Tagged: Wolverine
Origin II: Is Wolverine’s Past Worth Telling Anymore?
Well I just finished reading issue number 2 of Origin II, which continues the legendary unknown history of Marvel’s most valuable asset, Wolverine. Continuing the story of James Logan Howlett from the popular Origin series from 2001, Origin II just doesn’t feel like anything particularly special to me. Hell we could have skipped all the hype and just put this story into one of the regular Wolverine books out there today and it would have felt thus far like pretty typical Wolverine fare.
It’s common knowledge that Wolverine is in far too many comics these days. Honestly I’ve been pretty burnt out on the overuse of the character for quite some time now. I really kinda miss the old days where there was The Uncanny X-men and one solo Wolverine comic. Plain and simple. However as we all know everything these days is about making a buck, and not really putting out quality stories. So we get so much Wolverine crammed down our throats that it begins to make us nauseous.
Well the “long awaited” Origin II tells us more of our favorite berserker’s secretive past in the 19th century. It started out with issue #1 where Wolverine is living with the wolves, because we all know he doesn’t fit in the world of man. So naturally he decides that hanging out in a wolf pack is clearly the answer to all of his problems. As we all know tragedy always follows Logan, and a huge polar bear wandering far from his normal habitat slaughters all of Wolvies “wolf” friends.
So of course he gets his revenge on the polar bear and fights it to the death. He wins, kills said polar bear which takes us to issue #2. Here the story unfolds even more, as we find out that the polar bear was actually owned by a young Dr. Essex (a young Mister Sinister), who at first I thought was Doctor Strange, is determined to capture the killer of his beast. So naturally we get the man for the job, a younger Sabretooth (duh, of course this is a Wolverine comic) to help track down the beast responsible. Hence Wolverine is captured and ends up in a circus freak show. Yeah the misunderstood man beast of course is back in full effect. I guess it’s cool that we get a a pre Mister Sinister meeting Wolverine for the first time?
Now maybe this story is on it’s way to big, big things? I may have to eat my words. It seems everyone has to put their two cents worth into Logans “mysterious” past these days, I mean let’s not forget about the whole “Romulus” mess that was created. It really feels like people just make all this stuff up as they go. It all feels a little too hokey, predictable and issue #2 features some rather sloppy, rushed looking artwork from Adam Kubert. maybe he put all of his effort into the first issue?
I’m really paying close attention to books lately that deliver on all levels these days with strong inspired ideas and artwork. They’re out there, but at 4 bucks a pop finding them can be tricky and costly. It seems that the panels are getting bigger every month too, so you’re getting far far less real content for your money these days. A comic book these days takes less than ten minutes to read. So what to do with the heroes you love? Where do you turn? Has Wolverine’s charm and appeal run it’s course? Is his secret history really all that alluring anymore? Hell does anyone really care? I’m really not sure I’ll be shelling out 4 bones for Origin II #3 next month, I think I might try something new instead…
New “Marvel Knights” Comics Show True Potential!
Thus far with my limited budget I’ve decided to take a few chances on a couple of the new “Marvel Knights” limited series and I’m so far pretty damn impressed! I’ve been pretty bored with most of the super hero titles I’ve tried to keep up with and honestly have dropped almost all of them. I’ve first got to clarify I don’t get any promo or advance copies here to review, I’d LOVE to do reviews every week of all the new titles. I’m sure I’d find many that would blow my mind. I love all styles of comic books but I’d be liar if I said that I wasn’t first and foremost a superhero fanatic. I’ve tried many titles out there and it feels like perhaps we’re at another stale point in comics at least from the big two publishers. It seems to go in waves, but perhaps the whole super hero thing is a tad overblown these days with the huge shiny Hollywood blockbusters. It’s been reported that Marvel Knights this time around was launched to give some writers and artist with a more independent background a shot at giving some of the more popular heroes a slightly different feel.
