Wolverine hunts down that jerk Nitro, Pt. 1

(Ed. Note: This Friday will be my 200th article, and since it’s a bit strange to get sentimental halfway through an article, I figure I could say a few quick words now.  I began this blog one year ago as a persistent way to improve my writing.  Luckily for me, my passions and interests involve fictional men and women putting on brightly colored spandex and pummeling each other.  I can hardly complain.

Though before we begin our article today, and because I’ve never mentioned this before, it takes me about three hours to go from nothing to a completed post (searching my collection, gathering pictures, writing the first draft, heavy editing, etc.).  Doing the math, I’ve spent just about twenty five days worth of time this past year working on my blog.  So many days I just stare at my blank computer screen, furiously searching my memory or pounding down twenty or thirty issues of a series I haven’t read hoping despondently that inspiration strikes.  But I regret nothing — your continued support has made every moment of frustration and desperation worth it.  Thank you to my dear readers, fellow bloggers, adoring commentators, friends and family, and anyone who ever linked to my website.  Here’s to the next 200 articles!  I love you all!)

In the comic book world of morally sound, 6’2″, young, clean cut superheroes, Wolverine’s popularity remains surprisingly unrelenting.  He’s short, hairy, surly, ideologically skewed, and not even American — so why do fans eat up his eight or nine constantly ongoing series?  Maybe we all have a claw fetish, or maybe it’s Wolverine’s constant feud with Cyclops, the sporty captain of the football team dating the head cheerleader wearing super cool sunglasses that nerds aspire to be and simultaneously loathe.  Hopefully we’ll figure out the answer today (and Friday) in Wolverine #42-45, written by Marc Guggenheim and drawn by Humberto Ramos.  Or we won’t, but either way, it’ll be fun.

Like most Wolverine stories, this one begins in a bar.

Smile at the surgeon joke.  It’s morbid, but so is everything else about Wolverine.

Recognize that explosion?  You might — it set off a chain of events that lasted the entire second half of the previous decade.  In Stamford, Connecticut, the New Warriors badly apprehended the supervillain Nitro (who can explode himself due to his genetic mutation).  Six hundred people died, including scores of young children.  The Marvel Civil War event spurned from this, as well as the eventual Dark Reign and Siege events.  While Wolverine can certainly contribute by lifting heavy blocks or slicing up melted apartment buildings or whatever, he has a slightly different idea of how he can help.  Namely, Nitro’s still on the run.

For an organization filled to the brim with disobedient teenagers, none of them hold a candle to the tantrums of their hairiest member.  But diplomacy and bureaucratic interference won’t stop a man who has literally fought in every war since World War I.  If Nitro killed all those people, he needs to pay. Wolverine works very black and white.

First, Wolverine has to find the supervillain.

I’ve stated before how much I love Ramos’ art.  His style’s distinctive and a bit cartoonish, but for characters like Wolverine, exaggerated art works perfectly.  I’m not saying Wolverine’s a caricature or anything, but the whole feral side of his personality lends itself well to Ramos — that wicked smile in the last panel should be all the proof you need.

Nitro versus Wolverine round one.  Well, Nitro versus Wolverine and a squad of SHIELD officers round one.  Claws and grit alone can’t do much against a man who explodes himself for a living.

It goes badly.  Real badly.

A main point of argument revolves around Wolverine’s healing factor, and truthfully, it’s usefulness gets determined by the current writer. Some have had him regenerate from a single cell, while others figure when Wolverine’s just a skeleton then tough luck for poor Logan.  Guggenheim doesn’t have that problem.  And thank goodness, because Nitro needs to be taught a lesson not learned in any classroom.

I totally skipped the context for Wolverine’s one-liner in the second page.  Sorry.  Something important to note: while Wolverine’s body and hair heals nicely, his clothes do not.  Nitro certainly deserves this upcoming beating, but it’s far more impactful when you realize that Wolverine’s stark nude while doing so.  A roundhouse kick hurts far more than physically when Nitro also gets a penetrating look at Wolverine’s little Logans.

I wouldn’t object to the next few issues of the arc just being Wolverine talking trash and ruining Nitro’s life, but good stories provide unforeseen plot twists.  Like this one:

Of all the New Warriors caught in Nitro’s Stamford explosion, only Speedball survived.  So when the superhero Namorita died at Nitro’s hand, he just triggered a backlash far beyond any pain and suffering he could possibly imagine.  Y’know, because Namorita’s related to this man:

Next time, Wolverine vs. Namor vs. Nitro!  What else could you possibly want in an article?

