Thought I'd see what people thought of this idea: that all the members of the current godhand were tortured as humans.
This is based on the character designs of the godhand and how Miura incorporated the Griffith's mask into Femto's body. Obviously, the mask itself is based on the helmet Griffith wore into battle when he was at the height of his powers. But the fact that it never comes off of post-torture Griffith alters the symbol into something else, a marker of what's been taken away from him. The inclusion of the helmet in Femto's head then becomes a clever double metaphor: he has become the all powerful 'falcon,' persona, but he has (presumably unknowingly) also incorporated the legacy of his trauma into his new body. He is the damage that was done to him, the trauma and pain that led him to this place, and now, really, that's all he'll ever be.
Moving onto the other members: there's the implication that Void is the wise man that Gaiseric had tortured. Void's character design, unlike Femto's, can easily be interpreted even without the wise man story as a body that was tortured.
The eyes sewn shut, the exposed skull and brain almost like he was skinned--not a big stretch to see him as choosing this form in order to take the horrors that were done to him and make them a source of power.
So that leaves the three others. To be totally honest, this theory came to me when I saw these images of Slan...
...and randomly thought, 'that looks really uncomfortable." Jokes aside, though, the corset and collar do seem like they could be creative torture devices, not to mention the hooks on the ends of the wings.
And then there's Ubik's glasses.
Which sure look like something used to torture someone. Those things on the edge are (correct me if I'm wrong) hooks digging into his skin.
Conrad's design also has some features that look rather tortured:
The four fingers, the distorted face almost held in by the suit as if he would spill out, like his body doesn't have a human form without it--strikes me as the possible result of torture.
So I'm curious, what do people think? I don't think this is likely to be confirmed in the future, or have pretty much any relevance to the plot, but I thought it was cool and wanted to share. And I'd love opinions on this question: Would the more inhuman forms of the previous godhand pretty much prove this theory wrong?
This is based on the character designs of the godhand and how Miura incorporated the Griffith's mask into Femto's body. Obviously, the mask itself is based on the helmet Griffith wore into battle when he was at the height of his powers. But the fact that it never comes off of post-torture Griffith alters the symbol into something else, a marker of what's been taken away from him. The inclusion of the helmet in Femto's head then becomes a clever double metaphor: he has become the all powerful 'falcon,' persona, but he has (presumably unknowingly) also incorporated the legacy of his trauma into his new body. He is the damage that was done to him, the trauma and pain that led him to this place, and now, really, that's all he'll ever be.
Moving onto the other members: there's the implication that Void is the wise man that Gaiseric had tortured. Void's character design, unlike Femto's, can easily be interpreted even without the wise man story as a body that was tortured.

The eyes sewn shut, the exposed skull and brain almost like he was skinned--not a big stretch to see him as choosing this form in order to take the horrors that were done to him and make them a source of power.
So that leaves the three others. To be totally honest, this theory came to me when I saw these images of Slan...


...and randomly thought, 'that looks really uncomfortable." Jokes aside, though, the corset and collar do seem like they could be creative torture devices, not to mention the hooks on the ends of the wings.
And then there's Ubik's glasses.

Which sure look like something used to torture someone. Those things on the edge are (correct me if I'm wrong) hooks digging into his skin.
Conrad's design also has some features that look rather tortured:

The four fingers, the distorted face almost held in by the suit as if he would spill out, like his body doesn't have a human form without it--strikes me as the possible result of torture.
So I'm curious, what do people think? I don't think this is likely to be confirmed in the future, or have pretty much any relevance to the plot, but I thought it was cool and wanted to share. And I'd love opinions on this question: Would the more inhuman forms of the previous godhand pretty much prove this theory wrong?