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Mar 17

The X-Axis – 17 March 2013

Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2013 by Paul in x-axis

It’s a podcast weekend, so check one post down for discussion of Age of UltronAliens vs Parker, and Lost Vegas.  Oh, and the link to our RedBubble store is there too.

Housekeeping announcement: I’m taking next week off, so the X-Axis will return in two weeks (or a bit after).

And now…

Uncanny X-Men #3 – The previous issue ended with the Avengers showing up, but it did seem a bit early for that fight, so it’s no great shock to find that this issue doesn’t actually contain it.  What happens instead is that they talk to each other for a while, and then when the Avengers finally decide to have a go at arresting Scott’s team, Tempus just freezes them all in place.

Now, it does at least make sense that the Avengers would try to talk Scott down first, and that Scott would give the sort of self-righteous response that he does here.  A little more awkward is the fact that Scott and Emma have evidently been glossing over the topic of Xavier’s death with their new trainees, and Emma seems determined to continue that even when the established heroes are openly discussing exactly what happened right in front of them.  Yes, it’s part of a running subplot about how long it will take the trainees to figure out that they’ve fallen in with the extremists, but unless they start asking awkward questions very soon, they’re going to look pretty dumb.

Having Tempus simply freeze the whole Avengers team in place – well, that makes sense in terms of her established powers, but it also makes her hugely powerful, and begs the question of how the book ever gets a fight scene to go beyond one panel unless she gets clubbed over the back of the head at the outset.  It’s useful to the book in some ways – it establishes that the team are, at the very least, awfully hard to catch – but I can see it causing trouble down the road.

Then we’ve got the bit at the end, where Magneto cheerfully acknowledges that he was the one who tipped off the authorities, and claims it was all a double bluff.  By Bendis’ standards, this is positively accelerated plotting, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.  Magneto’s argument is that if he’d told the rest of the team about his plan, then it would have been exposed if any telepaths had been sent against them.  (Which they weren’t anyway.)  But surely exactly the same holds true now, so why would Magneto have put himself in a position where he was so obviously responsible?  Magik at least recognises that point – she doesn’t believe him and thinks he’s making excuses now that he got caught red handed.  But really, why would anyone believe anything else in the situation? The answer rather seems to be “because the plot demands it”, which is never a good enough answer.

Wolverine #1 – Does the world need two Wolverine ongoing titles?  No, of course it doesn’t, particularly when there doesn’t seem to be anything in particular to distinguish one from the other. (“Wolverine marooned in the Savage Land” is the premise of the other book’s opening storyline, not the premise of the series.)

Still, what this book does have is an excellent creative team in Paul Cornell and Alan Davis, working with his regular inker Mark Farmer.  It may not be the wisest approach in commercial terms, but there’s no pretence here of making a story that “matters” – the concept is pretty much standard villain-of-the-week stuff, with some sort of alien intelligence possessing people and going on a killing spree that Wolverine has to stop.  It’s simply done very well.  A story like this is all about getting the tone right, with the understated contrast between the casually inquisitive baddie and what is plainly a massive slaughter.  Davis has the control of detail to hit that note perfectly and elevate what could, in the wrong hands, easily have felt like an above-average inventory piece to a strong Wolverine story.

Wolverine & The X-Men #26 – A concerted effort to make us care about Dog, Wolverine’s largely forgotten brother from the dreaded Origin mini.  Jason Aaron actually started this storyline in his Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine mini, which is where Dog discovered the crystal with weird time-altering properties and came to the present day.  (All this is explained in a flashback, but since pretty much the whole issue is a flashback, it’s crying out for a footnote to explain that it’s a reference to an earlier story, not just a completely random plot element lurching in from nowhere.)

So, Dog, then.  I still think Origin was a woeful series, which was so busy struggling to come up with something non-obvious to put in Wolverine’s back story that it forgot to worry about whether the story added anything.  It didn’t ultimately do any harm because it’s also easily ignored, but the elements of that series do not intrigue me in the slightest.