Amadeus Cho’s genius battle

I’ve shouted from the (Olympian) heavens more than once that the Incredible Hercules series remains in my top five favorite comics ever.  The hard-drinking, hard-loving, super strong demi-god Hercules teams up with the teenage super genius Amadeus Cho, going on all the adventures you expect and adore.  And while the series mainly focused on its namesake, writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente transformed the sidekick into a character worthy of our love and respect — that and he’s the perfect foil to Hercules’ stumblin’ strong man act.

Today, in Incredible Hercules #133, 135, and 137, written by Pak & Van Lente and drawn by Rodney Buchemi, we’re not even going to touch upon Hercules.  These issues star Amadeus as he explores the mystery behind his parents’ death.  No punches thrown today kids.  Enjoy good ol’ fashioned brain teaser.

Perfect setting, right?  Abandoned desert towns always make for sinister backdrops.

At this point, I should probably explain Amadeus’ back story.  Unlike, say, Tony Stark who we just assume to a be one of the ten smartest people in the world, for Amadeus we have proof.

And how did that explosion miss its intended target?

I’m just saying that if Amadeus were a female, he would have been blown to bits.  Luckily, teenage hormones don’t cease in the comic book world.  Also if you haven’t noticed from his kimchi reference, despite his sidekick status, Amadeus receives critical acclaim for being a positive example of a Korean superhero.  Anyway, the abandoned desert town gets weird.  Fast.  Also, it’s not abandoned.

See the conspiracy?  Geniuses get killed off for being geniuses — I assume some kind of jock master plan.  Fortunately, we get to see Amadeus in action, if you’ve ever wanted to see how the seventh smartest person in the world fights.

I love this concept.  Amadeus’ intelligence ranks so high that he sees the world as math equations, compared to Hercules who almost certainly believes the word “equation” to be a sort of Mediterranean dish.  Though you know who can throw a smart guy for a loop?  A smarter guy, of course.

I’m going to skip a ton.  The entire second issue of the arc revolves around a complicated D&D style game for control of Amadeus’ mind and the superior intellect of Pythagoras.  It rocks and you should devote some time to finding the issue and reading it.  But the final genius-off struggle between the two was what made me excited about this arc.  Let’s get into it, but first, cue character development:

The next three or four pages include Pythagoras’ complicated back story, evil origins, and reasons for blowing up Amadeus’ parents.  You can read that stuff for yourself, but Amadeus only sought out this monster for one reason only: his sister.

Okay, so that search ends up a bust.  Mysteries don’t always conclude with the bad guy’s rubber mask pulled off, though I really wish they all did if just for a booming rubber industry.  To find out who’s the smarter genius, the two have to play the coolest smart person game ever written in comics:

Has math ever been this exciting?  More importantly, how does our hero win this no-win situation?

I think Amadeus knew what Pythagoras would do if Amadeus refused to play, essentially ensuring the man’s death.  Amadeus, a superhero, doesn’t murder (gosh darn it) and he kinda did murder Pythogoras — even if he got sucked into a game without his consent.  Oh well, so’s the tragic life of the hero.  Still, if we count that, Amadeus is still thousands of murders behind Hercules.  Seriously, I can’t figure out if Hercules has more kills or body hair.

Athena, Hercules’ sister, witnesses the whole thing.  Want a final plot twist?

And a new champion he becomes.  No, seriously — Amadeus totally rocks nowadays.  Here’s him a few issues later, in the double spread glory he deserves:

Click for a larger version, if just for the only superhero to fight crime in a designer suit and jacket.

Spider-Man and the never-ending guilt trip

It’s been a while since our last Spider-Man article, and I’m here to fill that void in your heart.  Y’see, if you’ve been following Superior Spider-Man, last issue Peter Parker met his defeat at the hand of guilt revelation.  I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense if you’re not caught up, but as fans cried out (as they do every single time the status quo gets changed), writer Dan Slott made a solid point: Spider-Man simply never forgives himself for any mistake or decision he makes.  Ever.  Rinse and repeat for fifty years.  And to be fair, that level of morality is impossible — we as people make selfish choices all the time, regardless of how small or unimportant.  Unfortunately, Spider-Man goes down a spiral of self-loathing the moment his mind is made up.

