Alan Moore Confirms V for Vendetta Almost Had a Very Different Name
The venerable hero of Alan Moore’s classic comic V for Vendetta may be known to fans as V, but the protagonist's name went through a few revisions before settling on the notable letter. In the pages of British anthology, Warrior, Moore revealed details on the early stages of creating his seminal work. Among the secrets he spilled, the author gave a glimpse into the creation of V and the difficulty he experienced in naming his valiant character.
Initially premiering in 1982 as a black and white strip for Warrior, V for Vendetta was created by Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Tony Weare, Steve Craddock, Steve Whitaker and Siobhan Dodds. The series ran for three years before Warrior was canceled, leaving the comic unfinished. However, in 1988, DC Comics republished the V for Vendetta strips as a ten-issue comic book, and continued the series to completion.
Related: Alan Moore's Terrifying Joker Parody Explained Why He's So Unkillable
In an essay, Moore gave a glimpse at how he imagined his seminal story. This essay was called «Behind the Painted Smile» and was first published in Warrior #17. Though the writer had the concept for the story in mind, he admits to refining the character of V quite a bit. His initial idea "...concerned a freakish terrorist in white-face makeup who traded under the name of 'The Doll' and waged war upon a Totalitarian state..." Though the plot strongly resembled what V for Vendetta ultimately became, Moore admits to the issues he faced coming up with a name for the story's iconic character saying he "...was struggling with a morass of names including such forgettables as 'The Ace of Shades' amongst others."
Alan Moore seems to have some raw feelings about the Ace of Shades name, going so far as to call it
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