Still, if you’re going to try and do something with Dog, this story’s approach is at least logical.  The twist in the opening act of Origin was to misdirect the audience into thinking that Dog was the young Wolverine, when it was actually his illegitimate half-brother.  The result was to generate a largely unneeded Wolverine II who had outlived his usefulness once the switch was revealed.  Aaron’s approach is to write him as a character who failed to become Wolverine, but who now sees Wolverine as the usurper and himself as the hero who’s there to remove him.  After all, it’s not like Wolverine’s CV over the past century makes particularly impressive reading.

This is all fine as far as it goes, and to some extent even plays off the idea of Dog as a failed character, so that the story can have its cake and eat it.  But we’ve had “Wolverine and his opposite number” before with Sabretooth, and to an extent with Daken, and it’s not a direction that greatly appeals to me.  It’s done okay here, but I can’t say it sells me on there being untapped potential in this theme.

X-Men: Legacy #7 – This series has repeatedly made play of the idea that Legion wants to be proactive where the X-Men are reactive.  With this issue, he (sort of) puts that into action, by trekking down to Raleigh to take down an anti-mutant church before it can do any real damage.  Except the main reason for going here is because it’s the church that corrupted Blindfold’s older brother.  He’s certainly doing it in part to impress her; I’m not quite so sure how far we’re meant to take the book’s claims of proactivity seriously.

The Church of the Happy Host are not what you’d call a major threat; although they’ve stumbled into some functioning anti-telepathy helmets and anti-mutant gadgetry, they really look as though they’ve stumbled out of a Howard the Duck story.  But that works, partly because it fits with the chaotic tone of the series, and partly because they’re not really required to serve as a major threat.  They’re a single-issue step along the way to Legion getting hold of Luca’s prophecies.  The real threat here, in fact, is more the risk of Legion overstepping the mark in attempting to frame them for bringing the Dire Wraiths to earth two issues ago – and indeed his carefully devised plan turns out not to work on that score.

The story also plays SWORD for laughs – particularly with their automatic tracker device that comes after Legion because of his role in bringing aliens to earth, and yells things like “Justice!  Mighty justice from space!”  It’s funny, though I have a nagging doubt about the wisdom of undercutting SWORD too, when the story really does seem to need them to serve as the (relative) grown-ups here.  On the whole I think the story gets away with it; there’s an odd effect as if Legion (and to an extent Blindfold) are the sanest people in the room, which kind of works.

X-Treme X-Men #12 – We’re deep into the realms of accelerated wrap-up here, as the book gets rid of the “ten evil Xaviers” before literally diving headlong into the X-Termination crossover.  There’s not a tremendous amount to say about this, which rather illustrates the problem: though it’s found time to plough the plot mechanics of its remaining story, it doesn’t really seem to be about anything in particular.  The central scene of this issue suggests that Pak was trying to draw out some theme about whether Dazzler was tough enough to do what needed to be done, and that the introduction of the more radical characters would have played off that, but if that was the idea, it’s simply not been developed to the point where it gets off the ground.

 

Bring on the comments

  1. Alex says:

    For you wrestling fans, i think Uncanny Xmen was booked by Vince Russo.

  2. wwk5d says:

    “Does the world need two Wolverine ongoing titles?”

    Did it ever? That never stopped Marvel before 😉

    “an excellent creative team in Paul Cornell and Alan Davis, working with his regular inker Mark Farmer. It may not be the wisest approach in commercial terms”

    Sad, when a great artist like Davis isn’t commercial. He really should be on one of the main X-men or Avengers titles.

    Dog? Yeesh. Hope the story ends soon so the character can be forgotten again for another decade.

  3. --D. says:

    Wasn’t there a member of the Mutant Liberation Front — Tempo — who had the same powers as Tempus? As I recall, she was able to slow/stop time, but it was strenuous and she couldn’t hold it very long. It was a terrible idea for her to be with the MLF, because they were all supposed to be so murderous, it never made sense why they didn’t just lop off Cable’s head while he was briefly frozen. On the other hand, it would be a more credible power on the side of the good guys; but as you said, some kind of limits would be a good idea. Kiden from NYX also had time stopping powers; but she couldn’t touch anyone who was frozen for fear of hurting them or waking them.

