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Part of what makes the original Taurus comics fascinating is that tone of the story alternates between simplistic comedy and gritty brutality. Some fans just accept the abrupt shifts because it’s funny, not bothering to search for a deeper meaning. But a lot of other people, mostly the ones that the casual fans think are weird, have dug deep into Taurus for an explanation of its apparent inconsistencies.
The most popular theory is that the words and images represent Taurus’s own experience, reflecting the way that Muleta is mind-controlling him. When Muleta has a stronger grip on Taurus’s mind, the violence is more cartoonish and the morality is more clear-cut, because Muleta is convincing Taurus that it’s okay for him to attack anyone who crosses his path. But sometimes Muleta loosens his grip, and Taurus sees the harm that his actions really cause.
Why would Muleta ever give up control of his powerful puppet, even temporarily? Some people think that his psychic powers aren’t strong enough to maintain all the time. Others think that if Taurus will die if he’s under Muleta’s control for too long. These are called the ‘practical’ theories, because they both suggest that Muleta releases control because of the practical limitations of his powers.
Then there are the ‘cruelty’ theories, which suggest that Muleta releases control just to be cruel. Maybe he likes taunting Taurus with brief moments of self-control before yanking it away again. Or maybe it’s actually a punishment for Taurus to be self-aware and see what he’s done.
All of these theories have passionate believers and equally passionate disbelievers. But none of them really justify why Muleta often releases control right in the middle of battles. Everyone knows that it’s Muleta goading Taurus into violence, but even when the tone of the story turns gritty, indicating that Taurus is aware of reality, he keeps on fighting. Most people argue that Muleta’s influence lingers even when he’s not actively using his powers, but that’s a shaky rationalization.
The ‘bizarro’ theory holds that one of Taurus fandom’s main convictions is actually wrong. Muleta is not forcing Taurus into violence, he’s actually holding him back and channeling his violent instincts towards a purpose. When he manipulates Taurus into seeing violence as goofy and harmless, he’s convincing him to pull his punches. He only lets Taurus’s violent instincts out when it’s absolutely necessary.
But the ‘bizarro’ theorists have to rationalize away all the hints that Taurus is the less-violent one. Some of them do have detailed explanations of why each of those hints is misleading, but most other fans don’t buy it. And then there are the people who can’t decide, who believe multiple theories are compatible, who think that the question is intentionally unanswerable to back up Taurus’s central theme of subverting expectations, and so on.
This isn’t even the only controversy in Taurus fandom, although it is the biggest one. It’s incredible that anyone in this small, opinionated fandom gets along, and most of them actually don’t.