I was thinking about all I have read on the subject of how Billy and Dr. Horrible seem to have different goals in life, different persona, etc.   It made me wonder…. Captain Hammer doesn't seem to have an alter ego.  Got me thinking… given his personality, did he even need or want one?  He probably loves the fame and power and adoration of being Capt. H so much, why would he want to masquarade as a common person?  After all, he is even dating Penny as his super-hero self.  She referrs to him as "Capt. H", that is the only way she knows him.  When they are out on dates, he is Captain Hammer.  What use would he have for an alter ego? 

Dr. Horrible, in contrast, *does* need an alter ego…. because Billy is a conflicted person and Capt. Hammer is not.   Billy seems to want two things that are in direct conflict with one another, change of status quo through of Dr. Horrible's methods e.g. an "overhaul of the system"… and also the affection of Penny.   Those two things are in direct conflict of one another.   But Billy sees himself as powerless to obtain either thing…. but he sees Dr. Horrible as a means to obtain both objectives. 

But, in the end it turns out he can only have one or the other… and I suspect (although they don't explicitly say so) that Billy realizes he made the wrong choice.   Otherwise… why would the last shot of the film be of Billy, and not of Dr. Horrible?   I think he realizes that *Billy* was who he should have been all along, and Billy's goal of wanting the affection of Penny was the one he should have sought.  That Billy as a man had the power to do what Dr. Horrible could not do.  And that's very sad.   

See, Captain Hammer doesn't have so much inner complexity or conflict.  Somehow, he has power as Captain Hammer to do or get whatever he wants.  It also seems to me that he mostly values only himself and his own gratification.  If it gratifies him to be a superhero, then that's who he is.  It probably doesn't gratify him to be whoever his alter-ego once was, so he abandoned that man.  It gratifies him to be with Penny, so he takes Penny.   It also gratifies him to use Penny to torment Dr. Horrible, and so he does that as well. 

And we can appreciate how it fuelled Billy's agony to see Captain Hammer's superhero persona being so powerful and being able to obtain whatever he wanted and whoever he wanted.   You almost can't blame him for thinking "surely if I tried the same thing, maybe it would work for me?"   I see this as the genesis of his angst.  The world is full of lies, says Billy…. who sees a man (Captain Hammer) with what is essentially no humanity…. he is just a pretend man, a made up person who doesn't live in reality with everyone else, and he gets everything his heart desires, even if he doesn't appreciate it or mistreats it.  I can easily see how the existence of Captain Hammer, who doesn't even require a real name, could fuel Billy's ideas about why being Dr. Horrible would be effective or even necessary for him to feel useful, or empowered, or even like a legitimate human being. 

Thems my two cents! 

Caution

Post edited 9:28 pm – October 25, 2010 by Bounce With Caution

You know, I thought about that too! 

I'm not sure I have an answer…. except to say, that those sweater vests must belong to Captain Hammer…… because perhaps otherwise those groupies might know his alter ego from the name on the receipt?  Captain Hammer signed this, this is his hair, his dry cleaning bill.   I dunno.  Maybe he wears a sweater vest when he's chillin' at home.  Maybe they have his Hammer logo embroidered on them!!  HA!  For formal occasions?

All goofiness aside, I'm totally looking forward to more backstory in a sequel.   Whenever that is.  I can wait. 

-Bounce