You are the Purple Man (Jessica Jones RAR)

[FaxModem1]

In honor of the new season of Jessica Jones, we'll see what the members of this board would do with Kilgrave's powers.

For those unfamiliar, here is the Wikipedia page: PurpleMan

So, what do you do with the ability to mind control anyone in your immediate presence for 24 hours?

For discussion purposes, we'll be talking about the TV version.

[Crazedwraith]

The interesting dilemma here is not that you have the ability to mind control but you don't have the ability not mind control, if you give someone an instruction they will be forced to carry it out.

So if you want to not mind control people, you have to either be silent or express yourself only in very passive language a single slip up and someone's doing something on your orders.

[The Romulan Republic]

Do not use it, ever, unless to save an innocent person's life. Destroying someone else's free will is an absolutely horrific act. Even if temporary, I'd put it only slightly below murder.

Being forced to do it simply by speaking means I have no moral recourse but to isolate myself from humanity for the rest of my life, communicate only through writing, or commit suicide. I should probably use it once, to give a doctor an order to remove my tongue so there is no possibility of a mistake.

Admittedly, first getting the Purple Man close enough to the Orange Man to force him to fire Pence as VP, make and sign a full confession to every crime he's committed on live television, and then resign is tempting. That should fall under "saving innocent lives".

[Broomstick]

The problem is - and this was even hinted at in the TV Jessica Jones with the character - it's almost impossible NOT to be a mind-raping asshole. This isn't a power, it's a curse.

The most ethical course of action would be to isolate yourself and only communicate with others remotely.

Although, yeah, you might be able to justify using your abilities to get criminals to confess in some circumstances - but it's a pretty dicey stance to take.

[The Romulan Republic]

If it only requires verbal communication to mind control people- like I said, get my tongue removed.

If my mere presence does it- probably suicide, as much as I oppose suicide on principle, as the alternative would be to completely isolate myself in the wilderness, which I probably wouldn't survive, and even if I did, prolonged solitary confinement is considered torture for a reason.

[PREDATOR490]

Walk into the Avengers facility and join them.

They have Scarlet Witch on the team who has done similar mind control shit so, the Avengers would be the best place to go. They have most technology, access to resources and more likely to be understanding of the situation and ways to help.

In theory, the power to control does have limits. Individuals with strong enough will power can resist and / or eventually develop an immunity like Jessica did. Your best chance of getting those kinds of people would be the Avengers thus you can potentially live a reasonably comfortable life without going to insane extremes like suicide or extreme isolation.

If you can swing a meeting with Thor then the potential even exists to get off world. Asgard already has individuals that have demonstrated this kind of power between Loki and Laurali. They could cure it or at least put you on a planet where you can life peacefully without SHIELD / HYDRA or whoever breaking your door down because they want you to work for them / be their test subject.

[The Romulan Republic]

Walk into the Avengers facility and join them.

They have Scarlet Witch on the team who has done similar mind control shit so, the Avengers would be the best place to go. They have most technology, access to resources and more likely to be understanding of the situation and ways to help.

In theory, the power to control does have limits. Individuals with strong enough will power can resist and / or eventually develop an immunity like Jessica did. Your best chance of getting those kinds of people would be the Avengers thus you can potentially live a reasonably comfortable life without going to insane extremes like suicide or extreme isolation.

If you can swing a meeting with Thor then the potential even exists to get off world. Asgard already has individuals that have demonstrated this kind of power between Loki and Laurali. They could cure it or at least put you on a planet where you can life peacefully without SHIELD / HYDRA or whoever breaking your door down because they want you to work for them / be their test subject.

I took it more as "If you woke up with these powers in the real world". If I'm in the MCU, yeah I go see if the combined intellect and abilities of Tony, Bruce, Vision, and Wanda can sort me out. And also mention "Oh, hey, there's a genocidal alien overlord coming to kill you all, so maybe don't have a civil war or Vision, Tony and Natasha will end up dead."

[PREDATOR490]

If it is real world - You can probably create the Avengers / Defenders etc.

I dont have any interest in being a super hero or villain so giving me this power is kinda wasted. Finding someone to help you in the world is likely to be really hard and extremely risky. Too many chances of you being turned into a lab rat or locked away in a dark hole forever until you do the bidding of your masters.

