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In this week’s column, I’m going to examine Lord Raglan’s Hero Pattern as it applies to Rocket Raccoon. I’m not going to lie, my first impulse was to examine Howard the Duck through this lens, but despite the existence of works such as Lucius Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, satire (at least in its modern incarnation) doesn’t translate well to myth, so I chose to analyze my favorite Obsessive-Compulsive Anthropomorphic Animal.
As always, I’ll only elaborate on the points in the Hero Pattern which intersect with the character at hand, so here’s a copy of Lord Raglan’s complete checklist so that you can compare the character at hand to the outline of the mythological ideal.
The Hero Pattern
This pattern is based upon The Hero: A study in Tradition, Myth and Dreams by Lord Raglan
Incidents which occur with regularity in hero-myths of all cultures:
- Hero’s mother is a royal virgin;
- His father is a king, and
- Often a near relative of his mother, but
- The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and
- He is also reputed to be the son of a god.
- At birth an attempt is made, usually by his father or his maternal grand father to kill him, but
- he is spirited away, and
- Reared by foster -parents in a far country.
- We are told nothing of his childhood, but
- On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future Kingdom.
- After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast,
- He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor and
- And becomes king.
- For a time he reigns uneventfully and
- Prescribes laws, but
- Later he loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects, and
- Is driven from the throne and city, after which
- He meets with a mysterious death,
- Often at the top of a hill,
- His children, if any do not succeed him.
- His body is not buried, but nevertheless
- He has one or more holy sepulchres.
Once again, this essay was not written to denigrate any living religions, rather it is a means of examining what all myths have in common.
- The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and
Rocket Raccoon was genetically and surgically engineered in order to serve as a caretaker at a hospital for the mentally ill on his home planet. Since this is the case, he has no biological family.
- He is also reputed to be the son of a god.
His creator, Doctor Dyvyne, the criminally insane psychologist who controlled Rocket’s planet, ruled it like a god. In the realm of mythology, the creation of sentient beings has always been the responsibility (intentionally or otherwise) of the gods. By creating an array of sentient cyborg animals, in his hubris, Dyvyne (note the pun in his name) occupied the role of creator god, serving as a sort of mad Prometheus.
- he is spirited away, and
Rocket leaves his home planet and becomes a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
- Reared by foster -parents in a far country.
Rocket was ‘raised’ via the auspices of a set of false, implanted memories.
- We are told nothing of his childhood, but
Rocket, like Madelyn Pryor, had no childhood. It’s difficult to have one when you are grown in a tube.
- On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future Kingdom.
All of Rocket’s adventures with the Guardians happen after he has reached adulthood. Indeed, Rocket has long since been one of the most important members of that team, often playing the Heroic role of ‘Rescuer’ as he retrieves people like Peter Quill and the Queen of the Shi’ar Empire. Like other classical questers, Jason or Odysseus, his stories are focused on his life as an adult, in his prime, with little interest shown for his life either before or after he accepted the mantle of his heroism. Like Odysseus, the passage of time has no meaning for him. At the end of the Odyssey, our favorite trickster should have been in his fifties, but he was still depicted as virile. The lifespan of a typical raccoon is only two or three years (seriously, do a Google) but Rocket has been marauding around the 616 universe for textual decades. One of the most interesting things about this character, for me, is that he should be comic relief. He’s got ‘joke character’ written all over his fuzzy little face. But like every classical hero, Rocket has transcended his beginnings and risen to a level where both glory and pathos are not only possible but have both appeared in his story.
- After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast,
From Doctor Dyvyne to Nyx, the marvel incarnation of the goddess of darkness herself, Rocket’s ingenuity has defeated them all.
- He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor and
Although the character has never been married, Rocket was the long-term lover of the anthropomorphic Otter Lylly — who was believed to be the daughter of a universe-spanning toy-making empire. In the era of Capitalism, that’s as close to ‘princess’ as you are going to get.
- And becomes king.
Rocket was the leader of The Guardians of the Galaxy while Peter Quill was held in captivity.
- For a time he reigns uneventfully and
He was accepted as team leader with little struggle.
- Prescribes laws, but
Whenever Rocket has had the opportunity to lead, he’s done it well — delegating work and responsibilities as well as leading his team on successful raids and rescues.
- Later he loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects, and
When Rocket returned to Halfworld, his false memories fell away, both revealing the truth and, ultimately, both expelling him from his safe mental ‘home’ and making it impossible for him to ever fully return to his planet. You can’t go back to a place that never really existed, after all. This, more than the passage of time, makes it impossible for us, fictional or flesh, to ever reclaim our innocence.
- Is driven from the throne and city, after which
As well as being forced away from his home planet, Rocket also relinquished the captaincy of The Guardians in favor of the returned Peter Quill.
Rocket scores a total of thirteen points, scoring below Oedipus (twenty one points) but above Joseph (twelve points). He scores exactly the same as Pelops, the apprentice of Poseidon. Mythologically speaking, it’s interesting to me that Odysseus is the figure whose story most closely mirrors Rocket’s. Perhaps the role of false memories and illusions factors into that story more than has been thought.
Poet, novelist, fencer, pirate, Za-Za, and Comic Watch regular contributor Bethany Pope lives in China. They also hold an MA and PhD in creative writing. Their latest novel, The Hungry and the Lost, goes on sale December 1, 2021 from Parthian Books. You can follow them on Twitter at @theMasqueWriter.