Few characters in the Zelda series are as tragic as the Skull Kid from Majora’s Mask. He’s a cute little trickster who’s attempting to deal with the soul-crushing sadness of being left by his friends. When he sees the titular mask’s glowing eyes peeking out at him from the back of the Happy Mask Salesman’s pack, it calls to him. Maybe it can be the answer to his prayers? Little does the imp know that it will be the beginning of a long, repeated nightmare where he will be nothing more than a puppet to a malevolent spirit. Jordan Kroeger’s work of art entitled “Skull Kid and Moon” subtly captures the inner struggle Skull Kid must be dealing with as he witnesses the atrocities he commits while Majora pulls his strings.
Examining the figure of Skull Kid, I was surprised by his posture. Once he’s wearing Majora’s Mask, he’s frequently shown throughout the game in poses that speak of the fearful power he wields. He’s often shown in a creepy pose with his arms out like he’s about to catch you or occasionally as if he’s lounging about, casually watching as his prey and all of Termina suffers. Those both stand in stark contrast to what we see in this art: Skull Kid’s just sitting on top of the clock tower looking down. Now, this could still be creepy, but it doesn’t give off that feeling to me. The way his hands sit casually in his lap and the drooping face of the imp speak to a sadness Skull Kid never shows while possessed by the mask. It’s as if he regrets something.
The other iconic element that must be examined in this piece is the furious face of the Moon. Of course, the face of the Moon in Majora’s Mask is always nightmare-inducing. Its enormous, hate-filled eyes, grimacing grin, and downturned eyebrows reveal a rage for Termina and its residents. In this art though, the Moon’s gaze isn’t directed downward towards the slowly approaching land it’ll destroy. Its gaze is focused on Skull Kid. It peaks around the clock tower and glares at the moping imp. Its wrath is directed at him, not at the land.
Combining these two elements brings to mind the Moon’s interior seen at the end of Majora’s Mask. As Link ascends into the sphere, he doesn’t find dust and craters. He finds an ethereal meadow and masked children, most of whom are playing hide and seek around a single tree. In contrast to this dream-like vision Link encounters, Kroeger’s heart-wrenching piece depicting a repentant Skull Kid shadowed by the raging Moon shows us the imp’s living nightmare. As he watches his own hand strike Tael over and over and his face contorts with glee as the Giants’ knees threaten to buckle and allow him to extinguish all life on Termina, Skull Kid is sad. He wishes he could stop, but he’s powerless. He’s just a puppet. He needs help to make the nightmare end. In the end, Link doesn’t just save Termina. He saves Skull Kid, too.
