Wolverine: Overexposed

There is no denying that Wolverine is one of the most popular comic characters out there. We loved the edge and grittiness he brought to teams consisting mostly of goody-two-shoes. We loved he was willing to do what it took to get the job done, including what others wouldn’t. He was original from his powers to his past and an all around great character. There was an awe and mystery surrounding him that helped propel him so quickly from cameo to mainstay.

Nowadays Wolverine is everywhere. And while I do mean everywhere from books to movies, let’s just focus on the medium he was created for: comics. Wolverine is all over the place. He holds multiple titles of his own with the likes of Wolverine Origins and Old Man Logan, he is part of a team in the X-Men, X-Force and New Avengers books and is in just about every alternate reality there is like the Ultimates and House of M. Literally, wherever we look, Wolverine is there.

And it has to stop.

I know Marvel wants to make the most of one of their most popular characters, but it’s to the point of too much. Origins is chided by fans for finally revealing Wolverine’s past, not only making it not that interesting but also taking away secrets that made the character so mysterious. They essentially filled in dates for things that were hinted at for years. Plus they did a big no-no in comics: they gave specific dates. Never give a specific date unless it’s something like Captain America when he fought in World War II and he was then frozen for an undetermined amount of time to get to the present. We now know exactly how old Wolverine is and it hurts the character.

Then you have the fact Wolverine is now a part of three teams, the above mentioned X-Men, X-Force and New Avengers. Where does he get the time for all of this? The two X titles okay, but does he really need to be in the Avengers?

Finally there is the problem on how powerful Wolverine has become. Before one of the great things was that underneath it all, the adamantium and the advanced healing factor, he was no stronger or faster than the rest. He one more by his never quit and aggressive demeanor that his actual powers. But Marvel made an excuse to make him more powerful, saying his body continually evolved and that the adamantium was holding his evolution back. Now he has superhuman strength and his healing factor, before just very quick, can now heal him as long as there is any flesh left. Basically, Wolverine is no longer killable. What fun is that in a character?

Yes, he survived this

If you look at the older X-Men and Wolverine books, you’ll see him struggle to recover from wounds that would keep a normal man down. His recovery would be much faster but he would still be weak for a short time. Think of when Omega Red was first introduced. He barely survived and was weak while he and other captured X-Men escaped. Now if that happened he’d be 100% healthy in a few minutes.

Look at Secret Invasion #6 when he fought the Skrull Queen. In a few frames we see half his face burned off and his forearm burned down to the bone, yet a few frames later he is perfectly fine. It’s too much. What good is a character if they can’t actually be beaten?

I know it won’t happen but Marvel really needs to tone down Wolverine’s exposure, and get him back to what made him interesting to begin with. He’s in too many titles and it’s getting a bit annoying to see him everywhere. Worse is that they’ve watered the character down by telling his past and making him too powerful. A lot of the things that made the character great are now gone.

I like Wolverine as a character, and I was one of those kids who got hooked on the X-Men because of the cartoon back in the 90’s. But that character, the one that caught everyone’s interest instantly is gone.

Siege

Just recently Marvel announced what the next will be: Siege. Written by Brian Michael Bendis (who seems to be writing 75% of Marvel comics at the moment) it is to bring Dark Reign to a close.

Bendis explains that Norman Osborn will be setting his sights on Asgard seeing them as a threat. We're left to assume he has some big plan in order to bring down a city filled with Gods, and to the rescue will be the Avengers, including the reuniting of the three classic Avengers: Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.

According to Bendis the event will affect the Avengers the most, involving all the teams. I'm guessing we are going to see a Mighty Avengers team consisting of the big three plus some others, a different New Avengers team and likely the end of the Dark Avengers. Bendis is claiming this will be the biggest impact to Earth's mightiest heroes since Disassembled.

The series will be only four issues and supposedly be action packed and move quickly. I'm shocked Marvel editors agreed to do, but Bendis was able to convince them so congrats to him for not wanting to stretch a story when it doesn't need to be.

At this point I'm just not optimistic anymore. Yes I know I have been negative and cynical but Marvel hasn't given me any reason not to be in recent years. Bendis says Thor, Cap and Iron Man will put aside their differences, but frankly I'm not buying it. I've just seen too much Iron Man bashing from Marvel in recent years to really believe Stark wont somehow be lambasted and made to look bad yet again.

For the most part the story sounds interesting. Hopefully Bendis can pull this off and Dark Lame can come to an end. Maybe I just haven't been reading enough Marvel titles, but I've been thoroughly unimpressed with what little has happened under Osborn's rule. It just seems like a wasted opportunity to me.

We'll see where this goes though. Hopefully it will live up the hype Marvel will be putting into it.

Spider-Man Aesthetics

I admit I don't read Spider-Man at all. There have been a few arcs that have interested me but that’s it. I don’t have anything bad to say about the character himself; I think he’s pretty original, but he’s just never done it for me. But there is something I don't understand that happens with him sometimes:

Why does Spider-Man look like an anorexic teenager wearing pajamas?

Yes, it depends on the artist and some draw him in the more classic style, but some draw him like a scrawny teenager picked off the street and thrown in a costume. I don't get it.

I know Parker was a teen when he became a super hero but I’m pretty sure he’s not a teen any longer. His body has developed and he’s actually filled out with muscles, and super strength is a part of his power set. So why is he drawn like he hasn’t eaten anything in months? I get he’s not supposed to be muscle-bound like Thor or Luke Cage, but there is no reason for him to look like he’s skin and bones.

Also, why do some artists draw the outlines of his feet through his costume as if the feet have no soles? Seeing his toes is awkward and honestly a bit goofy.

So when the editors at Marvel get the layouts from the artist, don't they see it and say to themselves “that looks weird?” I know I would. I’m not saying you should tell an artist his style per se, some will draw characters bigger, some smaller, but I think when it goes into the realm of making him look like Dr. Strange could pick Spider-Man over his head and break him like a twig, I think the editor needs to step in.