Character Conversation #9: Dr. Twisted

[Doctor Robo]

Every story has to have a beginning - that little kernel of an idea that over time blossoms into something greater than the sum of its parts. In the Metrobay Universe, everything really starts with two characters: Pink Pussycat on the bondage side and Dr. Twisted for mind control. It is these characters who were at the heart of Metrobay from day one, and in this Character Conversation I would like to focus on the man who helped start it all... Ted Twiss a.k.a. Dr. Twisted.

Ted started out strong in Metrobay, first as the Superheroine Squad's chief antagonist, then as an anti-hero, and recently serving as an agent of good - and a morally conflicted one at that. He had been laying low for a while, but now has retaken his rightful place as one of our main characters. So, this begs the question: What do you think about Ted Twiss? Do you like him as an outright bad boy, a reformed villain trying (and sometimes failing) to do good, or something in between? Leave a comment below and let your voice be heard!

- Doc

P.S.- Here is Ted's Metrobay Encyclopedia entry in case anyone needs a quick refresher course on his history.

http://metrobay.wetpaint.com/page/Dr.+Twisted

[Trishbot]

Ted Twiss, to me, is a very interesting character, because he's very much like TWO characters in one.

When he debuted, he was irrefutably an evil man, bent on revenge and using whatever devious means he could, and using whomever he could, to get what he wanted. The power went to his head and he captured and controlled many beautiful women, and did many naughty, naughty things to them, before he basically did one heroic thing that was just as much a way to save his own butt than it was to save the Superheroine Squad.

And after that, he changed. He become noticeably kinder and more sensitive, even repentant, but he still only helped the Squad again because it helped HIM by shaving off time for his prison term. After that, he was practically a new man, doing good and as noble as a boyscout. Sure, he'd get the occasional urge to screw one of the many hot, scantily clad, excessively busty women that brushed by him on a daily basis, but I'd think most men would have similar feelings.

Ted seems rather ashamed of his past, and his reformation feels more guilt-driven then out of any real need to do good. He is still, in a way, self-serving, making himself feel better, but not enough that he's above a quickie with Mechana, LISA, or Crissy. He's definitely a better man, but just how long can he maintain that hold?

I'm still rather baffled that some of the Squad are so open and okay with Ted working in their midst. He is, after all, a convicted criminal with a very long list of crimes, ranging from kidnapping, theft, blackmail, and sexual assault. So whose bright idea was it to put him in the midst of the hottest, most nubile and busty women in arguably the planet and hope he behaves? Talk about a rooster in the hen house. The fact that he has lasted as long as he has is, to me, a miracle of will-power. But he's going to slip up. You could argue he IS slipping up. And if he's discovered, what happens to him then? Is he cast out, given a second chance, or does he fall back into old habits?

One thing I've noticed is that none of the women he, personally, enslaved have had much time with him. I've imagined that they avoid him, or the Squad forbids him from getting near them. If I was Valient Grrl, I don't think I'd be so forgiving as the others towards the man that enslaved my mind and used me to capture and enslave my girlfriend. If I was Alpha Woman, I'd be more than upset at the way he methodically tried to ruin my life, including attacking my friends, spying on me, and ultimately brainwashing me. Brown Sugar would probably break a boot heel off in his ass if they bumped into each other in the hall. It's been a tad disappointing those lingering feelings of distrust, bitterness, and violation haven't been explored more. Some may be more forgiving, but the personalities of others indicate more lasting grudges that haven't been resolved yet.

I've loved his relationship with Silver Satin, as they seem like comrades. They are intellectually stimulated to be around together, and Silver Satin doesn't have the stigma the others do about being aware he enslaved her. Together, they compliment each other very well and I could almost see a romance develop, if Marcy was into him and not Mechana.

