When it comes to fiction, the killer can be incredibly complex or they can simply be troubled individuals that are seeking an outlet for their more disturbing tendencies and a place in which to practice them. When one thinks of hotels in the movies there’s usually one name that comes up consistently, and that’s Norman Bates. This young, repressed individual has seen his name pass into legend over the years and become synonymous with many mental health issues. But like everything that’s ever been created, Norman has inspired a few different characters and been compared to several characters over the years, which is only natural. It’s very easy to compare Norman to another individual that has a strange relationship with his mother and is also someone that can rightfully be called a bit demented. The thing is that a lot of people might not recognize the name of Brady Hartsfield, the killer from Mr. Mercedes unless they’ve read the book or watched the series. What a person will find when looking at Brady however is that he’s every bit as disturbing as Norman, and in some ways is even worse.
Where Norman’s influence began and ended with the Bates motel and his own home, Brady is fairly mobile as he works in an electronics store as well as an ice cream truck, and he’s the type of villain that’s perfect for the modern era since he knows his way around electronics and has little to no moral compass that allows him to do as he pleases. But while he’s not a perfect social chameleon, he’s good enough that he’s not entirely awkward all the time. Much like Norman, he does suffer abuse, though instead of experiencing DID (dissociative identity disorder) Brady is seen as a psychopath from the word go since the joy he takes in what he does is far different than Norman, who slips into his ‘mother’ persona whenever he starts feeling a certain way.
Norman is rather tame when compared to Brady since he doesn’t take it upon himself to go out into the world and cause mayhem. Norman requires a trigger to unleash his deadliest side. Brady can tap into it whenever he wants, but it is easy to see that he becomes more than a little defensive when he doesn’t get his way, or when his plans go awry in any way. Brady is a sadistic child with the intelligence and form of a grown man that is left to run unchecked since his mother has no clue about, well, anything. She knows how to sexually abuse her son, but that appears to be all she can do, and when Brady is done with her, his mother becomes another notch on his kill list that might feel a certain way about, even if matricide isn’t about to make him fall to pieces. To state that a character such as Norman Bates did serve as inspiration for Brady Hartsfield isn’t difficult at all since it makes the case for Stephen King looking at Bates and thinking of ways that this character could be a hundred times worse. Making him psychotic and fully aware of his acts is one way to do it.
In terms of the villains coming back, Norman Bates did manage to keep his place as a terrifying character as the sequels rolled onward, but the fact is that his status as a slasher had dipped at that time, especially since his time as a killer was best when the initial movie came out. Anything and everything after that had to contend with too many other movies that were coming out around that time, and there was little to no room for Norman. The challenges that Brady has met aren’t much different, but they’re far greater since remembering his name is bound to be something that only fans can truly remember, especially since despite its popularity when it first emerged, Mr. Mercedes has gone the way of many King stories and faded into the background already. Brady is a terrifying villain, especially since his technological prowess makes him even more of a threat. But up until he’s found out, he’s one of the worst kinds of killers, since he plans his atrocities, but he focuses on large groups of people, not just individuals.
It’s a little painful to admit, but Brady is far more terrifying than Norman could ever be since it’s more than just the different eras they come from, it’s the fact that Brady is in full control of his impulses. He doesn’t flip and enter a completely different mindset; he likes to kill and enjoys the planning aspect of it, and he enjoys toying with people when he finds someone he thinks is a worthwhile target. At the end of the day, Norman is a truly sick individual, while Brady is sick, but he’s aware of it and he loves every second.
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