Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Wednesday Comics: Well, Technically, He's One of About Five Superheroes I Can Match in Height

Some background for this one: I hate Wolverine. I mean, I really hate him. I hate how overexposed he is; I don't care what your super power is, if you're on a half dozen different teams, you're cheating. I hate how ridiculous his healing power is; he's survived being burned down to his skeleton, decapitated, and driven over with a steam roller. Forget wolverine; the man's spirit animal is clearly a cockroach. I hate the way he gets to be world-weary team leader AND brash, cocky loner; pick a cliche and stick with it, damn it. I hate his convoluted, conspiracy-laden backstory that constantly revises itself in a desperate attempt to find something actually interesting to hang itself onto, or some sense of unity in what's really thirty odd years of ideas tossed together. Most of all, I hate that a man who routinely goes on vigilante murders gets to run around on teams that supposedly call themselves Earth's greatest heroes.

So yes, I've got some things against the character. That said, Jason Aaron's Wolverine: Weapon X is awesome.
The latest issue is setting up a new story line: an army of killer cyborgs has been set back in time to eliminate superheroes' lineage before they were born. But that's all beside the point. The real point is Wolverine and Captain America getting together for a beer night. Captain America admits he wasn't always comfortable with Wolverine as an Avenger (thank you!), Wolverine, in a roundabout manner admits he's glad the Cap's back, and they talk about the women in their lives. In a gruff, masculine way. Wolverine has been Mr Stabby-Slash for a long time, but it's rare to see him portrayed as someone with actual real feelings and such. So, panel of the week:


(Sorry about the extra space. Paint is not the most user-friendly of image tools.) Yes, yes, it's still drenched in testosterone and manly swagger, but...what can I say? It got to me. As of this moment, I like Wolverine.
A fight breaks out approximately six panels later, BTW, when Wolverine takes exception to someone objecting to his taste in music (country). I never saw the appeal of the Wolverine bar fight. It's a guy with a healing factor, decades of fighting experience, and unbreakable, metal bones fighting ordinary drunks. Doesn't that essentially come down to Wolverine being a bully? And country music. Man, I hate...
Well, I should have known it wouldn't last.

Later Days.

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