Frankenstein in popular culture

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster in Bride of Frankenstein.

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, and the famous character of Frankenstein's monster have influenced popular culture for at least 100 years. The work has inspired numerous films, television programs, video games and derivative works. The character of the monster remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction.[1]

Film derivatives

Silent era

The first film adaptation of Frankenstein in 1910 by Edison Studios.

The first film adaptation of the tale, Frankenstein, was done by Edison Studios in 1910, written and directed by J. Searle Dawley, with Augustus Phillips as Frankenstein, Mary Fuerte as Elizabeth, and Charles Ogle as the Monster. The brief (16 min.) story has Frankenstein chemically create his creature in a vat. The monster haunts the scientist until Frankenstein's wedding night, when true love causes the creature to vanish. For many years, this film was believed lost. A collector announced in 1980 that he had acquired a print in the 1950s and had been unaware of its rarity.

The Edison version was followed soon after by another adaptation entitled Life Without Soul (1915), directed by Joseph W. Smiley, starring William A. Cohill as Dr. William Frawley, a modern-day Frankenstein who creates a soulless man, played to much critical praise by Percy Standing, who wore little make-up in the role. The film was shot at various locations around the United States, and reputedly featured much spectacle. In the end, it turns out that a young man has dreamed the events of the film after falling asleep reading Mary Shelley's novel. This film is now considered a lost film.

There was also at least one European film version, the Italian Il Mostro di Frankenstein ("The Monster of Frankenstein") in 1921. The film's producer Luciano Albertini essayed the role of Frankenstein, with the creature being played by Umberto Guarracino, and Eugenio Testa directing from a screenplay by Giovanni Drivetti. The film is also now considered a lost film.

Universal Pictures

The most famous adaptation of the story, 1931's Frankenstein, was produced by Universal Pictures, directed by James Whale, and starred Boris Karloff as the monster. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), was also directed by Whale and is probably the most critically acclaimed of all the Universal horror films. It was followed by Son of Frankenstein in 1939 and The Ghost of Frankenstein in 1942. The latter film marked the series' descent into B movie territory; later efforts by Universal combined two or more monsters, culminating in the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The Universal films in which The Monster appears (and the actors who played him) are:

  1. Frankenstein (1931 – Boris Karloff)
  2. Bride of Frankenstein (1935 – Karloff)
  3. Son of Frankenstein (1939 – Karloff)
  4. The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942 – Lon Chaney, Jr.)
  5. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943 – Béla Lugosi, with Eddie Parker, Gil Perkins, and a possible third stuntman often doubling)
  6. House of Frankenstein (1944 – Glenn Strange)
  7. House of Dracula (1945 – Strange)
  8. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948 – Strange, with Lon Chaney, Jr. taking the role for one scene).

Future reboot film

For the reboot film, Guillermo del Toro said his Frankenstein would be a faithful "Miltonian tragedy", citing Frank Darabont's "near perfect" script, which evolved into Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein.[2] Del Toro said of his vision, "What I'm trying to do is take the myth and do something with it, but combining elements of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein without making it just a classical myth of the monster. The best moments in my mind of Frankenstein, of the novel, are yet to be filmed ... The only guy that has ever nailed for me the emptiness, not the tragic, not the Miltonian dimension of the monster, but the emptiness is Christopher Lee in the Hammer films, where he really looks like something obscenely alive. Boris Karloff has the tragedy element nailed down but there are so many versions, including that great screenplay by Frank Darabont that was ultimately not really filmed."[3] He has also cited Bernie Wrightson's illustrations as inspiration, and said the film will not focus on the monster's creation, but be an adventure film featuring the character.[4] Del Toro said he would like Wrightson to design his version of the creature. The film will also focus on the religious aspects of Shelley's tale.[5] In June 2009, del Toro stated that production on Frankenstein was not likely to begin for at least four years.[6] Despite this, he has already cast frequent collaborator Doug Jones in the role of Frankenstein's monster. In an interview with Sci Fi Wire, Jones stated that he learned of the news the same day as everybody else; that "Guillermo did say to the press that he’s already cast me as his monster, but we’ve yet to talk about it. But in his mind, if that’s what he’s decided, then it's done ... It would be a dream come true."[7] The film will be a period piece.[8]