Well, get ready for a sadness punch in your tear ducts.  Today in Spectacular Spider-Man #22, written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by Talent Caldwell, Spider-Man receives some permanent emotional damage.  And speaking of emotional damage, let me quickly tell you about Mindworm.  You almost certainly haven’t heard of him.

He first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #138, written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Ross Andru. Mindworm’s a mutant with the power to influence the emotions of others, even able to project illusions and other vague stuff.  Also, wearing a striped tanktop as your supervillain costume pretty much guarantees insignificance.  Here’s Spider-Man taking him down in their first encounter:

As we fast forward 30ish years of comics, Parker notices a weird section of town where everyone seems influenced by a heavy mood of hostility.  You know where this is going?

The years haven’t been kind to Mindworm.  When we get deeper into the supervillain’s psyche, it’s a blast of mental illness and terrible life choices.  Unlike Moon Knight, Mindworm’s mental illness doesn’t have Wolverine yelling at him, instead just a projected wave of depression.  As Spider-Man recognizes this once proud man, he makes the most valid point against superheroism today:

Let’s be fair.  Captain America inspires and reassures the Marvel universe, but at the end of the day, he does punch his way to victory.  And when the problem doesn’t involve megalomaniacs threatening cities with giant bombs, punching usually solves very little.  What’s Spider-Man to do that won’t turn this issue into an after school special?  Well, lots of guilt for one.

Both Aunt May and Spider-Man make solid arguments.  I mean, Spider-Man is a man with the proportionate strength of a spider, not Zeus.  No matter how fast he swings, he can’t save everyone — and the sooner Parker accepts that, the sooner he can actually find some contentment in his life.  On the other hand, Spider-Man has a duty to help those who can’t help themselves.  When you receive awesome superpowers, you then have to devote your life to protecting those without.  That’s kind of how the deal works.  Unfortunately, things get worse.

Much worse.

Look, I love Spider-Man with all my heart, but he is a man in pajamas webbing around a city that’s 300 square miles.  The fact he could even arrive at the scene of a crime even remotely on time speaks volumes in itself.  Now, stuck in a situation far beyond any punching could solve, all he can do is react accordingly.

I hate to mention this, but Spider-Man loses fights far more than you think.  Sometimes he falls with a roundhouse kick to the face, but other times, the baddie claimed victory before Spider-Man even steps in the ring.  Does Mindworm deserve this ending?  God, no.  Does Spider-Man deserve to have this freak accident on his conscience?  Absolutely not.  But he will, and it breaks our hearts.

You know why Spider-Man remains the most popular Marvel character year after year?  He’s portrayed as a normal guy like us, but truthfully, he’s our better: physically, mentally, and emotionally — a literary role model for us to emulate.  Or maybe it’s the quips.  One of those two reasons.

The Iron Man impostor, Pt. 1

The third movie comes out today and we should all go see it and love it and go see it again!  To blatantly try to increase my view count by cashing in on the movie’s release, I figure we should enjoy an Iron Man adventure today.  Instead of a lengthy beginning where I get readers caught up or explain origins, let’s just jump right into it.  Like movies start with explosions before getting into exposition.

We delve into Iron Man #86-89, volume 3, written by Mark Ricketts and drawn by Tony Harris & Scott Kolins.  We start right after Tony Stark lost his mind and screamed at ambassadors during a United Nations speech.  Check out a previous article for that whole debacle.

Meet Rumiko Fujikawa, Stark’s on-and-off love interest for the past eighty issues or so.  They’re currently off, but after the public meltdown, Rumiko figures she might be useful in curing the rainbow of Iron Man’s emotional explosions.  But first, we cut to Stark Industries headquarters.  More problems arise than just stock prices:

Never a good sign when a superhero murders his own employees.  At minimum, that’s piles and piles of paperwork to fill out.  But let’s be fair — that’s obviously not Stark.  With incidents popping up everywhere, Stark’s life goes quickly down the drain.  You know that adage of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall?”  Well, considering Stark’s billion dollar company, his position as Secretary of Defense, his career as an Avenger, and dozens of personal relationships — the man has quite a fall ahead of him.  Everything sort of stems from no secret identity and a multitude of enemies.  More on that in part two.

