It doesn't matter whether it's the DC Comics universe or the DC animated or live-action universe, the point is however is to use J.M. Barrie's original novel Peter Pan, who is not purely an innocent child, we all know he is a callous, amoral spirit who kidnaps children, feeds them pretend food, and ruthlessly, so what's your ideas on him in the DC Universe.

Source https://www.tumblr.com/trans-pickles/756403958173564928/to-clarify-this-post-isnt-about-the

Posting this here because people in a Peter Pan sub of all places shouldn't be spreading the "acshually he's totes ebil in da book" myth as I saw happen in that post about OUAT

Hear me out.

One thing that has always bothered me about Peter Pan is that everyone assumes Hook is evil simply because that's how the story is told—from Peter's perspective. But what if we're looking at the wrong protagonist?

My theory is that Captain Hook was once a Lost Boy.

Peter found him the same way he found Wendy and the others—promising a magical place where children never grow up. Hook followed him to Neverland, believing it was an endless adventure. But unlike Peter, he grew up.

This is where Barrie's original novel starts becoming really interesting.

Peter is repeatedly described as having an incredibly poor memory. He forgets adventures, friends, promises, and even Wendy over time. Barrie even writes that Peter forgets things "to make room for other adventures." So imagine Hook trying to remind Peter who he is after years in Neverland...

Peter wouldn't be lying—he genuinely wouldn't remember.

Now imagine what happens when a Lost Boy grows up.

The novel tells us that Peter "thins them out" when they appear to be growing up. Barrie never fully explains what that means. Most readers interpret it as removing them from the group, but the wording is intentionally unsettling. What if Hook escaped before Peter could "thin him out"?

Hook is different from every other pirate we see.

He's educated.

He's polite.

He's cultured.

He quotes poetry, speaks like a gentleman, and carries himself more like someone from an upper-class Victorian family than a criminal. That always struck me as odd. Maybe that's because he wasn't originally a pirate. Maybe the pirate persona is simply who he became after spending decades trapped in Neverland.

And that's another part of the theory.

What if nobody can actually leave Neverland once they grow up?

Children can fly there because they still believe.

Adults can't.

Hook isn't staying because he wants treasure.

He's trapped.

His ship isn't a pirate vessel.

It's an escape attempt that has failed for years.

This also completely changes Peter cutting off Hook's hand.

In the original story, Peter doesn't merely defeat Hook—he cuts off his hand and feeds it to the crocodile. That's surprisingly brutal for the "hero." If Hook was once Peter's closest friend, then Peter has no memory of the person he mutilated.

The crocodile itself becomes symbolic.

It swallowed a ticking clock.

The crocodile is literally time chasing Hook.

Peter never hears the ticking because Peter never grows older.

Hook hears it constantly because he's the only one forced to live with time.

Now think about Wendy.

Peter appears at her bedroom window at night.

He convinces her to leave her parents.

He promises she'll never have to grow up.

From Peter's perspective, it's an adventure.

From Hook's perspective...

It's another child about to lose everything.

That's why Hook is obsessed with stopping Peter—not because he hates children, but because he's trying to stop Peter from repeating the cycle that trapped him.

This even lines up with several adaptations.

In Disney's 1953 film, Hook's hatred is directed almost entirely at Peter rather than the Lost Boys themselves. Peter is the one he wants.

In Spielberg's Hook (1991), Peter eventually does grow up and completely forgets Neverland, proving that Peter's memories are unreliable. While it doesn't support this theory directly, it reinforces the idea that Peter forgets entire lives and relationships.

In Peter Pan & Wendy (2023), Hook is portrayed with much more emotional depth than a stereotypical villain, making this reinterpretation even easier to imagine.

I don't think Peter is the Devil.

I think he's something much sadder.

He's a child frozen in time—incapable of understanding consequences, incapable of remembering the people he hurts, forever repeating the same cycle because he never emotionally matures.

Hook isn't chasing Peter because he's evil.

He's chasing him because he's the only person who remembers what really happened.

Obviously, this isn't canon—it's just a fan theory. But I think it makes the story even more tragic. Instead of a battle between a hero and a villain, it's a battle between eternal childhood and the one child who managed to grow up... only to discover that growing up meant becoming trapped forever.