And I can understand Crissy's puppy-dog crush, but I've found it interesting how she fixates on Ted, but we've seen little interest in him returning the favor, at least emotionally. He's always seemed reluctant to be around her or to indulge her, and I can see good reasons for it. She's a child compared to him, emotionally insecure, and the aftermath of the Sentius ordeal has certainly left her in a poor state of mind, and he's not the picture of mental health himself. Whether she breaks him or not remains to be seen.

Though, to me, his most interesting relationship is with his rival, Belinda. She is everything he wants and needs in a woman, baring humongous breasts (but that can be fixed). She is his intellectual equal, his partner for many years, a former lover, a bitter rival, and a reminder of what he used to be and could still become. When Belinda appeared, she was the lesser of two evils. Now, she's the more corrupt and he is the hero. They're ying and yang, two similar souls that diverted down different paths and wound up at completely different destinations. I've mentioned it before, but I find them perfect for each other, even as they hate each other with passion. The fact that their entire fallout, and the cause of both of their lives spiraling into their current states, was due to a tragic misunderstanding makes it all the more interesting. It's great drama to know that Ted genuinely liked her, and she genuinely liked him, and all it took was one drunken slip of the tongue to destroy that relationship, and basically their entire lives. I've always wondered how both of them would react if they discovered the truth, but at this point they're poised to go at each other again, and I can't wait for the friction.

Overall, Ted's turn to good is commendable, but I'll confess a tad unrealistic. Even most recently, he appeared horrified that he engaged in consensual mind control behavior with Crissy. It seems less to do with the act being "bad" and more to do with Ted still suffering all that guilt from his meltdown period. That, alone, makes him interesting and may be his Achilles's heel in the long run. He's a genius, a potent alley or dangerous adversary. He's proven he can do unspeakably evil things yet can aspire to great heroism. He's the widest spectrum of good and evil in Metrobay, and the mind control sagas wouldn't be here without him. I think he needs more exposure, but less from his own perspective and more from those that he has influenced and been around. Crissy may love him unconditionally, but how does Alpha Woman feel about him? Or Valient Grrl? Or Belinda? Or Max? Or Silver Satin? Their feelings and opinions have been pretty muted, or at least masked with other emotions, so digging into their heads to see a wider image of Ted I think would be beneficial.

But Ted is great. He's our token, lovable mad genius, the type that loves what he does and yet fears his own past and power. He's dangerous and unpredictable, and he should stay that way. But as I said, he's like TWO characters, and I would like Ted's past to catch up to him. He may be good NOW, but there has to be some lingering complications about his past, whether it's with his actions towards the Squad, his relationship with Ms. Giolla, or his employment with admittedly illegal experiments at APEX. New Ted needs to deal with the problems of Old Ted, I think. More Ted, and more mischief please.

[Akonkid]

I'll admit, I'm a bit split on good ol' Ted. Many times, he's my hero. Other times, I just have to ask "what the hell, man?"

Ted reminds me of that guy in college that started off fun to be around because he was irresponsible, crazy, and did stupid things like try and sled down the stairs in a cardboard box, usually causing some drama and conflict along the way. Then, later, that guy matures, puts the "fun" stuff down, and tries to be a responsible, contributing member of society (aka "lame").

Ted has endured a similar evolution from that rapscallion rogue with a gleam in his eye and taste for busty brainless beauties to a more subdued, moral character that is certainly more commendable but not necessarily more fun to be around. Where before his presence signified danger and perilous dilemmas, now he's sort of a cog in the machine, a sort of "Q"-type creator and inventor that exists solely to make ex machina machines and gadgets (need to remove nanomachines from your body? Ted can do it. Need to unravel the secrets of a robot duplicate? Ted can do it. Need to reverse-engineer and construct a mind swapping machine in record time? Ted can do it.) He may have more face time than before, but his contributions thus far are pretty slim to the story. He assists Silver Satin and serves as an object of desire for Crissy, but he's got no real adversary to go up against, whether heroine or villain.

You could argue that he himself is his own worst enemy, and that's a fair assessment, but if so that could really be explored more. I hope I'm not the only one that really enjoyed the last Forbidden Fantasy chapter where he turned Crissy into a human robot. For a brief period, he was doing what we all wanted him to do and Crissy was that mindless slave we all wanted her to be. But rather abruptly he feels the pangs of guilt and asks "what was I thinking?" He was only thinking what any sane, healthy straight male would think. It's like hitting your stride and then slamming on the breaks.

Overall, Ted seems a bit aimless to me. For starters, I know he wants to reform, but he already has reformed, hasn't he? So what is his drive? What is his motivation? There are hints and teases about him being tempted, of him slipping up, or of his past catching up to him, but nothing concrete has developed. He feels like driftwood in the sea, sort of floating aimless between the demands of Ms. Metrobay, LISA, Crissy, and others. By comparison, Belinda is a more interesting character at the moment, not because she's evil and thus "more fun" (though that is true), but because she has a solid plan, is going about executing her evil machinations, and has a long-term adversary and goal in mind, giving her, and the reader, a very clear idea on what to expect. For Ted, who knows? That's good in that it keeps us guessing and bad when it surprises us in ways we aren't necessarily fond of.

That's not to say he's a bad character. Not at all. He's probably my favorite male character in the series and he's full of untapped potential. But the emphasis remains on "untapped" potential. It's difficult to get inside Ted's head and relate to him because his thoughts jump and shift and change from chapter to chapter and at times from page to page. It's almost bi-polar ("Oh yes! Kneel and suck my manhood!.... oh, this is wrong! How could I do this? .... yes, deeper! Harder!... No, I mustn't!"). That said, even if he himself is a bit aimless, he's doing a great job of affecting those around him, ranging from Mechana to Silver Satin to LISA to (definitely) Crissy. He's more a catalyst then a self-standing character, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I admit I may be biased since I miss "fun Ted", but I respect "good Ted" as well and wouldn't necessarily want him to slip back into old habits. I'd just like to see him evolve beyond where he's at, find something to aspire towards. At the moment, is there anyone in particular special to him? Is there anyone he still feels resentful towards? Has he patched things up with the girls he kidnapped, brainwashed, and rode like prized stallions at the Kentucky Derby? We all know there's more to him than being "that guy" that gets lots of sex because by default there's so few other guys around for the ladies to bump uglies with (see also: Officer Mick), but at the moment, though he's appeared in more stories lately than ever, he just feels aimless to me. I like his personality, his design, and even his turn towards good, but he just feels like he's missing that extra spark that pushes him into the realm of importance and relevancy.

If I could, I'd divide the score into old Ted: 4, new Ted: 2, and balance that out with a 3.

[Northern Chill]

Ted is perhaps the strongest "good" guy in Metrobay in terms of character development but he's one guy who seemed more at ease on the dark side of things. I'm not sure hanging out in the Squad HQ as resident scientist is good for Ted. Let's face it...buxom heroines walking around him all day (and the living love doll LISA) isn't doing good for his rehab. Ted's already dreaming about turning Ms. Metrobay into a robot women...he pulled back from the verge of consummating the best blow job in his life by his own estimation. He's teetering and maybe one more "invite" pushes the good guy away once and for all.

In my estimation, if Ted doesn't "move away" (operates at his own research place), he's gonna revert back at some point to the mad scientist that we all know. Maybe he needs to fulfill that little dream he had in jail long ago to get him thinking clearly.

