Ok but in the imaginary animatic I'm doing inside my head, Sully tries to grab Mercy by the arm *aggressively* in the "Mercy, I'm losing my cool" part and Swan instantly goes "LEAVE HER ALONE." even tho SHE DOESN'T KNOW HER
Ok, now, you might be thinking: "what the actual fuck are you talking about?" Well, in this essay I'll expose favorable arguments to my theory/theses/head canon that, in the album, captain Victor is Luther's father. Keep your radio tuned tight, boppers, bcs I might be crazy OR I might be onto something.
(There will be spoilers)
1. First of all...
For context, Victor is the cop that kills Fox. He's played by David Patrick Kelly, the actor who plays Luther in the original movie, The Warriors (1979). This alone is a huge reason for me to believe that they are somehow connected, BUT THERE'S MORE!
I think we already established that what a character claims to be their reason for doing something is not always their real reasoning, or, at least, not the entirety of it. I do believe Luther kills Cyrus because he enjoys the chaos and has a lot of hate in his heart, as Swan wisely says, but I don't think that's all.
We have hints among his lines that he's also misogynistic and racist. "Well, duh?" You might say, because there were few white men who weren't those things by the time this story takes place, but sometimes we may underestimate how heavy this stuff weighs in the narrative. If he really likes chaos that much, why not kill, Idk, a police captain? That would certainly create generalized chaos just as he likes, but instead, he deliberately targets marginalized groups' leadership — he kills a black woman, a powerful black woman who was trying to unite her community.
She was obviously an obstacle for the cops to keep up with their oppression towards these groups because unity is strength, and all they don't want is strong communities that knows their rights and won't accept to be chased down like animals when they've done nothing but trying to survive.
In the very first track of the album, the question "but is Cyrus atractin' police action?" Is asked. The answer we find further on, especially when the police invades Van Cortlandt Park right after she's killed, is: *yes*, of course she is.
* Also, the timing here is too convenient, don't you think? Just like the police knew exactly when to attack, when the desperate crowd would be disorganized, when they would be easy prey... anyways 😛
2. That weird af phone call
Now that we have established that there would be a lot of interest on the police's part to have Cyrus killed, let's move on to the next topic.
Suddenly, without any further context or this being ever mentioned again, Luther talks to *someone* on the telephone. This happens in the album, and in the movie as well, it is not confirmed who the hell Luther was talking to on that phone call. I've already seen some people theorizing that he has contacts inside the force and that he's talking to them, and I agree, but I think he's not talking with some random cop, I believe he's talking to Victor.
Come think with me: how did Luther instantly knew Ajax had been taken by the cops ("Holy shit, Warrior down [...] Picked the wrong fight / now she's in for a long night", I'll talk about this later btw), and most importantly, what exactly was Victor doing at Union Square's station?
Let's compare this approach with Barnes' one at the park.
Barnes was alone in the bench, and only when Ajax approached him (and started beating the shit out of him), he called for police reinforcements. It didn't feel planned, even tho he was trying to bait them to come closer to him, I think it was much more about sexual harassment than him actually intending to arrest them. With Victor, however, it doesn't feel like a random encounter.
"Officers are on the scene". This line repeats a lot during Reunion Square, that alone indicates that there are a group of cops there, like they've been called. They knew the Warriors, specifically the Warriors, would be there, and why was it so important for them to get the Warriors if they're just a "likkle Coney Island crew"? Because Luther would be FUCKED if the Riffs reached them alive.
Of course, the Riffs could just not believe the girls, but he was not willing to risk it — after the phone call, Luther tells Cropsy the Riffs wanted the Warriors alive, but they don't. And he was right, wasn't him? Cleon being alive and telling the Riffs the truth was the only reason for him to be caught and... well, we don't know for sure what they did to him, but we can imagine they weren't gentle.
That being said, we have strong evidence that Luther was in touch with the cops, else he would have no way of knowing Ajax was grounded. And Victor needed a reason to be there as well; not only an informant, but also a motive, and if we consider the theory that he was talking to Luther, we have both things.
3. Trust in the impunity of a daddy's boy
During the entire musical, Luther thinks he can get away with about everything. I atribute that not only to the fact that he's a white man targeting women of color, but he must also have other reasons to believe he's immune to justice of any kind, and there's where I start to try to convince you that he's Victor's son.
I mean, when Cropsy shows that he's worried the Riffs would go after them, Luther, rather ignorantly, responds with "they're looking for the Warriors, remember?" As if the fact that the Riffs are going after the Warriors is enough for him to believe they would never even think about interrogating them, trying to find the murder weapon, etc.
This behavior suits someone that has never been held accountable for any misdeeds at all, and who would fit this description better than a cop's son?
