My theory

[spiraldoor]

This is a theory I've detailed elsewhere, but I've added more stuff to it and improved it quite a lot. It proposes a possible origin story for Rayman, why he is the 'chosen one', and also links the continuity of the three games in the series much more tightly together. If you notice any errors or holes in my theory, please point them out.

The following paragraph is just a little speculation (all of which is canon-compliant), which my theory requires in order to work:

The Glade of Dreams is a large island with several smaller islands off its southwest coast, as shown on the map. The large island is inhabited by limbed creatures, and is where the events of Rayman 2 and Rayman 3 take place. The small islands are inhabited by limbless creatures; the events of Rayman 1 take place on one of these islands.

NOTE: This isn't really a single theory, it's more of an interconnected web of theories, all of which are capable of standing on their own, some of which are highly-supported, some of which are hardly supported at all, all of which are canon-compliant and the most important of which is the suggestion that R1 takes place during Rayman's holiday. Now, for the theory itself:


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1: Rayman is the son of Betilla the Fairy and Mister Dark. The two becomes romantically involved somehow; perhaps he was not evil at the time; alternatively, he was evil, but was hiding his true nature from her.

2: Rayman is born to Betilla on one of the southwest islands, the son of Mister Dark. Betilla keeps his parentage secret, confiding only in her closest friend, the Magician.

3: Mister Dark kidnaps Rayman shortly after his birth and has his servants raise him to adolescence.

4: Rayman serves Mister Dark for a few years, committing evil acts in his name; while on a seafaring mission for his father, he gets knocked on the head and falls into the ocean.

5: Rayman washes up on the Glade's nearby mainland; due to his head injury, he has lost his memory of his service to Mister Dark and has reverted to his natural, good state.

6: The local creatures are amazed at his limblessness, for they had never encountered his race before, as travel between the mainland and the southwest islands is extremely rare. Rayman soon befriends Ly and Globox.

7: When the Magician discovers that Rayman has lost his memory and is now living peacefully, he decides that it is best not to interfere with his new life.

8: The limbed creatures were initially astonished by Rayman, but, over the course of the next few years, his presence leads to greater awareness and communication between the limbed and limbless races.

9: Rayman travels back and forth between the two lands, spending his time on the mainland with friends such as Globox, Ly, Clark, Carmen and Sssssam, and his time on the southwest islands with his own people, such as the Magician and Betilla. He also befriends the electoons. He spends most of his time on the mainland, only staying on the islands during his holidays.

10: One day, while Rayman is on his holidays, relaxing on a beach in the southwest islands, Mister Dark makes his move. Mister Dark defeats Betilla, steals the Great Protoon (which is more commonly known as the Heart of the World) and captures the electoons. The Magician knows that only Mister Dark's son can defeat him; he interrupts Rayman's holiday and gives him his mission.

11: Rayman frees the electoons, defeats Mister Dark, rescues Betilla and retrieves the Great Protoon/Heart of the World. He finishes his holiday in the company of Tarayzan, Joe, and the electoons, as well as the reformed Moskito, Space Mama and Mister Skops.

12: The Great Protoon/Heart of the World has been recovered, but its previous location on the southwest islands is now deemed unsuitable in light of Mister Dark's easy theft of it. Betilla contacts the Ludivs of the Fairy Council and arranges for the Protoon/Heart to be transferred there.

12: One day, while Rayman is back on the mainland, the Robo-Pirate invasion of the Glade of Dreams begins. Thousands of the Glade's inhabitants are captured and locked up in the Prison Ship. Rayman becomes part of the anti-Pirate resistance, along with Globox, Ly, Clark and others. Ly gives Rayman the power to shoot.

13: Rayman is fighting Robo-Pirates in a forest alongside Globox. Meanwhile, another group of Pirates is attacking the Fairy Council. They destroy the Great Protoon/Heart of the World, which until this point had looked like a pink orb. The one-thousand Lums of energy which form it are scattered across the Glade by the explosion. The Heart's destruction strips Rayman of the powers given to him by Betilla throughout the course of Rayman 1, as well as his recently-acquired ability to shoot. He is overwhelmed by the Pirates; Globox flees at Rayman's urging and tracks down Ly.

14: Globox meets up with Ly. Ly gives Globox a Silver Lum which will return Rayman's ability to shoot. Globox surrenders himself to the Pirates so that he will have a chance to give the Silver Lum to Rayman.

15: Rayman absorbs the Silver Lum and uses its power to break himself and Globox out of the Prison Ship. Rayman lands in the Woods of Light and meets Murfy and the Grand Minimus for the first time. The events of Rayman 2 take place.

16: Rayman recovers the one-thousand Yellow Lums and gives them to the Teensies, who are able to reconstruct the Great Protoon/Heart of the World, although its appearance has changed greatly. The Protoon/Heart is placed back in the Fairy Council; heavier protection is placed on it to ensure that it remains safe.

17: A few years later, Rayman and Globox are on the Glade's mainland, sleeping in the woods outside the Fairy Council. Rayman's hands frighten a Red Lum while sleepwalking; André, Lord of the Dark Lums, is born. André attempts to corrupt the Protoon/Heart, but is foiled when Globox unintentionally swallows him. The events of Rayman 3 take place.


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More thoughts on my theory:

My theory explains Rayman's status as "the chosen one of all the gods", and the only inhabitant of the Glade who was not created by Polokus; his mother was a fairy, an emissary of Polokus, and the product of one of his dreams; his father was one of Polokus's nightmares. Hence, Rayman is an unnatural hybrid; half-dream, half-nightmare; something unforeseen and incomprehensible to Polokus and the Lums. This is the reason he was born with the 'O' symbol on his chest, which is able to receive Silver Lums and open the Mask Pillars, neither of which can be done by anyone else.

If my theory is correct, then the "Dark Rayman"/"Bad Rayman" which Mister Dark summons in Candy Chateau is, in fact, an echo of Rayman's past; a glimpse of what Rayman once was, and an image of what might have been. The second level of Mr Dark's Dare, in my theory, represents Rayman's dual nature. It should also be noted that Dark Rayman is, in the level, always behind Rayman; in his past. Rayman's full name should be, according to my theory, 'Rayman Dark', which is yet another way that Dark Rayman mirrors him.


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So...what do you think of my theory? Do you agree or disagee? Like it or not? Do share your thoughts...

[PluMGMK]

Dark Rayman being an echo of Rayman's past? I think that's just a little too depressing for a children's game. Maybe Betilla had twins, one good and one evil.

[Raygirl]

An impressive theory! Well structures and well laid out, taking into acounts many parts of the different plot threads and knitting them together to make a good story. Intreguing indeed!

Dark Rayman being an echo of Rayman's past? I think that's just a little too depressing for a children's game. Maybe Betilla had twins, one good and one evil.

I disagree, Dark Rayman acts more like a robot, not a real being. If anything IMHO he was created rather than being born

[Tobbe]

Dark Rayman being an echo of Rayman's past? I think that's just a little too depressing for a children's game.

Michel Ancel would never let stupid kids get in the way of a good story.

Nice theory, spiral. You clearly have too much spare time.

[Sabertooth]

No offense, but this is really well-thought out. I especially like the concept of Dark Rayman being a mirror of Rayman, always being in his past, and Rayman's last name being Dark, which is DR's name backwards. Very impressive. The only part I'm not sure of is Mister Dark and Betilla having a baby together. He must have been an abusive husband.

[Adsolution]

Oooh, jazzy! Can I use this story in R 1.5?

[Holy Crap]

No offense, but this is really well-thought out.

How would he take offense to that?

The Betilla/Dark Romance isn't possibly inspired by any of Zay-El's writings is it?

[Acarr]

10: One day, while Rayman is on his holidays, relaxing on a beach in the southwest islands, Mister Dark makes his move. Mister Dark defeats Betilla, steals the Great Protoon (which is more commonly known as the Heart of the World) and captures the electoons. The Magician knows that only Mister Dark's son can defeat him; he interrupts Rayman's holiday and gives him his mission.

Hm, I'm not so sure about this part saying that Rayman knew Ly etc. before Mr. Dark tried to take over the world. :/

[spiraldoor]

Maybe Betilla had twins, one good and one evil.

I don't view Dark Rayman as being a living character. Besides, being Rayman's evil twin would make him and Rayman equals, and would make Dark Rayman eligible to fulfill the chosen one's duty to reawaken Polokus.

In my theory, the Dark Rayman summoned by Mister Dark in R1 represents Rayman's repressed dark side, his forgotten past, his lost memories, and Mister Dark has summoned him as a 'mirror' of sorts, knowing that Rayman would be destroyed by the revelation of what he once was, and the Dark Rayman who appears in the non-canon events of Rayman Arena, while he may not be the same one, is just another resurfacing of Rayman's dark side, and is thus an expression of the same thing.

Michel Ancel would never let stupid kids get in the way of a good story.

Nice theory, spiral. You clearly have too much spare time.

I think it's unlikely that Michel Ancel has ever thought of anything resembling my story (he probably never even bothered to think up what Rayman's past was, or ways that the games could be connected; I doubt he has the same obsessive interest in his world that I do). But if he was ever writing up an official backstory to the series, I can't imagine one having as much thought put into it as mine has... And I really don't think my story is too dark or frightening for children. This is 2009, and we all know they've seen far worse...

I know I have too much spare time, but at least I did something interesting with it...

The only part I'm not sure of is Mister Dark and Betilla having a baby together. He must have been an abusive husband.

I never said that they were married; it could have been a brief affair, perhaps even a one-night thing. Alcohol and/or love potions may have been involved.

Oooh, jazzy! Can I use this story in R 1.5?

Of course!

The Betilla/Dark Romance isn't possibly inspired by any of Zay-El's writings is it?

No. I came up with the idea myself. I think it was around 2004, because I had internet at that time; I remember the idea occurring to me, then some time later I googled to see if anyone else had thought of it. I came across someone (on RZ iirc) saying something like "In a fanfic I wrote, it turned out that Rayman's parents were Mister Dark and Betilla!".

So I'm not certain if I was the first one to come up with the idea, but I definitely came up with it myself, even if someone else already had.

Hm, I'm not so sure about this part saying that Rayman knew Ly etc. before Mr. Dark tried to take over the world. :/

Why not? I think it's much better that way. This aspect of my theory strengthens the continuity and makes it so that Rayman can travel back and forth between the R1 and R2/3 locations. It also makes the storyline a lot more flexible; Rayman Junior could even be set between R2 and R3, or after R3...

[Acarr]

Why not? I think it's much better that way. This aspect of my theory strengthens the continuity and makes it so that Rayman can travel back and forth between the R1 and R2/3 locations. It also makes the storyline a lot more flexible; Rayman Junior could even be set between R2 and R3, or after R3...

I like how it ties in with the mystery sea-side location Rayman is relaxing in in the intro of R1, and those images of the charcters at the beach, and that way it does make it much more flexible and makes sense of it all. Although I just can't see how, in this case, the great protoon and the heart of the world are the same thing, and how the "mainland" and "Western islands" could not have both been affected at the same time during these episodes etc.

[spiraldoor]

I like how it ties in with the mystery sea-side location Rayman is relaxing in in the intro of R1, and those images of the charcters at the beach, and that way it does make it much more flexible and makes sense of it all. Although I just can't see how, in this case, the great protoon and the heart of the world are the same thing, and how the "mainland" and "Western islands" could not have both been affected at the same time during these episodes etc.

Why do you say that the Protoon and the Heart can't be the same thing? It makes perfect sense to me. The Magician is the only one who calls it "The Great Protoon", and he's insane. Normal people call it "The Heart of the World" or "The Primordial Core". The only real argument against them being the same is their different appearences, but that can be explained simply by saying that it looks different in R3 because it's now being held together by Teensie magic rather than being in its primordial state.

I don't know what you mean by the mainland and the southwest islands not being affected during these "episodes". I think that both the mainland and the islands were plunged into chaos when Mister Dark stole the Protoon/Heart; I think that the southwest islands were also affected by the Pirates' destruction of it. We didn't see what happened to the mainland during R1, because Rayman was on the islands; we didn't see what happened to the islands during R2, because Rayman was on the mainland. I'm not sure why you thought otherwise.

[Acarr]

I like how it ties in with the mystery sea-side location Rayman is relaxing in in the intro of R1, and those images of the charcters at the beach, and that way it does make it much more flexible and makes sense of it all. Although I just can't see how, in this case, the great protoon and the heart of the world are the same thing, and how the "mainland" and "Western islands" could not have both been affected at the same time during these episodes etc.

Why do you say that the Protoon and the Heart can't be the same thing? It makes perfect sense to me. The Magician is the only one who calls it "The Great Protoon", and he's insane. Normal people call it "The Heart of the World" or "The Primordial Core". The only real argument against them being the same is their different appearences, but that can be explained simply by saying that it looks different in R3 because it's now being held together by Teensie magic rather than being in its primordial state.

I don't know what you mean by the mainland and the southwest islands not being affected during these "episodes". I think that both the mainland and the islands were plunged into chaos when Mister Dark stole the Protoon/Heart; I think that the southwest islands were also affected by the Pirates' destruction of it. We didn't see what happened to the mainland during R1, because Rayman was on the islands; we didn't see what happened to the islands during R2, because Rayman was on the mainland. I'm not sure why you thought otherwise.

Actually, I'm not so sure what I had meant by the Great Protoon and the heart of the world not being the same thing, because I do. I think it was just the context you said it in.

R2 states that Polokus created the world, it's people etc. and then left to discuss time with the other Gods, then everyone was then in complete harmony and peace until the Pirates arrived. To me it seems as in this other "world" was only in it's early prehistoric days, unlike the original Rayman's world that seems to be much more advanced.

[spiraldoor]

Actually, I'm not so sure what I had meant by the Great Protoon and the heart of the world not being the same thing, because I do. I think it was just the context you said it in.

Uh...okay then.

R2 states that Polokus created the world, it's people etc. and then left to discuss time with the other Gods, then everyone was then in complete harmony and peace until the Pirates arrived. To me it seems as in this other "world" was only in it's early prehistoric days, unlike the original Rayman's world that seems to be much more advanced.

The Lums in R2 say that "the period immediately following Polokus's departure was a time of wonder. The people learned to speak and love nature. A wind of freedom blew through their souls. Everything was in harmony. Until the Pirates landed...". This seems, at first glance, to contradict R1; I suppose the real explanation is that someone at Ubisoft wasn't thinking about continuity with the first game, really. For an in-story explanation; maybe the events of R1 happened during a brief period of time (say, a few hours, or a day, like R3). Mister Dark stole the Heart, but he didn't have enough time to (or maybe he didn't want to) damage or corrupt it in any way. The balance of the world's harmony remained intact, as Rayman recovered the Protoon shortly after its theft. The only ones who were really fucked over by this were the electoons. So, from a worldwide perspective, the events of R1 were no more than a blip; a crisis averted. Unlike the Robo-Pirate invasion, which was a far greater blow to the Glade's harmony and its inhabitants.

~It's funny how R2 seems to suggest that the world is very young. Polokus created Time with the other gods when he visited them by going to sleep; at this point, he had already created most of the characters (or at least their ancestors). I've always thought the Glade of Dreams is a Creationism-based universe, around five or six thousand years old... Polokus created most of the R2 characters before Time even existed, so maybe we should just accept the fact that their age couldn't possibly make sense?!

Thanks for pointing out these kinds of inconsistencies...I think I've fixed them.

[Xenon]

It's a nice theory but I'm also unsure about the whole Betilla/Dark thing. I'm not entirely convinced that Rayman characters are created by means of human sexual reproduction - I'd rather think some creation process occurs involving Polokus.

That would explain why the Rayman populace is largely male.

[PluMGMK]

Rayman's made of Electoons, why would a person with a mother and father be made of other creatures?