Well recently I shelled out some cash for a couple of the new Marvel Knights titles which are right now just mini series. Last month I was pleasantly surprised to read Marvel Knights: X-men by Brahm Revel, who also was the writer artist of “Guerillas” which is now on my radar for must read comics. This X-men story was so impressive to me because of how well it’s smaller scale plot line played out(so far at least) in issue #1. Wolverine, Rogue and Kitty head out on a road trip together to a tiny backwoods town to investigate some child mutants that they believe may be in danger of being murdered. It reminded me of older X tales with a more personal storyline rather than some part of whatever big yearly extravaganza Marvel has planned to try and sell millions of books. It had me pumped to see where it will go next and Revel’s artwork as well was truly impressive with a darker, grittier feel to it. Reminding me that some of the best comic book stories don’t need to involve saving the world every day.
Yesterday I thought I’d give Marvel Knights: Hulk a shot as well, as I have been craving my Hulk fix for quite some time now. I’ve tried over and over to get into Indestructible Hulk but something about it just doesn’t click with me. I was pleased to find that this Marvel Knights Hulk was quite intriguing as well! Basically following Banner as he wakes face first in a river with no memory in Paris and is taken in by a local woman who tries to help him put the pieces back together of how he got there.
It doesn’t take long before things get crazy as some secret organization is hunting him down with giant Hulk like monsters. Like the X-men the story starts out small but it seems like this one is going to get pretty out of control. The art while not as impressive as the X-Men is solid but the story is thus far top notch and filled with mystery. I may have to check out more of these Marvel Knights books if they are of the same caliber. I think there is also a Spider-man MK book too. It’s nice at least to have a few superhero books to look forward to!
Hubba Hubba: Remembering the Marvel Swimsuit Specials!
Am I the only one that remembers those Marvel Comics Swimsuit issues?! Yeah, these were as weird as they sounded it was basically Marvel’s version of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues except with all your favorite characters posing for sexy shots! These were put out by Marvel Annually from 1990 to 1995 and often had funny articles and fake advertisements. It was a strange idea but I’m gonna be honest there were quite a few characters I was kinda pumped to see posing 😉 These are definitely worth hunting down, they’re super funny and ultimately amusing. Anyway here’s a some pictures from those very issues as we look back to those Superhero bikini days!! Yeeeeeah!!
What Would Wolverine’s Costume Really Look Like on the Big Screen?!
We’ve all been teased with the alternate ending of The Wolverine movie soon to be released on the unleashed extended cut of the movie which shows Hugh Jackman opening a briefcase containing his “classic” yellow costume. However it seems people in Hollywood still doubt that they could make his comic book costume look good on the big screen.
I however disagree, I say bring it on and this little episode of Super Power Beat Down(which I just first saw now) looks pretty damn cool as we see Wolverine in his yellow costume take on the Predator! Skip to the 4 minute mark in the video if you wanna skip over the the “geek” questioning on the issue of who would win between Wolverine and The Predator. It’s obvious to me Wolverine would destroy the Predator-I mean Danny Glover, Arnold and Adrien Brody did it!
Wolverine’s Secret Obesession with…Gerber Baby Products?!
Check this out, this was from the “1993 Marvel Annual Financial Report” that they sent out specifically to people who bought stock in Marvel. For some reason, Marvel seems to be connected to Gerber Baby products-we see this first with this image from Wolverine’s shrouded mysterious past-little did we know he was so fucking pumped up about Gerber stuff! Maybe he just heard the news about Daken? Or maybe he just loves babies?! Check it out!!
Also it seems Wolverine ain’t the only one mesmerized by Gerber stuff! Iron Man Flips out when he get’s a glimpse of the Gerber Baby!!
You can actually buy a copy of the Marvel Financial Report on Amazon, check it here!
The Top 10 Superheroes You Wanna Party With!
It’s now the new year YAY! 2015. Everyone has now felt the heavy hangover that comes along with New Years once again. Everyone attended parties and got wild and crazy! So lately I’ve been thinking about my favorite superheroes and if I were throw a party, just which of them I’d invite. It’s an interesting idea figuring out who’d get an invitation and as much as I love The Incredible Hulk he’s the last guy you want at the party. First off Banner would be a total bore, that is unless he got pissed off, then you’d have real trouble on your hands! Plus imagine The Hulk wasted, it’d be nearly impossible to have a conversation with his already limited vocabulary! People like Captain America and Superman can stay home too, drink milk and nibble on cookies because the last thing you need at a party are a coupla’ goody two-shoes!
