From my old Marvel blog of ten-plus years ago, here’s a post concerning Wolverine.
April 27, 2009 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General
You know what I miss? The days when Wolverine
could be killed.
It seems like, over the last decade ago, we’ve pumped the nasty little guy up
to such a degree that he can regenerate his entire body after it’s been
disintegrated by a nuclear blast. We’ve seen him torn in half, cut his head
off, and still he just keeps on ticking. And that’s just in books I read this
past weekend.
At a certain point, I have to wonder: where’s the drama anymore?
Remember when a dozen ninjas with swords were a legitimate threat to Wolverine?
But if the guy can reconstitute himself from a single atom, how is such a fight
anything other than a foregone conclusion?
It’s the inevitability of time; the longer these characters stay in print, the
greater and greater the challenges they face, and the more powerful they
become. This is a large part of why Superman became unrelatable after a certain
point—because he could do anything, and nothing could hurt him. Where’s the
danger in that?
And sure, on a certain level we know Logan’s going to survive whatever it is we
throw at him. The same is true of all of our heroes. The fun part, the
thrilling part, is in seeing how they make it out the other side.
To me, Wolverine wasn’t appealing simply because he was indestructible. It was
as much because of his indomitable spirit, his ability to take punishment and
fight on, ignoring the pain. And he still does that, more often than not. But
any sense of jeopardy has been lost.
I much preferred Wolverine as a scrappy little guy who had an edge over the
people he fought in that his bones wouldn’t break, he had built-in claws, and
he could soak up punishment that would kill or incapacitate an ordinary man.
But “my” Wolverine wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like Galactus. These
days, I don’t know if that’s true anymore.
Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.
More later
Tom B
0 (0)
Report
