Serpentor Messed Up My Generation.
written by: Cory Q
Like a lot of boys my age, I grew up watching G.I. Joe as a cartoon in the afternoons. I remember thinking it was strange that one could have an army of all specialists and that no one, despite the war machines both sides represented, was ever killed. What I didn't realize at the time was just how jingoistic and smug in the American Way the show was. That was a pretty obvious revelation with minor reflection a couple years on. What was a later and much less obvious revelation was just how screwed up my generation would be over certain scientific concepts because of G.I. Joe.
To be precise: Serpentor messed up my generation's understanding of cloning.
The first time I ever heard about DNA and cloning was from G.I. Joe. For those who are unfamiliar, Serpentor was supposed to be the ultimate foe to the Joes. Much stronger and aggressive than Cobra Commander (who was a whiny and ineffective) and much more focused than Destro (who was a chrome-headed weapons dealer with no real plan other than to get rich and get the Baroness into the sack). Serpentor was in both the cartoon and the G.I. Joe animated movie circa 1986. He was built from a strange soup of genetic material from different historically notable leaders such as Attila the Hun, Julius Caesar, and Genghis Khan by Dr. Mindmender. But he wasn't perfect by any means. He couldn't defeat the Joes anymore than Cobra Commander could (who could possibly hold a candle to America in the 80's, right?!). And his outfit was just as ridiculous (a giant gold snake suit with a cobra flared hood) as his being! Anyway, fashion aside, the idea that a clone could be built from diasporic genetic material was new and fascinating, and in some way to my juvenile mind, slightly plausible.
So why would I still be ruminating on a clearly fictitious cartoon occurrence now some 20+ years out of date? Because 1) I'm like that and 2) I recently heard two stories on NPR’s This American Life that reminded me that not only is science fiction starting to mingle with science fact in the realm of cloning and genetic science, but that the absurdity that Serpentor embodies holds sway for more than just my cartoon-saturated generation.
The first NPR story was called "Mistakes Were Made" and detailed the interestingly horrific journey of Bob Nelson. The second story detailed the experiences of Ralph and Sandra Fisher and their prize bull "Chance" and its clone "Second Chance". I'll summarize the stories for you: Bob didn't know squat about cryogenics but ended up the head of a cryogenics society in California in the early 60s. Soon things took a wrong turn and Bob ended up in possession of several stiffs. He packed a couple dead bodies in dry ice (at the request of the deceased and their relatives) and it went very badly including legal action. Ralph had a show animal with a remarkably calm demeanor and when that animal passed, it was cloned by Texas A&M. The cloned animal twice tried to kill Ralph (he needed 80 stitches in the groin!).
I don't believe it is very difficult to spot some parallels in these tales. They are all based on the same two principles: First is a misunderstanding of actual scientific principles. Second is a classic desire for the unattainable. To COBRA; You can't dig up ancient DNA and have it be a viable sample. Also, mixing genetic material doesn't work like a precision check list of traits you want. To Bob; You can't freeze a dead person and expect to then later bring them back to life. Dead is dead. To COBRA and the Fishers; A clone isn't the same thing as the original except in a genetic sense. A clone doesn't occupy the same space as the original nor doesn't have the same memories or experiences as the original. A clone isn't born in finished form. It is born, lives, and then dies and it does so separate from whatever genetic source donated the DNA.
Beyond these recent audio pieces, there are a number of classic literary sources to point to in reference the sort of unfounded drive humanity has to recapture the past. Miss Havisham longed for an unattainable past to her downfall (thats Dickens but I'm sure you already knew that...). Narcissus was so self obsessed he withered away by the side of the water. Serpentor is basically an updated and evil genetic variation of Frankenstein's Monster. You may notice that each time this theme comes up, building a better human or wishing to recapture the past, that it ends poorly. I'm sure my generation is doomed to not learn these lessons, either.
So why then blame Serpentor for a these misguided dreams and mistakes that play out again and again? Well, my generation is now coming to the start of middle age. We are becoming the Captains (or at least Middle Managers) of Industry, we are becoming the Research Scientists. Our misunderstandings, biases, or basic foolishness is starting to shape policy choices. If our understanding of cloning, its possibilities, and its realities are represented by (or at the very least was helped to be shaped by) this cartoon of our youth what sort of debate on the topic can be expected? As science fiction verges closer and closer to science fact, can we expect the same types of completely ludicrous claims and complete hokum to dominate the popular imagination that spawned Serpentor? Yes, I think we can expect just that even though there is plenty of evidence that we should know better.
Information on Serpentor The Action Figure.
A little more background on Serpentor in general.
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