Who doesn't love the maniacal human antagonist in the horror genre? I've had my love of Leatherface, Rena Ryūgū, and Chris Walker known for a while but curiously enough, I've never used one of the most famous psychopaths in all of horror/sci-fi novels and perhaps the second-biggest, if not the most popular, human slasher in the genre. It just so happens that both of these two incarnations from the original H.G. Wells novel and Scream 3 share a lot in common, being individuals who feel disgruntled at the world and take it upon themselves to show others pain while still attempting to maintain the illusion of a normal person with the lurking menace of a stalking murderer underneath. Furthermore, both have multiple foes in law enforcement with each taking a gun from one, a shockingly high number of fights they've been in, a fondness of improvised weapons, similar styles of murder and stalking, and a particular person they despise more than anyone else to the point of obsessive rage but the question is...
Griffin, the Invisible Man who terrorized Iping and started a Reign of Terror with the intent to kill Dr. Kemp!
Roman Bridger, the fifth Ghostface who murdered several actors all in the name of framing Sidney Prescott!
Who is Deadliest?
Invisible Man (H.G. Wells)[]
"I was invisible, and I was only just beginning to realize the extraordinary advantage my invisiblity gave me. My head was already teeming with plans of all the wild and wonderful things I had now impunity to do."
Griffin was an albino chemist at the University College of London who left to complete his studies into invisibility by any means necessary, stealing from his father and experimenting on a cat, seeing no problem with indirectly causing the man's suicide and causing the old lady who owned that cat much discomfort. This trend only continued when Griffin sucessfully made himself invisible shortly after the cat experiment and burnt down his apartment to erase his equipment, sending his notes and chemicals through the mail while the Invisible Man lurked in buildings around London, searching for suitable clothes to move about freely in public without arousing suspicion. His arrival at The Coach and Horses in Iping was supposed to give him time to figure out a way to change himself back but his temper kept making him lash out at his hosts and had to resort to robbery to pay them off, finally arousing the suspicious townsfolk to get Constable Jaffers out to arrest him.
The ensuing struggle revealed the truth of the Invisible Man that Iping had believed was lurking among them and drove them into a panic before Griffin escaped and enlisted the aid of Mr. Marvel to recover the notes he left behind, continuing to terrorize the town and drive them all to barricade themselves indoors after a rampage. The Invisible Man's temper only grew after Marvel fled from him with the books and money Griffin had stole, prompting him to try to drag the man away and kill him before being fended off and forced to break into Dr. Kemp's house unknowingly, becoming overjoyed at the chance to gain a trustworthy ally. Kemp rejected Griffin for his inhumanity and brought about a campaign against the self-proclaimed Invisible Man the First that involved the murder of Mr. Wicksteed and the siege of Kemp's house before being lured by his hopeful ally into a crowd of angry villagers in Port Stowe who finally slayed him.Axe The Invisible Man used this weapon to the siege of Kemp's house to break shutters and fight two fire poker-armed policemen, hitting one so hard his helmet crumpled and making his head bleed profusely after he fell down some stairs, a perfect weapon for hacking up someone in his way.
Revolver While the little revolver in Kemp's home is never described by name, we know it can fit in a pocket, has 4 rounds in it when he gets it, and was used by Griffin to successfully incapacitate Colonel Adye albeit he missed Kemp's head and a policeman later.
Iron Rod The Invisible Man used this piece of metal to bludgeon Mr. Wicksteed until his head looked like jelly, while it did come from a broken fence, standard fenceposts are in the range of 6-8 feet or longer and it seems a sturdy enough weapon albeit it is likely in the range of 12 pounds and not able to be concealed.
Street Lamp Griffin has used this tool as a weapon on two seperate ocassions, during the present break windows with thrusts in Iping and earlier with an unspecified model to incapacite a cook in the emporium with it being likely that he only used the metal and glass top as an improvised bludgeoning weapon.
