divine predecessors
Well, Darth Vader is an obvious influence. His Divine Shadow also reminds me of the Eternal Spirit of Morthrii from [i]The War of the Worlds[/i]. The scene where the commander kills the major then herself on board the [i]Mega Shadow[/i] seems like an homage to a similar scene in the [i]Doctor Who[/i] episode [i]The Keeper of Traken[/i].
Some people say the whole dark mass entering bodies and taking them over and turning their eyes black and such was lifted from [i]The X-Files[/i]. However, [i]Lexx 1.1: I Worship His Shadow[/i] appeared a year [b]before[/b] the Black Oil made its debut (in the episode [i]Piper Maru[/i]). There are also major differences between the two sci-fi elements, so we must conclude that they were separate developments.
I think His Shadow was inspired more by people in real life. There were those crazy Christians in the past who ordered thousands to be killed just because they worshipped different gods. And then you have those modern cult leaders who say (or even believe) that they’re God, and aquire a dark following. And let’s not forget Mr. Hitler. His Divine Shadow is more a symbol of religious zealotism and pedagogery on Earth than any product of science fiction roots.
——————
Lee P. Sherman, code name DalekTek790
Whovian, Froudian, Lexxian, etc.