Candyman (character)

Candyman
Biographical Information
Aliases	Daniel Robitaille
Gender	Male
Status	Unknown
Appearances
Film	Candyman
Portrayed by	Tony Todd
Images

The Candyman is the titular main antagonist of the 1992 slasher horror movie of the same name, loosely based on the short story "The Forbidden" form the anthology book Books of Blood, written by Clive Barker. Although a brutal killer and a vengeful spirit, Candyman has an especially tragic past compared to most horror icons, which arguably made him more sympathetic - though he was nevertheless just as dangerous and deadly as any other slasher movie antagonist.

Appearance

Candyman takes up the form of a lean and very tall African-American man, six feet and five inches, easily dwarfing over all the other characters in the Candyman movies. His attire consists of a large, brown fur trenchcoat, a white cravat around his neck, gray pants, a pair of polished leather shoes and a bloody hook in place for his right hand, which he uses to mutilate his victims. His trenchcoat is used in order to conceal his grotesque mutilations, the product of the torture that he suffered shortly before his death. Underneath it reveals candyman's skinless ribcage and hollowed-out abdomen, as well as his internal organs that are being infested by the many bees living within him. His hair is jet-black and curly, but kept very short.

Behavior and Motivations

Do to the grievous tragedy surrounding his death, having been murdered under unjust pretenses and for personal revenge, Candyman arose from the grave and became a wrath driven specter, haunting the land where he had been executed. But, rather then reduce the land of Cabrini Green, or the Sullivan household (depending on which movie we follow), as uninhabitable, Candyman preferred to keep the denizens in the dark, unaware of his presence until they made the mistake of doubting his presence. Candyman, while well spoken and articulate, is portrayed as being incredibly self-absorbed, narcissistic and vain, valuing his reputation over human life. His sole motivation is to maintain the rumors and stories surrounding his death alive, as he believes that the longer people talk and fear him the more he will continue to haunt the land, later shown to be fact. The only times he had ever killed someone was merely a means to remind the people of his existence by striking terror into their hearts.

Candyman is also shown to possess a severe god complex. He implies self omnipresence by identifying himself with the rumors and imagery based around his name and likeness, further claiming that without such things he is "nothing", making it clear that he enjoys hearing people talk about him. Candyman takes his role as a god to quite literal religious lengths. He refers to the denizens of his burial grounds as his "followers" and "congregation". Furthermore, Candyman does not kill his believers should they abandon their faith in him, instead opting to murder the people who have called him out as being superstition, such as Helen Lyle, who in the first Candyman movie told a young boy from Cabrini Green that "Candyman" had merely been an alias used by serial killers to get away with their crimes.

The people who worship Candyman, i.e. the residents of Cabrini Green and New Orleans, have a habit of participating in offerings for the vengeful apparition. During the first film a run-down apartment flat houses a sort of altar in Candyman's name, a pile of chocolate sweets with razor blades inside their packages is placed in front of a large graffiti depicting Candyman's screaming head. Also during the events of the first film, the Cabrini Green's African-American community created a make-shift pyre which they set ablaze, an obvious ritual used to appease the spirit. In the second film the people of New Orleans had created an actual altar in the attic of the Sullivan mansion, the shrine having skulls, candlers and a large wall painting depicting Candyman in a crucifix stance.

History

Backstory

Candyman's origins are explored in a legend surrounding the tragic death of a painter in the city of Chicago during the early 1800s, the story itself first appearing in 1890. The legend told that Candyman was initially the son of a slave, who became extremely wealthy after inventing a machine which mass produced shoes during the American Civil War. With his newfound fortune, the father had sent his boy to all the best schools in America, the young man growing up to become a polite and good natured gentleman as well as a well-known painter, most famous for capturing a person's status in portraits. Sometime around 1890, the young painter had been commissioned by a wealthy landowner to capture the beauty of his daughter, a white virgin. The painter's only sin was falling in love with the girl in question with whom they were to have a child under wedlock. Unfortunately, the girl's father had discovered their relation and was left so outraged that he hired a lynch mob to find and kill the young painter. As the mob chased him down the streets of the Near North end of Chicago they eventually overpowered him and sawed off his right hand with a rusty blade. The young painter's body had then been smeared with honey from a local apiary, causing the bees to sting him to death and prompting the future generations of the neighborhood the christen him "Candyman". The painter's dead body had then been burned on a pyre, his ashes being scattered around the entire region.

In the second Candyman movie, Farewell to the Flesh, the painter is given the name of Daniel Robatille. Likewise, the movie retconned his origin by placing the painter's birth and death in New Orleans. He was born on the Esplanade Plantation (the future home of the Tarrant family) within New Orleans  Also of note, the young white woman with whom Daniel had an affair with was identified as Caroline Sullivan.

Sometime after his death, Daniel's ghost rose from the grave, a spiteful and vengeful spirit who tormented anyone who dared to question his existence. An urban legend arose which stated that whoever shall recite the name Candyman five times in the mirror, then immediately turn off the lights, will summon the ghost that will slay his summoner along with anybody else who has witnessed the specter's appearance.

Powers and Abilities

Not too many of the Candyman's powers have been shown through the movies, but it is well known that he is immortal because he has been around for centuries and does not age or need food and water to survive. He is also able to teleport at fast speeds as well as phasing threw walls for where ever his victims ran he was there before they got there. He also possess superhuman enhanced strength being able to throw his victims threw walls with little effort and has also shown regenerative capabilities (shown when Annie ran out the room). He also has power over a massive army of bees that live within his very being, as shown in the first Candyman film he covered an entire city with killer bees. He has shown some form of telekinesis along with ability to fly or levitate, and also can become invisible to the naked eye.The mirror that contains his soul is the secret of his power. If the mirror is destroyed he will cease to exist.

Trivia

• In the original story, the Candyman had no backstory and was a pale man with blue lips.