While Stark has the capacity of romance not unlike many small children, all signs point to his genuine love of dear Rumiko.  Though they did treat each other terribly, with Stark’s neglect and Rumiko’s infidelity leading the pack of complaints.  Maybe that kind of dysfunction’s necessary for their chaotic lives, but the relationship still remained very much real.

Wonderful, right?  Despite their major faults, the two of them possess a real chance at happiness in the comic book world, which rarely allows its characters to experience long-lasting joy.  So of course, this happens:

With Rumiko’s death, Stark now has to battle his impostor both overcome with grief and in his underwear.  It goes as you expect.

Luckily, Stark’s in fantastic shape — at least enough to survive a two story fall.  In the current Iron Man series, he just fought in an alien gladiator tournament without any of his armor.  He did well, if just because the guy still has over a decade of combat experience and training.  No doubt that Stark could hold his own against even seasoned villains without actually being Iron Man, but he’s outclassed when battling himself.  Or at least, his technology.  Time to even the playing field.

Next time, we’ll have that exciting Iron Man vs. Iron Man fight you’re totally expecting.  Plus some cool plot twists and revelations.  Here, I’ll throw you one of them right now:

Now go see Iron Man 3, because nothing makes for a better movie than robots and superheroes.

Jailbreak: Daredevil

In the 2000s, no one had it rougher in the Marvel universe than Daredevil.  His identity was revealed as Matt Murdock, he watched his girlfriend die and another wife divorce, his career ruined, etc.  He even got set on fire at one point.  Eventually, the poor guy ended up in prison, because that’s the next logical step in misery.  Today, as we cover Daredevil #82-87, written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano, all the loose ends of Murdock’s life combine in a whirlwind of sad chaos.

We pick up about halfway through the arc, and so far, prison hasn’t been kind to Daredevil.  First, his enhanced senses don’t do well in the stinky, noisy cells.

Then, his best friend and law firm partner gets stabbed.

All the crime bosses he put away want to have some words.

Next, his psychopathic arch-nemesis Bullseye arrives.

Plus, he spends almost every day fighting for his life.

And finally, the big man himself shows up.

All the decks are stacked against our hero.  You know what would be really nice right now?  Someone at Ryker’s Island prison who wouldn’t enjoy watching the superhero have his guts dragged outside his body.

Y’see, I adore superheroes-in-prison stories.  The man or woman has to use all his or her resources and skills in an unfriendly environment, a closed environment, and with none of the luxuries battles on the street would provide.  Luckily, a few good guys feel right at home in a cesspit of mischief and evil. Like this guy:

As you may have read in a previous article, Daredevil and the Punisher are not friends.  Actually, I don’t think the Punisher has friends.  But they’re technically on the same side, and Frank Castle gets irked when the bad guys win.  Also, he takes glee in Daredevil’s misery.

Of course something’s going down.  Riots tend to erupt when Daredevil, Punisher, Kingpin, Bullseye, Hammerhead, Owl, and hundreds of henchmen share the same small box.  But as much as Daredevil hates the other five, he likes being alive more — unfortunately, the Kingpin’ll provide the best chance. Also, the big guy has info on Foggy’s attacker.

Let’s not waste time.  The riot explodes within pages.

After being stuck in traffic on a bridge, jailhouse cop must seriously have the highest casualty rate in the superhero world.  The revolving door for rogue galleries racks up hundreds of guard deaths a year. While the poor hourly employees certainly don’t deserve being disemboweled, what better way to tell readers how evil and dangerous you are than to massacre a horde of normal dudes wielding small firearms?

Murdock still has to deny his Daredevil identity.  A blind man jump kicking a prisoner may not be a smart move, but I guess priorities lie in other places.  Especially once this happens:

Look, Daredevil’s not above helping the Kingpin of New York escape if it guarantees his own safety as well, but despite his current rage and berserker attitude, Daredevil’s still a good guy.  And Kingpin has to realize that good guys have those pesky moral codes that landed Kingpin’s fat butt in jail in the first place.  So when Fisk decides to bring his favorite assassin into their new dynamic duo, the plan changes.

Well, only one choice now.

The main issue with abandoning his ride is that Murdock’s blindness kind of prevents him from, say, operating a helicopter..  So, in the obvious move, he stops by his close acquaintance’s cell to tap those ruby slippers back home.  And by ruby, I mean the color of blood and not the birthstone.