Hammer Films

In Great Britain, a long-running series by Hammer Films focused on the character of Dr. Frankenstein (usually played by Peter Cushing) rather than his monster. Peter Cushing played Dr. Frankenstein in all of the films except for Horror of Frankenstein, in which the character was played by Ralph Bates. Cushing also played a creation in Revenge of Frankenstein. David Prowse played two different Monsters.

The Hammer films are a series in the loosest sense, since there is only tenuous continuity between the films after the first two (which are carefully connected). Starting with The Evil of Frankenstein, the films are standalone stories with occasional vague references to previous films, much the way the James Bond films form a series. In some of the films, the Baron is a kindly, even heroic figure, while in others he is ruthless and cruel and clearly the villain of the piece.

The Hammer Films series (and the actor playing The Creature) consisted of:

  1. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957 – Christopher Lee)
  2. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958 – two Creatures: Michael Gwynn and Peter Cushing
  3. The Evil of Frankenstein (1964 – Kiwi Kingston)
  4. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967 – Susan Denberg)
  5. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969 – Freddie Jones)
  6. The Horror of Frankenstein (1970 – David Prowse)
  7. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974 – David Prowse)

In 1959, Hammer shot a half-hour pilot episode for a TV series to be called Tales of Frankenstein, in association with Columbia Pictures. Anton Diffring played the Baron, and Don Megowan his creation. Curt Siodmak directed. The series was scrapped, largely because of the two companies's disagreement over what the basic thrust of the series would be. Hammer wanted to do a series about Baron Frankenstein involved in various misadventures, while Columbia wanted a series of science fiction stories loosely based around the idea of science gone wrong. Though unshown at the time of its production, the episode is available on DVD from several sources.

Other films

Depictions of The Monster have varied widely, from mindless killing machines to the depiction of The Monster as a kind of tragic hero (closest to the Shelley version in behavior) in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Bride, and Van Helsing. Throughout the Universal series, he evolves from the latter to the former.

Three films have depicted the genesis of the Frankenstein story in 1816: Gothic directed by Ken Russell (1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer (1988), and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez (1988). The opening scene of Bride of Frankenstein also dealt with this event.

1950s and 1960s

1970s and 1980s

1990s and 2000s

Parodies and satires

Television derivatives

The Frankenstein story and its elements have been adapted many times for television:

Other derivatives

Classical and modern music

Radio

On August 3, 1931, Alonzo Dean Cole adapted the novel as a 30-minute episode of his program The Witch's Tale. It was redone on March 7, 1932 and July 17, 1935.

In 1938, George Edwards produced a 13-part, 3-hour series for radio. It follows the structure and spirit of the novel closely.

Two other versions were made in both 1944 and 1955.

In 1945 it was adapted as a 30-minute drama on the syndicated program The Weird Circle.

In 1946 it was adapted as a 30-minute drama on the program Favorite Story.

Another 30-minute drama version was used on Suspense on November 3, 1952 starring Herbert Marshall and was used again on June 7, 1955 starring Stacy Harris.

In 1999, the Radio Tales drama series presented an adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel for National Public Radio.

In 2014, Big Finish Productions released an audio version by Jonathan Barnes directed by Scott Handcock[15] starring Arthur Darvill as Victor Frankenstein, Nicholas Briggs as Waldman/The Creature, Geoffrey Beevers as Alphonse Frankenstein/DeLacey, Georgia Moffett as Elizabeth and Terry Molloy.

Stage

Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, written by Richard Brinsley Peake, was produced at the English Opera House in London in 1823.

Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim is an 1887 musical burlesque composed by Meyer Lutz and written by Richard Henry.

A Broadway adaptation of the story by Victor Gialanella played for one performance on January 4, 1981 (after 29 previews) and was considered the most expensive flop ever produced to that date.[16] It is noteworthy for John Carradine's playing the part of the blind "DeLacey". Also starring were David Dukes as "Victor Frankenstein", Dianne Wiest as "Elizabeth", John Glover as "Henry Clervel", and Keith Joachim as "The Creature".[17]

A musical adaptation entitled Day of Wrath by Eric B. Sirota; Most recently presented as an Official Selection of the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival's Reading Series. www.DayOfWrathMusical.com

Joined At The Heart is a musical with music & lyrics by Graham Brown & Geoff Meads, book by Frances Anne Bartam and directed by Frances Brownlie. It tells the love story of Victor Frankenstein and his step sister Elizabeth, a young orphan girl taken in by Victor's parents and cared for as if she were their own daughter. When Victor's mother dies, he vows to end the suffering that death brings by pursuing eternal life. Joined At The Heart reached the final of the Worldwide Search for Musicals competition. The show was produced at The Junction 2 in Cambridge, UK from 1–4 August 2007 and at the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland from 12–18 August 2007.

Young Frankenstein, a musical theatre adaptation of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, opened in November 2007 and closed in January 2009.[18]

Frankenstein - A New Musical, a pop-opera adaptation which adhered closely to the original novel, opened at 37 Arts Theatre, New York, in Autumn 2007 and closed in December 2007. The first UK performance was at The Stables Theatre Hastings in May 2009. Music was by Mark Baron, book by Jefferey Jackson and Gary P Cohen.[19]

A performance storytelling production of Frankenstein is currently touring both in the UK and internationally. It is performed by storyteller Ben Haggarty and the composer, singer and musician Sianed Jones.[20]

Frankenstein, a play adapted by Nick Dear from the original novel, premiered at the Royal National Theatre in 2011.

A Korean musical adaptation of the book, written and directed by Wang Yong-beom and songs by Lee Seong-joon, premiered on March 11, 2014.[21] The show achieved unprecendented level of success for an original domestic production, and future Japanese and Chinese productions are on the way,[22]

Novels

The story of Frankenstein and "Frankenstein's monster", has formed the basis of many original novels over the years, some of which were considered sequels to Shelley's original work, and some of which were based more upon the character as portrayed in the Universal films. Yet others were completely new tales inspired by Frankenstein.

Carrière followed the footsteps of the Monster, christened Gouroull, as he made his way back from Iceland, to Scotland, and then Germany and Switzerland, from the late 1800s to the 1920s. The plots have the Monster pursuing his own, evil agenda, unafraid of the weaker humans. Even people who try to help or reason with him are just as likely to be killed by the inhuman fiend.

Comics

Main article: Frankenstein (comics)

The Monster has also been the subject of many comic book adaptations, ranging from the ridiculous (a 1960s series portraying The Monster as a superhero; see below), to more straightforward interpretations of Shelley's work.

Dick Briefer's Frankenstein (1940–1954)

In 1940, cartoonist Dick Briefer wrote and drew a Frankenstein's-monster comic book title for Crestwood Publications's Prize Comics, beginning with a standard horrific version, updated to contemporary America, but then in 1945 crafting an acclaimed and well-remembered comedic version that spun off into his own title, Frankenstein Comics. The series ended with issue #17 (Jan.-Feb. 1949, but was revived as a horror title from #18-33 (March 1952 - Oct.-Nov. 1954). The original Prize version served as catalyst for an intra-company crossover, where all characters starring in Prize Comics at the time teamed up to fight Frankenstein.[23][24]

DC Comics

DC Comics' Movie Comics #1 (April 1939) featured an eight-page fumetti adaptation of the film Son of Frankenstein.