[Sierra008]

The way I see it, it is not a matter of "IF" but "WHEN" will Ted's elaborate house of cards he has built trying to be good comes crumbling down around him. I think that turning Crissy into a Fembot has started the whole foundation to rumbling. Here is the one person (Crissy) that can make all of his evil dreams come true. Between her and LISA they can completely depower and enthrall the entire Superheroine Squad and then the entire female population of Metrobay! I am hoping that the panel in which we see "Good ol' Ted" get religated to the attic of "Bad Boy Ted's" mind, here is a perfect opportunity for Ted to exploite one of the most powerful members of the squad. Not only is she completely submisive and therefore easy to control and manipulate either as a Robowoman or by promising her that if she carries out the orders given to her, she will be returned to the state that she wishes to be in, but she can completely negate the powers of everyother member on the squad making them easy pickings for BBT (Bad Boy Ted)!

I would like to see some little part of Crissy's will pop through Ted's programing and take the lead and finish her primary orders of pleasing her Master. That I think would be the death kneel for GOT (Good ol Ted). I mean WAKE UP TED! All of the answers to your hopes and dreams of having a world full of Robowomen that are completely loyal to you, is kneeling at your feet staring at your cock hanking out of your pants, any Mad Scientists wet dream! I mean he was bad for how long before "feeling guilty" and helping out the Superheroine squad, but only after Mechanica rocked his world because she didn't want Marcey to do it? I think that there is very little holding the old Ted in the shadows and maybe shooting his wad all over Crissy will allow him to break free and stun us with a new plan to take over Metrobay.

Come on Doc Robo, you already know what is going to happen, are you just wanting to see if we want Ted to be bad as much as you want him to be too? I can't wait for the next chapter to post!!! AAAHHHHHH!!!

[Tecknophyle]

Don't change Ted. Or at least make him go all Lex Luthory

There, I said it.

If all you're interested in is evil genius plotting to take over the minds of beautiful women and have physically impossible quantities of sex with them...the story universe already has a boatload, of both sexes. You don't even need the evil genius part, as a bunch of characters have demonstrated. And the taking them over from the inside, well, you've got at least two subverted heroines already (albeit unknowingly in one case), a subverted mayor, subverted warden...at some point you get to the "been there, done that" stage. In short, Evil Ted doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Sure, if all you're interested in is the wankfest, then that doesn't matter, but many of the writers have done very well to expand the characterization beyond that.

On the other hand, the guy looking for redemption and fighting his baser urges is interesting. As have been mentioned by others you've got interesting conflict in how other characters are likely to react to him. The ones he directly enslaved would of course, have issues with him, while you've got others (like Omega Woman) who didn't experience that directly and have only seen him in his quasi-heroic mode. That leads to interesting conflicts between them, which you miss if he turns bad and everyone is in agreement he's a bad guy and let's all band together to fight him. Watching Ted struggle to be good with all that temptation around him gives him actual character because falling for it, since he's been down that road before and knows he can do it, is too easy.

There's another reason why turning him bad stinks: there is a serious deficit of good (in moral terms) male characters. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's understandable the emphasis is on female characters, and there have certainly been mention of good male characters, and a few sometimes appearing, but their absence is noticeable. Especially male characters who have capabilities on par with the villains/heroes.

[mns_95125]

I count at least three heroines who have been subverted in a way that extends beyond a single story arc: Daredoll, Brown Sugar and American Amazon. But that only makes your basic point stronger. Drama flows from conflict, and conflict comes in multiple forms. The external conflict between a controller and his/her would-be victim is one type; the internal conflict between the desire to control and the knowledge that it is morally wrong to give in to it is another. Too much of one kind of conflict is just repetitive. Keep mixing it up!

[Tecknophyle]

I count at least three heroines who have been subverted in a way that extends beyond a single story arc: Daredoll, Brown Sugar and American Amazon. But that only makes your basic point stronger. Drama flows from conflict, and conflict comes in multiple forms. The external conflict between a controller and his/her would-be victim is one type; the internal conflict between the desire to control and the knowledge that it is morally wrong to give in to it is another. Too much of one kind of conflict is just repetitive. Keep mixing it up!

I intentionally left out American Amazon as she isn't generally part of the main Metrobay stories.