While Daredevil still has hordes of problems once he escapes, including that whole new fugitive status, at least his enemies will be further away than the next cell over.

I think the Punisher treats jail time as a sort of spa treatment.  When all that mobster murdering gets too stressful, nothing helps like a stint in the joint to melt all those troubles away.  Though Daredevil and Punisher are still not friends.

Daken’s actual final stand

Disclaimer before I start.  I usually avoid large amounts of pages in succession from the issues I choose mainly because I don’t understand copyright and fair use laws.  But today, I’m picking about fifteen pages or so that are basically two groups of seven or eight in a row.  If Marvel or Rick Remender or anyone associated aren’t okay with this, I’ll take it down.  But truthfully, this story needs to be shared.  It’s so good, so beautiful, and so important for the characterization of Daken and Wolverine. And now, you the reader, will promise to go and buy tons of Remender’s Marvel comics.  Maybe all of his Uncanny X-Force run?  Amazon.com always has discounts, y’know.

If you read the last article, Daken barely escaped the explosion he set off in Times Square.  Even though he was badly wounded and only weeks to live, he got better.  I don’t know how, but I’m sure his supervillain connections include some evil braniacs as well.  Because in Uncanny X-Force #33-34 (the exciting conclusion of the ten-part Final Execution arc), written by Remender and drawn by Phil Noto, Daken and Wolverine’s six-year antagonism ends.  For real this time.

As you read today, remember that even when Daken first premiered in Wolverine: Origins #5, written by Daniel Way and drawn by Steve Dillon, his motivations have never changed:

I know self-loathing has become a recurring theme lately, but flaws make characters interesting.

We pick up with Wolverine awakening from a dream and strapped to a chair in some sort of interrogation room after being captured by the reformed Brotherhood of Evil.  Like most of us do.

Y’see, this may be the first time in comics where Daken and Wolverine can have an actual conversation about their relationship without mid-fighting interruptions, ulterior motives, or last minute saves.  Just one emotionally damaged supervillain son talking to his emotionally damaged superhero father.

Daken and Wolverine both sort of argue the same point.  Daken believes by staying true to his Wolverine-y genetics, he’s acting appropriately to his own nature.  Why change his own predestined course?  But Wolverine also sort of believes the same thing, just with using their powers and attitude for the greater good.  Like a bullet, the damage comes with who it’s being fired at, not the kind of gun being fired.

I love this scene.  Both Daken and Wolverine genuinely apologize at how Daken’s life turned out, but Daken accepted his twisted path long ago.  And now, after a dozen battles or so, the game has to come a close.  One winner, one loser — with Daken planning to emerge victorious.

You can read the book for how Wolverine escapes and everything that leads up to the next issue. Finally the two settle their differences claw-to-claw, but you knew that’s how this has to go.

See what’s going on?  Wolverine would gain a clear advantage by going into his “berserker” state, where he loses control and flails way more dangerously and frighteningly than his normal mood. Daken definitely tapped into his berserker mode as soon as the fight began.

Now we get Wolverine’s clear humanity versus Daken’s primal animalism — the struggle that has haunted Wolverine in comics for decades.

It’s heartbreaking.  The reality of their horrific fighting gets mixed with the what-if idealism of a happy, meaningful life.  While not exactly Wolverine’s fault that Daken ended up the way he did, if he had just known, if he had just searched harder, if he had just reached out, and so on, then maybe Daken’s life could have been the normal, joyful life that children deserve.  Or not.  But it doesn’t matter now.

No better analogy for their struggle than for Daken to drown in a small puddle.  Daken hasn’t shown up in comics since; he’s really dead.  Wipe those tears away.

Before I end, there’s one final thing I want to show you.  Five issues before this in Uncanny X-Force #29, the team has been transported to an alternative post-apocalyptic future.  There, as they say goodbye, Wolverine receives parting words from his future self.

When the series ends in Uncanny X-Force #35, the whisper gets revealed to the reader:

This means that the entire series of pages I showed you above, Wolverine knew he had to kill Daken. If he didn’t, all the innocent students at his school would die.  No other choice.  Go back and read their conversation and you’ll notice the sad resignation in Wolverine’s choice of words.  Wipe away those tears once more.

Every time Wolverine’s grumpy and drunk, know that at least he has a good reason.