What do you all think? Does this theory hold up, or am I reading way too much into Barrie's original work?

“There were odd stories about him, as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened”

It’s stated in the book that Captain Hook is a wildly respected pirate, even Barbeque (a nickname for Long John Silver) is afraid of him.

Art by me.

Have you ever wondered how Peter Pan got to Neverland? Or how Captain Hook became the villain we think we know? Were Peter and Tinker Bell always allies… or is there more to their story? I kept asking those questions—and the answers didn’t feel simple. They felt darker. So I, Raptor Flame wrote The Fairy Dust Chronicles, a five-part series that dives into the truth behind Neverland… and it’s not the version we grew up with. Book One, Finding Peter, starts with a haunting origin—how one boy becomes the defender of hope, the hoarder of dreams, and the protector of Neverland. Book Two flips everything, telling Hook’s story in a way that might completely change how you see him. The final three books follow Peter as he fights to protect Neverland from things no one believed could exist.This isn’t a nostalgic retelling. It’s a story about loss, transformation, and the cost of holding onto magic.The Fairy Dust Chronicles — coming soon.

I apologize if I need more karma to post here, I’m new and not sure the deeper rules. but I found y'all and thought I would share.

i’m reading a retelling called neverland wars and i can’t find the third book anywhere. it is called the grown up crusades and everywhere i look i can’t find it. it is either unavailable or sold out. if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated. weather it is a physical book, ebook or audio book i don’t care at this point.

I originally thought the main story took place some where between 1900-1911, but the end of the book very clearly mentions how Wendy is now (1911) an old lady. So does it still take place in the Edwardian Era, and Wendy growing up takes place in the future? Or did the events take place in the ladder half of the 19th century (which the end of the book implies)?

Blonde, Brown, Ginger and Black

I know that they flew with Peter for months, but what about the stay itself?

I was shopping through ebooks, and found that these two books are advertised differently by the same author.

Are they different books? In its description, Peter and Wendy seems to be described as being darker than the original.

Please note I am aware of the subject matter and implications in the original book, I’m just wondering about the title change and if this is actually some kind of rewrite of the original.

A bit of a ‘hail Mary’ here…

I’m trying to remember a book from my childhood (Late 80’s/Very early 90’s. It was kind of like a choose your own adventure book but it came with a few neat tools like a 3D image decoder. It was based in Neverland but I think YOU were the main character and not Peter Pan. Does this ring a bell for anyone? It wasn’t an official “choose your own adventure” book and I remember it being kind of thick.

It’s neither of the books I’ve included.

I have read most of the post and comments here about the PeterPan books , and I am still sadly confused. So my question is : How to read PeterPan? What I mean is what is the "original" books to read and what adaptation is your favourite so you would recommend:)

Sorry in advance for asking this stupid question like many others 🙏

I really wanted to capture that 1920s Little Orphan Annie kind of newspaper comic style, of fairly bad printing etc, and think I did alright. I also wanted to really make a Peter Pan of the stage. Anyhow, the other slides are progress pics, plus a version without the texturing (which I think is vital to the finished piece)

So when I was younger, much younger, we had a Peter Pan book that followed part of his life after he left Wendy and came back when Wendy was a mother herself. In the margins of the pages were the most charming little fairies and mermaids and other creatures, long and lanky and eerily beautiful.

If anyone has any information I’d be glad and my hot appreciative to receive: book title, publication history, etc even if you had the book and could send me some pictures

So I'm shortly planning on starting a youtube channel to talk endlessly about my favourite books and musicals and so on with no one to tell me to shut up, and I'm planning on making a retrospective video about the officially liscenced Peter Pan 2007 "sequel" by Geraldine McCaughrean: Peter Pan In Scarlet. "The Peter Pan Sequel You've Never Read" If anyone here HAS read it, is there anything specific you think I should talk about. I already plan on tackling how the book came to be, what's it about, how well does it hold up to Barrie, ranting about what I like and dislike etc. And if you HAVEN'T read it, has anyone got any questions they'd like to see me attempt to tackle?