Let alone that Victor is a captain. He holds even MORE power within the police. Being the son of a cop, even if you're a fucking gang member, you'd feel safe enough to do just whatever the fuck you want without even thinking about the consequences.
Like, how many times he could have been caught doing something illegal, just tell the cops "do you know who my father is?" AND IT ACTUALLY WORKING? I firmly believe he was the one to inform the cops about all of this — the gathering, the Warriors' location, and the fact that he needed daddy to arrest the women who could potentially cause something to happen to him, because the Riffs are not the police, they'd not give af abt who his father is, even someone like him would have to be a little worried about being taken by them.
4. Fox & Luther — Parallels
I bet you did not see that one coming. "What do you mean there's something in common between Fox and Luther specifically that makes Victor killing her an interesting parallel with his (supposed) son?"
Well, games. That's kinda it. Old games.
So, there are only two characters that canonically like games in the musical, because they actually mention them: Fox ("A-yo I'll take you on an Odyssey like Magnavox") and Luther (with his multiple references to Pacman during the entire thing and other game expressions, like "I was at the top of the screen when I took that shot")
The Magnavox Odyssey is actually mentioned on the movie (according to my own father. I confess I don't remember this part, but I trust my nerdy father who actually have a connection with old consoles to notice that) by the Lizzies (fem version of the Bizzies), and Fox was not even there at the moment. Actually, movie Fox does not have a lot of... personality, if you ask me, he was kinda irrelevant. Anyways, even if Lin and Eisa wanted to reference this specific part in which the Lizzies offer to play Odyssey with the Warriors to lure them, why not have the Bizzies saying that? Why Fox?
Because that would be a bitter irony in the future. I might be crazy, BUT HEAR ME OUT, Victor killing a young woman that shared his son's interest for games was a foreshadowing for him being responsible for Luther's death as well — because he failed.
This is other thing they share: they failed. Victor failed to stop the Warriors from going home, Luther failed to kill Cyrus and blame the Warriors with no consequences, they failed together at silencing them, and this CAUSED Luther's (probable) death.
5. A gang member who endorses the police?
Ok, this last section is based in my belief that, even tho the crews fight and have their diferences, they all share a common enemy: the cops. That was the reason for them to accept the truce after all, the cops are their common enemy.
But somehow that doesn't feel true for the Rouges.
First of all, they killed Cyrus, which obviously means they were not in favor of the truce. But why? They sure would suffer from police brutality too if they were a normal gang. And we can all agree that they are even more violent than the average gang (I mean... have you listened to their leader?).
Also, this line intrigues me.
I mean, "picked the wrong fight"? It is clear that Luther's view is biased to take the cops' side. In this case, one could argue that his misogyny would play a big part on him diminishing Ajax's will to fight against an abuser. Anyhow, I think that this evidences that, even tho he's a gang member, he has a strong connection with the police.
CONCLUSION
I think we can all agree that Luther has something going on with the police, and I hope I have convinced you that he has something going on with Victor specifically.
It is possible to argue that their connection is only "tactical", or even go as far as to say that they are friends or something (tho, I don't think that's possible. One thing about brats like the Rouges: they don't go well with old people, with all due respect. I don't personally see this working as a friendship), but I'll stand with the father-son relationship till the day I die!!
Thank you for reading this madness and please lmk what you think! If there's something that doesn't make sense, if you have your own theories... I mean, I'm far more invested in this than I ever thought I would be, please give me more content 🙏🙌
100 points to whoever guesses why I did this (fun fact I learned how to sew *today* with a youtube tutorial and a lot of faith. I really hope this thing stays in place
Hey boppers! How are you doing in this beautiful night? I have some head canons for each crew waving from the station! Keep your radios tuned, boppers, and enjoy~
THE WARRIORS
The gang was founded by Cleon and Cochise. The next members (lieutenants) to join were Ajax, Sawn, Rembrandt, Cowgirl and last but not least, Fox. After the events of the album, Mercy became a Warrior.
At the beginning, they used Cleon's apartment as headquarters, but since the gang begun to expand its territory, and therefore recruit more soldiers, they had to find somewhere bigger. After much consideration, small confrontations with the local population and the police, they decided on an abandoned warehouse at the amusement park.
The place is decorated with murals of all the gang members painted by Rembrandt, with a main mural representing Cleon. At first, Cleon didn't feel very comfortable with the idea of having a giant drawing of her on the wall of the HQ, but Rembrandt and the others insisted.
There are *some* young men in the gang as soldiers, but "coincidentally" they are all queer. The girls and the gays, literally.
Now that I talked about them in general, individual head canons ahead
CLEON
She's the oldest, and because of that some of the younger members see her as a motherly figure, but she prefers to be addressed as a mentor rather than that.