So just who the hell are the best of the best to party down with? Well use my guide next year and make sure these superhumans are on the A-list! They’re certain to provide plenty of entertainment to any party! So let’s get started!
Number 10. Iron Man
Who the hell doesn’t want a rich playboy at their party? Hell, Tony Stark is one of the most famous alcoholics in comic book history! He also could fund the entire thing himself for you, and bring al of his hot ladyfriends along with him to really liven things up. The only problem could be that Tony may not know when to quit and could end up lingering at your house far into the afternoon of the next day. You’d have to be careful because he’d most likely be the guy who’d have you back partying in the A.M. leaving you with a heavy week long hangover to recover from. Bottom line Stark just don’t know when to quit!
Also just make sure he’s not depressed, he’s known to be quite an annoying drunk when he’s down and out. Invite with caution!
Number 9. The Sandman
What? You didn’t know ol’ Sandy was a party animal? You betcha, though he’s a bit of a rogue he’s a great guy to invite to the party! He’ll come equipped with a bunch of interesting stories and he’s always willing to bring the beer! Little known fact the Sandman is a drinking bud of Ben Grimm and has even visited Grimm in the hospital….with a bunch of beer! Sandman is a good guy to know but a bit of a wild card, he’ll be a lot of fun but you may have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t steal your cash from outta your wallet while you’re taking a leak!
Number 8. The Badger
Yep this guy will most definitely make your party interesting and he’s from my home state of Wisconsin to boot. Badger is quite an interesting character who just so happens to love partying! Being from the land of cheese he’s quite able and willing to down as much beer as you can put in front of him but he also has multiple personalities, lives with a Wizard named “Ham” and has an odd habit of calling everyone “Larry”. He also can speak to animals so if you have any pets you can be rest assured that they’ll have a great time as well! He’s probably the only superhero who’s played tug a war with Spuds MacKenzie for a beer. The only problem is he’s completely bat shit crazy-wait is that a problem?
Number 7. She-Hulk
Hell yeah we need some female energy at the party for sure and why the heck shouldn’t it be She-Hulk? She’s super funny, a total babe and incredibly flirtatious! You know she’s gonna show up to the party dressed to impress too!
Plus she can drink any party bro under the table but watch out cuz she’s been known to hit on guys pretty hard too after drinking a bit too much, just check out how she threw herself on The Thing! Dang this would not fly in 2018!
Did The Uncanny Avengers Live Up to the Hype?
I just got done reading The Uncanny Avengers #1, one of the most hyped comics books in quite some time. Marvel has even reported over 300,000 issues already sold. So was it as amazing as everyone hoped? I think so. Now granted this is issue #1 only, but in the aftermath of AVX which I will admit I didn’t read it all ( hey comic books are expensive and to be honest I can’t afford to read all the tiles I’d like to every week for 4 bucks a pop) this issue is a fantastic start to something that could be really awesome. It’s first off beautifully drawn by John Cassaday, while reading it, it brought back great memories of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-men run second Remender does a great job with grabbing you in with some heartfelt story telling in the wake of Professor X’s death.
What we have here in issue one is basically Captain America asking Havok to lead a special Avengers team, Wolverine telling the world they failed Chuck Xavier and his dream, an attack by Avalanche on the city in the name of mutant revenge on humans and lastly Rogue confronting The Scarlet Witch at Xavier’s grave. I thought it was a great scene in where we get to really understand where both of these characters are coming from dealing with the recent “death”.
Lastly we get a new(?) gang of villains who attack. We have ‘The Goat Faced Girl” who’s creepy enough along with, an insect man, a water controlling octopus woman, a winged demon woman and a snapping turtle man guy. So yeah not sure what I think about these dudes yet…we’ll see. Finally we get a look at the “major villain” which is really not much of a surprise but steals something for him self which will be important I’d imagine to the X-men. A really impressive first issue overall, with wonderful artwork and an exciting story coming together it will be interesting to see how long The Avengers remain Uncanny…..
Comic Book Cover of the Week! Don’t Leave Your Kids With Wolverine!