  4. Justin says:

    Tempo was also a member of that group of acolytes exodus put together around x-men 200, and I think she showed up during that recent alternate reality storyline (Age of X?). I always liked her & wished someone would put her on a hero team when I was a kid, now I get that her power would be a real pain in the ass to write. Maybe they could find room for her on Fearless Defenders, I think she was kind of friendly with Moonstar back in the day

  5. Geoman says:

    Sadly, Tempo was one of the casualties of Age of X. She was killed while the reality warp was still in effect and not restored back to life when everything returned to normal.

  6. I was pretty disappointed to learn that Magneto isn’t going to backstab Cyclops after all (at least unless he’s a triple-crosser). Since Cyclops is making all the exact same mistakes that Magneto made, except Erik never actually succeeded in killing Xavier.

  7. Si says:

    I think they’re missing a trick with Wolverine. Superman’s arch-enemy isn’t Zod, it’s a human with a powerful intellect. Batman’s arch-enemy isn’t Cat-Man, it’s a colourful weirdo. They’re twisted reflections not in body but in style. Not only do you get neat visuals, but also themes of jealousy, and even sympathy for the bad guy.

    Wolverine should be pitted against someone like Kraven or something. An urbane, sophisticated man who hunts for pleasure, who is detached from nature. Or something like that, anyway. I mean there’s only so much you can do with a nemesis who is savage and brutal and kills without remorse … slightly more than the hero himself.

  8. Nick says:

    “I think they’re missing a trick with Wolverine. Superman’s arch-enemy isn’t Zod, it’s a human with a powerful intellect. Batman’s arch-enemy isn’t Cat-Man, it’s a colourful weirdo. They’re twisted reflections not in body but in style. Not only do you get neat visuals, but also themes of jealousy, and even sympathy for the bad guy.”

    I think that is what Charlie Huston tried to do with Contagion in “Wolverine: The Best There Is.” I think it was a good concept, but wasn’t executed terrible well (and would have been better if they had just done it as a Wolverine MAX series).

    I agree that someone like Kraven or Micah Synn would make a good opposite number for Wolverine.

  9. The original Matt says:

    The opposite number thing. The reason opposite numbers work is because they exist to define the inner struggle of the hero. Matching up people with similar skills/powers is always fun, but it needs to resonate thematically. It’s no accident that Claremont played the wolverine/sabretooth angle the exact same way as Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader.

    I haven’t got to the Dog issue yet, but I have faith in Aaron as a writer to make it work thematically. After all, he called back to Origin in his Wolverine Goes To Hell arc when he brought in the illegitimate father, and that worked great.

  10. kingderella says:

    wasnt dog supposed to be sabretooth?

    tempus is very powerful, but she doesnt make cyclops’ team that much more overpowered than it already was anyway. magik can teleport the entire team across the globe at any moment, and even to another dimension over which she reigns as queen. for that matter, i think she could literally unleash hell, if she wanted to.

    (that actually gives me a completely different idea: how fun would it be if magik was one of the hell lords fighting over in x-factor?)

    anyway, not asking “why dont they just…?” is pretty much a requirement to enjoying shared-universe superhero comics.

    btw, i also really like tempo. she plays an important role in one of my all-time favourite x-stories, the prenatal diagnosis story from peter davids original run on x-factor.

  11. Dave says:

    “An urbane, sophisticated man who hunts for pleasure, who is detached from nature.”

    Mr.X!

  12. Matt C. says:

    I feel the opposite of Nitz – I’m glad Magneto (at least from appearances) is still on Cylcops’ side, because I’ve really liked how they work together. Still, his reasoning is pretty bad – do the Avengers even have a telepath? I also don’t know what Cyclops’ plan was, it seemed like he was about to attack the Avengers with his faulty powers and lucked out that Tempus froze them all when she did.

    I never read Origin due to the poor reviews it garnered, and now I can see why – Dog seems to exist solely for a meaningless twist that just makes Wolverine’s backstory even more ridiculously complicated.

  13. Luis Dantas says:

    Kraven? Mycah Synn?

    They are simply not enough of a contrast with Wolverine.

    Come to think of it, you can’t go much better than James Hudson or Scott Summers when it comes to foils for Wolverine. Maybe Spider-Man?

    Wolverine’s true opposite must be someone who represents the triumph of discipline and reason over over-confidence and visceral instinct.

