{"id":6599,"date":"2021-05-09T13:29:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T12:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=6599"},"modified":"2021-07-23T15:03:32","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T14:03:32","slug":"the-incomplete-wolverine-1988","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=6599","title":{"rendered":"The Incomplete Wolverine – 1988"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1: Origin to Origin II<\/a> | <\/a>Part 2: 1907 to 1914<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 3: 1914 to 1939<\/a> | <\/a>Part 4: World War II<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 5: The postwar era<\/a> | <\/a>Part 6: Team X<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 7: Post Team X<\/a> | <\/a>Part 8: Weapon X<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 9: Department H<\/a> | <\/a>Part 10: The Silver Age<\/a>
\n1974-1975<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/a>1976<\/a> | <\/a>1977<\/a> | <\/a>1978<\/a> | <\/a>1979<\/a>\u00a0| 1980<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/a>1981<\/a> | 1982<\/a><\/em>\u00a0| 1983<\/em><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a01984<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a01985<\/a>\u00a0| 1986<\/a><\/em>\u00a0| 1987<\/a><\/em>\u00a0
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

At the end of last year, the X-Men set off for Dallas, to appear in “Fall of the Mutants”. After that story, the X-Men will be off limits for guest appearances for a while – but there’s time to shoehorn one in first!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>INCREDIBLE HULK vol 2 #340<\/a>
\n“Vicious Circle”
\nby Peter David, Todd McFarlane & Petra Scotese
\nFebruary 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n

On their way to Dallas, the X-Men stumble upon the Hulk on a rampage. At first, Wolverine \u00a0resists the temptation to go after his old rival, he but changes his mind when he sees the scale of the damage. He tries to keep his composure when facing the Hulk, but finally flies into a berserker rage which does indeed bring the Hulk down – briefly. The fight ends when Rick Jones and\u00a0Clay Quartermain<\/strong> break it up. Dutifully following Uncanny X-Men<\/em>, this story lays heavy stress on Wolverine’s discomfort with the unaccustomed role of team leader. Rather harshly, Wolverine feels that after all the progress he’s made, he let himself down by backsliding into berserker mode when confronted with the Hulk. The Hulk simply leaves without appearing to learn anything at all.<\/p>\n

The Marvel Index lists a flashback in\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> vol 4 #12<\/strong> as taking place during this story. It shows Wolverine fighting the grey Hulk and being treated as the hero who saves the day. But the disruption caused by the fight means that a man called Roger fails to get his pregnant wife to hospital in time to save her life. Roger goes on to join the Red Right Hand. The rationale for placing this flashback here is a bit wonky – the weather’s all wrong, for one thing – but you can treat it as an inaccurate recollection and it avoids the need for a second Wolverine\/Hulk encounter during this period.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #225-227<\/a>
\n“Fall of the Mutants”
\nby Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, Dan Green & Glynis Oliver
\nJanuary to March 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Fall of the Mutants” was an unusual event. Although it’s bannered like a crossover, and even had some tie-ins, it consists of separate arcs in\u00a0Uncanny X-Men<\/em>,\u00a0X-Factor<\/em> and\u00a0New Mutants<\/em>, each bringing that title’s own plotlines to a turning point.<\/p>\n

The X-Men and Madelyne Pryor arrive at Forge’s home in Eagle Plaza, Dallas, looking for Storm. Reality starts to break down, due to the schemes of cosmic trickster\u00a0the Adversary<\/strong>, \u00a0who has captured\u00a0Roma<\/strong>, the Guardian of the Omniverse. The X-Men are joined by Colossus (who was led there by Roma) and Freedom Force (who are trying to avert a prophecy about the X-Men’s death, and thus save Rogue).\u00a0Freedom Force now include the Crimson Commando, Stonewall and Super Sabre<\/strong> (Martin Fletcher), who Wolverine meets for the first time.<\/p>\n