She's straight, but she's an ally (duh) and supports a lot of the queer community movements in Coney.
She knows how to sew and knit.
Masai and her started to hang out a lot after the events of the album, becoming very close. There are even some rumors that they are dating! 👀
COCHISE
She knows Cleon from when they were both young affiliates of other Coney gang that now is mostly dissolved or part of the Warriors, since they took over the entire region.
She's also straight, but she definitely experimented before.
She designed the Warriors' vest. The first ones were all handmade by Cleon and her.
Most stylish member of the gang.
Knows how to break dance (I don't remember who told me this but, pal, I'm stealing it now)
She's a huge Michael Jackson fan
REMBRANDT
Tagged the Wonder Wheel as her initiation (read We Need A Tagger for more information, I'm just agreeing with the author)
She's a lesbian 100% never even tried boys. She used to be very much closeted at the beginning until she realized the amount of queer people that crew actually had.
I usually don't really like shipping people inside the same friend group but screw that the fanfics are too good you're winning me. Rem x Ajax.
She's very introspective. She could go an entire day without saying a word if no one talked to her.
FOX
The youngest and the prettiest (not even a HC I just like this part of the song)
She LOVED going to arcades, and she was very good at it, meaning she even got into fights because of it.
One day she caused such a mess with local bratty teenage boys the Warriors ended up involved, and that's how she met Swan, who recruited her.
She was very intelligent, had quick thinking and enviable reflexes, which made her a quite decent fighter, despite still being a beginner.
Ajax is was teaching her how to fight.
She died at 18.
She was always sneaking into 21+ clubs using false identities to drink with the others. (I have a lot of friends that did stuff like that back in the day. I never had the balls 😂)
Because of that, the Warriors only found out her real age when she got caught and expelled from one of those clubs. Since them, they didn't allow her to drink.
She was bissexual.
AJAX
She's a drummist, and a very good one.
She ended up fighting Cleon before being recruited. The match was a tie, and to this day the mystery of who would have won hadn't Cleon invited her into the crew still stands.
She doesn't label herself as anything but queer, and she's obviously very gender non conformant.
As I said earlier, I'm starting to like Ajax x Rembrandt
She's actually very disciplined, have a good diet and a constant workout routine. She's probably the healthiest Warrior.
Swings at Swan a lot, but they don't actually hate each other.
Her favorite band is Queen, and her favorite song is another one bites the dust (also this reminds me I need to make a theory post about when the events of this album take place)
After the events of the album, she was arrested for two months until the Warriors, in a partnership with the Riffs, broke her out of jail.
SWAN
Swercy. They stay together after the events of the album, and they work very well as a couple.
She's a lesbian, but she dealt with a lot of homofobia from her family growing up, so she ended up being very insecure about it. When she got into the Warriors, this started to change, and now with Mercy it's changing for good.
She knows how to play the piano, but doesn't play as regularly anymore.
Her favorite band is also Queen, so Ajax and her have all sorts of discussions about their favorite songs.
She was kicked out of her home in Queens, and for a long time she wandered around the city and was kicked out of various gang territories until she finally made it to the far south of the city, where she joined the Warriors.
Because of that she was so reluctant in making her way uptown.
MERCY
She was Sully's girlfriend, but never actually liked him.
When the Warriors, a full female gang, appeared out of nowhere that night, she had the realization she didn't need to run with those suckers to be protected.
And that's why she ran away with them.
She's a lesbian, but dealt with *severe* hetcomp, hence she getting into various unsuccessful relationships with men.
This unhealthy way of dealing with her own sexuality and lack of attention comes from the fact that it has always been left aside by her own parents.
All she did that night counted as initiation and she was jumped into the crew by Swan. After everything they went trough, Cleon really didn't feel the need to formally initiate her.
COWGIRL
Straightest girl in the gang, which is not that much, but still.
She actually knows how to ride (horses)
And the other things too but that's just canon .
I HC all the Bizzies as gays that were just trying to convince them to go with them trough seduction, so I can imagine the very funny scene of Cowgirl going back there to finish what she started with the Bizzie who bit her and receiving only a "honey, I have very bad news for you... 💅🌈"
She cried about it for a week.
She loves country music (shoutout to my girl she'd love to meet Ana Castela).
She's actually very chill, but fights well when she has to.
She was born in a small town in the countryside and her family moved to the big city to try to make a living when she was around 10. A series of tragedies happened and now she is alone, which is why she ended up in a gang.
I like to imagine Rembrandt drawing silly little doodles of the other Warriors when she first got into the gang and was too shy to have proper conversations with them yet.
She just turned them into something more familiar, less scary for her: art.
