The Scarlet Pimpernel superhero conventions, including the penchant for disguise, use of a signature weapon (sword), ability to out-think and outwit his adversaries, and a calling card (he leaves behind a scarlet pimpernel at each of his interventions). By drawing attention to his alter ego Blakeney he hides behind his public face as a slow thinking foppish playboy (like Bruce Wayne), and he also establishes a network of supporters, The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, that aid his endeavours. The popular success of the novel is considered to be based on the myth of the aristocratic hero with a double life, along with
Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel he sends his soldiers to capture them. It soon becomes obvious that the situation has been planned by the Pimpernel as a way to distract the guard while he attempts to rescue a group of priests being held at the nearby Duchess Anne tower. However, as soon as Sir Percy climbs up the tower and through the window where the priests are being held, he realises that he has fallen into a trap – for waiting for him in the room are a dozen members of the Committee of Public Safety and his arch enemy Chauvelin. After a brief fight