Stay low, do not attract attention and mind your own business - The hardest part is watching what you say to people however, it is possible that constant exposure does build up immunity / resistance. In that case, you could test by deliberately exposing people then leaving them to see if it is a time based resistance or if it is cumulative with the commands you give.

I expect a lot of people would be given to abuse and it is a power that can get to dark places very quickly. However, I think I am at least sane enough to not abuse it too badly...

One aspect that Jessica Jones did suggest but never actually dared follow on - What is said and what is interpreted do seem to have some relevance to the control system. If you give a direct command then it will likely be followed but if it is vague the interpretation and execution is implied to be up to the victim.
I.E Killgrave told Jessica to 'Take Care' of Luke Cage's love interest - JJ interpreted that to mean kill her and did so.
Even if you grant that the command implies 'Kill', it does not say HOW to kill her. One would assume that leaves the Victim with some sense of autonomy and thus Jessica Jones CHOSE to super punch the woman rather than strangle her, or beat her to death etc.

If you tell someone to 'Fuck Off' - Is the Victim being commanded by the literal worlds and will follow them literally or is it somehow telepathy / intent based control.
If the latter is in play - A gesture or even body language might actually be enough to command someone against their will.

If you go to a different culture where body language / gestures can mean different things - Will that person do what YOU want or what the cultural version of that gesture / body language means ?

At the most extreme level - You can hang around communities that have disabilities like hearing or visual.

[Crazedwraith]

There's some interpretation by the target but it can also be exact worded. Kilgrave tells Patsy to put a bullet in her head. She takes the obvious route of shooting herself but the gun is empty. She then tries to grind a bullet into her temple until Jessica puts a bullet into Patsy's mouth and goes exact words on her which allows Patsy to shake out of it.

The show also alludes to 'fuck off' Kilgrave mentions he told a guy to go screw himself but the results are left to the imagination.

[The Romulan Republic]

If it is real world - You can probably create the Avengers / Defenders etc.

Well, if you used mind control to create them, they'd probably be more of a villain team.

Yeah, I'm not terribly interested in being part of a hero team, especially as I freely admit I am a coward, and all the mind control powers in the world won't save me from being sniped by a gunman I never knew was there. Maybe if I had Superman's durability or Wolverine's regeneration I'd go superheroing, but probably not otherwise. At most, if I had powers of any kind that didn't include immunity to physical damage, I'd occassionally intervene when it was something really big (like a global existential threat) or if I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

I dont have any interest in being a super hero or villain so giving me this power is kinda wasted. Finding someone to help you in the world is likely to be really hard and extremely risky. Too many chances of you being turned into a lab rat or locked away in a dark hole forever until you do the bidding of your masters.

Stay low, do not attract attention and mind your own business - The hardest part is watching what you say to people however, it is possible that constant exposure does build up immunity / resistance. In that case, you could test by deliberately exposing people then leaving them to see if it is a time based resistance or if it is cumulative with the commands you give.

I expect a lot of people would be given to abuse and it is a power that can get to dark places very quickly. However, I think I am at least sane enough to not abuse it too badly...

Pride goes before a fall. I frankly don't have that much trust in myself, especially because I know I have a tendency to blurt out my thoughts and speak sloppily, and all it would take is one slip of the tongue in the presence of another person, and I've just taken away someone's free will and made them do God knows what. I also don't dare go to the authorities for help, because I can just imagine this power being weaponized by authoritarian regimes.

Like I said, the safest course of action if I don't want to turn into a monster is "order someone to remove my tongue", then go from there.

One aspect that Jessica Jones did suggest but never actually dared follow on - What is said and what is interpreted do seem to have some relevance to the control system. If you give a direct command then it will likely be followed but if it is vague the interpretation and execution is implied to be up to the victim.

Hmm, that's interesting, but its a weakness only an imaginative and strong-willed person would be likely to be able to fully exploit.

I.E Killgrave told Jessica to 'Take Care' of Luke Cage's love interest - JJ interpreted that to mean kill her and did so.
Even if you grant that the command implies 'Kill', it does not say HOW to kill her. One would assume that leaves the Victim with some sense of autonomy and thus Jessica Jones CHOSE to super punch the woman rather than strangle her, or beat her to death etc.

