Terrell Taylor: his gang, Venus and magical withdrawal

I wanted to talk about Terrell Taylor in Godstorm: Hercules Payne, especially his gang, his relationship with Venus, and the magical withdrawal that develops out of that relationship. Spoilers for the five-issue 2014 miniseries. For anyone trying to place the story, this is Andre Payne’s origin as Hercules in Zenescope’s Grimm Universe. Pat Shand writes the opening issues, Chuck Brown joins him on the later issues, and AC Osorio handles the interior art. Taylor enters the story as an established Los Angeles crime boss who wants to expand into Compton. He has money, a mansion, armed men, and enough distance from the actual deals that other people can take the immediate risks for him. His lieutenant, Philippe Reyes, handles the meeting with Andre’s gang and makes it clear that nobody there needs direct access to Taylor. If they have something to say, they can say it to Philippe. There are a few different groups involved. Andre belongs to the Royals. Taylor’s organization is trying to bring them into a business arrangement. Later, Taylor talks about bringing another crew, the Warlords, under him. Those are different groups within his expansion plans, rather than interchangeable names for the men working at his mansion. We see how he keeps people in line as soon as he is introduced. He has a man held over a balcony, makes him acknowledge Taylor’s control, and orders him dropped anyway. Saying the right thing does not save the man. Taylor wants the people watching to understand that survival depends on his mood, not just on whether they follow the rules. By the time we see more of Venus, we already know how Taylor treats people who cannot stand up to him. Venus is his lover. The series shows them sharing a bed, kissing, and addressing each other intimately. It does not establish her as his wife. She is also the person supplying his power. That makes it difficult to separate their relationship from his dependence on her, especially once she starts using it to get what she wants. The signs are there in issue #2, before anything starts happening to his skin. Taylor asks her for a “fix.” Venus makes him beg for it and tell her he needs it before giving him more. The same man who humiliates his subordinates is pleading with her in private. Meanwhile, Taylor’s men are trying to force Andre into their operation. After the shootout that kills his police-officer brother Calvin, they confront him with footage of him firing at the police. The threat is that he works for Taylor or the footage goes to the authorities. Philippe is the one shown shooting Calvin in the first issue. Andre’s involvement in the deal and gunfight gives the organization leverage, but that should not be confused with Andre being the person who shoots his brother. Taylor is attempting to control Andre through fear, guilt, and the threat of exposure while Venus is controlling Taylor through something he has already allowed himself to need. Taylor and Venus want different things once she learns about Andre’s encounter with Zeus and the lightning that awakens his powers. Taylor has been treating Andre as someone his organization can use. Venus wants him dead. She takes over Taylor’s phone call and orders the hit herself. Taylor reacts by pulling her hair, taking the phone back, and telling his man to disregard her. He insists that he is the only person who gives orders. Venus answers by pulling the power out of him. He chokes and visibly weakens, and she tells him she can take it away and leave him with nothing. She calls what they have an equal partnership, but then explains that his decisions and conversations belong to both of them. Taylor ends up giving the order she wanted. He tells his men to kill Andre. By issue #3, this is affecting the whole organization. The men notice that Venus is giving orders and that Taylor is behaving differently around her. They gossip about how he used to keep women around for only a night or two. Philippe stops that conversation, then takes the concern to Taylor directly. The men are questioning the chain of command. Taylor responds by grabbing Philippe by the throat and throwing him. Philippe is bringing him a problem with the men, and Taylor takes it out on him instead of dealing with what he is saying. He confronts her with a gun and says he was running the streets before he met her. He even tells her to take the power back. Venus disarms and strikes him, tells him to kneel and worship her, and refers to his men as hers. Afterward, she promises to preserve the appearance of his authority if he acts as her puppet. She is willing to let him look like the boss in front of his men, as long as he does what she tells him. He gets to keep his position, but he no longer gets to decide what comes with it. The power also spreads beyond Taylor. With him presenting it to the men, Venus empowers three henchmen to go after Andre. They gain enough strength to make the fight much more dangerous before he uses the mask Zeus gave him. Later, Taylor is shown passing power into another group of his men while Venus watches. By this point, the men are being pulled into the same arrangement. Venus is choosing their target and giving them the power to go after him. The withdrawal becomes explicit in issue #4 of the five-issue Godstorm: Hercules Payne series (https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/zenescope/godstorm-hercules-payne). Taylor starts scratching at burning, glowing patches on his neck. One of his men notices, and Taylor immediately threatens him for commenting on it. He is still trying to act as though business can continue normally. The footage of Andre has reached the news, the police are occupied with the manhunt, and Taylor wants to take advantage of that distraction to bring the Warlords under his control. Venus keeps redirecting him toward killing Andre. Taylor finally tells her he will not be her puppet anymore. He points to the life he has built and insists that it belongs to him. Venus touches the marks on his neck and tells him exactly what is happening: “You’re in withdrawal, lover. You need what I have.” So when Taylor asks for a fix, he means it. By this point, going without her power is affecting him physically. She tells him to behave and promises that once Payne is gone, their relationship can go back to the way it was. She keeps promising that things will go back to normal if he does what she wants. Taylor starts blaming Andre for costing him money and power, even though Venus is the one withholding what he needs until Andre is dead. With that being said, none of this makes Taylor harmless or removes his responsibility for what he does. He orders murders, threatens his own men, physically attacks Venus, and participates in using Katrina as a hostage. Being dependent on Venus does not stop him from hurting other people. Then his men kidnap Katrina. They tell Andre to come to the mansion unarmed and without his mask. They cannot reliably beat him in a direct fight, so they use someone he cares about to dictate the conditions. When Andre arrives in issue #5, Venus gives Taylor another infusion of power through a kiss. She promises he can feel that powerful forever if he kills Andre and warns him not to let Andre put on the mask. He goes into that fight with her power and her instructions, hoping she will keep her promise. During the fight, he taunts Andre about his mother and Calvin. He presents himself as someone who used his opportunities properly and tells Andre he could have taken his powers elsewhere and made something of himself. Taylor’s idea of success is still money, status, and having people answer to him. Then he tells Andre to kneel, praise him, and beg for a quick death. Venus has been making those same demands of him. After everything that has happened between them, he gets Andre on the ground and does the same thing. He wants somebody kneeling in front of him. Andre eventually puts on the mask and defeats him with a devastating electrical attack. Taylor’s last attempt to stop him is another threat against Katrina. After seeing Taylor beaten and burned, Philippe orders the men to release her. Venus is fighting Zeus separately during this confrontation. Once Taylor loses, she describes him as one of many. Taylor has been insisting that he is in charge and that everything around him belongs to him. Venus is ready to move on to someone else. Taylor never gets to the point of breaking away from Venus or taking responsibility for what he has done. Even when he knows she is using him, he goes back for more power and takes his anger out on the people around him. His gang is caught up in it too. The men notice that Venus is giving the orders, and eventually they are being given her power and sent after the person she wants dead. Taylor still calls them his men, but his own need for that next fix is helping her decide what all of them do.