[quote="Mr. Cryptic"](We never really know for sure what's going on inside someone else (well maybe if it's a character you're writing you do
). In the case of the thug, there's no real way to know from the outside what is motives were. I kind of imagine that had he safely returned to his island with American Goddess, her influence would have rubbed off on him more and more, and he would done things to atone for what he did earlier. Given that he went to a good afterlife, we can kind of assume something like that would have happened, if he had had the chance.)
Your right!! you never know what the character motives were unless your writing the story,it was my view of him, viewing him from the outside. As least for me, what he did to the Goddess was awful, i didn't feel for him at all, the Goddess was the victim, i felted sorry for her!! Especially when he died,and she's still under his spell and spend time with him in the afterlife. These victim being with the person who took advantage of her, it was like she was rewarding him for all the degrading things he made her do. Sorry but that just how i see it, i believe in forgiving a person when they make mistakes and try to change their life, but it never seem to me he was sorry for anything he did !! And i don't remember him ever calling her by her name or American Goddess, just slave, for me that doesn't seem very caring to me, he didn't even respect her enough to call her by her name.
Let me be honest and say that the reason i've been talked about the thug so much is that it really bug me, i know this is not your intention, but it seem the story is saying he should receive a pat on back for what did and he should be seen as a hero for his criminal behavior!! It was like the Goddess deserved,wanted and liked what happened to her!! The story also seem to say you shouldn't be held accountable for you actions. I know you said if he wouldn't have been killed,he would have returned to the island with the Goddess and would have let her come out and save people if their was a big problem! To me that not saying much about him changing, he's still holding her as his slave and everything he have is stolen!! Also you said he would have atone for what he did to her. Seem to me there only one way he could have atone for what did to her, by freeing her from the spell and if he had truly changed, he would have served his time for his crimes and once he served him time, he would have started earning a honest living. I'm not trying to put the story down or saying it was a bad story, or trying to get you to change the themes of your stories. I'm just along for the ride!! I'm just saying that what i took from the story.
(I always thought that it was kind of funny that the henchmen in
Fausta the Nazi Wonder Woman that chloroformed Wonder Woman was never even given a name, given how important he is to what is too many the all time hottest superheroine in peril scene ever. That was why the thug in RoD never was named either. So Ring of Domination was kind of a homage to him.)
I saw a lot of the episodes from the wonder woman series, i don't remember that one. As least for me, i generally don't view Nazi's in a positive light,( not saying that you do!!) but it does give me a better understanding of your view of your villains,they always seem so much smarter than the heroes. (I hope you Don't take that the wrong way!!) I know i've said this before, i'm pro-good guys, pro-hero!! I know the villain is important to the story, but to me the villain is just their to provide the hero with a challenge. I don't see them in a heroic way at all. Look let me say again, i know the villains are a very key part of the story, but i will never see the things they do as neat or cool, most of the time their trying to destroy or in these stories enslave a heroines, who is trying to protect innocence people from them and the evil things they do. I will always enjoy seeing the villain being defeated more!! I will always be disappointed when the villain come out a head!! I Just giving my view when it come to heroes vs villains.
(One other thing, American Goddess never actually totally unconditionally surrendered. In RoD #7, she's about to crush him, and the only reason she doesn't is that he tells her that he won't make her do anything horrible. She wouldn't take a chance on being forced to commit atrocities under mind control, but she could tell he was telling the truth. I think he may have been subtly influenced by the Ring of Domination too.)
That one thing i didn't know! I thought she did surrender herself to him.