The Monster appeared in Superman No. 143 (February 1961), in a story entitled "Bizarro Meets Frankenstein!"

In 1973 the "Spawn of Frankenstein" appeared in the Phantom Stranger comic, written by Len Wein. The portrayal of the monster was as a reclusive, sympathetic character who had been living alone in the Arctic since the death of his creator.

A 1995 Batman special called Batman: Castle of the Bat by Jack C. Harris and Bo Hampton amalgamates Batman and Frankenstein. Bruce Wayne fills the role of Victor Frankenstein, wishing to revive his deceased father. Having successfully done so, his creation becomes the monstrous "Bat-Man", a hulking figure in a rough analogue of the Batman costume who preys upon highwaymen, similar to the one who took the lives of the (this story's) parents of Bruce Wayne. Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth is changed to a hunchbacked dwarf named Alfredo, filling the "Igor" role.

In The Superman Monster (1999), Lex Luthor is Viktor Luther, the creator. He discovers the spacecraft that would have carried the infant Superman to Earth. Inside, however, is only the skeleton of a child. Using the Kryptonian technology, he is able to animate his (unintentionally) super-powered creature, which initially resembles Bizarro. The creature flees and is raised by the kindly couple Johann and Marta Kant. They name the creature Klaus, after their dead son. The story features the Lois Lane character becoming "The Bride" to Superman's Creature.

DC Comics and Roy Thomas revived the character "The Spawn of Frankenstein" in Young All-Stars; he then appeared in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory. Here, Frankenstein is a Milton-quoting, gun-toting warrior battling to prevent the end of the world. In addition, DC's team of movie monster-esque soldiers known as the Creature Commandos featured a character that resembled the Universal Pictures version of Frankenstein's monster; Private Elliot "Lucky" Taylor was nearly killed after stepping on a land mine, but was grotesquely reconstructed into a "Patchwork Creature" (as designated by the Who's Who in the DC Universe entry on the Creature Commandos), and later rendered mute by a failed suicide attempt. Later, DC Comics debuted an unrelated superhero (and member of the Teen Titans) called "Young Frankenstein."

In Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary, the protagonist, Elijah Snow, discovers an abandoned laboratory, filled with patchwork undead monsters. It is heavily implied that the lab belonged to Victor Frankenstein, and that, alongside Count Dracula, the Invisible Man, and Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein had been part of a covert, 19th century conspiracy to shape the direction of the future.

In the comic book Major Bummer, Louie defends the common misnaming of the monster as "Frankenstein": Dr. Frankenstein is, so to speak, the monster's "father", and it is only right that a son should have his father's family name. This is also the argument taken by the Seven Soldiers incarnation.

As of September 2011, the Seven Soldiers version of the character stars in the ongoing series Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., one of the launch titles of DC Comics' The New 52 initiative.

Marvel Comics

The monster appeared as a foe to Marvel Comics' X-Men in issue #40 of their eponymous series (January 1968). In the story, written by Roy Thomas, the monster had various powers, including incredible strength, optic beams, and magnetized feet. He was an ambassador sent to Earth by aliens in the 1850s, but upon arrival, he went berserk. His fellow aliens followed him to the North Pole, where he was frozen. In the present, he was discovered by scientists and thawed. According to Professor X, this android was the inspiration for Shelley's novel.

The Monster of Frankenstein, the first five issues of which (Jan.-September 1973) contained a faithful (in spirit at least) retelling of Shelley's tale before transferring The Monster into the present day and pitting him against James Bond-inspired evil organizations. The artist, Mike Ploog, recalled, "I really enjoyed doing Frankenstein because I related to that naive monster wandering around a world he had no knowledge of — an outsider seeing everything through the eyes of a child."[25]

Invaders #31 The Invaders searching the Human Torch and Toro disappear in Switzerland, the Invaders’ investigation brings them face to fist with Frankenstein. A wheel-chair-bound Nazi scientist and Japanesse doctor plan to transplant said Nazi scientist’s brain into Captain America’s body. The Invaders have to fight Frankenstein in the issue (Frankenstein is dressed as a Nazi officer)

Other publishers

Classic Comics #27 (December 1945), reprinted in Classics Illustrated #26, had versions of the Shelley novel.

