Candyman

**Candyman** is titular main antagonist appeared in the 1992 movie same of the name. He's actually **Daniel Robitaille**, better known as Candyman, is the titular main antagonist of the *Candyman* franchise, based off of the short story "*The Forbidden*" from the anthology book *Books of Blood* written by Clive Barker. He appears as the titular main antagonist of the original *Candyman*, *Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh* and *Candyman: Day of the Dead* and the overarching antagonist of *Candyman* (2021).

Despite his nature as a brutal killer and a vengeful spirit, Candyman has an especially tragic past compared to most horror icons, which arguably made him more sympathetic, though he was nevertheless just as dangerous and deadly as any other slasher movie villains. He returns in the 2021 movie with the same name. As with Clive Barker's earlier slasher icon, Pinhead, the character of Candyman was intentionally designed to be very charismatic and articulate, his main source of fear being derived from his warped sense of reasoning.

The Candyman is usually portrayed as a lean, tall, African-American man, six feet and five inches, usually towering over the other characters in the *Candyman* movies.

His attire consists of a large, brown fur trench coat, a white cravat around his neck, gray pants, a pair of polished leather shoes, and a bloody hook in place of his right hand, which he uses to mutilate his victims. His trench coat is used to conceal his grotesque mutilations — the product of the torture that he suffered shortly before his death. Underneath it is his skinless ribcage and hollowed-out abdomen, which forms a hive infested with live honey bees. His hair is jet-black and curly, but kept very short.

Because of the unjust tragedy surrounding his death, having been murdered under false pretenses as an act of revenge, Candyman arose from the grave and became a wrath-driven specter, haunting the land where he had been executed. But, rather than render the land of Cabrini Green, or the Sullivan household (depending on which movie we follow) uninhabited, Candyman preferred to keep the denizens in the dark, unaware of his existence until they made the mistake of summoning him. Candyman, while well-spoken and articulate, is portrayed as being incredibly self-absorbed, narcissistic and vain, valuing his reputation over human life. His sole motivation is to keep the rumors and stories surrounding his death alive, as he believes that the longer people talk and fear him, the more he will continue to haunt the land — which is later shown to be true.

Candyman is also shown to possess a severe god complex. He implies self-omnipresence by identifying himself with the rumors and imagery based around his name and likeness, further claiming that without such things he is "nothing", making it clear that he enjoys hearing people talk about him. Candyman takes his role as a god to quite literal religious lengths. He refers to the denizens of his burial grounds as his "followers" and "congregation". Furthermore, Candyman does not kill his believers if they abandon their faith in him; instead, he chooses to murder the people who have called him out as being superstition (such as Helen Lyle, who in the first Candyman movie told a young boy from Cabrini Green that "Candyman" had merely been an alias used by serial killers in order for them to get away with their crimes).

The people who worship Candyman, i.e. the residents of Cabrini Green and New Orleans, have a habit of participating in offerings to the vengeful apparition.

During the first film, a run-down apartment flat houses a sort of altar in Candyman's name; a pile of chocolate sweets with razor blades inside their packages is placed in front of a large graffiti mural depicting Candyman's screaming head. Also, during the events of the first film, the Cabrini Green's African-American community created a make-shift pyre which they set ablaze, an obvious ritual used to appease the spirit.

In the second film, the people of New Orleans had created an actual altar in the attic of the Sullivan mansion, the shrine having skulls, candles and a large wall painting depicting Candyman in a crucifix stance.

It is also noted that in the second film, his bloodlust and arrogance seem to hide his inner torment at being denied the right to be with the woman he loved, and the anguish he feels at never being able to hold or see the child that he and Caroline had made together. His features contort with obvious pain as he tells his story, his memories of Caroline clearly something he holds precious. The fact that her grieving face when she saw the atrocities committed against him was the last thing he saw, and the knowledge that her pain was greater than his is embedded in his memory, showed how much they had both meant to each other; when she saw his face in the mirror she held after he breathed his last breath, she didn't toss the mirror away in fear; she clutched it tightly to her breast, sobbing at the loss of her love.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Sharp Hook**: Candyman's main weapon is his hook in replacement of his right hand, capable of using it to kill, butcher, mutilate and slaughter his victims.
* **Superhuman Strength**: Candyman possesses superhuman strength, able to throw his victims through walls with little effort.
* **Nigh-Invulnerability**: Extreme tolerance for pain and cellular regeneration makes Candyman almost impossible to injure.
* **Superhuman Speed**: Candyman is capable of moving at speeds beyond human levels in the blink of an eye.
* **Teleportation**: Candyman has the power to teleport to any location at great distances as well as phase through walls for wherever his victims ran, he was already there before they got here.
* **Immortality**: Candyman is well known to be immortal because he has been around for centuries and does not age or need food and water to survive.
* **Regenerative Healing Factor**: Candyman is revealed to have an extremely effective regenerative healing factor, making him incredibly hard to kill, which was shown when Annie ran out the room.
* **Bee Control**: Candyman has the ability to control a massive swarm of bees that live within his very being, shown when he covered an entire city with killer bees.
* **Flight/Levitation**: Candyman possesses the ability to fly or even levitate.
* **Telekinesis**: Candyman is shown to have some form of telekinesis as he is able to levitate, move, immobilize, and manipulate objects with his mind.
* **Invisibility**: Candyman has the power to render himself invisible to the naked eye.

### Weaknesses

* **Mirrors and Portraits**: Mirrors that contain Candyman's soul are the secret of his power. If mirrors are destroyed, he will cease to exist. If this fails, destroying Candyman's paintings, particularly burning his self-portraits, damages him physically.