"Mad Dog" Morgendorffer: Difference between revisions
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'''"Mad Dog" Morgendorffer''' was the deceased father of Jake Morgendorffer. We do not know the real name of him, only his grotesque nickname (a reference to the film [[wikipedia:Mad_Dog_Morgan|''Mad Dog Morgan'']] by the writers). While it wasn't stated outright on the show, [[Glenn Eichler]] has said he was supposed to have been in the U.S. Army as part of the draft. He died in his early-to-mid 40s, after Jake and Helen married. "[[The Daria Hunter]]" mentions he wore contacts.
==In canon==
“Mad Dog” does not appear in the ''Daria'' show, but his legacy does in the form of Jake, [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]] and [[Quinn Morgendorffer|Quinn]]’s neurotic father. Mad Dog's presence is felt in many episodes in the series, starting in "[[The Teachings of Don Jake]]," as Jake rants at the way his father treated him. We know he took Jake camping but wouldn't allow them to use tents, and got wasted on beer during the camp trips ("The Teachings of Don Jake"); that his father would basically ignore Jake when he got hurt and tell him to man up ("[[Monster]]"); and that he would try to force Jake to be more masculine and self-sufficient, not relying on or expecting anything from others, a trait Mad Dog viewed as a weakness ("[[Of Human Bonding]]"). The end result was that Jake was still wetting the bed at age 15 ("The Teachings of Don Jake").
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The most telling line about Mad Dog probably comes in “Jake of Hearts,” when Jake tells Daria, “My father always had to point out how I was screwing up, and that screwed me up. I just want to make sure I never make you girls feel that way—less worthwhile or intelligent than your old man.” It appears Jake was successful in this endeavor, though the struggle with his past cost him dearly.
==Fanfic Stereotypes==
===Military Man===
It is generally accepted in ''Daria'' fanfic that "Mad Dog" was a ''career'' military man, and that he served in either WWII or Korea. Involvement in the Korean War is most often seen because of the time issue, though [https://web.archive.org/web/20070712161647/http://www.the-wildone.com/dvdaria/glennanswers.html in 2005] Eichler said "Mad Dog" was viewed as being ''drafted'' into WWII.
He has been portrayed as both a front-line hero and a gung-ho noncom who suffered from his war experiences. While this is not the only view of Jake's father, it is the most widely used explanation for his bad reputation, resulting in [[Jake Morgendorffer]]'s rants and [[Ruth Morgendorffer]]'s complaints about him. One example is that in "[[
[[The Angst Guy]] once took a different take for "[[Dark of Hearts]]" and had him be an Army supply clerk in Arizona, with the nickname coming from somewhere else.
[[Richard Lobinske]] offers a sympathetic view of Jake’s father in “[[Chosin Fate]],” the tenth story in the [[Falling Into College]] series. While transcribing reporters’ audio recordings from the Korean War, [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]] discovers taped interviews with one Corporal [[Nathan W. Morgendorffer]], U.S.M.C, newly arrived at Inchon in 1950, then later recordings as the now-sergeant is being shipped home. Jake’s father was a survivor of the battle at Chosin Reservoir, consumed with hatred for the enemy and probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He has become bitter and vengeful, missing all the good qualities that earlier recordings with him revealed. In the [[Daria Von Doom Series]], the same author presented another alternative, Maxwell Dean Morgendorffer, a B-25 pilot who flew in the Pacific during WWII and was later mustered out of the service after radiation poisoning during the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests. Ben Grimm considered him to be a hero. In "[[It's All About Respect]]," [[Brother Grimace]] offers Sergeant Major [[A.H. Morgendorffer]], veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, a Medal of Honor winner.▼
===A Misunderstood Mad Dog===
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"[[Structure]]," by [[Angelinhel]], reveals some slightly sympathetic insight into Mad Dog's reasons for sending [[Jake Morgendorffer|his son]] to military school.
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Some fanfics explore dreadful possibilities for Jake's father as the worst of fathers and human beings.
"[[Where's Mary Sue When You Need Her?]]," by [[Scissors MacGillicutty]], offers a shocking legacy from "Mad Dog" that threatens to destroy the Morgendorffer family. As well as revealing "Mad Dog" was a loathsome pimp and racketeer, it undermines "Chosin Fate", a popular contemporary story, by saying Jake's father ''lied'' about being at the reservoir - which in context is 'MacGillicutty' warping Daria's existence as an attack.
"[[Mad Dog]]," by [[The Angst Guy]], develops another treacherous hand-me-down from Jake's father, discovered by Daria in a trunk.
[[Hyrin]]'s "[[Mad Dog's Legacy]]" series has Daria abused by her grandfather at a young age, which leaves her with deep-rooted anger and issues with trusting people.
==Trivia==
In the Czech dub, there's a bit of local colour when Jake refers to his dad in "Teachings of Don Jake" as "starej sovetskej parhant" - or "old Soviet bastard". (For the original audience who'd only have recently see the Eastern Block end, sovetskej would just be a general term of abuse)
==External Links==
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