Dell Comics published a superhero version of the character in the comic book series Frankenstein #2-4 (September 1966 - March 1967; issue #1, published Oct. 1964, featured a very loose adaptation/update of the 1931 Universal Pictures movie).

In 1972, French comics publisher Aredit devoted seven issues of its digest-sized Hallucinations horror comic magazine to adapt Jean-Claude Carrière's Frankenstein novels.

In 1991, Dark Horse Comics issued an adaptation of the 1931 Universal film.

The Monster is Monster in My Pocket #13. He appears among the good monsters in the comic book (1991), the video game (1991), the animated special (1992), and the 2003 animated series. In the comics, he was relatively inarticulate, represented by hyphens between each syllable he spoke, but possessed of simple wisdom and strong morals. This characterization was essentially characterized in the video game, where he was a playable character, and his only line of dialogue in the cut scenes was "Yeah..." In the animated special, he was known as "Big Ed" and was essentially a comic simpleton.

Junji Ito serialized a manga adaptation of the novel, which was collected and published by Asahi Sonorama as the last tankōbon volume of The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection in 1999.

2004 saw the debut of Doc Frankenstein, written by the Wachowski brothers, the writer-director team of The Matrix), and drawn by Steve Skroce. The book tells the continuing adventures of Frankenstein's monster, who has since adopted his creator's name and became a hero through the ages.

In 2004, manga artist Atsushi Ōkubo produced the manga Soul Eater; in the fifth chapter a character known as Franken Stein made his debut, much of his design was referenced from the novel "Frankenstein" including his body being covered in dozens of self-inflicted stitches. Like his namesake Franken Stein is both a skilled doctor and scientist, actually accomplishing in resurrecting another character into a zombie. But otherwise the rest of Victor Frankentsin's character was mostly tossed aside (the character was obsessed with taking things apart, usually with scalpels, and he was also a skilled fighter, especially in hand to hand combat). the major difference between Franken Stein and Mary Shelley's Victor Frankenstein is the fact that Franken Stein has the classic personality of a psychopath or serial killer.

In 2005, Dead Dog Comics produced a sequel to the Frankenstein mythos with Frankenstein: Monster Mayhem, written by R. D. Hall with art by Jerry Beck. In Dead Dog's version, the monster sets out to create his own Necropolis.

Also in 2005, Speakeasy Comics put out their sequel, The Living and the Dead, written by Todd Livingston and Robert Tinnell, with art by Micah Farritor. In it, Victor, now calling himself Hans, must create a new body for his first cousin who wants her syphilitic son to remain alive after a vicious beating, and she coerces him to do so under fear of exposing him for who he really is. Half-crazed due to the disease, the newly born monster proceeds to start a Grand Guignol theater in Ingolstadt until Victor puts him down with the help of the first monster he ever created. As thanks, Victor begins work on the last attempt he will make at playing God, and begins to build the original creature a mate.

In 2005, Puffin Books released a graphic novel adaptation adapted by Gary Reed with art from Frazer Irving.

The 2006 Beckett Entertainment/Image comics graphic novel The Cobbler's Monster: A Tale of Gepetto's Frankenstein features an amalgamation between Gepetto and Victor Frankenstein, who reanimates his dead son.

In 2006, Eros Comix published Adult Frankenstein, a comic book with Frankenstein x-rated stories (featuring also other classic monsters) all written by Enrico Teodorani (creator of Djustine), with cover by Joe Vigil and interior art by some of the best Italian authors in the erotic comics field.