[Sabertooth]

It also makes the storyline a lot more flexible; Rayman Junior could even be set between R2 and R3, or after R3...

As much as I admire this theory, there are two errors with that.
1. Rayman's look changed in Rayman 3, so he wouldn't be wearing sandals and a necktie again for Brain Games/Junior or any of the other educational spinoffs.
2. Rayman's voice was deep and epik in Rayman 2. In Rayman 1 and Junior he has a high-pitched voice, like a cartoon character. It doesn't make any sense that his voice would go back up only when he enters the Western Islands.

[PluMGMK]

That was just a possibility, it didn't affect the actuality.

[spiraldoor]

It's a nice theory but I'm also unsure about the whole Betilla/Dark thing.

Well, there's nothing I can say to that.

I'm not entirely convinced that Rayman characters are created by means of human sexual reproduction - I'd rather think some creation process occurs involving Polokus.

That would explain why the Rayman populace is largely male.

The Musician and his wife clearly have a baby. When a child has one male parent and one female parent, that's sexual reproduction. I don't know how similar the reproductive process is to that of humans, but as for myself I'd say it's not tremendously different.

Globox is said to be the proud father of over 650 children with his wife, Uglette. No Polokus mentioned there. Anyway, isn't Polokus unconscious? I think that inhibits his ability to interfere in mortals' lives - otherwise, he'd have just annihilated the Pirates.

And I find the idea of Polokus somehow helping couples to reproduce slightly disturbing.

I'm not sure why you say the Rayman populace is largely male; we really haven't a clue about most of the Teensies. There are plenty of pink baby Globoxes. All Fairies seem to be female. And why would Polokus aiding reproduction mean there was less need for females? Wouldn't that be the other way around? There are many species where a small number of males impregnates a large numbers of females.

Rayman's made of Electoons, why would a person with a mother and father be made of other creatures?

When Rayman dies in R1, his body turns into electoons. When Rayman dies in R2, his body turns into Lum-like orbs. (I suspect this has something to do with the destruction of the Protoon-Heart.) Anyway, I don't think Rayman is made of electoons, I just think his form decays into them when he dies. That could be another sort of particle physics reference; particle decay; electrons, electoons, you know.

Besides...who's to say limbless aren't 'colony', or 'compound' creatures, like sea-sponges or something? Just because sponges reproduce asexually doesn't mean all such lifeforms do... I don't particularly like the idea, but I thought it was worth a mention.

It also makes the storyline a lot more flexible; Rayman Junior could even be set between R2 and R3, or after R3...

As much as I admire this theory, there are two errors with that.
1. Rayman's look changed in Rayman 3, so he wouldn't be wearing sandals and a necktie again for Brain Games/Junior or any of the other educational spinoffs.
2. Rayman's voice was deep and epik in Rayman 2. In Rayman 1 and Junior he has a high-pitched voice, like a cartoon character. It doesn't make any sense that his voice would go back up only when he enters the Western Islands.

Yes, you're probably right. Rayman's voice and clothes changing aren't exactly conclusive, but they are good observations. I didn't really think that through; I just threw out the idea when it occurred to me. The Magician said that Rayman had saved the world "many times" or something like that in Rayman Junior, so I took that idea and ran with it. Hell, I'm not even sure if I consider Rayman Junior to be canon or not...

~Now...earlier, I was talking about Polokus's creation of the R2 characters before he had even created Time. I don't think I made my meaning clear enough, so I'll reiteriate: I think that Polokus dreamed up Globox, Ly, Murfy etc. before creating Time, but I think they, his dreams, were not born into the Glade until thousands of years later, a long time after he created them in his mind. This just makes a lot more sense that Globox being older than Time itself, and doesn't contradict anything in any official material.


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[PluMGMK]

I think the R2 manual suggested that there were many minor feats he had done before Mr. Dark. As you say, the Magician's probably non compis mentis and thought they were world-savings.

[spiraldoor]

I think the R2 manual suggested that there were many minor feats he had done before Mr. Dark.

I never considered that, but under my theory it's perfectly possible for him to have done all sorts of heroic things on both locations, both prior to and after the events of R1.