Adam Sutler
Encyclopedia
Adam James Susan is a fictional character
and the main antagonist
in the comic book
series (later graphic novel
) V for Vendetta
, created by writer Alan Moore
and illustrator David Lloyd. He is renamed Adam Sutler in the film adaptation
, in which he is portrayed by John Hurt
.
party, and the ruler of the dictatorship
that holds Britain
in an iron grip. A firm adherent of pure fascism
, he values order above all else and sees civil liberties
as unneeded luxuries which are ultimately threats to a secure society. He states early in the novel that he believes in "the destiny of the Nordic race", and subsequently despises anyone who is not white
, Christian
and heterosexual. Despite the latter, he disdains all sexual contact as "brutish coupling", and has subsequently remained a virgin his entire life.
The graphic novel establishes his backstory. A former police chief constable, upon his entrance into politics he gathers a select few like-minded right-wing extremists and corporate executives into his inner circle, and then exploits the poverty
, chaos, and panic that follow a worldwide nuclear war
to seize power. Once in control, he gives himself the title of "Leader," and bans all art and literature that conflict with the views of the party, criminalizes political dissent
, and puts Jews, Arabs, Pakistanis and homosexuals into concentration camps.
In order to further monitor the state, Susan takes control of the intelligence
departments known as the Eye and the Ear, the military police
departments called the Nose and the Finger, and the propaganda
department called the Mouth. These are run by his subordinates, Derek Almond (later Peter Creedy) at The Finger, Conrad Heyer at The Eye, Brian Etheridge at The Ear, Eric Finch at The Nose, and Roger Dascombe at The Mouth. The leaders of these departments run the day-to-day affairs of government.
From his inner sanctum, he forsakes virtually all human contact, resolving to be feared and respected if he cannot be loved. He reserves the closest thing he can manage to human feeling for Fate, the super-computer which both surveys security and maintains the bureaucracy
of his government, loving and worshipping the machine as a goddess
; in one scene, it is strongly implied that he masturbates in its presence. He is not without human qualities, however; his last few moments in the novel reveal him to be a timid, socially inept man who is eager to somehow connect with his people. He recounts his past, including glimpses of his childhood; it is suggested that he was a lonely child who developed an inflated sense of his own power and importance by embracing fascism. He also shows signs of solipsism
, claiming that he and Fate are the only "real" beings in existence.
His rule begins to crumble when a masked terrorist calling himself "V" blows up the Houses of Parliament
on November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day), and begins systematically killing Susan's lieutenants. His defiance gradually inspires the public to rebel against Norsefire's reign. Susan tries desperately to capture and kill the mysterious vigilante
, but remains increasingly powerless to stop him. Susan eventually finds out that V has been manipulating the Fate super-computer to express the forbidden emotion of love, driving him further into insanity
.
At the end of the series, Susan is shot and killed during a publicity parade by Rose Almond, the widow of Derek Almond, Creedy's predecessor. Creedy immediately takes total control of London for a short time before he too is killed by one of his underlings, soon resulting in the total collapse of the government.
, the character is named Adam Sutler (a portmanteau of "Susan" and "Hitler
"), and is portrayed by John Hurt
. His title is "High Chancellor". The Fate super-computer subplot is not featured in the film version.
Sutler's story is described as that of "a young and upcoming politician" and "a deeply religious man and a member of the Conservative party
". After the founding of Norsefire
, he is mentioned briefly as Under-Secretary for Defence
during the "Saint Mary's crisis", thus implying a coalition government
between Norsefire and a stronger party. Sutler is elected Prime Minister
by promising to restore order to the country after terrorists supposedly killed 80,000 people with a self-ignited bioweapon that created a viral
epidemic
(it is later revealed that Norsefire had actually launched the attack). He then uses the supposed terrorist threat as a pretext for genocide
, along with an ongoing propaganda
campaign in the state-run media, to cow the public into silence and appoint himself High Chancellor, turning the country into a single-party state
with himself as an autocrat.
As in the graphic novel, Sutler lives in an underground bunker
in self-imposed exile and leaves the day-to-day operation of his empire to his lieutenants. For most of the film he is only seen on television, until the end when he finally appears in person.
A decade later, when Sutler discovers he is being lampooned in a farce
on a talk show, he is enraged and orders the show's host, Gordon Dietrich, arrested in the dead of night and executed (the official story is that Dietrich was killed only after a Qur'an
was discovered among his belongings).
Sutler blames Creedy for the failure to stop V and threatens to fire him. In order to secure his own power, Creedy subsequently makes a deal with V to assassinate Sutler. Creedy and his men kidnap Sutler from his bunker and bring him to V in the London Underground
, where Creedy personally executes Sutler, shooting his hated boss in the head at point-blank range.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series (later graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
) V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government,...
, created by writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and illustrator David Lloyd. He is renamed Adam Sutler in the film adaptation
V for Vendetta (film)
V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian thriller film directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. It is an adaptation of the V for Vendetta comic book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd...
, in which he is portrayed by John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
.
