Was Jason's deformalities caused by War Syndrome?

[sCabbOy]

I was reading, particularly about "Gulf War Syndrome" where a lot of the children were being born with deformities similar to Jason's. That would be Hydrocephalus, cleft lips/pallets, low eyes, low ears, and so on.

I'm more of a cash n carry guy, Jason was never written to be anything but deformed. However, if someone wants to elaborate deeply into Jason, a theory could be that Elias could have been in a war which caused these deformities in Jason.

Here is a link to Gulf War Syndrome.
Proceed with caution.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE/extremedeformities.html

[Utellme]

Was Jason's dad deformed in anyway ?

[sCabbOy]

No, the syndrome is usually passed from father to baby because of exposure to chemicals, not because he himself was a mutant.

[Utellme]

ok with Jason's deformity and how others treated him all ways made me pull for Jason.

[Darth Sinister]

Nobody knows what Elias Voorhees looks like. There was only the description that was in the script for "Jason Lives" which is only partially canon, because if he were to turn up on screen, chances are he'd look different. Nobody knows how Jason came out the way he did, other than genetics as far as we know. Since Jason's birthdate was 1946, the only war that Elias could've taken part in was WWI or WWII, depending on how old he was. A backstory was never officially given, because it wasn't part of the character's backstory. It was added as a decision by Savini, Cunningham and Miller but never verbalized on-screen. This is why Hedden didn't have Jason look deformed in the flashbacks and visions in "Jason Takes Manhatten".

[Jigsaw]

I always believed Jason's disfigurement (as well as his strength and immortality) were the result of a genetic defect, but it's very possible and even likely that Elias could've served in World War II and contracted something from his service that passed onto Jason. I'm pretty sure chemical weapons were used in WW2 (been a long time since I last studied it), so perhaps exposure to those chemicals tainted his reproduction system which in turn resulted in Jason's disfigurement and powers.

[Spade]

That's a good theory scabboy. And from now one that's what I'm believing.

[sCabbOy]

I'm not in any way trying to go against other people's theories, but I did a great deal of reading on this. There was a pic of a 13 year old boy (in a book) that looked a lot like Jason in Part 2... he had long black hair (he was Asian, from Hiroshima bombing) and one low eye, and a deformed face.

I just thought I'd put this out there for others to ponder. With Jason's age, it's quite acceptable that Elias may have been in WW2 or The Korean War.

I dunno, obviously this wasn't written to be so even I have a hard time with this theory.

[Jigsaw]

Elias would've had to have served during WW2, seeing as Jason was born in 1946 and the Korean War occured around the early 1950s. If Elias was exposed to any chemical weapons during the war, he certainly could've contracted something which in turn affected his reproductive system and resulted in Jason's disfigurement and powers.

[sCabbOy]

You're right about Korean, for some reason I thought it was about 1945, but that's WW2 timeline.

[Jigsaw]

What chemical weapons were used by the Germans or Japanese during WW2? It's been a long time since I last read about it so I don't remember if anything chemical agents were used or not.

[simonthekillerewok]

Anyway back on topic, one could assume Elias was part of WW2 so I think it's a very good theory, it explains a lot.

[simonthekillerewok]

Anyway back on topic, one could assume Elias was part of WW2 so I think it's a very good theory, it explains a lot.

Strange the first paragraph of my comment has disappeared, I don't know whether it was removed ori accidently deleted it. Well anyway I was basically saying that those pictures are so shocking that it reveals how disgusting and wrong the war in iraq is.

[girlychaos]

Good point, scab...I'd go for that theory, it sounds like something that could've happened for sure.

[Jigsaw]

I'm wondering if Elias did indeed serve in WW2 and fought in the European theater, if he possibly had been with soldiers who found the Nazi concentration camps and may have contracted particles from some of the gases used to kill the prisoners? I'm thinking maybe his reproductive system could've became poisoned that way.

[nottidelterrore]

Definitely a good theory that could work.

[Jigsaw]

I always believed Jason's disfigurement and immortality was the result of a genetic defiency, but that defiency could've been caused by Elias contracting some chemicals during his war service.

[johnboy3434]

However, this brings up the issue of why Diana wasn't deformed. Since Jason was Pamela's only child, Diana had to be Elias' daughter.

[Jigsaw]

Seeing as Jason was born in 1946 and Diana around 1954, perhaps whatever chemicals Elias may have come in touch with during the war wore off of him by the time Diana was conceived, hence why she turned out normal.

[DRE]

Or it skipped two generations and hit Stephanie. ;)

[Jigsaw]

I'm wondering if Elias served during the European conflict of WW2, if he may have stumbled upon concentration camps and contracted some Zyklon B particles from the gas chambers? I read that soldiers near the end of the European conflict found the concentration camps, so it wouldn't be out of the question if Elias was present. Question is, could Zyklon B have affected his reproductive system?

I forgot if any Allied soldiers during WW2 found the Japanese concentration camps in the Pacific theater, but the Japanese experimented on prisoners with chemicals in Unit 731. Elias could've contracted something from there.

[PeterBaker]

...Even if its not the backstory for Jason's deformity. I beleive this idea opened a new way of thinking of many theories that could explain it- hopefully in a future movie. However, part of me likes that the unknown is the scarier part.

Good theory, tho..

[Rich]

That was a damn disturbing web link. That would mean that Elias was exposed to some kind of chemicals and passed that exposure down to Jason. I guess scientifically that would make sense, but me...personally...I would rather no explanation. I just don't like trying to use science to explain away every question about Jason (like some people believing him being a genetic freak). I would rather leave room for the possible supernatural stuff. It is horror after all. Jason does not need to be explained using the rules of our reality.

[Darth Reaper]

I agree with Rich here. I don't have a problem with using this to explain Jason's deformities, but I'd rather keep his powers within the realm of the supernatural. As far as I'm concerned besides whatever deformities he suffered from, Jason was a normal, mortal human being. It wasn't until after he drown and then rose from the grave to avenge his mother that he became superhuman.

[sCabbOy]

Well, realistically there will be problems with this theory and any theory. Just using a supernatural reasoning behind his deformities (to me at least) is a bit lazy because his deformities are real ones that are caused by something physical.

However, unless the entire story is rewritten it will be hard to use any theory because things like Diana come up.

[Rich]

I just don't like too much science invading the world of Friday the 13th. Friday the 13th is horror. Why can't Jason just be an unexplained supernatural creature like Count Dracula. I don't need explanations. I just accept it for what it is. Why is it that everyone wants explanations today?

[Darth Reaper]

Well, realistically there will be problems with this theory and any theory. Just using a supernatural reasoning behind his deformities (to me at least) is a bit lazy because his deformities are real ones that are caused by something physical.

However, unless the entire story is rewritten it will be hard to use any theory because things like Diana come up.- sCabbOy

I'm not talking about Jason's deformities, I'm talking about his powers. I have no problem with coming up with a scientific explanation for Jason's deformities. Things like that do happen in the real world, so there's nothing wrong with giving a real world explanation for why Jason turned out that way.

But, I prefer to keep Jason's powers, like his great strength, resilience, and insistence on rising from the grave again no matter how many times you put him down, strictly within the realm of the supernatural. For me, that's just a better explanation for how he does these things. Trying to come up with a sudo-scientific explanation for it seems corny to me.

[Jigsaw]

I feel it's best to leave the origins of Jason's strength and immortality ambiguous, because every fan has their own interpretation as to what makes Jason what he is. You can always hint and possibly even suggest that one thing caused him to become what he did, but in the end, only you have the definite answer.

[Jigsaw]

I think one of the strongest things about the series is that it is open ended, like a campfire story, to different interpretations. That is why I hope upcoming films don't explain away things. I like things being left open for us to find answers to.


I agree, and to me that's part of what makes the series so enjoyable, the fact that the gaps in the series are basically up to the fans to fill in.