you, Drake. Even one-handed.”

So, we first get the idea that Caine, at least somewhat, feels sorry for Drake. Drake’s injury is horrific and it’s clear that other characters, such as Jack and Diana, who are usually nothing but hostile to Drake (and rightfully so) feel some sympathy towards the situation. Now it’s also important to note that this scene is from Drake’s POV so we don’t actually know if the sympathy Caine is showing is real, is part of his attempt to manipulate Drake, or isn’t there at all and is just something that Drake wants. (I think the last option is entirely plausible as Drake often seeks praise from Caine, so in a situation like this it makes sense that he would seek some empathy). However, Caine then goes on to refuse Drake’s plea for death… because he needs him. Not because he’s a friend – or even just an ally. Not because he doesn’t want him to die. But because he needs him. That’s cold. And it’s really cold to tell him that – which leads me to believe that the almost sympathy Drake sees earlier on was never there, or at the very least was just a manipulation tactic. Caine cares so little for the people around him and I find it quite funny that it was his treatment of Drake (the person probably most deserving of it) in this scene that really showed me how much of a villain Caine can be.

3.) CAINE’S MOTIVATIONS:

Why does Caine do the things he does?? Why does he need to be in control?? And while we don’t really get much insight into Caine’s head in this book, there are a few good moments which allowed a reader to speculate as to what his motivations are. The first moment that really stood out to me was in chapter 39, where Caine tries to open up to Diana about his parents:

“I always had the feeling, you know? That my family wasn’t my real family. They never said I was adopted, but my mother – well, the woman I thought was my mother, I don’t know what to call her now. Anyway, her, she never talked about having me. You know, you hear moms talking about going into labour and all. She never talked about that.”

From this, we can see that Caine always felt like an outsider within his own family, he always felt like he didn’t belong. And this seems to be a pretty big motivator when it comes to Caine’s need to take over, to have power over everyone else. If he has control, then he will always have a place. He will always belong because the world will be his. Caine never fit in in the real world, his narcissism (and probably psychopathy) distanced him from other people right from the get go. But in this new world, in the FAYZ, Caine has a chance to be important, to be a ruler and he’s willing to do pretty much anything to get that. I think this idea, of his need for power and control stemming from the lack of acceptance and belonging he felt with his family, is emphasised in chapter 46, during the poof:

“Caine seemed spellbound, unable to tear his gaze away from the gentle, smiling face, the piercing blue eyes.                                                                        ‘Why?’ Caine asked in a small child’s voice.                                                             […]                                                                                                                          ‘Why him and not me?’ Caine asked.”

This is the only time I felt the slightest bit of sympathy for Caine during my re-read of this book. He is 14. A kid. He spent his whole life feeling like and outsider and now he knows that a woman he knew, a woman that he saw almost every night is his actual mother. That she also knew this and yet never tried to talk to him, to explain, to do anything. And now he’s looking at ‘her’ and all he wants to know is why. Why did she give him up?? He lacks empathy and many other emotions that allow healthy relationships with others, yet he still wants people to have that connection with him. He needs him and rely on him. So his solution is to gain enough power, enough authority and control so that people have to listen to him and have to rely on him. He doesn’t care how many people he hurts or pisses off, because in the end, if he gets what he wants, that won’t matter. He’ll be too powerful for it to matter because they’ll still need him anyway. And that’s why “All that matters is winning. So save it.” – Chapter 45

4.) CAINE’S INTENTIONS/ HIS ROLE AS A VILLAIN:

Caine’s intentions are pretty obvious from the very first time we meet him in chapter 14. And, of course, it is these intentions that really define his role as a villain. Now, in chapter 14, it never outright says that Caine’s intentions are to take complete control over Perdido Beach. In fact, Caine tries to make it seem like he wants to make a collaborative effort to help them all move forward. But once again, his actions contradict his words, most notably in these lines:

“Orc grunted, shifted the bat from right hand to left, and stuck out his thick paw. Caine grabbed it with both his hands and solemnly looked Orc in the eye as they shook hands.”

“But Caine grabbed his elbow and manoeuvred him into a handshake.” [Referring to Sam]

“Caine had moved confidently towards the altar.”

