Cyborgs, Dolphins, and World Domination: An Interview with Megan Leahy
With Ames Doyle
From evil masterminds Megan Leahy and Christian Danley (and the creative collaborative creatures at Dad’s Garage and beyond) comes a brand new, fiendish foray into the minds of the world’s most colorful and machiavellian bad guys, Super Villain Monologues 2!
We sat down with co-creator Megan Leahy to explore the SVM2 universe and discover what maniacal mayhem awaits to imprison us in its comedy clutches in this second installment inspired by the 2010 cult favorite, Super Villain Monologues, at Dad’s Garage.
DG: Tell us a little about the world of SVM2. Is it our world, a world like ours but in a comic book, or a more hopeful world entirely? What kind of evil (or “evil”) do these super villains pursue?
ML: Imagining it as “our world, but in a comic book” is apt—we largely avoid the actual super villains currently operating on Earth. SVM2 centers around Professor Finz, a hyper-intelligent cyborg dolphin, intent on being the world’s greatest super villain. He lives in our world—I won’t spoil his whole backstory here, but Florida is heavily involved. Like him, some of our super villains have classically villainous, large-scale pursuits: your world dominations, your crashing-the-moon-into-the-earths, your obtaining-your-godlike-powers... Some of them think smaller, but they all embrace the pursuit of what they want–at all costs and with no concern for humanity.
DG: Tell us a little about your writing process.
ML: The writing process for this show was really fun. I got to write some of the great villains of my youth, like Krang from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a bevy of Batman baddies. Plus, there’s the opportunity to reimagine characters traditionally seen as good guys as a villain, like Santa Claus. And I get to take some not-so-subtle jabs at personal villains, but I won’t spoil those here. What was the most fun is that we have pieces from some great writers, not only from Dad’s, but also Atlanta’s artistic community. It’s so fun to hear what others think of when they hear “super villain”: everything from homewreckers from the swinging 60s, to an evil organization that uses Jimmy Buffett to trigger sleeper agents, to a participation trophy. It’s been fun to write with Christian Danley as well. He’s the brains behind Professor Finz, who has become one of the most beloved characters to come out of Dad’s Garage.
DG: What makes a super villain “SUPER”?
ML: That's a good question and it is the main theme of the show, so I don't want to answer it completely. But I’ll give you a hint: love what you do, and you’ll never work another day in your life.
DG: What (if anything) do you specifically like to bring to your female super villain characters?
ML: I like all of my characters to be fun, and I want female super villains to be as depraved and anarchistic and selfish and varied as someone like Professor Finz.
DG: You play these characters, but do YOU have a super villain alter ego? Who/what would they be?
Ooo! I try hard to avoid hurting others, so I think my super villain alter ego would be the opposite–someone who enjoys sowing chaos and destruction on a massive scale! Or at least doesn't apologize to the salt shaker for knocking it over.
DG: Do any of these monologues come from a personal place?
Yes! There are super villains that I've loved since I was a kid. Plus Santa Claus. Also there's one called The Mansplainer whose whole deal is...well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you.
DG: Who is your favorite villain? If you can’t say for fear of spoilers, what makes a super villain compelling to you?
There are so many great villains, I can't narrow it down to one! But shrink-ray to my head, I’ll go with: The Terminator for tenacity, the Borg for teamwork, and Montgomery Burns for sex appeal.
The official artwork for SVM2 featuring Professor Finz in the center. Art by Gregg Schigiel.
Super Villain Monologues 2 starring Megan Leahy and Christian Danley premieres at Dad’s Garage on Thursday, March 5 at 8 p.m. and runs every Thursday through March 26.
