Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling: Issue 94

Issue 94 - Baphomet

Sep 9, 2020

We take our first trip to the world of the Wicked + the Divine to examine Baphomet! And it's so complex, we enlisted Jered from the Fantom Zone to help us! Does this role playing god find a name he's comfortable with? Listen now to find out!

SHOW NOTES:

Intro
- Thanks to guest Jered from Fantom Zone
- Nominees for 100th episode award show + mailbag - nominations page
Background (05:15)

- Baphomet created by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matthew Wilson in The Wicked + The Divine #2 (July 2014)
- Makes his debut in the London Underground holding the Morrigan’s severed head, but was interrupted by the Morrigan herself - they fought until Laura intervened
- Learns of the “Prometheus gambit”, where a god can extend their life by killing another god - initially targets Urdr but gets stopped by Morrigan, and focuses on Inanna instead
- Later revealed that he didn’t kill Inanna, and they went to Laura - witnessed her transformation into Persephone, and after Ananke killed Inanna, Baphomet took Persephone to the Underground to hide
- After sleeping with Persephone, he revealed that he’s actually Nergal, but changed his name because he was ashamed of the association with Warhammer 40K - before becoming a god, he was Cameron, a role-playing nerd in love with Marian - when Marian became the Morrigan, she convinced Ananke to turn him into a god, which he did not appreciate initially
- After Persephone kills Ananke, he and Morrigan resume their relationship, which turns abusive towards him - Morrigan becomes very controlling and physically abusive
- Later discovers that Morrigan wanted him to become a god so they could kill and resurrect each other forever
- Permanently kills the Morrigan’s 3 alters to provide bodies for the disembodied heads of Lucifer, Inanna, and Tara
- Sacrifices his brain to bring back Dionysus
Issues (17:16)
- Scared, insecure, and afraid of death
- Postures as what he thinks masculinity should look like, as well as what he thinks Morrigan wants (24:20)
- Domestic abuse from a male perspective (31:54)
- Was an identity forced upon him, or did he refuse the identity gifted to him and make his own? (42:15)
Break (55:48)
- Plugs for Popcorn Psychology, Bedknobs & Broomflicks, and Jeremy Whitley
Treatment (56:42)
- In-universe - Need a fan to infiltrate the Pantheon and feed information to him
- Out of universe
Skit
Ending (74:58)
- Recommended reading: the entire Wicked + Divine series
- Next episodes: Killer Croc, Black Adam, Stranger in a strange land
- Plugs for social