  14. Dog was shown standing over Old Man Howlett’s death bed in the penultimate part of Origin. Combined with his beefy build, he certainly *looked* a bit Sabretoothy, but if you went by the art, you’d think that Groundskeeper Logan and John Howlett sr. were the brothers, not Dog and Jamey. Unless they are. Origin-Origin: Coming Soon! Features Dog’s Real Name! (Jack. It’s Jack. Jack Logan. There. Saved us all some variant cover money.)

    If Jim Logan’s dharma is to struggle with his animal side, then one way to go might be to give him a bad guy completely and utterly divorced from nature and animal instincts. A creature of antiseptic modernity, repulsed by human weakness, and dedicated to replacing old ways (and lifeforms) with technology and rarefied atmospheres.

    Sheldon CooperUltron and the Phalanx, then.

    //\Oo/\\

  15. Jon Dubya says:

    To be fair, from what I understand with Tempo, when she activated her powers she made everyone else accelerate, which caused them to expend energy faster (and from their point of view caused everything else to look like it was moving slowly. It didn’t STOP time though, so they still had to dodge bullets and the like. It was just easier to do so.) It was constantly mentioned that it made anyone she was affecting really tired pretty quickly so that prevented her from “abusing” her power. So it’s like the archery skill in Elder Scrolls V.

    “The answer rather seems to be “because the plot demands it”, which is never a good enough answer.”

    Yeah if you’re going to be review Bendis team books now, you better start getting a macro on that phrase becaus they were inevitably end up the raison d’etre for everything. And who DIDN’T call Mags “betrayal” as an obvious bluff? (By the way, I’ve only read issue one. Did they ever explain why the “Master of Magnet” shaved his head?)

  16. Joshua Cochran says:

    We saw the ‘discipline vs. instinct’ contrast in Wolverine antagonists with guys like Shingen and Ogun. Could be nice to see one that isn’t a ninja.

    I’ve always liked the potential of Omega Red myself. His powers were originally Wolverine’s but inverted: he didn’t heal himself, he made other people die.

    Wolverine’s immune because of his healing factor, but no one else is. So unlike Sabretooth where Wolverine can just stab him a bunch and say its okay because he’s just as violent for good reasons (NOW I see the Skywalker parellel), vs. Arkady Wolverine would have to remain cunning and rational (arguably more ‘human’) to make sure his teammates or random civilians get out alive.

  17. Jacob says:

    Wolverine #158 repurposed an old Shang Chi villain as the sort of hunter antithesis of Wolverine being discussed.

    Sadly that character was Zaran.

  18. Paul says:

    “wasnt dog supposed to be sabretooth?”

    No. When ORIGIN came out, a lot of us made that assumption, essentially because he’s so clearly cast in Sabretooth’s established role of “twisted opposite”. But he can’t be Sabretooth, because if he was, his facial scarring would have healed.

  19. Brendan says:

    Didn’t Wolverine have an older brother as well? Who essentially had the exact same mutation as Wolverine? Who was dead in the original Wolverine Origin mini but was revealed to be still alive in another comic?

  20. Mory Buckman says:

    “Wolverine’s true opposite must be someone who represents the triumph of discipline and reason over over-confidence and visceral instinct.”

    Ooh, that does sound fun. I hope Superior Spider-Man lasts long enough for us to see that.

  21. Omar Karindu says:

    The “antiseptic modernity vs. natural savagery” thing was used once…by Mark Waid in his Ka-Zar series. The Plunderer was reinvented as a wannabe Kingpin in a white suit who at least pretended that he preferred air conditioning and high-rise apartments to the jungle. So…maybe not the best model, then.

  22. Billy says:

    One problem to consider with an opposite number for Wolverine is that it has to be someone that he either cannot kill, or for some reason will not kill.

    Lex Luthor can work for Superman because Superman would never take the easy way out in dealing with Lex. The same goes with Joker. Batman won’t kill him, so he can be repeatedly beaten and arrested only to escape time and again.

    Wolverine is willing to kill his enemies. Sure, enemies are often safe for larger plot/marketing reasons, but if you want a long term opposite number for Wolverine, it needs to be someone that has a good reason in-story for repeatedly surviving encounters with Wolverine.

    That is why a design like Sabertooth could work. Wolverine simply couldn’t manage to kill him. Someone like Kraven wouldn’t.