[Tecknophyle]

One other thing to bear in mind is that, when it comes to sexual fetishes (and quite obviously Ted has one) is that there often isn't a clear line between good an evil. Just because someone engages in a particular kink doesn't necessarily make them evil. There's nothing at all inconsistant with Ted (or Chrissy for that matter) engaging in consensual mind-control which, after all, is just a more direct form of dominance/submission, and at the same time fighting against people who do it in a nonconsensual manner. Same principle as a cop who goes to S&M parties who goes after rapists or other sexual predators during the day job.

[mns_95125]

I intentionally left out American Amazon as she isn't generally part of the main Metrobay stories.

I'd say she's at least as much part of the main Metrobay stories as Daredoll is -- which, granted, isn't too much.

[Tecknophyle]

The other thing about Ted is that you really need to compare him to the other major male characters (and I'll toss in some who've been mentioned in the same universe).

Max is someone who is bad, knows he is, and revels in it while trying to conceal it behind a law-abiding persona. He fits in with a lot of the other male villains (albeit some of them are known to be bad by people at large, so they don't bother concealing it).

Digitalus is bad but justifies it to himself (and others who know about it) as serving a higher purpose.

Preston Prescott/Adonis is a moral coward. He isn't willing to lose what he's got being a bad guy, so he creates an entirely artificial persona to play at being a hero, but that's for ulterior motives too. He doesn't have the balls to make a decision and instead tries to play both ends against the middle.

For other male character, enh, whatever. If they're good there's not real question about that or struggle to do right.

Ted, Ted he comes across as a relatively good guy. He was influenced by who he worked for and with, but really the main part of his villainy was having one bad day when he lost control, and the consequences of that act so scared him that he's reluctant to go down that road again. And unlike the others, he's had the courage to accept and admit the wrong he did and try to make things right by standing against his former side. That's the makings of a real hero right there, and to lose that just for some cartoonish super-villainy would be a shame.

[Doctor Robo]

I must admit that I am a bit taken aback by the passion and interest that Ted has elicited from you all. I guess I always knew on some level that he was a popular fellow, but for you all to take the time to sit down and type out how you feel in such detail is really humbling for me. I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the interest you have shown toward our character and the stories we have put him in.

Obviously you know my feelings about him, or else you wouldn't be reading this. I am enjoying the divide in his personality - the borderline psychotic fetishist who will do almost anything to get his fix, tempered by the noble hero who will work even harder to keep himself on the straight and narrow. He spent time in that loony bin known as The Funhouse and doesn't want to go back there. He also knows that what he did in the past is wrong and he needs to atone for this sins. But how can he continue to keep his nose clean every day when he has beautiful women (and fembots) like Crissy, Mechana, and Lisa throwing themselves at him left and right? Or how about having to work with the likes of Ms. Metrobay every day, a woman so arousing she's practically a walking, jiggling bottle of Viagra? If you had the tools and the expertise to do what Ted can do, would you be able to control yourself? I don't know if I could... and that's why I enjoy writing about Ted so much.

Thanks again for all of your comments and questions. Please keep them coming!

- Doc

[dumbtime]

Why isn't Ted seeing a therapist? They sent Enchantress to one!!

[Akonkid]

Why isn't Ted seeing a therapist? They sent Enchantress to one!!

Yeah, and look how THAT turned out... A whole bunch of hot ladies ended up naked and mindless, two new hot villainesses and a villain were created, and a whole lot of sex went down.

.... um, so yeah, why HASN'T he?

[Northern Chill]

Why isn't Ted seeing a therapist? They sent Enchantress to one!!

Yeah, and look how THAT turned out... A whole bunch of hot ladies ended up naked and mindless, two new hot villainesses and a villain were created, and a whole lot of sex went down.

.... um, so yeah, why HASN'T he?

Considering Mesmerella's frame of mind when last seen, she may not be all that helpful with Ted getting past his lust for mind controlled/robot women....