Geppetto (Fables)
| Geppetto | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo Comics |
| First appearance | Fables #40 (October 2005) |
| Created by | Bill Willingham |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Adversary Empire |
| Notable aliases | The Adversary |
| Abilities | Master woodcarver, sorcerer, leader of the Empire |
Geppetto is a major character, albeit one that's rarely seen, in the comic book series Fables, written by Bill Willingham and published by DC Comics as part of the Vertigo imprint.
His actions are responsible for the entire premise of the comic book, in that he is the being known as The Adversary who masterminded the conquest of the Fable homelands, forcing the Fables to flee into the mundane world. During the war against the Empire, he was the primary antagonist of the series before being given amnesty, having his role replaced by Mister Dark.
In 2009, Gepetto was ranked as IGN's 91st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.
Based on the character of Mister Geppetto from the book The Adventures of Pinocchio, Geppetto is the creator of Pinocchio, the wooden boy who was ultimately, after a series of adventures, turned into a human boy by the Blue Fairy. However, it transpired that his conversion to human form had not cured Pinocchio of his wanderlust and the boy repeatedly left on adventures, often disappearing for years at a time, leaving Geppetto behind to wait in lonely solitude for his return.
Geppetto's solution seemed obvious, to create new children, initially older sons, operating under the assumption that they would prove more mature than Pinocchio, then turning his hand to daughters. The Blue Fairy continued to visit, and, every now and then, would take a liking to one of the children and turn them human. Having also been hurt by Pinocchio's vagabond nature, she altered her magic to include bonds of loyalty to Geppetto and of fealty to hearth and home.
Life continued in a generally happy fashion until Geppetto was approached by the elders of the local community who were growing increasingly concerned about the erratic behaviour of the local Count. They proposed that he should be replaced; that Geppetto should create a double for the Count, persuade the Blue Fairy to turn him human, then, at some suitable point, replace the Count with his double. Despite initial misgivings, as the plan clearly had to involve the murder of the real Count, the switch was made and sanity settled back into the land. The new Count ruled wisely, but eventually the time came for him to pass away. His son was highly incompetent, so the decision was made to repeat the procedure.
...
Wikipedia