Casual Outfit and Invisibility
While the Invisible Man himself describes his outfit as grotesque with bandages covering his head and neck, goggles, a wig underneath, and a fake nose, this outfit complete with gloves, a hat, and coat helps cover him from the cold and conceals his greatest advantage over the common man until he desires to reveal it. Griffin is as his name implies, completely invisible and it is literally impossible to see him with even his blood only being visible after drying out, only a weapon he chooses to wield, food being digested or smoke from a cigar being visible in his form, smog or snow sticking to him, dogs sniffing him out, or watery footprints can give his position away and makes him extremely dangerous as many have accidentally run into him or been assaulted and not understood what happened until later.
It should be mentioned that the Invisible Man prefers not to eat, smoke, or sleep unless he's assured of his safety due to the first two giving away his position and prefers getting his personal belongings over rest, going three days without food or little more than a nap. Do note that he finally ate and rested while at Kemp's home and before his confrontation with Kemp to get himself ready for killing the man.Ghostface (Scream 3)[]
"I'm a director Sidney, I direct."
Roman Bridger was the son of Maureen Prescott and never knew his birth was the result of a sexual assault at a party by John Milton which resulted in his attempts to reconnect with his mother only got the door of her new life slammed in his face and left him bitter at her, filming her illicit activities with various men until he filmed her sleeping with Billy Loomis' father. This proved to be a blessing for him as Billy Loomis, an impressionable teenager, was angered at this revelation and his mother divorcing his dad, teaching the boy how to murder and starting the first killing spree of a Ghostface while Roman moved back to Hollywood to focus on his work as a music video director. He soon got the opportunity to direct a movie as he always wanted but instead of the romantic comedy he wished to make, he was ironically stuck with Stab 3, a movie about the Ghostface murders, but this gave Bridger an idea, he would take up the mantle himself and kill his own cast, leave pictures of his mother from the time period he was born at the scene, and eventually work his way up to killing Sidney Prescott.
Roman believed his half-sister to be behind his woes, she had taken the main focus of the Ghostface murders away from him by surviving each killing spree and her own popularity had grown over time whereas he was stuck with the feeling that no one truly cared about him, forcing him to take matters into his own hand and frame her for his actions as Ghostface. After stabbing his way through stars, past survivors, a bodyguard, and even coming out on top against two law enforcement officers, Bridger was finally able to set Sidney up by luring her in with her friends Gale Weathers and Sherrif Dewy as hostages before killing Milton in front of her, the man truly responsible for both of their woes, and attempted to kill her afterwards. While unsuccessful in the end, Roman came the closest of any Ghostface to killing Prescott and managed to knock out Detective Kincaid in the process before sermingly coming to terms with his sister after she stabbed him three times only to get back up to try to kill her one last time before Dewey finally put a bullet in his head and ended his killing spree.Buck 120 The signature weapon of all Ghostfaces, this 10 and a half inch long and 7.5 ounce hunting knife can stab right through a wooden door repeatedly, stab deeply into human victims, slit throats, and even be thrown remarkably accurately from a decent distance away to hit Sherrif Dewey in the head with the handle hard enough to knock him out.
American Derringer Model 1 Taken from Detective Kincaid, this small hangun holds two bullets and Roman was able to accurately shoot Sidney Prescott from a few feet away with this and then shoot her again in the chest, plus its lightweight and concealable.
Pot Pan While ordinarily used for cooking, Ghostface used this small utensil to good effect as a bludgeoning weapon against Steven Stone with three quick hits that seemed to pack a decent punch albeit its arguably his least concealable weapon.
Voice Changer Another classic weapon used by his peers, Roman's seems to be the most advanced as it enables him to not only change his voice into the typical Ghostface or a variety of woman's voices including Maureen Prescott but also enables him to copy the voice of anyone he's heard speak which when paired with a phone makes for a handy way to keep people guessing and enables him to trick victims by luring them into rooms or convincing them someone else is trying to kill them.