Ahhhh the X-men of the 1980’s…..it just doesn’t get any better than that. Which brings me to my pick for comic book cover of the week X-men #195 drawn by Bill Seinkeiwicz. Just knowing Bill did this cover is a no brainer that’s it’s gonna totally rule. This issue features the X-men trying to save Power Pack the kiddie mutant team from the eighties from the Morlocks, the inner art of the issue is drawn by the fabulous John Romita Jr who was even more spectacular back in the 1985. Don’t worrry though folks, Katie Power wasn’t harmed by Wolvie but it did truly make for one stunning must have comic if not only for the cover alone! I miss those days of the X-men!
Jeph Loeb’s Wolverine: Makin’ Shit Up As He Goes!
Is it just me or does it kinda seem like Jeph Loeb’s kinda making shit up as he goes on the current Wolverine storyline? After reading issue number 312 I am almost certain of it! I have a theory on how he wrote this stuff and I think it took him about a total of five minutes, which I will explain, so read on!
Now first let me quickly clarify that I kinda enjoyed his absurd “Death of Sabretooth” story arc that he had crafted years ago. I’ve gotta say it, I think Loeb is a hack storyteller. He’s somehow become extremely popular while single handedly changed Logan’s entire history by introducing Romulus, who’s supposed to be his “ultimate” nemesis. Somehow though I just can’t take Romulus seriously, every time he makes an appearance I kinda wanna just burst out into laughter! It’s odd too because I actually am kind of intrigued with the character primarily because of how stupid he is.
Now we have another red head in Wolvie’s life, Remus, Romulus’ twin sister. She happens to have a big crush on Logan and wants him to kill her brother. Uggh…this is truly Loeb working his “storytelling magic” again.
It been seeming to me that Loeb probably is making this shit up as he goes folks. He’s like “Let’s kill off Sabretooth! It will be super bad ass, we’ll have this bad ass sword that Wolvie needs to kill him, then we’ll have this guy Romulus who doesn’t have anything better to do with his time except orchestrate all the events of Wolverine’s life, I mean it too, he has been like secretly involved for like…ever! Yeah, yeah then we’ll have this feral mutant race, evolved from wolves, yeah, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Wild Child, Romulus hell even Sasquatch is gonna be like having this feral gene in his system, and then, then um…Wolverine kills Sabretooth!!It’s gonna be soooo epic! Oh shit Marvel wants Sabretooth now to not be dead? Shit, hmmm well let’s just say Wolverine actually killed a Sabretooth clone! Yeah that’s it…then we’ll backtrack and say Wolverine suspected that the Sabretooth he beheaded back then smelled like a fake! Then Wolverine will find out that Sabretooth is really alive and that there’s like a hundred Sabretooth clones! Shit yeah!
Yeah then Romulus comes back….and um…hmm…shit he’s got a twin sister!! Yeah!! She’s called..um Remus! She’s a red head too cuz Logan loves red heads! She’s like in love with Wolverine too! Then let’s make Romulus dress up like Wolverine from the Weapon X days and put himself in a glass chamber! Yeaaaah! Yeah and then um…now he’s got real claws, made from like new school adamantium, it’s like stronger than the previously strongest unbreakable metal, it’s like even MORE unbreakable! Yes!!! Then let’s say, um Wolverine was actually the mastermind behind the Weapon X program?! Yes!! Yes!! What’s next? Hmmm…I’ll figure that out next month a few minutes before the issue’s deadline!!” I am pretty sure that’s how this all goes down for Loeb.
Seems like he’s having fun putting an ridiculous spin on Wolverine’s previously rad back story…So you know what? I guess I’ll just roll with his laughable story lines an try to have some fun too. At least it’s humorous, something that Wolverines past should never be. What do you think?
The Top Five Weird D-List Villains that Need to Step Into The Spotlight
I love to see new villains created for comic books today, but I won’t lie here. I really like it when some weird ass old D-lister from who knows when re-emerges onto the scene with a vengance into a current title. It always brings a smile to my face and sometimes the villain hits the big time graduating to the B-list or sometimes even the A-list level. So I began to think about a handful of villains from the yesteryears of my youth and decided that these guys need another chance to shine. Now I am not one hundred percent positive that all these guys haven’t made a more recent appearance, as I obviously can’t afford to read every title out there (Hint! Hint! Any of you comic companies want to send me promo comics for review?!!) but I am pretty damn sure this first group of villains have been pretty silent for quite some time so here are the first five that came to mind!
