Remember remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot
-from a popular English rhyme

I've been meaning to read V for Vendetta since the mid '90's, when the Watchman won my deep resepct for graphic novels. With the March 17th release of the film (which I've not yet seen), it became quite easy to get my hands on a nice copy of V for Vendetta, complete with a "behind the scenes" by Alan Moore and even the graphic novel equivalent of "deleted scenes"- two short episodes published in Warrior Magazine, but eliminated as unessential to the story in the release of the graphic novel.

Reading Moore's description of how he and David Lloyd created V's character, it was clear that Guy Fawkes was a major influence on V- and not just on his wicked cool hat. Imagine my shame when all my brain could dredge up about Guy Fawkes was that he was some British criminal to whom the English dedicated a sort of macabre holiday.

As it turns out, I had the basic facts about Guy Fawkes more or less right. He was a famous Roman Catholic conspirator, who rented out a portion of the basement under the House of Lords and filled it up with several tons of gunpowder. He was hoping to kill the Protestant King James I. The conspiracy is known as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

If you've read even the opening pages of V for Vendetta, the idea of blowing up the British Parliament must sound awfully familiar.

Fawkes was betrayed by a co-conspirator before the Parliament could be reduced to rubble. He was captured, then tortured into signing a confession. His cooperation with the British government won him a free trip to the gallows to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

The day of Fawkes's capture (the fifth of November) is still celebrated today in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and even in some parts of Canada. There are fireworks commemorating the big boom under Parliament that never was, and dummies of Fawkes are burned.

V for Vendetta is far from the only fictional work to tip its tall, boxy hat to Guy Fawkes. According to Wikipedia, Guy Montag from Farenheit 451 takes his name from the historical Fawkes (Moore specifically mentions Farenheit 451 as one of his influences). Wikipedia also suggests that in the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore's pheonix, Fawkes, is a tribute to the would-be gunpowder bomber. Wikipedia even suggests a parallel between Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix and the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot.