Quaritch and Sully

In Avatar, Miles Quaritch is seen as the developing antagonist. Starting as just a tough military soldier before slowly evolving into a sociopath bent on genocide. This is clear from his view of the native Pandorans and his general disrespect for them that we see throughout the movie. From his first introduction to his final breath, he is always an imposing figure embodying the perfect soldier. He is ruthless, determined, efficient and has a commanding presence.

There is a scene in which Jake meets with Miles inside a garage in which Miles is busy bench pressing quite an impressive weight. Even though we learn that Pandora has lower gravity, the feat still leaves an impression on just how tough this man is. Quaritch explains how being soft will get a man killed on Pandora, creating a simple logic argument that since Quaritch hasn't been killed, he must be one tough SOB. Throughout the conversation that follows, the two have a light conversation on old war stories. We also learn of Jake's initial impression of Pandora as 'just another hellhole', which helps show his growth as Pandora becomes his salvation. But one thing Quaritch said sent chills through me when he is explaining his scar, "Two tours in Nigeria, not a scratch. I come out here and (gestures at scars). They could fix this if I rotated back. But you know what? I kinda like it. Reminds me every day what's out there. Besides, I can't leave ... this is my war, here". The Pandorans and Humans have only scuffled and scrimmaged before, diplomacy was still being sought. But Quaritch calls it a war, specifically his war. The fact that keeps it as a reminder of 'what's out there' shows his distrust of Pandora, knowing it's the first thing to hurt and leave a mark.

I spent a few hours looking for an specific image of a scene that happens soon after where Quaritch climbs into a large robotic suit and discusses a deal with Sully. The middle image above reminded me very strongly of a famous fresco "The creation of Adam". Though I believe it is pure coincidence and it is only there for a moment, we see Quaritch reaching out to Sully. The tough and mighty father figure (who eventually tries to bring Old Testament justice to Pandora) reaching out to his crippled son. However the son does not extend the same hand back and later betrays him when he gains knowledge of Pandora through Nytiri. When I re-watched the initial deal between Jake and Miles, I started making largely unconscious relations between Quaritch to god, Jake to Adam, and Nytiri to Eve. This was reinforced by the sacred trees that give knowledge and Jake's betrayal. It wasn't until I found the image above that it all sorta fell into place and seeing the (coincidental) similarities it has with the creation of Adam and the links that developed between these three characters.