    Daken was more a case of Wolverine not being willing to kill the character. Dog might follow the same path.

    Luis Dantas has a possibility with “someone who represents the triumph of discipline and reason over over-confidence and visceral instinct”, because that could be someone that Wolverine might refuse to kill, at least for a while.

  23. errant says:

    Wolverine’s opposite number would be a character with the same tendencies, but is not tempered by humanity or a desire to be good and kills because he can.

    That’s the core of Wolverine that would be reflected in his opposite number.

    In other words, Sabretooth.

  24. Si says:

    “Wolverine’s opposite number would be a character with the same tendencies, but is not tempered by humanity or a desire to be good and kills because he can”

    That’s not the opposite though, it’s like saying a movie star’s humvee is the opposite of the army’s humvee.

  25. Adam Farrar says:

    If you want to talk about thematically contrasting heroes and villains, I think you lose something when you try to set up a 1-1 comparison. Superman’s primary villain is Lex Luthor (a self-obsessed human genius) so you’ve got an opposite. But many of his other villains reflect other aspects of his personality or background as well: Brainiac (an alien without compassion), Doomsday (power with murderous intent), Mr. Mxyptlk (power without responsibility), Parasite (neediness vs. giving), and so on. Each of these conflicts vary in their specific themes, personalities, visuals, and interactions.

    Of course you can also point to General Zod, the other Phantom Zone criminals, and dozens of other Kryptonians which bring up themes of nature vs. nurture, adult/infant survivors, rule/serve. Beyond the natural Kryptonians, there is Bizzaro which is more a contrast in maturity. These conflicts can be interesting but too many of them can tend to become rather repetitive. What’s important is the variety, and just as Superman has got enough evil Kryptonians (or pseudo-Kryptonians) to fight, Wolverine has got plenty characters to contract their relative humanity/bestiality.

  26. Omar Karindu says:

    I’m also reminded of Chuck Dixon’s Punisher idea from the 1998 Wizard Dark Book special, where he suggested that the best enemy for Frank might be an Inspector Javert type.

    Especially after the recent retcons that make him much more of a psychopath before his memory loss, Wolverine could do with a villain along those lines, or maybe someone a bit like Holtz from the Buffy spin-off Angel. Especially if they weren’t a sociopath like Daken, would Wolverine kill someone who’s actually after him for some of the genuinely evil things he did in the past?

  27. Somebody says:

    > One problem to consider with an opposite number for Wolverine is that it has to be someone that he either cannot kill, or for some reason will not kill.

    Another reason to perhaps go for an AI – at worst, he could slice up their current puppet body, but he can’t really *destroy* them.

    How about Machinesmith? Someone pretty flamboyant against Wolverine’s man’s-man routine.

  28. Si says:

    “would Wolverine kill someone who’s actually after him for some of the genuinely evil things he did in the past?”

    I like that idea. And what if he was a genuinely good man? Wolverine couldn’t kill him. Though I’m not sure Marvel’s the place to do shades-of-grey stories like that. If somebody asks, “just what is the greater good anyway”, the answer has to be “whatever side Wolverine’s on”.

  29. Taibak says:

    Didn’t Marvel try sending Wolverine up against an AI with the Shiva storyline, way back when?

    Along similar lines, don’t overlook the Weapon X program as Wolverine’s opposite too. If Wolverine is the struggle to control primal savagery and harness it in the service of humanity, than Weapon X is the complete suppression of all humanity in a faceless, soulless bureaucracy.

  30. Master Mahan says:

    First Azrael, and now Dog? Maybe Aaron will team them up with Jack O’Diamonds and Conquistador to form the Legion of Unpopular Origin Villains.

  31. Si says:

    I’d quite like if Jack O’Diamonds came back. “So Cyclops, you’re basically sleeping with a female version of me? I think I need a strong drink.”

  32. Si says:

    Jack stumbles into a bar, where he gets into a conversation with Peter Parker. “You think you got problems,” Parker slurs, “have you ever met Hawkeye?” Jack then orders a round of something stronger. It doesn’t help.

  33. wwk5d says:

    @Master Mahan

    Lucifer could be their leader!

  34. Master Mahan says:

    I can see it now.

