Mosquitoes–those annoying, flying murderers that kill millions annually. They literally suck the life out of people, leaving biological destruction in their wake. Though they may seem limited to the muggy summer air, there are other mosquitoes to watch out for.
In life, you’re sure to encounter mosquitoes in human form–people who pierce their noses into your life and suck your hard-earned success. Whether it’s jealousy or habitual malevolence, they are attracted to the good like mosquitoes to the light.
One of the best places to observe their behavior is in fiction. Such characters define the course of books and movies, causing major problems and grief for the main characters. Unlike in real life, where you should avoid them at all costs, mosquitoes provide the emotional flame that drives protagonists and their allies squashed them. Without mosquitoes, books and movies would be buzzingly boring! At least they’re not completely good for nothing.
In honor of World Mosquito Day, check out these 10 mosquitoes from fiction and how they got splattered on the wall, literally and figuratively.
Fernand Mondego – The Count of Monte Cristo
At the start of The Count of Monte Cristo, Fernand ‘acted’ as a friend to the hard-working Edmond Dantes; however, it wasn’t long until the facáde was revealed to be false in the bitterest of ways imaginable. During a feast, celebrating Dantes’s ensuing marriage to Mercedes, Fernand framed him for treason, which resulted in Dante spending 13 agonizing years in the hellish Chateau d’lf island prison. Eventually, he escaped and discovered that Fernand had married Mercedes and become rich and powerful, all due to his betrayal. What could be more blood-sucking than that?
Luckily, Dantes amassed great wealth by finding the treasure buried under the barren island of Monte Cristo. Using his newfound power and hatred, he eventually crushed Fernand Mondego and regained everything he’d lost.
Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious / The Emperor – Star Wars Saga
The tricky thing about mosquitoes is the fact that they can be attached to you beyond your notice; when you finally discover them, it’s already too late. Such was the fate of an entire galaxy in the Star Wars Saga.
For a thousand years, the Sith hid in the shadows, growing more powerful and determined to destroy the Jedi with each generation. Their plot was eventually passed to Sheev Palpatine, who executed the final steps and fulfilled the millennia-old master plan.
For decades, he hid in plain sight–a charming face in galactic politics, interested in ending a civil war and bringing peace to trillions. Little did anyone know that it was HE who had started the war, and he was playing both sides. Billions of lives, hundreds of planets, and countless tax-dollars went into his scheme, which has never been surpassed in all of fiction. He even corrupted the prophesied “Chosen One,” turning him to the Dark Side and into his personal pet of destruction.
From his bite emerged one of the most oppressive regimes to ever exist in Star Wars history, held together by a giant star fleet, two Death Stars, and one Darth Vader.
Macbeth – Macbeth
Great things were near for Macbeth; after all, doing the king a favor usually results in lofty rewards. To Macbeth, being awarded the lands of a defeated enemy wasn’t quite enough.
After stumbling upon three witches, who prophesied his ascendency to king of Scotland, Macbeth took the matter into his own hands. He murdered the king in the most mosquito-like way: stabbing him in his sleep; however, the rest of Shakespeare’s play would have him buzzing around, going slowly insane, as though he’d gotten himself trapped between two window panes. Eventually, his evil deeds came back around.
Coriolanus Snow – The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Despite mosquitoes being awful nuisances (both the insect and the characters), they can’t always help it. Introducing the young Coriolanus Snow; before he was the ruthless coldhearted dictator of Panem, he was the only child of the once prestigious Snow Family, which had become destitute during the Dark Days. Starting from the ground up, Snow had to use his resourcefulness and charm to secure his family’s future among the elitist Capitol society.
After creatively ensuring the victory of tribute Lucy Grey Baird in the 10th Hunger Games, he was sent to become a Peacekeeper in District 12. During his time there, it seemed that he would have a chance at a simple, yet happy life–not exactly what he was aspiring toward.
