V for Vendetta #10 (Conclusion)

[alicemacher]

BARRY KAVANAGH: The character Evey says about [...] V, 'Whoever you are isn’t as big as the idea of you' [...] So, it was like the real battle was between ideas, almost as if all the physical violence was incidental.

ALAN MOORE: When we started to do V, the entirety of the original idea was that we would have a dark, romantic, noirish adventurer [...] and yeah, somewhere out of this we realized we were doing something about the contrast between anarchy and fascism, that there were lots of moral questions being asked and that yes, it was very much centred upon the world of ideas as being in some ways more important than the material world, which is I think a notion which has probably born fruit recently in other areas of my work.
--The Alan Moore Interview: V for Vendetta, Blather.net, Oct. 17, 2000.


Originally published May 1989. 9 pages of 28.


Following Leader Susan's assassination, Peter Creedy takes charge, declaring a state of emergency in light of V's stated intent to appear in public at midnight. Eric Finch barges into the meeting and announces he's shot V dead.







Conrad views the videotape that was in the mysterious parcel, and thereby learns of Helen's affair with Alistair Harper. Later, as street loudspeakers announce V is "mortally wounded" and therefore "the insurrection is over" Harper, under Helen's orders, turns on Creedy and slashes him to death, slowly. And in the Shadow Gallery, V calls Evey's name, then tumbles down the stairs.





Evey wanders from room to room, trying to convince herself this is another one of V's cruel tricks to teach her something.









That evening, as protesters gather outside the government complex and wait, Finch tells Dominic he's quitting, in order to "follow [his] own orders" from now on, and says goodbye. Harper drops by the Heyers' in hopes of a quick victory shag with Helen. Conrad jumps him and they fight to the death.





Just before midnight, Dominic is shocked to find himself the acting authority in charge, given that his superiors are all dead or missing. A security officer points out that with Big Ben now ringing in the hour and no sign of V, the rioters will realize he's dead and disperse. Dominic agrees... then remembers Big Ben was blown up a year ago. And sure enough...





As the mob clashes with the Fingermen, Dominic tries to escape, but a stone hits him in the head. As he blacks out, Evey rescues him.

Two hours later, she silently eulogizes V, promising to continue his mission in her own way: neither by leading the people nor helping them kill, but helping them "build" and "create." She fulfills his request for a Viking funeral, placing him in the gelignite-loaded train and sending it speeding toward the blockage he'd spoken of... right under Downing Street, where the Head--and Fate--are located.





In the series's final scene, Finch has walked to the outskirts of London, where he's surprised to see Helen, all her possessions stolen by a mob, reduced to living with homeless men and bartering her body for food and protection. Spotting Finch herself, she greets him as though they were close friends or more.





Whether you agree with Moore's politics or not, whether you find the comic pro- or anti-feminist, whether you prefer the comic or the film... thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts on one of Moore's most personally heartfelt works. Ave atque vale.

Comments

[kamino_neko]

That panel of Evey smiling is creeeepy. Which...you know, works, since the whole scenario is really kinda creepy.

[cyberghostface]

Thanks for posting.

[captainbellman]

I have to say, I much prefer this ending - with the mask of V like the armour of a samurai, handed down over the years from one individual to the next - as opposed to the film ending, which was rather...ludicrous. Where did they get those masks?

[ozaline]

V mailed the masks to everyone in London, pretty much, in the movie.

[captainbellman]

...from his privately-owned sweatshop?!

[ozaline]

I just assumed he bought them before his first attack. Seems like he had money.

That just raises further questions!

[captainbellman]

...under Norsefire surveillance, what merchant is daring to sell thousands of identical Guy Fawkes masks, even before they become the symbol of a freedom fighter? How are those getting packed and shipped without arousing suspicion, and who received them? Furthermore, when he mailed them out, were the state-organised postal services just not x-raying thousands and thousands of identical packages containing the same mask as Britain's Most Wanted?

The only way that ending makes sense is to make Santa Claus V's secret accomplice.

Re: That just raises further questions!

[kamino_neko]

what merchant is daring to sell thousands of identical Guy Fawkes masks

You think Norsefire would discourage Guy Fawkes day, a day that celebrates the execution of a famous rebel?

Re: That just raises further questions!

[laughing_tree]

Haven't seen the movie, but if it's like the comics, V controlled the Fate computer itself, which was connected to everything. It wouldn't have been too hard to slip anything through the cracks.

I mean here's a guy who basically built an only slightly less impressive version of the Batcave under London from scratch without anyone ever noticing. Creating and mailing a whole bunch of Guy Fawkes masks seems fairly in line with everything else he does, plausibility-wise.

[laughing_tree]

I know Helen Heyer is the worst, but still. Having the story end on the strong implication that she's about to get raped is... too much, Mr. Moore.