Also in 2006, Big Bang Comics published an issue of Big Bang Presents featuring a superhero incarnation of the monster called Super Frankenstein.

Manga artist Mitsukazu Mihara published a volume collection of six short stories entitled Beautiful People on October 20, 2001. The main story, also titled "beautiful people", follows a woman who had plastic surgery done hoping to become beautiful and loved, but after she meets a young girl stitched together from corpses, she realizes that girl was the truly beautiful one because of the love she gave.

The 2007 manga series Embalming -The Another Tale of Frankenstein-, published by Shueisha, is based on the idea that Victor Frankenstein actually existed and created an artificial human from bodyparts of dead people and that 150 years after this event, numerous doctors across Europe are using what's left of his notes to try and create their own monsters. The series also features characters reading Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

In 2009 Papercutz published a Classics Illustrated Deluxe Graphic Novel adaptation of Frankenstein by French cartoonist Marion Mousse. His adaptation was originally published in French in three volumes, and was all collected and translated into English for the Papercutz version. Of all the comic book adaptations this one is probably the most faithful to the original book.

Toys and games

Frankenstein's monster appears in the Konami video game series Castlevania, numerous times, with its name being "The Monster" or "The Creature", often as a major boss, but sometimes as a regular enemy. His presence is technically an anachronism since he appears several hundred years before his date of creation in the 18th century. The monster usually has the appearance of the Karloff/Universal version; however, the 2010 series reboot Castlevania: Lords of Shadow features a completely different-looking boss known as the "Mechanical Monstrosity", created some time prior to 1047 by "Friedrich von Frankenstein".

Several other video game version are also available, including Bride of Frankenstein (Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum), Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster - A Cinematic Adventure Starring Tim Curry (PC CD-ROM) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, (Super NES, Genesis, Sega CD) based on the 1994 film of the same name. Other games featuring the monster include Frankenstein: The Monster Returns for the original Nintendo Entertainment System and Frankenstein's Monster for the Atari 2600.

In the 1995 Super NES game Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Kong's archenemy, King K. Rool, assumes the persona of Baron K. Roolenstein.

A Frankenstein-like monster called Victor von Gerdenheim is a playable character in the fighting game series Darkstalkers, along with many other monsters from popular culture.

Frankenstein's monster also appears in the videogame adaptation of the film Van Helsing. He only appears as a non-playable character.

Frankenstein's monster also appears in Warriors of Primetime, where he is the final boss (this monster is inaccurate as Frankenstein claims to be 'brought back to life').

The role-playing game Promethean: The Created by White Wolf Publishing, focuses on beings created from human remains and animated by "the Divine Fire" who seek to attain humanity. One of the "Lineages" (groupings) of said creatures is that of the Frankensteins, who, like their namesake, are crafted from the best parts of multiple corpses and brought to life by lightning. The monster himself, going by the name John Verney, appears in some of the book's fiction and illustrations.

Many fantasy role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, allow the creation of Flesh Golems, which are creatures similar to Frankenstein's monster that are created through the use of magic.

In 1989, the line of action figures for The Real Ghostbusters featured figures of several Universal Monsters, including Frankenstein's Monster.

In 2002, LEGO released a Dr. Frankenstein and monster set as part of the LEGO Studios toy line. In 2011, a new green skined Minifigure called Monster resembles the creature.

In Atari's 2004 PC game, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, a "monster animatronic" appears as part of a set of scenery included in the "Spooky" park theme.

The 2008 video game Fable II contains a quest in which a man named Victor is attempting to reanimate the body of a deceased woman, both homages to the book. Upon completion of the quest, if the player buys the house, it unlocks an area known as "The Shelley Tomb", a reference to the author of the novel.

In the 2009 Wii game MadWorld, Frankenstein's monster appears as a boss battle at the base of a dungeon, and is simply called "Frank" with bolts in his back, rather than his neck as common stereotypes depict. He is also shown as being regenerative when connected to an electric chair, and his size well exceeds the usually large 7'0" to go as much as 20'0".