    Lucifer: You fight against my unpopular minions, X-Men. But, can you truly hope to defeat… the man who crippled Charles Xavier!?

    X-Men: Shadow King?

    Lucifer: What? No.

    X-Men: Oh, you’re Xorneto.

    Lucifer: Who?

    X-Men: Xorn’s evil brother pretending to be Magneto pretending to be Xorn.

    Lucifer: …

    Lucifer: You know what, forget it. I don’t even want to defeat you anymore.

  35. Omar Karindu says:

    It strikes me that Klaw has some of what some folks are looking for in a genuinely evil Wolverine baddie. He’s got a disdain for what he’d consider “savages” and sees anything that’s not part of his background as a place to colonize and exploit. He has his own miracle metal gimmick as a counterpart to Wolverine’s and a powerset that works both with and against people with supersenses. And in his usual form, he’s arguably not someone Wolverine can simply kill or even wound.

    Of course, he’s also kind of cheeseball, has an archenemy already (albeit one who’s utterly outgrown him in most respects), and no special reason to oppose Wolverine, but as a one-off villain he might be kind of fun.

    I still prefer the idea of the rightfully vengeful wronged man kind of enemy for Wolverine, myself.

    But I also think the kind of writers who get Wolverine titles these days prefer gonzo superheroics to nuance; to the extent we get the sense that Logan is antiheroic, we always get an even worse character as a villain who the reader can comfortably hiss at and whom the writer can safely butcher. (What is it with heroes mutilating villains lately? Even Hawkeye puts arrows through the eyes of the Ringmaster these days, which seems like overkill.)

  36. wwk5d says:

    “What is it with heroes mutilating villains lately?”

    Comics, sorry, graphic novels aren’t for kids anymore, and aren’t “silly”! Because…edgy! Adult! ART!

  37. D. says:

    How about a child-support enforcement agency as an arch-nemesis for Wolveine? It turns out he’s got $100,000 in arrears for back-child support, and now the State of Nevada wants its money!

    Really, any kind of process server would be a fun gag for a half-dozen issues. A man in a suit with a subpoena! Sounds like a Peter David subplot.

  38. Jacob says:

    I like D’s idea.

    Kind of makes me think of Detective Soap from Ennis first Punisher arc. A hapless guy given an impossible job for stupid reasons.

  39. ZZZ says:

    If you want to go with the “complete opposite” archenemy option for Wolverine instead of the “dark reflection” option, just look at Wolverine’s defining characteristics (other than his powers): he’s a savage, deadly killer who charges directly at problems and hacks away at them until they’re dead, but aside from that he’s a hero with a sense of honor. I’d propose that his “complete opposite” would be a pacifist healer who stands back and takes a vague, circuitous route to his plans, but who’s still evil and duplicitous.

    How could a healer be a threat to Wolverine? Easy: the guy’s MO would be to show up whenever Wolverine leaves his enemies bleeding out in his wake, heal them up, and send them on his way. He never personally attacks Wolverine, just undermines everything he does, and Wolverine can’t just kill him because he’s not even a combatant. He’s never done anything that isn’t arguably good, he just does it in the worst possibly way from Logan’s point of view. Heck, the guy could even be (or pretend to be) a faith healer who actually does go around healing the sick and injured – not because he has any sense of compassion, but because it gets him money and fame and pretty much guarantees that no one who’s actually a good guy will be willing to kill him: sure, I brought those Hydra agents back to life so they could complete their mission, but I’ve also got an appointment to cure a kid’s cancer tomorrow – you wanna go see him in my place and tell him why I’m too dead to save his life, Wolverine?

  40. Taibak says:

    ZZZ: Sounds almost like a case to bring back Empyrean.

  41. Omar Karindu says:

    ZZZ: You’ve also partly described the Reverend Sammy Smith from the pre-Ennis Punisher series, though he was more of a Jim Jones riff. The healing powers and faith angle are definitely there, though. Last time he was seen, he’d even become a servant of Belasco, so there’s even an X-connection!

    I don’t know that Wolverine would let a guy like that go on the “not hurting anyone directly” grounds. He had no problem trying to eviscerate a noncombatant like Walter Declun, the corporate jerk who supplied Nitro with MGH and indirectly caused the Marvel Civil War’s opening disaster. There’s also that Marvel Comics Presents story, the one that introduced Lynx, where he leaves a sickly Imus Champion to die in a fire.