Things turned when he deliberately caused the arrest and execution of his only friend and attempted to murder the love of his life upon discovering the fact. On returning to the Capitol, Snow would increase his ruthless pragmatism to acquire power and achieve status as the ruler of Panem. Like mosquito bites, his enemies failed to see their doom until they were already infected.
Cassetti – Murder on the Orient Express
If you watch the news, you’re sure to hear about crazy people now and then–people who commit crimes that will make you question humanity. Seeming like a standard Agatha Christie murder mystery at first, her most famous work, Murder on the Orient Express, took a surprisingly dark turn.
The man who was murdered happened to be an escapee of justice, whose crime destroyed the foundations of a once happy family. He kidnapped and murdered a 5-year-old girl for a $200,000 random, causing her mother to go into fatal premature labor, her father to commit suicide, a friend of the family to be framed for the crime (also leading to her suicide), and years of grief for those close to them.
Eventually, justice was dealt and the people responsible narrowly avoided the legality of the staunch detective Hercule Poirot.
Solomon Lane – Mission: Impossible | Rogue Nation and Fallout
Sometimes, ideas are best left on the drawing board; however, some people disobey their bosses and go rogue. That’s exactly what Solomon Lane did in the Mission: Impossible films. A former member of MI6 (the U.K. version of the C.I.A.), he began recruiting former agents from other national intelligence agencies to create a group of highly trained terrorists known as the Syndicate.
With his network, he began reaping havoc on the world, from crashing planes, leaking chemicals, and attempting to nuke the water supply of 1/3 of the human population. No skin was too thick for him to penetrate. Almost…
If you want to watch the most intense mosquito-swatting ever filmed, Mission: Impossible movies 5 and 6 will deliver on that promise.
The Joker – The Dark Knight Trilogy
It takes a special type of criminal to be feared and despised by other criminals. With a track record that includes bank robberies, crashing fundraising events, and turning D.A.s evil, the Joker is one of the loudest buzzing mosquitoes in fiction. With his elaborate plans, he was nearly able to bring an entire city to ruin.
Rick Sanchez – Rick and Morty
Though he is beloved by fans, Rick Sanchez is a parasite to the Smith family. He lives rent free in the Smith’s garage and has been able to torment his grandson Morty with all sorts of weird errands, disrupting his chances at a normal childhood.
From one perspective, Rick can be seen as an unconventional mentor, teaching Morty to survive in a universe as screwed up as he is. From another, he might just be sucking the life and joy out of him. Think of the Vat of Acid Episode: what kind of teacher makes their pupil unknowingly murder countless versions of themselves as revenge for a slight?
Tom Buchanan – The Great Gatsby
During the first dinner, it was made clear that Tom Buchanan is an awful person. He’s racist, overbearing, and insecure of his masculinity. After encountering Jay Gatsby, his whole self-constructed life was threatened. Intimidated by Gatsby’s wealth and history with Daisy, Tom laid the groundwork for the man’s tragic downfall by spreading misinformation to someone on the brink of mental collapse.
Following Gatsby’s death, Tom and Daisy moved west, leaving the corpse of a once optimistic man in their wake.
Daniel Plainview – ‘There Will Be Blood’
The phrase, “people hear what they want to hear,” rings true with this blood-sucker. Daniel Plainview at least had the integrity to let people know up front what kind of person he was.
When Plainview was offered information regarding an untapped oil field, he proceded to take advantage of the small town living atop it. But one of the inhabitants, the town pasture Eli Sunday, would not allow it–to the best of his mediocre ability.
In the end, Daniel got all he ever wanted by doing literally whatever it took. He even got to rub it in the face of a distraught Eli Sunday by forcing him to renounce God and murdering him shortly after.
‘There Will Be Blood’ is perhaps the most overt and literal story regarding a blood-sucking parasite in human form (an oil-driller and a murderer).
FEATURED IMAGES VIA VILLAINS WIKI FANDOM, COMIC VINE, & TASTE OF CINEMA.