In Atlus' popular Persona series, the residents of the "Velvet Room", a supernatural room that is "Between mind and matter", are named after characters from the Frankenstein series, namely Igor, Elizabeth, Margret, Theodore, and Marie.

In the 2011 smartphone app game Tiny Tower, one of the businesses is a laboratory, which sells "Love Potion", "Mystery Goo", and "Monster."

Other usages

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov coined the term Frankenstein complex for the fear of robots.

Frankensteining is a term used by abusers of crystal methamphetamine to calm themselves by diassembling and reassembling objects. The term is used in that subculture and is recently gaining wider currency: it has been used in an episode of CSI: Miami and has four different definitions in Urban Dictionary, all with the same meaning of assembling parts from diverse sources. It is especially common when discussing assembling bicycles from parts stripped from others, illegally or otherwise, as can be seen from a Google search of frankensteining bicycles.

Frankenstein or Franken- is sometimes used as a prefix to imply artificial monstrosity as in "frankenfood", a politically charged name for genetically manipulated foodstuffs. The Franken- prefix can also mean anything assembled haphazardly from originally disparate elements, especially if those parts were previously discarded by others—for example, a car built from parts salvaged from many other cars. For many years Eddie Van Halen played a guitar built in such a manner which he called the "Frankenstrat".

In 1971, General Mills introduced "Franken Berry", a strawberry-flavored corn cereal whose mascot is a variation of the monster from the 1931 movie.

"Frankenstein" is the name of a character in the 1975 movie Death Race 2000 and its 2008 remake Death Race. The first incarnation was portrayed by recently deceased veteran actor David Carradine and the second by Jason Statham.

George A. Romero's 1985 film Day of the Dead features a scientist conducting experiments on zombies nicknamed "Frankenstein."

The hit song China in Your Hand by the British rock band T'Pau employs the story of Frankenstein, and Mary Shelley's writing of it, in its role as a classic cautionary tale.

In David Brin's science fiction novel Kiln People, defective golems that become autonomous are called "frankies".

Mewtwo of the Pokémon franchise has been likened to Frankenstein's monster in regards to being born through an artificial means and discontent with the fact.[26][27]

Stitch, the main protagonist of Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise, was somewhat influenced by the monster, as he was created by a scientist from miscellaneous alien DNA. Unlike Shelley's monster, however, his intentions were initially evil until he discovered an inner loneliness, causing him, and eventually his creator, to turn from crime to justice. Throughout the franchise, Stitch also demonstrates the monster's herculean strength and childlike curiosity.

In season 3 of Beast Wars Megatron clones Dinobot, making a Frankenstein's monster out of the clone by transmetallizing him with the Transmetal Driver and adding the half of Rampage's mutant spark he cut out earlier. The result was an extremely mutated Transmetal II minion under the influence of his "half-brother's" evil.

In 2006, the book The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived listed Dr. Frankenstein's Monster (sic) at #6.[28][29]

The California Medical Association, in a rather humorous gesture, chose Halloween 2006 to announce that Dr. Richard Frankenstein had been elected president of the organization.[30][31] He had previously been president of the Orange County Medical Association in 1995-1996.[32]

Frankenstein is a character in the Korean web-comic manhwa Noblesse. He, like that of the actual character Frankenstein, is a scientist, but the similarities end there. Through his research he has gained immortality and immense power. He now serves the most powerful of all vampires, the Noblesse.

Pop artist Eric Millikin created a large mosaic portrait of Frankenstein's monster out of Halloween candy and spiders as part of his "Totally Sweet" series in 2013.[33][34]

The character Professor Franken Stein from Soul Eater is based loosely off Frankenstein's monster but with Frankstein himself in the mix.