Ghostface Outfit and Bulletproof Vest
The typical Ghostface outfit that consists of a white screaming-face mask, a black hooded cloak that goes over almost the whole body, and black boots enables the wearer to maintain a considerable degree of anonymity if they don't reveal their identity before or after a murder. The bulletproof vest worn underneath covers Roman's entire torso and functions as a form of added protection that no previous killer had, letting him take gunshots like they're nothing from a revolver and pistol.
While never seeming to lose its effectiveness no matter how many times he got shot, it fares much more poorly against stabbing weapons as an ice pick wielded by Sidney Prescott had no problems going through it. The major advantage of this combination is that they work in tandem, ensuring that Roman never has to choose between the mask of Ghostface or protection from firearms.X-Factors[]
The Invisible Man is described as giving out kicks that could fell an ox, repeatedly sent people flying by tripping them, overpowered Constable Jaffers in a physical struggle, easily knocked Colonel Adye over, regularly broke windows, stunned men with his blows with weapons, and even threw several members of the angry mob off him at the end before being pinned down again with severe injuries. While it's not quite clear how fast Griffin is, he seems to have no difficulties keeping up with a fleeing Dr. Kemp in a chase from his house to Hill Street, sneaking through the Jolley Cricketers with the occupants on high alert to try dragging Mr. Marvel off unsuccessfully, and disarming Colonel Adye rather easily suggesting a knack for moving quietly and quickly. His durability is perhaps his weakest attribute and he's still human but even so the Invisible Man got grazed by a revolver bullet and was fine after bandaging it and resting for a night, got hit so hard with a poker that something snapped and was still continuing his pursuit and assault of Kemp later, was hit so hard with a spade that he bled, and then only cried out for mercy from the angry mob after they beat and savagely kicked him to the point that he died shortly after with a crushed chest.
It is true that most of the Invisible Man's experience was with people who couldn't properly see him but he bested a couple Omnium emporium workers while disguised, knocked out an armed homeowner with one blow, and his struggle with Constable Jaffers left the policeman needing to recover for a while despite having aid from the villagers of Iping. Griffin so terrorized the entire town that everyone ran in doors after he got angered during the escape of Mr. Marvel and started beating them for the sake of it, sent a policeman reeling with one blow and doubled up a cabman in the Jolly Cricketers while trying to kill Marvel, fending them off until the American occupant fired his revolver into the night. After this, the Invisible Man murdered Mr. Wicksteed, easily got the upper hand on Colonel Adye of the police force before and after disarming him, fought two police officers with an axe and revolver, easily besting one and only being forced to retreat by an injury and Kemp fleeing, easily beating down Dr. Kemp, and finally putting up a ferocious struggle against an angry mob of men with an armed navvy gravel worker that finally killed him.
The Invisible Man is well aware of the disadvantages of his invisibility and revealing it too early, preferring to travel in disguise until his secret is revealed and takes full advantage of his most notable attribute to strike people unseen, sneak into buildings, cut a telephone wire, and only carries weapons when he intends to use them. Griffin is particularly adept at utilizing almost anything as an improvised weapon, an art pot, lamp, chair, fireplace poker, and the weapons listed he likely found somewhere and picked up with him dual-wielding the axe and revolver, he even utilizes the shedding of his disguise as a shock tactic to terrorize Iping villagers out of The Coach and Horses. The Invisible Man even tricked Constable Jaffers into giving him time to shed his disguise and become invisible by faking his surrender, tries to use quick blows to incapacitate his targets with as little effort as possible, even framing his trippings to look like his victims went flying over something to cover Mr. Marvel, and it seems he takes this idea to murder with the idea of his Reign of Terror consisting of striking a man once after getting past his defenses and dodge if needed before escaping punishment.