The X-Men fight their way to the top of the building to deal with the cosmic threat, which involves\u00a0going through a chunk of the Vietnam War. This turns out to be part of Forge’s back story: after nine of his fellow soldiers were killed, he used their souls to power a spell that summoned up a group of demons to avenge them. That spell has to be undone in order to defeat the Adversary, which in turn requires nine freely-given souls. Fortunately, the X-Men, Madelyne and a returning Storm – who got her powers back in a subplot – provide those nine souls and sacrifice their lives to save the world. All this is\u00a0covered by TV journalists\u00a0Neal Conan<\/strong> and\u00a0Manoli Wetherall<\/strong> – thus, the whole world gets to see the X-Men die as heroes. More of this coverage can be seen in\u00a0Marvels: Eye of the Camera<\/em> #6<\/strong> and\u00a0New Mutants<\/em> vol 1 #61<\/strong>, but neither adds anything significant.<\/p>\n

In an epilogue, Roma revives the X-Men and Madelyne, and explains that this will still leave the Adversary “bound for an age”. She offers the X-Men the chance to go wherever they want. Wolverine picks up on Storm’s idea from the post-Mutant Massacre period that the X-Men should fake their deaths in order to strike back at the bad guys. Everyone agrees, though Dazzler has reservations. Roma cheerfully tells them that now they can do much more, because they “have become legends.” The idea seems to have been that the X-Men would be able to operate as a sort of urban legend group, leaving their symbol behind as a calling card; this never really gets fully developed before the Australia status quo \u00a0collapses in issue #250.<\/p>\n

Since Storm reclaims her post, Wolverine’s first stint as leader of the X-Men doesn’t last long. He seems to be motivated here as much by duty to the team as anything else; the opening monologue in issue #226 suggests that otherwise, he’d throw in the towel. Understandably, Wolverine is downright irritated by Neal Conan trying to ask him questions while he’s attempting to save the world. Interestingly, Neal’s whole argument throughout the story is that in order to really make their case for mutant rights, the X-Men need to engage with the public more. The story is structured to support that argument – the X-Men’s public sacrifice is presented as a grand gesture for mutants. Yet the X-Men completely ignore this lesson and immediately embrace a status quo that goes the other way entirely, sequestering themselves in Australia and hiding even from their own supporting cast.<\/p>\n

Wolverine describes Forge as “a more solitary man, inside and out, than me”, which is\u00a0certainly<\/em> an interpretation that’s fallen by the wayside over the years.<\/p>\n

Uncanny X-Men<\/em> vol 1 #228<\/strong> was a flashback story set during 1987’s X-Men comics, and we covered it last time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #229<\/a>
\n“Down Under”
\nby Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri & Dan Green
\nMay 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roma sends the X-Men and Madelyne to a ghost town in the Australian outback, which is the secret base of cyborg pirates\u00a0the Reavers<\/strong>. The X-Men defeat them and rescue their prisoner\u00a0Jessan Hoan<\/strong>, a banker who they were going to reprogram into a cyborg so that she could, er, manage their wealth for them. Her name in this issue is actually Jess\u00e1n Hoan, but the accent vanishes pretty quickly. In fact, the Reavers got part way through altering her personality before Wolverine interrupted, but the X-Men don’t pick up on that. This is the start of the set-up for Wolverine’s solo title, where Jessan will be part of the supporting cast.<\/p>\n

Most of the Reavers are captured, but\u00a0Bonebreaker, Skullbuster<\/strong> and\u00a0Pretty Boy<\/strong> escape through a portal created by\u00a0Gateway<\/strong> – an indigenous mutant who has been teleporting the Reavers so that they’ll leave his holy sites alone. Wolverine initially assumes Gateway to be a villain, and Storm has to pull him off.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, the X-Men discuss what to do with the Reavers. Havok sarcastically suggests killing them, which Wolverine claims to be entirely relaxed about. Roma then shows up to give the X-Men the\u00a0Siege Perilous<\/strong>. She explains that “those who pass through its portal are judged by the highest of powers” and born again with a second chance to redeem themselves. On the other hand, she says, the X-Men could take Wolverine’s option and kill the Reavers, in which case they will undergo a “true death, their spirits irreparably shattered and cast into the ultimate void.” Wolverine still wants to kill them, as does Psylocke (?!), but Storm gives the Reavers the choice. Naturally, they all opt for the Siege. Roma then returns Jessan home, claiming that she’ll start growing the X-Men legend by telling her story of how she met them. (Nothing of the sort appears to happen.)<\/p>\n