In Hellsing, Alexander Anderson is based on Frankenstein's monster given that his name came from a song that has a reference about Frankenstein's monster and his abilities are similar and he is referred to as God's Monster after using the nail of Helena.

Frankenstein's Monster appears as the Berserker class Servant of the Black Faction in the Fate/stay night spin-off Fate/Apocrypha. This depiction of the monster is a female young homunculus in a wedding gown.

The 2015 film Ex Machina is a film noir retelling of the Frankenstein story with a 21st Century femme fatale android.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stuart Fischoff, Alexandra Dimopoulos, François Nguyen, and Rachel Gordon (2005-08-25). "The Psychological Appeal of Movie Monsters" (PDF). Journal of Media Psychology 10 (3). Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  2. ↑ Mike Sampson (2007-10-26). "Guillermo talks!". JoBlo.com. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  3. ↑ Chris Hewitt (2008-02-08). "Guillermo Del Toro Talks The Hobbit". Empire. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  4. ↑ Max Evry (2008-10-05). "Guillermo del Toro on The Hobbit and Frankenstein". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  5. ↑ Josh Horowitz (2008-10-14). "Guillermo Del Toro Talks 'Hobbit' Casting, Creatures". MTV. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  6. ↑ "Guillermo Del Toro Casts Doug Jones in Frankenstein". June 14, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
  7. ↑ Frappier, Rob (June 24, 2009). "Doug Jones Talks Frankenstein, The Hobbit, & Hellboy 3". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Hobbits, monsters and CSI vampires". BBC News Online. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  9. ↑ "Worst Case Director Talks 'Army of Frankenstein' -". Bloody Disgusting!.
  10. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063823/quotes?qt0370364 Dialogue between Old Fred and Ringo Starr
  11. ↑ Mister-6 (7 June 2000). "Struck by Lightning". IMDb.
  12. ↑ "Frankenbeans Thursday". Thesmogblog.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  13. ↑ "Frankenstein MD".
  14. ↑ "Lyrics | T'pau - China In Your Hand". SongMeanings. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  15. ↑ "4. Frankenstein - Big Finish Classics - Big Finish".
  16. ↑ Lawson, Carol (1981-01-07). ""Frankenstein" Nearly Came Back to Life". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-24
  17. ↑ The Broadway League. "Internet Broadway Database: Frankenstein Production Credits". Ibdb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  18. ↑ The Broadway League. "Internet Broadway Database: Young Frankenstein Details". Ibdb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ↑ "Musical Frankenstein". 2015 뮤지컬 프랑켄슈타인. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Musical "Frankenstein"". Korean Broadcasting System. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Read Complete Issues of Prize Comics' Frankenstein at Fury Comics". Furycomics.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  24. ↑ Brian Hughes (2009-01-22). "Frankenstein Versus the Prize Comics No-Stars". Again With the Comics. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  25. ↑ "Mike Ploog Interview - Comic Book Artist #2 - TwoMorrows Publishing". Twomorrows.com. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  26. ↑ Klein, Andy (December 2, 1999). "Hokeymon". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  27. ↑ Churnin, Nancy (2003-10-29). "They're alive! - Monsters, Pinocchio, robots - we keep trying to bring creatures to life". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1E.
  28. ↑ "Influential people list". USA Today. 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  29. ↑ Donahue, Deirdre (2006-10-17). "They were never born, but they'll live forever". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  30. ↑ "Dr. Richard Frankenstein, president of the California Medical Association". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  31. ↑ "404 - California Medical Association".
  32. ↑ CMA Foundation - Richard S. Frankenstein, MD Archived June 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  33. ↑ Burkart, Gregory. "Get a Taste of Eric Millikin's Totally Sweet Candy Monster Mosaics". FEARnet. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  34. ↑ Millikin, Eric. "Eric Millikin's totally sweet Halloween candy monster portraits". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 9 November 2013.

Further reading

External links

  1. ↑ Bayard, Louis (2007-10-28). "It's Alive!". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
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