Character's background
Adam Susan is the leader of the NorsefireNorsefire
Norsefire is the fictional fascist political party ruling the United Kingdom in Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta comic book series...
party, and the ruler of the dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
that holds Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in an iron grip. A firm adherent of pure fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, he values order above all else and sees civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
as unneeded luxuries which are ultimately threats to a secure society. He states early in the novel that he believes in "the destiny of the Nordic race", and subsequently despises anyone who is not white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and heterosexual. Despite the latter, he disdains all sexual contact as "brutish coupling", and has subsequently remained a virgin his entire life.
The graphic novel establishes his backstory. A former police chief constable, upon his entrance into politics he gathers a select few like-minded right-wing extremists and corporate executives into his inner circle, and then exploits the poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, chaos, and panic that follow a worldwide nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
to seize power. Once in control, he gives himself the title of "Leader," and bans all art and literature that conflict with the views of the party, criminalizes political dissent
Political dissent
Political dissent refers to any expression designed to convey dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Such expression may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence. Historically, repressive governments have sought to punish...
, and puts Jews, Arabs, Pakistanis and homosexuals into concentration camps.
In order to further monitor the state, Susan takes control of the intelligence
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
departments known as the Eye and the Ear, the military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
departments called the Nose and the Finger, and the propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
department called the Mouth. These are run by his subordinates, Derek Almond (later Peter Creedy) at The Finger, Conrad Heyer at The Eye, Brian Etheridge at The Ear, Eric Finch at The Nose, and Roger Dascombe at The Mouth. The leaders of these departments run the day-to-day affairs of government.
From his inner sanctum, he forsakes virtually all human contact, resolving to be feared and respected if he cannot be loved. He reserves the closest thing he can manage to human feeling for Fate, the super-computer which both surveys security and maintains the bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
of his government, loving and worshipping the machine as a goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
; in one scene, it is strongly implied that he masturbates in its presence. He is not without human qualities, however; his last few moments in the novel reveal him to be a timid, socially inept man who is eager to somehow connect with his people. He recounts his past, including glimpses of his childhood; it is suggested that he was a lonely child who developed an inflated sense of his own power and importance by embracing fascism. He also shows signs of solipsism
Solipsism
Solipsism is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. The term comes from Latin solus and ipse . Solipsism as an epistemological position holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure. The external world and other minds cannot be known, and might not...
, claiming that he and Fate are the only "real" beings in existence.
His rule begins to crumble when a masked terrorist calling himself "V" blows up the Houses of Parliament
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
on November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day), and begins systematically killing Susan's lieutenants. His defiance gradually inspires the public to rebel against Norsefire's reign. Susan tries desperately to capture and kill the mysterious vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, but remains increasingly powerless to stop him. Susan eventually finds out that V has been manipulating the Fate super-computer to express the forbidden emotion of love, driving him further into insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
.
At the end of the series, Susan is shot and killed during a publicity parade by Rose Almond, the widow of Derek Almond, Creedy's predecessor. Creedy immediately takes total control of London for a short time before he too is killed by one of his underlings, soon resulting in the total collapse of the government.
Film adaptation
In the film adaptationV for Vendetta (film)
V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian thriller film directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. It is an adaptation of the V for Vendetta comic book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd...
, the character is named Adam Sutler (a portmanteau of "Susan" and "Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
"), and is portrayed by John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
. His title is "High Chancellor". The Fate super-computer subplot is not featured in the film version.
Sutler's story is described as that of "a young and upcoming politician" and "a deeply religious man and a member of the Conservative party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
". After the founding of Norsefire
Norsefire
Norsefire is the fictional fascist political party ruling the United Kingdom in Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta comic book series...
, he is mentioned briefly as Under-Secretary for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
during the "Saint Mary's crisis", thus implying a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
between Norsefire and a stronger party. Sutler is elected Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
by promising to restore order to the country after terrorists supposedly killed 80,000 people with a self-ignited bioweapon that created a viral
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
(it is later revealed that Norsefire had actually launched the attack). He then uses the supposed terrorist threat as a pretext for genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, along with an ongoing propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
campaign in the state-run media, to cow the public into silence and appoint himself High Chancellor, turning the country into a single-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
with himself as an autocrat.
As in the graphic novel, Sutler lives in an underground bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
in self-imposed exile and leaves the day-to-day operation of his empire to his lieutenants. For most of the film he is only seen on television, until the end when he finally appears in person.
A decade later, when Sutler discovers he is being lampooned in a farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
on a talk show, he is enraged and orders the show's host, Gordon Dietrich, arrested in the dead of night and executed (the official story is that Dietrich was killed only after a Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
was discovered among his belongings).
Sutler blames Creedy for the failure to stop V and threatens to fire him. In order to secure his own power, Creedy subsequently makes a deal with V to assassinate Sutler. Creedy and his men kidnap Sutler from his bunker and bring him to V in the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
, where Creedy personally executes Sutler, shooting his hated boss in the head at point-blank range.