The Bad Batch Archetypes Analysis

Hunter's Innate Archetype

This is the fourth instalment of my Bad Batch analysis. This character analysis has two parts: innate archetypes and anima. I will be referring to "Gods in Everyman" by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this first part analysis.

Hunter has two main archetypes: Dionysus and Zeus. His innate archetype is Dionysus, or Bacchus as the Romans called him, and he is the God of Wine and Ecstasy. He is the youngest of the Olympians, and the only one with a mortal mother. He represents the full range of emotions – from pain to ecstasy. His domain extends to all nature, especially to its life-giving moisture like the tree sap, blood, grape juice, and all the mysterious and uncontrollable tides that flow and ebb in nature. In his mythology and his rituals, Dionysus is surrounded by women: by mothers and nursemaids of the young Dionysus as the divine child, or by enraptured lovers, the frenzied Maenads or Bacchae, who are possessed by the god Dionysus.

Dionysus represents the archetype of the divine child. This archetype gives a sense of specialness to a person: the personal feeling that "my" life has a sacred meaning. A person who connects with the divine child will often go through a spiritual journey or a path of individuation. Clone Force 99 consists of Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair. They are genetically modified and enhanced clones, so they are born as extraordinary people – as "divine children". Among the four of them, Hunter probably identifies with the divine child archetype the most due to his Dionysus archetype.

Dionysus is the archetype of the eternal adolescent. Dionysus people are intense and emotional, who can become absorbed in their current passion and lack the ability to commit. They can be very moody – one moment they are in despair, the next moment they are ecstatic. This archetype is personified by the hippies, rock stars and punk rockers. Notable rock stars like Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Prince and Michael Jackson took on an androgynous appearance (most notably the longish, flowy hair), resembling Dionysus. Hunter does take on this archetype as he has longish dark brown hair, has a smoky tone to his voice according to his voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, and he is nicknamed "dark and broody" by Cid.

Dionysus is the archetype of intense opposites. Anyone who is possessed by this archetype experiences a dualistic personality. Dionysus men can be very passionate in one moment, and can be very cold in the next. Women who are possessed by this archetype can turn from loving, maternal women into raging, merciless Maenads (the women worshippers of Dionysus). Beauty and fatal danger highlight this dualism. The panther, leopard and lynx are some of the animals that symbolize Dionysus: they are graceful and fascinating, but also savage and bloodthirsty. Hunter embodies this archetype. In "Cut and Run", he takes down multiple clone troopers ruthlessly and mercilessly, yet at the same time he is tender and loving towards Omega. Besides, half of his face is tattooed, which serves as a physical characteristic of his dualistic personality – there is beauty and danger in him, like the large cats that symbolize Dionysus. I can see why some fans ship Hunter and Fennec because they are both beautiful yet deadly, resembling Dionysus and the Maenads.

Hunter's face also serves as a motif that depicts the fate of Dionysus as life and death are intertwined in his mythology and worships. Dionysus was an adult god who died and spent time in the Underworld, and then returned as a new-born infant at his grave in Apollo's sanctuary at Delphi. Applying this symbolism, the right side of Hunter's face (which is clear) represents life as it shows his youth, while the left side of his face, which is tattooed with half of a skull represents death.

Dionysus is the dismembered archetype due to his inability to reconcile powerful opposites within. This archetype makes people prone to the possibility of psychological dismemberment – they may find it difficult to "keep it together" or they may feel like they have been split into many pieces. Dreams involving swords, knives, and self-mutilation are imagery of psychological dismemberment. An observing and accepting ego must be developed to control the Dionysus archetype, which can help a person to accept their intense emotions but not act on it. Hunter has a strong and stable ego to control his dualistic personality, and he channels this dismembered archetype through his efficient vibro-knife combat skills, which involves dismemberment techniques.