When Netflix’s Squid Game took the world by storm in 2021, few could have predicted the cultural earthquake it would cause. The Korean thriller—with its masked villains, deadly children's games, and haunting commentary on economic disparity—drew comparisons to Battle Royale, The Hunger Games, and even Black Mirror. But a surprising new conversation has emerged, particularly among Indian comic book fans:
Was Squid Game unintentionally foreshadowed by a 1993 Indian superhero comic book called Video Villain, starring Super Commando Dhruva?
At first glance, this seems like a stretch—one is a globally recognized Netflix series, the other an obscure action comic from the golden age of India’s Raj Comics. But dig a little deeper, and the similarities are intriguing enough to warrant a closer look.
Who is Super Commando Dhruva?
Before diving into the comparison, it’s worth understanding the character at the center of Video Villain.
Super Commando Dhruva is one of India’s most beloved homegrown superheroes. Created by Anupam Sinha and first published by Raj Comics in 1987, Dhruva is notable for being a superhero without superpowers. Relying on his intellect, acrobatics, martial arts, and detective skills, he’s often referred to as “India’s Batman”—though Dhruva’s moral code, optimism, and unique ability to communicate with animals set him apart.
Dhruva’s comics have tackled everything from terrorist conspiracies to mythological threats. But in issue #24, Video Villain, published in January 1993, he found himself caught in a story that seems eerily prescient of modern “death game” fiction.
What Happens in Video Villain?
In Video Villain, Dhruva is pulled into a violent scheme where a tech-savvy criminal broadcasts brutal acts of violence through video to promote crime as entertainment. The central premise is that violence, when staged and consumed as content, becomes addictive and contagious—a chilling concept for the early 1990s.
As part of the villain’s sadistic plan, Dhruva’s foster sister and fellow vigilante Chandika is kidnapped. In a twist, Dhruva is forced into performing a deadly stunt—a tightrope walk—while the world watches, with Chandika’s life hanging in the balance.
The villain seeks not money, but viewership, control, and spectacle. His power lies in manipulating the public’s fascination with suffering, danger, and heroism under pressure.
Sound familiar?
Squid Game — The Global Sensation
Fast forward nearly three decades, and Squid Game drops on Netflix in 2021. Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the series introduces us to a dystopian contest where financially desperate people play twisted versions of childhood games, knowing full well that losing means death. All of this unfolds under the watchful eye of masked overseers and a shadowy group of elites betting on human suffering.
Like Video Villain, Squid Game critiques how society can commodify violence. The human cost is secondary to the thrill of the game, the ratings, and the cold logic of entertainment.
Common Themes: Coincidence or Creative Convergence?
Let’s break down the major thematic overlaps:
Clearly, there’s a shared DNA of themes—but that doesn’t necessarily imply copying or even inspiration. So let’s unpack that.
Was Squid Game Influenced by Video Villain?
Short answer: Almost certainly not.
There’s no evidence that Squid Game’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk was ever aware of Video Villain. He has publicly stated that he began drafting the concept for Squid Game as early as 2008, inspired by his own experiences with financial hardship, and influenced by Korean society, Battle Royale, and global inequality.
What this highlights instead is a creative convergence—a recurring narrative motif appearing across cultures and decades: the idea of forcing humans to perform or suffer for the entertainment of others.
This motif shows up in:
- The Running Man (1987) – a dystopian future where criminals must fight for freedom on live television.
- Battle Royale (2000) – Japanese students forced into a deadly survival game.
- The Hunger Games (2008) – teenagers pitted against each other as political entertainment.
- Black Mirror (2011+) – multiple episodes about reality TV and surveillance gone wrong.
Video Villain simply represents an early Indian entry into this broader genre.
Why Video Villain Deserves More Attention
Despite its obscurity, Video Villain was conceptually ahead of its time. It dealt with:
- Media manipulation
- The voyeuristic consumption of violence
- The moral cost of turning tragedy into performance
At a time when India had barely entered the cable TV era, Raj Comics was crafting techno-thrillers that critiqued mass media—well before “viral videos” and “reality TV” were household terms.
The fact that it featured a clean-cut superhero like Dhruva only made the contrast starker: a beacon of morality trapped in a world that celebrated spectacle over substance.
Conclusion
So, is Squid Game based on Video Villain? No. There’s no direct connection, and the stories differ in tone, scale, and message.
But that doesn’t mean the comparison is meaningless.
Instead, Video Villain serves as a fascinating Indian parallel to a now-global narrative: the fear that entertainment may become exploitation, and that we—viewers—are complicit.
In an age where dystopian thrillers dominate pop culture, perhaps it’s time to revisit Video Villain and other Raj Comics gems. They remind us that India’s comic scene had its own dark visions of the future—long before Netflix ever rolled the dice.
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