Master of Puppets (Metallica)

NAME/ORIGIN
Character name	Master of Puppets
Song/Album	"Master of Puppets"/ Master of Puppets
Act	Metallica
Writer	Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
Release Date	1986
ABILITIES
Powers	- Removes darkness, leaving only a vacuum "Sucking darkest clear" -Telekinesis, especially over living matter "I'm pulling your strings" -Mind control, even reaching into the subconscious, to remove hope "Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams" "Life of death becoming clearer" "Where's the dreams I've been after?" -Cause 'hysterical blindness' "Blinded my me, you can't see a thing"
Skills	Can sew, likely learned by making puppets' costumes Also adept at inserting needles, as a nurse does, in veins "Needle, work your way"
Attributes	Prefers scripted scenarios, even if they don't make logical sense "ritual misery" "a rhyme without a reason"
Vulnerabilities	Resistance, hope
Formidability	Likely has multiple victims at once
Attractiveness	Does not attract followers as much as command them "Come crawling faster/ Obey your master"
Source	Hell
Goals	-Convince others to commit suicide; may engage in assisting suicides "I'm the source of self-destruction" "Leading on your death's construction" "Dedicated to/ How I'm killing you" "I will help you die" -Control "Now I rule you, too"
POSSESSIONS
Weapons	N/A
Amulets	N/A
Objects	"a mirror," also a Kevorkian-like device for assisted suicides
Clothing	Likely ordinary, saving the showy costumes for his puppets
Vehicles	N/A
Dwelling	"Never-ending maze"
Milieu	"Hell is... natural habitat"
BIOGRAPHY
Gender	Male ("master," not "mistress")
Age	N/A, may be immortal
Physique	High volumes of fight-or-flight adrenaline in his system "Veins pumping with fear" Skin tastes delicious when licked or kissed "Taste me, you will see/ More is all you need"
Ethnicity	N/A
Origin	Hell
Ancestry	Demonic
Profession	Puppeteer, specializing in staging religious plays "End of passion play"
Education	N/A
SES	N/A
Relationships	"Fans" become victims
Pets	N/A
PERSONALITY
Morality	Immoral: "You promised only lies"
Intro/extrovert	Leaves the public interaction to his puppets
Intelligence	High
Emotions	Sadistic: "Laughing at my cries"
Sanity	While heartless, is scheming and patient
Enemies	Happy people
Narrative Function	Antagonist
Other Notes	What could be more innocent than a puppet show? Yet, even Hamlet knew that by watching the audience's reactions, you can learn a great deal about them ("the play's the thing/ wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king"). And so this Master of Puppets puts on his show at churches and religious gatherings, watching the audience as he does. When he notices that someone seems hopeless, he approaches them after the show. Rather than lift their hopes, the Master uses his demonic ability to control  minds to amplify their worries and remove their hope. Soon even a mildly upset person is spiraling toward depression and having thoughts of suicide. So they seek out the Master for help. Unfortunately, he works for the Devil. He chooses easy prey, ones already tending toward hopelessness. If he can get them to commit suicide, then that's a sin and they go straight to the Devil's lobby. Oh, he says, if you're in that much agony, I can help-- it's best to put you out of your misery. He uses mirrors to show them their own sadness, then strikes them psychosomatically blind so their last thought of themselves is as a hopeless being. Then he straps them to a gurney and guides them into injecting poison into themselves through needles. In the end, the thin tubes running into their veins leaves them looking much like puppets on strings. The scenario plays out over and over, like his plays, which is what gives him the satisfaction of a "happy"-- for him and his boss-- ending.