These lines subtly show that, whilst Caine talks about working together, he is really the one in charge. He is the one dictating what is happening and when it is happening, forcing Sam and Orc to shake his hand. Giving them jobs so that he can keep an eye on them (Orc) or keep them out of the way (Sam). And of course, he won’t stand with them in the church. They don’t sit around a table and talk as equals. Caine has to be up at the front. He also gets extremely angry when other people make demands, or give an idea that he can’t take credit for. The most obvious example of this being in response to Howard telling him that they wouldn’t be working for Drake.  “Sam saw a coldly furious expression appear on Caine’s handsome face, then disappear as swiftly as it had come.” This is then followed up by Caine ripping a 12ft cross off of a wall and launching it at them, so it’s safe to say that he doesn’t appreciate his authority being challenged.

Later in the book we then get more obvious examples of his intentions, as his role as the villain is fully unveiled:

“Caine, to the surprise of no-one who knew him, had taken over the mayor’s office.” – Chapter 15

“Number one says Caine is the mayor of Perdido Beach and the whole area known as the FAYZ.” – Chapter 16

After Caine basically walks into Perdido Beach, tells everyone what to do, and gets away with it, he begins to be more outright with his intentions. He immediately takes over the mayor’s office, and makes his new title of mayor the very first rule to be enforced. He isn’t really all that secretive about his intentions, at least not after the initial meeting. I think this is a measure of his confidence – he doesn’t feel at all threatened by the people of Perdido Beach. I think one of the reasons that Caine is such a good villain, is that when he is in control, he isn’t that bad?? I mean sure, having Drake as sheriff is less than ideal, but Caine himself is not a bad leader. He comes up with rules that both make sense and do actively increase the quality of life of those in Perdido Beach (minus the no magic tricks rule). It’s only what Caine is willing to do in order to get that power that actually makes him the villain. Once he has it, he’s not really a threat?? And then of course, we get Caine’s fantastic little speech in chapter 42 that really just sums up all these ideas in much less words:

“What was I supposed to do? Coates? That’s it? How do you not see what an opportunity this is? We’re in a whole new world. I’m the most powerful person in that whole new world. No adults. No parents or teachers or cops. It’s perfect. Perfect for me. All I have to do is take care of Sam and a few others, and I’ll have complete control.”

Because if it wasn’t for his ego, if he hadn’t attacked Sam, if he hadn’t used Drake to cause fear and enmity, he would have had it. He would have gotten his complete control, because no-one else really wanted to be in charge. The fool is his own worst enemy.

5.) CAINE’S POWERS:

So, the last thing I wanted to discuss about Caine, is his powers. To me, it seemed whilst reading that his powers are almost an extension of his personality. Caine is naturally a very domineering person, and so it makes sense that his power is the ability to control things with his mind. The first time we see Caine’s powers (also the first time we see anyone purposefully use their powers) is in the church:

“Caine sighed, raised his hands, and used both palms to smooth back his hair.                                                   There came a rumble, up through the floor and pews. A small earthquake…                                        […]                                                                                                                                                                   But then came a rending sound, steel and wood twisting, and the crucifix separated from the wall. It ripped free of the bolts holding it in place, like an invisible giant had yanked it away.                              […]                                                                                                                                                             The crucifix toppled forwards. It fell like a chain sawed tree.                                                                                                             As it fell, Caine dropped his hands to his sides. His face was grim, hard, and angry.                                                                                                 The crucifix, at least a dozen feet tall, slammed with shocking force down onto the front-row pew. The impact was as loud and sudden as a car wreck.” – Chapter 14

I like how, similarly to the way he talks, the first time we see a display of his power, he is hiding it – his body language is suggesting one action whilst he is actually doing something else entirely. This again makes me feel like the powers are an extension of personalities (and I will give other examples of this is later posts).  I also noticed that the use of his powers is almost always as a response to his anger, something that Sam also learns to do thanks to Astrid’s guidance. These two scenes are great examples of this:

“Caine’s smile was cold. He raised his hand, palm out. An invisible fist hit Sam in the face. He staggered back. He barely stopped himself from falling, but his head was reeling. Blood leaked from his nose.” – Chapter 21