The Invisible Man's own greatest weakness as admitted by him is his temper, this can flare up at any moment if he gets too annoyed and prompt him to assault people for no good reason or just fly into a reason, only focusing on Kemp even as a mob of men surrounded him before his demise. Griffin has no care for his fellow man except as a potential ally or subject for him to rule, showing a shocking amount of cruelty but even he seemed shocked after the murder of Mr. Wicksteed, dropping his iron pole next to the body and nonfatally shooting Colonel Adye later while only hitting one policeman with his axe on the head and leaving him alone afterwards, suggesting some degree of hesitancy to kill outside of his explicit target Dr. Kemp at that point. In addition, Griffin sent a note to Kemp explaining that he was the target of his new Reign of Terror to give him forewarning as the first execution victim and prematurely declared himself ruler of the district over the Queen of England as Invisible Man the First, implying considerable narcissim in his new capabilities.
Scenario[]
The Invisible Man has managed to get away from Great Britain after his failed attempt to kill Dr. Kemp and managed to start a new life in Hollywood with Sunrise Studios, being responsible for directing a show based on an English village like Iping, coincidentally next to the set of another director named Roman Bridger working on a movie called Stab 3.
The two get along well over their work period and Griffin winds up more annoyed than anything with the Ghostface killings, his own production continuing while his new friend's is halted amd unbeknownst to him, Roman is the true murderer and has just been forced to retreat from his bid to kill Sidney Prescott after the untimely arrival of the police.
The aggravation of the Invisible Man is triggered when its revealed that Kemp and Colonel Adye have come from Britain to investigate the Studios while a party is going on at his sets and Ghostface is forced into hiding in the nearby Woodsboro set, both learning that Kemp, Adye, Sidney, and Detective Kincaid are coming within the hour to hopefully lure them out and apprehend them, leaving both eager for revenge but the recent killing of one of Griffin's top stars has left him rather unamused with Roman...
The battle will take place in the middle of a Sunrise Studios party with the Invisible Man starting in the Iping set with his axe and revolver tucked away and his casual outfit completely on, an authentic street lamp on multiple posts, and his iron rod nearby in a hidden area. Ghostface will start in the Woodsboro set with his outfit and bulletproof vest on, his Buck 120, American Derringer Model 1 , and voice changer on him, and pot pans in every kitchen of the houses while both await the arrival of their most hated targets in the coming hour.
The two happen to catch a glimpse of each other beforehand however and Griffin decides on starting his revenge early while Roman seeks to scope out the party for some new victims, starting with the one who spotted him, the winner being whoever kills the other and both start a considerable distance away from each other with improvised tools in the form of chairs, fireplace pokers, and body bag props scattered around the area.
To recap...
- This is pretty much an alternate Scream 3 where Griffin has been at Sunrise Studios for a while, enabling him time to adjust to the new area and time period. The Iping and Woodsboro sets are supposed to give each of them equal homefield advantage.
- Griffin and Roman have been friends for a while but Griffin does not know Roman is Ghostface and Roman does not know Griffin is the Invisible Man, enabling both to rely on anonymity as an advantage.
- While both are good friends, Griffin has ample motivation to want Ghostface dead and so does Roman regarding the Invisible Man. Both have the pressure of their most hated targets with their police friend backing them up arriving in the hour but nobody at the party knows the truth about Griffin or Roman until they arrive.
- The party is filled with stars in the Iping set and a few might wander into the Woodsboro set, they act as a passive third-party who could turn against either combatant if provided ample reason to.
- Griffin has his axe and revolver in his casual outfit with street lamps readily available and his iron rod hidden nearby. Roman has his Buck 120, American Derringer Model 1, and voice changer starting in the Ghostface costume with pot pans readily available.
- Further improvised tools in chairs, fireplace pokers, and prop body bags are available to use.
- The winner is whoever kills the other.
Notes[]
Voting ends on August 24th. Votes need edges or two paragraphs and decent grammar to count.