1. Shadow Stalker
This master assassin is probably my favorite on this list. He’s a super old school villain from “The Master of Kung Fu” series back in the 1970’s. He often time battled Shang-Chi and was one of his major enemies way back when. He’s definitely a weird ass character, which is probably why I like the dude so damn much! There’s really not much known about this guy, he hides in shadows with his yellow skin and kicks major ass with his morning star-hair.
A previous Shang-chi villain, Razorfist, who is from around that same era is now a pretty popular nemesis to Wolverine. Razorfist was also a fave of mine, so how about sending Shadow Stalker after Wolverine next time he travels to Madripoor? I’d pay to see that!
2. The Missing Link
This largely forgotten villain of The Incredible Hulk need to get back onto the smashing circuit again and knock some sense back into him! This guy was once a “neanderthaloid” from long ago who survived in a pocket beneath the earth by some unknown means. During atomic testing in China the pocket he survived in was ruptured and he was affected by the bombing, later returning to the surface as a radioactive monster! There he was handed over to the Russians who launched him into the New York Harbor where he raised hell.
This was the beginning of his battling the Hulk where he for a short time established himself as a major adversary. But where has The Missing Link been lately? I say it’s time for this guy to come back as a major contender and start some serious meddling in the affairs of Banner & The Incredible HULK!
3. Hammer & Anvil
These guys were pretty cool I always thought at least, however when villains in the 1980’s were killed by Scourge it wasn’t exactly a good sign of their popularity! Their story is also pretty unique “Leroy “Hammer” Jackson was an African-American prisoner said to hate everyone and everything. As part of a chain gang, he was chained to a white racist named Johnny Anvil. The pair’s hatred of prison, however, was stronger than their hate for each other and they succeeded in escaping the chain gang while still chained together. Hammer stole a .38 handgun from a guard, and when the two encountered an alien who had crashed on Earth, Hammer tried to kill it but accidentally wound up saving the creature’s life instead; it fed on metal, and used the bullets fired at it to regenerate. The alien wanted to thank them, and replaced the chain linking them with a device that granted them superhuman powers. The two returned to prison seeking revenge, but wound up battling the Hulk instead.”
Yeah that’s what their Wiki page had to say do you really need any other reason to see these guys back in action? I didn’t think so! I think The Wrecking Crew needs to have these guys join their gang-how cool would that be? Granted they’d need a good makeover most likely but power them up and and have them raise some havoc again!
4. Wyre
Yes Wyre is a D-lister from 1992 with an B-List background. He’s not very well known from his appearances in The Alpha Flight where his main nemesis was Wild Child, who at the time was a bit of a D-lister himself before he more recently graduated as a major villain of Wolverine. The Canadian mutant Wyre, much like Wolverine is a bit more of an anti hero, and actually has tangled with Logan before. He appeared back in 1992 and has genetically modified wires that can stretch from his body which he controls with his mind as well as a similar healing factor. His main mission was to take down members of a feral group of assassin called the Breed who were created from his DNA and quite possibly his hairy ass chest!
I think Wyre needs a good makeover obviously but given his background he could prove to be a major player in Wolverine’s world perhaps even resurfacing with information or a death wish again for Wild Child and Roumulus?
5. Half-Life
This guy should be back causing serious trouble for the Hulk! He first appeared in the The Incredible Hulk #334 back in the eighties and later in issue #342 he kills himself. As far as I know that’s the last we have seen of the psychotic gamma zombie. Half-life was pretty awesome actually aside from being really creepy looking he’d start out looking like a green zombie with a sylish 80’s hair-do and absorbing life from living creatures to become more “normal” looking.
When the Leader employed him to take down The Hulk he drained him so badly that ol’ jade jaws was not much more than a walking pile of skin and bones. I see no reason why Half-Life can’t come back, perhaps revived by The Leader? He’s a great classic Hulk villain that needs to step back into the spotlight-zombies are all the rage right now and a gamma powered zombie is ten times as awesome!
Universal Dork 