“Caine reached back over his shoulder with one hand, not even looking back. He spread his fingers, bared his palms. The fallen portion of the wall came apart, brick by brick. One by one, as though each brick had sprouted wings, they lifted off and flew. The bricks hurtled past Caine’s head and through the open door as fast as machine-gun bullets.” – Chapter 31

Unlike Sam, who often uses his powers as a defence strategy, Caine always uses them as a method of attack. He attacks Orc’s gang, Drake, Sam and Andrew – not as a last resort, but as a warning. He likes to make a big display of his power in order to deter people from actually engaging in a fight. Although when it does come down to an actual fight, he tends to be a little less confrontational and a little bit more of a coward. I mean come one. Hiding behind Astrid was low. At least this is the case in book 1.

Next, is the development of his powers. Unlike Sam, we know that Caine did not discover his powers alone:

“Several of us developed strange powers, starting a few months ago,’ Caine said conversationally. ‘We were like a secret club. Frederico, Andrew, Dekka, Brianna, some others. We worked together to develop them. Encouraged each other. See, that’s the difference between Coates people and you townies. In boarding school it’s hard to keep secrets. But soon it became clear that my powers were of a whole different order. What I just did to you? No one else could do that.”

The Coates kids formed a sort of support group for each other, which is why they have such a good understanding of their powers, as opposed to Lana and the Perdido Beach kids, who either hid their powers or else didn’t discover them until the FAYZ began. One thing that I do find interesting about this, is that the Coates kids all seemed to develop their powers pretty late. Caine says that the powers started a few months ago, and yet Sam first used his 14 months before the FAYZ began. I think that goes to show how the Coates environment really gave Caine the ability to experiment with and foster his powers, which is why he has such control. He achieved in a few months what is took Sam over a year to do. (One thing that I think would have been nice to have is perhaps in a later book some flashbacks on the Coates kids working together to do this. But oh well)

Thank you so much again for reading, and please feel free to add your thoughts. Next up is Diana and I have a lot to say about her. :)

[lostinyourears]

Masked Matches of May V : Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Fishman & Perro Aguayo, March 20th, 1983, NJPW

Video link to the match on YouTube : https://imgur.com/a/3PPkgWY

Cagematch page for this match(Some matches won’t have this because they aren’t listed on Cagematch)

Who’s Who?

Tatsumi Fujinami

Tatsumi Fujinami is has been covered in the last few days so I’m not going to go too into him here. Like mentioned in previous days 1983 is when he went from being a Junior Heavyweight to Heavyweight. He would capture the WWF International Heavyweight title in August of 1983 a few months after this. Of course Fujinami is one of the most recognized IWGP Heavyweight Champions holding that belt on 6 separate occasions the 2nd most next to contemporary champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Antonio Inoki

It may sound like a cliche, but when talking puro this man should need no introduction. Founder of NJPW and it’s first major star and ace. Antonio Inoki was the king of NJPW for most of the 1970′s and even into the early 1980′s, but by the time IWGP Heavyweight Championship was a thing Inoki wasn’t really the right age to lead a company being in his mid 40′s. 

Tatsumi Fujinami would be the one who became associated with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship since he is about a decade younger. Inoki was the Fujinami of his era the 70′s and early 1980′s, making his debut in 1960 and working in the original wrestling company of Japan JWA. He didn’t retire until 1998, but wasn’t booked as champion after his inaugural IWGP Championship reign in 1987. 

Fishman

Fishman is a luchador who was most well known for working in UWA/CMLL. Though he worked in AAA as well in the 1990′s. It was not uncommon for UWA/CMLL to share talents because they didn’t have the antagonist relationship that AAA/CMLL have. In fact CMLL/UWA would run joint cards.

Before this match in the 70′s and early 80′s Fishman had captured various belts the Mexican National Welterweight Championship(x3), NWA World Welterweight Champion,  WWF Light Heavyweight Champion and was currently in his 3rd reign a UWA World Light Heavyweight Belt... which is the title he’s most associated with. 