Roma also tells the X-Men that the Siege Perilous is for their own use as well, if they want to have a completely fresh start, but they all decline the offer for now. Of course, most of them will wind up going through it by issue #250. \u00a0And Roma also reveals that the X-Men are now invisible to technology, except for the equipment in their own new ghost town base.<\/p>\n

There’s a lot of important plot points in this issue, since it sets up the new status quo, introduces two major supporting characters, introduces major recurring villains, introduces the Siege Perilous concept, and still finds time to have Wolverine vote to kill prisoners. Quite how that squares with his treatment of Rachel Summers is difficult to understand, but most people would say that the other story is the anomalous one.<\/p>\n

WOLVERINE: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD #4<\/strong>
\n“Reave What You Sow”<\/strong>
\nby Ed Brisson, Leonard Kirk & Andres Mosa<\/strong>
\n10 March 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two days after\u00a0Uncanny<\/em> #229, Wolverine fights the Reavers’ B-squad, which is doing a bit of piracy in Singapore. (This second cyborg team already includes Cole, Reese and Macon.) He beats them all. It’s basically an excuse to do blood in the water, to take advantage of the series’ red-colouring gimmick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #230<\/a>
\n“‘Twas the Night…”
\nby Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, Joe Rubinstein & Glynis Oliver
\nJune 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n

The X-Men and Gateway use Longshot’s powers to trace the true owners of the Reavers’ stolen jewellery and return as much of it as possible in time for Christmas. (What they can’t trace, they keep and use to fund their activities.) Wolverine is the curmudgeon who doesn’t think this is a worthwhile use of their time, but comes round to it in the end. He’s very happy about the new base in the middle of nowhere – it’s the wilderness, and he’s coming round to this Gateway guy, who clearly expects the X-Men to prove themselves to him.<\/p>\n

UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #231<\/a>
\n“…Dressed for Dinner!”
\nby Chris Claremont, Rick Leonardi, Dan Green & Glynis Oliver
\nJuly 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a Colossus story. Wolverine only appears briefly, teaching him some exercises to help him adjust to his increased strength. The X-Men discuss whether he should check in on his sister Magik, and eventually he goes off to have a solo adventure with her. (She mistakes him for a ghost that she’s summoned up, so the X-Men’s cover remains intact.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WARHEADS #1
\nby Nick Vince, Gary Erskine & John Beeston
\nJune 1992<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Warheads’ Kether Troop<\/strong> randomly show up through a portal from the future (i.e., the present day of 1992). The team consists of\u00a0Colonel Liger, Stacy, Misha, Perez<\/strong> and three redshirts who get killed by Wolverine. Liger and Misha manage to steal some data from the X-Men’s computers, and Liger has a conversation with Wolverine that we don’t get to see, before the Warheads return home.\u00a0The same issue has a scene set in “1990” where Wolverine\u00a0attacks and scars a younger Liger, and warns him about what will happen on his mission to the ghost town. The implication is that both are acting to preserve the timeline, but it’s very confused and doesn’t really work. The dates given in the story seem to assume that Marvel Universe happens in real time.<\/p>\n

We’ll hear a lot more from the Marvel UK line in 1992 and 1993; the line is notorious for its grotesque overextension, clumsy overuse of guest stars, and (to put it politely) erratic quality control. This is one of Marvel UK’s better efforts, since at least it has a solid take on Wolverine himself.<\/p>\n

ALPHA FLIGHT vol 1 #61<\/a>
\n“Inquisition”
\nby Bill Mantlo, Jim Lee, Tony DeZuniga & Bob Sharen
\nAugust 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n