    Of course, now that Logan is an Avenger and in good with the authorities a bit, he might prefer option of having a guy who’s essentially a mob doctor arrested. Said villain could win loads of good PR and trial-by-media by healing the children and so on, so that might work too. I don’t know that any superhero would call him a “good guy” at all, though, let alone someone like Logan. It might be fun to see a villain use Logan’s newfound respectability against him.

    The question would be why this guy is saving the baddies at all given the risk to himself, or how he justifies himself when confronted.

    It does occur to me that a healing power can be used in all sorts of nasty ways, of course. Since you mention cancer, which is essentially unregulated cell growth, perhaps a guy like this could induce it, or selectively boost the regeneration rate of precancerous cells, too.

  42. Omar Karindu says:

    For anyone curious about the Rev: http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/revsspun.htm

  43. Bill Walko says:

    <>

    The television show XENA dealt with this sort of thing a lot. Most notably, Xena’s main villain Callisto…. who was evil because the then-evil Xena torched young Callistro’s village which resulted in the death of the girl’s parents.

    So whatever bad things Callisto did, there was that “thing” in the back of Xena’s head that she was indirectly responsible as well. And since Xena redeemed herself, maybe Callisto was redeemable, too.

    Great beats to play!

    The Angel/Holtz thing is similar as well.

    I always wondered why they don’y play with those themes more with Wolverine.

  44. Taibak says:

    Could be an interesting theme to use for Spider-Man too. Create a villain whose origin is due to some innocuous or heroic action on Spidey’s part (although NOT connected to the burglar that killed Uncle Ben). Could work even if he isn’t particularly angry or obsessed with Spidey.

  45. Luis Dantas says:

    I guess I just don’t see Sabretooth appeal (he is a boring character), nor how he contrasts with Wolverine.

  46. Omar Karindu says:

    Bill: Hey, an awesome artist is here! Xena had that going for a long time, but towards the end they did some sort of time-travel plot where Callisto helped cause her own chldhood trauma only to have her time trip erased. Later, she became an angel and forgave Xena…not the show’s finest moment.

    Taibak: That’s sort of what Hydro-Man was, originally; he was a merchant marine type who got his powers when he was knocked overboard during a fight between Spider-Man and Namor, and he came out blaming Spider-Man for making him a “freak.” By his third appearance, though, he was just some crook (and a replacement for the then-reformed Sandman).

  47. D. says:

    @Luis — Sabertooth contrasts with Wolverine because he is a mercenary instead of a hero. He’s what Wolverine would be if Logan didn’t have a desire to do “good” with his talents.

    On the other hand, I agree completely that Sabertooth is a boring character. Actually, I think Wolverine is a boring character too. . Yup, I never read Wolverine solo books because they’re boring. He’s fine as a member of the X-Men.

  48. The original Wolverine on-going solo worked because it wasn’t Wolverine – it was a totally different aspect of the character – acting as Patch in the totally different setting of Madripoor. That didn’t really last beyond the first year.

  49. Omar Karindu says:

    Luis: The original idea was that Sabretooth was Logan’s dark alternative, the guy with the same animalistic urges and tendencies who’d decided to revel int hem bloodily rather than fight against them as Wolverine did with his bushido and so forth. The contrast was there from t heir first battle in Uncanny #211, where Wolverine muses about himself and Sabretooth while they battle and spells out the parallels for the reader.

    Since writers have had Logan become “heroically” more and more violent, crude, and underhanded, and as his backstory makes him look worse and worse, the “dark mirror” aspect of Sabretooth has gotten somewhat lost. Instead, ‘Tooth has become everything from a serial killer to a cannibal in an effort to keep him even more violent and animalistic than Wolverine or whatever cutthroat villains Sabretooth is teamed with.

  50. Dave says:

    After the first year of Wolverine there was all the Weapon X stuff to focus on. Then he lost the adamantium and Sabretooth was at the mansion so there was a point to him having a solo.
    Now he’s in WatX, Uncanny Avengers, and Astonishing there’s not much of a case for 2 solos…other than it meaning any of the team books are free to put more fous on other characters.

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