Peter Pan a Murderous Villain? Disney Theory Gets Real Dark Real Fast

Summary

• According to some fans, Peter Pan killed the Lost Boys.
• Captain Hook could be completely misunderstood.
• Some spin-offs suggest this theory has legs.

Peter Pan, the bad guy? Surely not!? We've all seen the fresh-faced Peter swashbuckling with his pirate nemesis in the Disney movie, rescuing Wendy and generally being the good guy protagonist of this simple tale.

But is that how JM Barrie intended things to be? Not according to a Reddit debate that still rages.

What's the foundation of the argument?

The argument that Peter Pan is the real villain of the story goes back to the original works of JM Barrie, who first introduced Peter Pan to audiences in 1902, with the novel Peter and Wendy being published in 1911.

Both in the books and on screen, Peter can be described as cocky, arrogant, and self-centred. Some might argue that he's a self-confident image of brave masculinity. Whichever side of the argument you come down on, he's certainly careless and vain.

But that's not the dark part. You see, the theory goes that he was the only child who would never grow up, even in Neverland. Which begs the question, where do they all go?

There's a clue in Barrie's novel. The author described how the Lost Boys vary in number as they 'get killed' and says that 'when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out.'

So, from the creator's point of view, Peter Pan seems to kill them when they reach a certain age. Why not? He can always come back and pick up more.

Where does Captain Hook come into it?

Assuming that Peter Pan is not the sweet, innocent boy presented to us in the 1953 Disney film, the next logical step is to consider Hook's motivations.

The theory goes that Hook and his crew are former Lost Boys who escaped Peter's murderous ways. It confirms that it was Peter who chopped off the captain's hand. But not in self-defense. It was part of an attempt by Peter to kill his former friend.

In this version of the story, Captain Hook is out to stop Peter Pan from killing innocent children. This certainly explains why Mr. Smee is with him. Let's face it, the little sidekick is hardly a black-hearted pirate, is he?

The case for the prosecution

While no spin-off has yet confirmed this theory, some have certainly painted Peter in a darker light.

Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) featured a character named Sweet Pete, based on Hook's archenemy, who was the ringleader of a bootlegging operation.

In the TV series Once Upon a Time, Peter Pan is an outright kidnapper. The story may not address what happens to the Lost Boys he steals when they grow up and are no longer useful to him. But it does raise questions about his ethics.

Finally, in the live-action Peter Pan and Wendy, Peter is a tyrant who gets rid of any Lost Boys who disagree with him. Captain Hook is revealed to be one such expellee. Like all dictators, Peter simply forbids any of his crew from mentioning this fact and makes sure that everyone goes along with the deceit.

Once again, there is no definitive proof that Peter Pan is hiding a dark truth, but when you put all the evidence together, it points to a far more flawed character than appeared in the original Disney film. And it raises some serious questions about the fate of those Lost Boys who neither grew up nor joined Captain Hook.

Source: Reddit.