It was a very important belt in the 1980′s lucha scene held by Fishman like it was in 1983, originally held by lucha legend Ray Mendoza(father of Villano Brothers). The UWA World Light Heavyweight Belt was introduced in 1975 when UWA was founded. It was also held by Perro Aguayo who Fishman was teaming with here. Fishman’s first reign coming when he beat then champion Perro Aguayo in ‘81.

Fishman has also... of course been in various betting matches by this point. The most important being at EMLL 44th Anniversary show in 1977 which was a 2 night event in which Fishman unmasked a person each night. Sangre Chicana on night one. Who Fishman was feuding with for his UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship the two trading it back and forth. At this point Fishman had won 9 betting matches one of them was a tag match with Anibal. 

Sadly we lost Fishman in 2017 when he passed away at the age of 66. 

Perro Aguayo

Making his debut in 1968 Perro Aguayo got his start in CMLL and much like Fishman worked with both CMLL/UWA throughout the 1980′s. 

Before this match in the 70′s and early 80′s Perro Aguayo had captured various belts the NWA World Middleweight Championship(3x), Mexican National Middleweight Championship, UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Champion,  UWA World Light Heavyweight Champion, and WWF Light Heavyweight Champion(x3). That last title being the one he is most well known to carry by the end of the 80′s having held it 7 times.

He also had his fair share of betting matches his record being good : 38-12-0 

His record at this time was 7-6-0, so basically tied winning 1 more than he has loss. Though the people he lost to are a literally who’s who of Lucha Legends. Having loss to El Santo(the original) at EMLL 42nd Anniversary,  El Faraón at 43rd and El Solitario. So he was losing, but in high profile matches and hair grows back. At EMLL 49th Anniversary(September 1982) Perro won a big one at Anniversary shaving Tony Salazar in the main event. Over the spring/summer of 1983 Perro would win 2 more hair vs hair matches vs El Texano & Negro Navarro before losing in the fall to Villano III. So that’s where Perro Aguayo was at this time. As said about the 80′s for Perro was all about that WWF Light Heavyweight Title as well. He would drop it to Gran Hamada in UWF in 1984... in a bit of a strange detour for the mostly Mexican touring belt. 

We may see Perro Aguayo again in this series so I don’t want to dump all the info about him right here. This was a hot time for Perro Aguayo it’s probably the best time of his career. Though, he had highs before this too. Working with El Santo is obviously a big deal and being in a betting match at Anniversary is a notch on your belt, having it 3 times is a huge notch. Many great and notable luchadores don’t even get one.  

How is the match?

Did you actually make it to this section? I can get long winded. 

(Date on the video was wrong, but not going to retype all this for 1981)

This is a good match and an interesting contrast from the more junior style we have seen thus far in the series with this being a more Heavyweight style match. While I do enjoy this match, there is a segment which is very similar to the other lucha vs puro match we watched from 1981. Where a lucha guy holds a puro guy and his buddy dives, but puro guy escapes so lucha dives on lucha. It’s not a bad spot, but it was done better/more exciting in the Tiger Mask tag cause there were just more dives in that one. It’s understandable though since this is more heavyweight and grounded. Inoki doesn’t do dives.

Perro Aguayo was a treat in this and might make this series again. He is very expressive and fun in this match. His finish is a double footstomp... which we sorta see in this match, when he breaks up a pin. Though, I’m not sure that’s what it was suppose to be or not. As normally it’s to a prone opponent on their back not someone making a pin attempt. He and Inoki have a fun bit and that’s really all Inoki did in this match. He seemed very in the background, not sure if he was injured or perhaps saving himself for something right around the corner?

I’d recommend this match for Perro Aguayo antics alone. I’d say it’s pretty on par with the other tag match we have looked at. It was a pretty fun era of NJPW working with UWA. Inoki draw with Bob Backland in his only 1981 UWA match for the WWF Heavyweight Title. We will continue this UWA trend when tomorrow we look at Tiger Mask in UWA. In a traditional 2/3 falls title match with Fishman. (Which actually did happen in 1983) 

Highlights :

Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Fishman & Perro Aguayo, March 20th, 1983, New Japan Pro Wrestling