If you tell someone to 'Fuck Off' - Is the Victim being commanded by the literal worlds and will follow them literally or is it somehow telepathy / intent based control.
If the latter is in play - A gesture or even body language might actually be enough to command someone against their will.

This is a very important question, and the answer will determine whether I have any ethical options except life-long isolation.

If you go to a different culture where body language / gestures can mean different things - Will that person do what YOU want or what the cultural version of that gesture / body language means ?

Another excellent question.

At the most extreme level - You can hang around communities that have disabilities like hearing or visual.

That's an interesting option. I hadn't thought of that. However, its a pretty small pool of people who are both deaf and blind.

Hmm, could orders given by Brail writing control someone? I need to know the limits here before I can come up with a real plan of action.

[Broomstick]

They have Scarlet Witch on the team who has done similar mind control shit so, the Avengers would be the best place to go.

Big difference is that Wanda doesn't have to use her powers, they only engage when she wants them to. The PurpleMan Powers are on all the time and I don't think it's even possible to turn them off.

[The Romulan Republic]

They have Scarlet Witch on the team who has done similar mind control shit so, the Avengers would be the best place to go.

Big difference is that Wanda doesn't have to use her powers, they only engage when she wants them to. The PurpleMan Powers are on all the time and I don't think it's even possible to turn them off.

Yeah, its a shitty, shitty power set, more like a disease really. Its an even shittier deal than Rogue's "I can't touch people or I drain their life force" powers. Depending on exactly how you interpret the powers and their limits, its "I cannot communicate with another person without enslaving their mind".

Hmm, another question- do the powers only work on humans, or on animals as well? What about (in a superhero 'verse) non-human sapients like aliens? I'd assume, if its organically-based, that robots would be immune. Maybe surrounding myself with AIs is an option in the Marvel-verse.

Edit: I'm not surprised Kilgrave's a bad guy. I don't know that much about the character, but it would be hard for anyone to exist in society with those powers unless they were a sociopath/had no conscience.

[Solauren]

TV Purple Man worked like a virus, and it appeared he had to want to affect people for it to work. Of course, he was a complete dick so....

Assuming it's a virus, wearing the equal of an environmental isolation suit/biohazard suit should contain it.

Hell, in the MCU, Tony Stark would probably be able to figure out a 'anti-virus' or something.

[FaxModem1]

In JJ, Kilgrave made noise about how he had to learn at a very young age to be careful about how he talked to people. After a while, he gave up and just enjoyed his ability to do what he wanted and lived how he wanted.

[Bedlam]

If he had his powers all of his life (in the comics he gained them later in life) then there probably isn't any way he could have grown up anything but a sociopath. To him it's completely normal for everyone around him to do what he wants and to have any desires but his own, that's basically going to stop you ever considering people around you as, well, people. There's no reason for him to ever learn self control or empathy.

[bilateralrope]

Would getting your tongue cut out stop the mind control ?
Or would you still be able to do it if you used some other way to give people commands. Such as text to speech on your phone.

I also doubt I'd be able to stand isolating myself away from people. That depends purely on my self control.

I think the best thing to do would be to walk into some offices of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, demonstrate my powers by telling them all to draw on their leg, then ask for a job. This accomplishes three things:
- I get people who know enough to stop me should I go too far.
- I get to still have some social interaction. Even if it's only over video calls or through other precautions.
- I'm assuming that my ability to easily make people answer questions will be quite valuable to them. Because that's all I'll be willing to do. Question is, do my commands still work if I speak them in a language I don't understand ?

Since New Zealand is part of Five Eyes, the hope is that I can cut down on a lot of torture because even the people who believe that torture works will be easily convinced that my way is better.

[Bedlam]

I think the best thing to do would be to walk into some offices of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, demonstrate my powers by telling them all to draw on their leg, then ask for a job. This accomplishes three things:
- I get people who know enough to stop me should I go too far.
- I get to still have some social interaction. Even if it's only over video calls or through other precautions.
- I'm assuming that my ability to easily make people answer questions will be quite valuable to them. Because that's all I'll be willing to do. Question is, do my commands still work if I speak them in a language I don't understand ?

