Peter Pan in reverse

[Vladv1]

"But the alternative suggestions – that he wear a gorilla suit, or a superman costume (cringingly restyled as Super Ang), both of which he actually did at some of their earliest shows – were even more seemingly ridiculous. At one point he had even affected a Zorro look, replete with mask and cape, drawing a plastic sword across his guitar strings in pantomime emulation of Jimmy Page’s use of a violin bow in parts of Led Zeppelin’s show. So why not a school uniform? Perhaps because that was the one costume that really cut to the heart of who Angus Young was in those days: symbolic of the spoiled brat that never had to grow up, "Peter Pan in reverse", with Malcolm loitering next to him as the ruthlessly conniving Captain Hook".
Mick Wall "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be".

What does "Peter Pan in reverse" mean? Angus was small and Peter Pan was small, so why in reverse?

 

[tllkt]

Angus was small

Not a teacher.

How so? Isn't the passage talking about the days when he was already playing in Led Zeppelin? Unless there's context missing, the reason he's called "Peter Pan in reverse" is precisely because he was an adult (a young adult, perhaps, but certainly not a kid like Peter Pan) that continued to behave like a child.

It still doesn't quite make sense—a proper "Peter Pan in reverse" would've been someone who'd never got to be a child—but I think that's what the author meant.

 

[jutfrank]

I guess the idea is that if Peter Pan was a boy who never grew up and stayed as a kid forever, Angus Young was a man who did grow up, but stayed as a kid forever.