The X-Men have a brief cameo, watching news coverage of Alpha Flight appearing at a government inquiry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS vol 1 #1-10<\/a>
\n“Save the Tiger”
\nby Chris Claremont, John Buscema, Klaus Janson & Glynis Oliver
\nSeptember 1988 to January 1989 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan finds a man dying\u00a0in the desert, who gives him a cameo and asks him to “save the tiger.” This leads him to the Princess Bar in Madripoor, currently run by\u00a0O’Donnell,\u00a0<\/strong>who is being hassled for protection money by crimelord\u00a0Roche<\/strong>. Roche is facing a challenge from \u00a0anonymous upstart rival\u00a0Tyger Tiger<\/strong> (or sometimes just\u00a0Tyger), and the guy in the desert was killed as part of Roche’s attempts to learn more about this challenge.<\/p>\n

Logan winds up getting\u00a0captured, and deals with Roche’s henchmen\u00a0Sapphire Styx, Razorfist<\/strong> (Douglas Scott) and\u00a0the Inquisitor<\/strong>, who is basically just a torturer with a codename. After days of torture, Logan escapes, and gets nursed back to health by Jessan Hoan. Thanks to the Reavers’ half-finished attempt to alter her personality, Jessan has given up banking, taken up crime and street fighting, and set herself up as Tyger Tiger, the relatively-acceptable face of Madripoor crime. Roche apparently hired the Reavers to attack her bank in\u00a0Uncanny<\/em> #229, hence her interest in him. Logan is caught in a dilemma between his sense of honour, which drives him to help Tyger, and his reluctance to help a self-professed crimelord.<\/p>\n

Logan repays his debt to Tyger by saving her from Razorfist, but decides to stay anyway and help her depose Roche – despite her warnings that she’s no better than he is. Logan basically says he’ll deal with that later if it turns out to be true.\u00a0Meanwhile, Roche has kidnapped O’Donnell in the mistaken belief that he’s Tyger.\u00a0Logan and Tyger return to Roche’s castle, where Logan kills Razorfist in combat and rescues O’Donnell. Roche nearly shoots Wolverine, but gets beheaded by Tyger. After all this, Logan decides that he likes it in Madripoor, and he’ll be spending more time here.<\/p>\n

In an epilogue in the final issue, Logan shows up to wish Tyger well as she heads off to present herself to Prince Baran<\/strong> as Madripoor’s new crimelord. Logan tells her that she’s not the same as Roche, and he’s giving her the benefit of the doubt for now. She kisses him, and says that he’s saved her life and won her heart, and that he may yet redeem her soul.<\/p>\n

All this, of course, is the set-up for the solo\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> book which debuts in late 1988, and initially focuses on Madripoor – not exactly what people would have been expecting at the time. The long-term arc of Wolverine going from a berserker to a leader, recovering his humanity and honour along the way, has essentially been completed over the course of the 1980s, and so Claremont strikes out in a different direction, positioning him as a noir protagonist in an urban world of moral grey areas – a vibe that Buscema’s art suits perfectly. So “Save the Tiger” is one of a handful of genuinely important Wolverine stories from\u00a0Marvel Comics Presents<\/em> and really ought to be treated as Wolverine<\/i> #0.<\/p>\n

There are quite a few points worth noting here.\u00a0The Princess Bar is presented as quite a classy place. O’Donnell is wearing a tuxedo; customers are in suits and gowns. It’s not the dive bar that some later creative teams seem to think (though it will get smashed up a lot). Logan does\u00a0not<\/em> have an established identity as Patch – he starts wearing the eyepatch during this story while he’s recovering from his injuries with Jessan. He does start using the alias by the end of the story, but it’s clearly something new. The idea that anyone was fooled by Logan wearing an eyepatch, given his highly distinctive hairstyle, is difficult to fathom and never really made sense; Peter David will boot it rather harshly into touch next year. Wolverine also debuts his short-lived Madripoor costume, all black with a mesh mask. It doesn’t last long either.<\/p>\n

