A Link to the Past introduced many iconic and memorable elements to the Zelda series. From the Master Sword and “Zelda’s Lullaby” to the Dark World, many of these items, locations, and melodies have reverberated throughout the rest of the saga. Few would claim Mothula, the boss of the dungeon in the Dark World’s Skull Woods, to be one of these iconic parts. If the technology of the time were able to convey BradyGoldsmith’s version of this winged menace, perhaps its name would be whispered proudly in the halls of villainy along iconic terrors like Stallord and Phantom Ganon.
Mothula is easily the dominant force in this image. It literally fills the majority of the art piece and looms dangerously over Link, leaving little else in the image and little escape for the hero. In this same way in the game, the insectoid terror flits all over the screen leaving scarce safe places to stay within, especially as the floor moves the player nearer to deadly spikes. The constant threat of danger is only emphasized by the artist’s interpretation of Mothula. This winged terror has never looked more terrifying. It has multiple methods of dealing death, including a pincer at the bottom, mandibles on its face, and claws all along its body to grab you with. No detail is more interesting than the ghoulish skulls that emblazon Mothula’s wings. As Link stands against the moth menace, he is literally facing multiple images of death. The creature’s wings cause Link to face the scariest thing of all: his own mortality.
At the bottom of the art, Link stands centered and defiant against the callous creature. He holds his shield proudly in front of him as he prepares against the incoming onslaught. Interestingly, the iconic Master Sword is not in Link’s hand; instead, he holds the Fire Rod. A line of its deadly, magical heat trails from it, promising Mothula that Link will not lay down without a fight.
There are multiple interesting elements in the background of the piece as well. In the bottom corners of the piece, spikes reach out menacingly towards Link. In the same way, when you fight Mothula in the game, the constantly shifting floor adds to the intensity of the fight by always forcing you to be on the move. You can never rest. You must always either chase after the insect, avoid its attacks, or work to escape being skewered on the spikes. On the top of the image, tree branches right out of a horror story hang over the upcoming battle. This is a callback to the location of Link’s battle with Mothula in the game: the deadly Skull Woods, the twisted, Dark World distortion of the Light World’s Lost Woods. The artist’s choice to have the tree branches be so dark in color and reach down toward Link brings to mind the archetypal image of phantasmal trees reaching toward the hero to tear him apart (or hold him only to allow something else to tear his life force away). BradyGoldsmith has crafted an interpretation of this iconic battle’s setting that has lived in mankind’s collective fear for centuries.
BradyGoldsmith has done what the best fan artists do: He has taken the familiar and offered a new look at it. In this case, he has turned it into a vision of one of mankind’s darkest fears. BradyGoldsmith has reimagined an old boss fight through a nightmarish lens. Mothula is no longer just a fluttering insect but an avatar of death itself hovering over the unfortunate prey that has found its way into its dark woods.