Since New Zealand is part of Five Eyes, the hope is that I can cut down on a lot of torture because even the people who believe that torture works will be easily convinced that my way is better.

I can imagine that there would be some legal issues with any information gathered by your mind control powers. Although you could theoretically get anyone to answer truthy depending on how exactly you word a question and possibly even your body language at the time you could get anyone to say what they thought you wanted to hear.

[Gandalf]

I wonder if it could have some therapeutic uses, perhaps in helping with trauma victims, addicts, and the like?

[The Romulan Republic]

I wonder if it could have some therapeutic uses, perhaps in helping with trauma victims, addicts, and the like?

One of the Dresden Files books used this plot basically, actually: someone used magic to mind-control their friends into giving up drugs. It ended... badly. Now, Black Magic has particular psychological effects on both user and victim in that setting that might not apply her, but I do have the feeling that trying to compel someone to change their emotions or behaviour against their will would simply create a different kind of trauma. For that matter, you might be able to order a drug addict: "Do not take drugs", and they'd have to obey, but that wouldn't make the desire go away. They'd just have two conflicting compulsions, tearing them apart.

[Broomstick]

For that matter, you might be able to order a drug addict: "Do not take drugs", and they'd have to obey, but that wouldn't make the desire go away. They'd just have two conflicting compulsions, tearing them apart.

That's more less what happened in the Dresden files story - Molly was trying to use her powers to get her friends off drugs.

Later on she does some psychic surgery on Dresden himself, but that was with his full consent and knowledge. In fact, he asked her to do it.
Spoiler

I do wonder if Dresden got his money back from the assassin he hired to shoot him... After all, it was not a successful assassination, Dresden was only rendered mostly dead for a time and now he's back.

Even Later, Molly acted as midwife when Harry gave birth to his daughter...which makes sense in context but as a bald statement is very weird.

[Ralin]

Spoiler

I do wonder if Dresden got his money back from the assassin he hired to shoot him... After all, it was not a successful assassination, Dresden was only rendered mostly dead for a time and now he's back.

Even Later, Molly acted as midwife when Harry gave birth to his daughter...which makes sense in context but as a bald statement is very weird.

Spoilers for Peace Talks
Spoiler

Butcher has said that Ivy will be in the next book, so Kincaid will almost certainly be there and Dresden will absolutely make a comment that Kincaid still owes him a favor because he botched the last one.

I expect that Kincaid will respond by offering to shoot Dresden again.

[FaxModem1]

Spoiler

I do wonder if Dresden got his money back from the assassin he hired to shoot him... After all, it was not a successful assassination, Dresden was only rendered mostly dead for a time and now he's back.

Even Later, Molly acted as midwife when Harry gave birth to his daughter...which makes sense in context but as a bald statement is very weird.

Spoilers for Peace Talks
Spoiler

Butcher has said that Ivy will be in the next book, so Kincaid will almost certainly be there and Dresden will absolutely make a comment that Kincaid still owes him a favor because he botched the last one.

I expect that Kincaid will respond by offering to shoot Dresden again.

Please, not another thread hijacked by Dresden Files.

[LadyTevar]

Please, not another thread hijacked by Dresden Files.

YES! ANOTHER THREAD HIJACK BY DRESDEN FILES!

[bilateralrope]

I can imagine that there would be some legal issues with any information gathered by your mind control powers. Although you could theoretically get anyone to answer truthy depending on how exactly you word a question and possibly even your body language at the time you could get anyone to say what they thought you wanted to hear.

The legality question is one reason why I'm avoiding the police.

As for how I get the truth, I'm thinking that I give the order "you will truthfully answer my colleagues questions" and then let someone else ask the questions. Which also has the best chance of getting through any language barrier and lets the intelligence agency keep me in the dark about which questions they are asking. Though it's really going to come down to how the agency wants me to do things.

[Broomstick]

You need to say "you will truthfully and fully answer my colleagues questions" to avoid someone who gives truthful but absolutely minimal answers. But yeah, that would seem to be the preferred way to use your power for interrogation purposes.