We return to the world of Ghostbusters with the sequel. By the time the sequel had rolled around, the cartoon had been airing and you can feel the influence in this sequel from the hair that Janine is supporting looking more cartoonish and Slimer hanging around more with the Ghostbusters. Honestly, the only thing the sequel didn’t borrow from the cartoon is expanding the Janine and Egon relationship. Instead, the movie paired Janine up with Luis Tully and I prefer this relationship.
Having said that, the villain is not cartoony but the way he is defeated could be described as being cartoonish using mood slime to take him down. Having said that, the villains in the cartoon could be down right terrifying like The Boogeyman.
This is an interesting thing to consider but until Frozen Empire, I wouldn’t have thought of any of the movie villains as terrifying. They were threats yes but scary, no. The only movie ghost I remotely considered scary was The Library Ghost.
Actors
Vigo was played by two actors, one who portrayed him physically and another who provided his voice. This is something the movies I like doing but I think it works here. For body, he was played by Wilhem Von Homburg and his voice was provided by Max Von Sydow. Hid voice was very menacing and you could feel the command he had in his voice over Janosz.
First Appearance
The movie wastes no time in setting up his debut as we get a hint of him seeing Baby Oscar’s stroller rolling down the busy New York streets. This plays into his desire to be reborn in a human vessel to take over the world.
We don’t get our first physical look at Vigo until we see the painting at the museum, Dana is working at as they are restoring it. And Dana admits to Peter, she feels there is something off about the painting. In the sense that it gives her bad vibes. Vibes is perhaps the best word to describe this movie as in many ways, how the boys defeat him relies on vibes and feels like something out of My Little Pony.
Personality
Something I’ve noticed with the villains in the main Ghostbusters timeline is that they are very stoic and cold. Quite literally in the case of Garraka and I have to believe that is an intentional decision as the boys cracked jokes but this feels ever more present with Vigo. Looking at how the boys talk about, two big words stick out, genocidal maniac. Just looking at these words shows you how evil Vigo truly is. He is willing to wipe out entire populations.
Grand Desire/Most Evil Deed
In my opinion, Vigo’s desire is easier to understand than Gozer’s was. Yes, it also involves world domination as seems to be the trend with many of the villains in the mainline continuity. Though as I mentioned, he needs a human vessel and that is where Baby Oscar comes in and why I decided to combine these two categories as he has Janosz take the baby in one of the more terrifying moments in the sequel.
Again, this goes back to how evil Vigo is and how he’s willing to harm a child to get what he wants.
Lackey
Janosz
This guy is a comedic goldmine willing to serve Vigo and do his bidding. As we can see how much he wants to get with Dana and they can raise Vigo as their own. Dana pretends to love him and go along to protect her child. While I don’t view him as a threat, he’s a fun contrast to Vigo.
Demise
Again, Vigo’s demise goes back to the word, vibes. Consider how mood slime is a big part of the sequel. Hatred is at an all time high and the boys need something that would inspire hope in the New Yorkers. That’s when they turn The Statue of Liberty into a giant mech.
This is an admittedly cool moment as it inspires enough hope to allow them to enter the museum. This is where we see them take on Vigo and he has enough power to bring about his physical form. It’s frightening and it seems as though all is lost as he tosses the Ghostbusters to the floor.
He returns to the painting and Ray stares too long at the painting allow Vigo to possess him.
The Proton Packs are turned on and he’s slimed allowing Ray and Vigo to be separated. Oh yeah, Dana’s boss is also slimed. Which puts them in a very good mood and oh well get a great new painting.
Is Vigo a Good Villain?
Honestly yes, he’s my second favorite GB villain. He was my favorite villain from the movies until Frozen Empire came out. I feel his threat is greater than Gozer. Perhaps Afterlife dampened my opinion of Gozer but Vigo while not scary feels more threatening. Join me next time as we look at the newest and my favorite Ghostbusters movie villain.
Garraka
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