This story sets up a Logan\/Tyger romance storyline which never really comes to fruition. The idea is clearly that Tyger is partially corrupted by the Reavers, but also more interesting and more effective for it too; Logan is walking a moral gray area by aligning with her, and he’s meant to help her redeem herself in the end. None of which really ends up happening, and the fact that Tyger’s personality has been drastically altered by the Reavers against her will is quietly ignored from an early stage. Instead, she becomes a permanent part of the scenery in Madripoor, and something of a static character. At any rate, while Logan is undoubtedly still carrying a torch for Mariko, he seems comfortable enough that their relationship is over at this point, at least enough for Tyger to become a viable love interest.<\/p>\n

The official timelines have a flashback in Wolverine<\/em> vol 3 #58 <\/strong>placed during\u00a0part 5. That’s one of Logan’s many battles with Lazaer, and it seems to be an arbitrary placement based upon this being another of Logan’s near-death experiences. It’s as good as any other.<\/p>\n

There are some quite extended action scenes with Razorfist in this story, even though they’re not central to the plot. Despite appearances, Razorfist somehow doesn’t die in part 9; he shows up again alive and well in\u00a0Avengers Spotlight<\/em> #24.<\/p>\n

This story leads into the first\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> ongoing series (vol 2, because the 1982 miniseries was vol 1). Issues #3-4 establish a bit more set-up: Patch buys a half share in the Princess Bar, because he thinks the Bar is the best place to get information in Madripoor; he befriends the corrupt Chief of Police\u00a0Tai<\/strong>, who gives him free reign to wreak havoc in Lowtown; and he spends some time drinking and playing poker and chess with Lord Ranjamaryam, the Chancellor of Madripoor. Logan regards the Chancellor as comparatively decent by the standards of Madripoor authorities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 2 #1-3<\/a>
\n“Sword Quest” \/ “Possession is the Law” \/ “The Black Blade”
\nby Chris Claremont, John Buscema, Al Williamson, Klaus Janson & Glynis Oliver
\nNovember 1988 to January 1989<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Wolverine learns that Mariko’s personal secretary\u00a0Noburo Kojima<\/strong> was on a hijacked plane, he tracks the plane to Telambang, Indonesia, where the survivors are held hostage by Banapur Khan<\/strong>‘s pirate gang.\u00a0Wolverine slaughters the pirates, reasoning that their brutal treatment of the prisoners merits it; he lets Khan go, purely so that one of the stewardesses can kill him instead. After this excitement, Kojima tells Wolverine that the pirates worked for\u00a0the Cult of the Black Blade,\u00a0<\/strong>and were trying to get hold of the legendary Muramasa Sword (the Black Blade itself). This is a different Muramasa blade from the one that shows up in\u00a0Wolverine: Origins<\/em> years down the line; as a magical swordsmith, he churned the things out.<\/p>\n

For some mad reason, the sword is being brought to Madripoor by Lindsay McCabe and Jessica Drew. Wolverine initially assumes this will be a problem, since they’re bound to recognise him. But they don’t, so it’s okay. As already mentioned, Peter David later retcons this, and says that they recognised him all along, and were just humouring him. It’s completely ridiculous that they don’t recognise him with his highly distinctive hairstyle, so fair enough really. At any rate, “Patch” winds up fighting the Silver Samurai for the sword, which itself ends up possessing Jessica. When Patch gets the sword off her, it briefly possesses him too, and he joins the Cult of the Black Blade for a ceremony at which they apparently intend to sacrifice Jessica. Lindsay and the Samurai stop him, and he fights off the Blade’s effect. The cultists are defeated, and the Samurai claims the sword, which for some reason doesn’t affect him – he takes this to mean that he is destined to own it.<\/p>\n

The opening arc of\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> is rather less significant than the Marvel Comics Presents\u00a0<\/em>arc.\u00a0But it does bring Jessica and Lindsay into the supporting cast and establish their roles, with Jessica as the professional and Lindsay as the gutsy amateur. Obviously, they help to balance out the cast and provide a bit of light in the book.\u00a0But what’s most striking about these early issues is that Claremont is clearly setting up long term directions for the cast, all of which just peters out after he leaves the book. The book he had in mind feels like it would have been fun.<\/p>\n

There’s a continuity complication here, because the official timeline has a break between\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> #3-4 which is obviously not intended. Why? Well… deep breath…<\/p>\n