Did you catch Wolverine #1 this week?
Logan has a new costume, weapons and job thanks to writer Paul Cornell and artist Ryan Stegman.
After taking away Logan’s mutant healing factor in Killable and having him beaten by Sabretooth, Logan declared “the Wolverine is dead.”
Now Logan is working for some low-life criminals and if you read Wolverine #1 you may wonder is the X-Man has gone completely rogue.
The storyline is making some longtime fans angry.
Cornell, Stegman, Editor Jeanine Schaefer and Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso answered the criticism and teased what’s next in this Marvel liveblog.
“The first four issues move back and forth between now and recently, when he was still trying to be a super hero. We’ll find out how he got here at the end of issue #4.” said Cornell.
As for the new design – Superior Spider-Man artist Ryan Stegman explains it’s more than a new costume:
“I wanted to make Wolverine my own, or at least take him back to what I think he is: a little shorter, a little uglier. I’m trying to do what I think I do well, which is the dynamic stuff, the little action flourishes. The characters in Paul’s scripts have a lot of character.”
Logan is now working for a criminal known as “The Offer” but why:
“I think Wolverine is trying to figure out what his ‘rules’ are. Sabretooth said he always said a code of honor but doesn’t stick to it. He wants to find out what his line is. In the ‘second season’ of this one big story about Wolverine, we’ll get to a better understanding of what kind of hero and man he is.” said Cornell.
Cornell’s goal in the first arc was to show Logan’s supporting cast and what he enjoys outside of being a hero – like going to a bar. In an upcoming issue Logan’s barroom behavior makes him incur the God of Thunder’s wrath.
“Thor is outraged at Logan. He’s at the bar Wolverine frequents, and he does not fancy sharing space with somebody who has ‘left the fold.’ Thor might be the most innately noble of Marvel’s heroes. Wolverine is not,” said Cornell
The change in Logan’s status quo is shocking some fans like the radical change from Amazing to Superior Spider-Man, who will make an appearance in issue two.
“Peter Parker used to follow Wolverine around. Now Logan is following Doc Ock around to ask specific questions. I think they have a very interesting conversation about big personality changes in super heroes. I’ve wanted to have those two talk for the longest time. The Superior Spider-Man is the voice of reason in this story!”
“If fans are angry now, they’ll be much angrier toward the end of the year. I think everybody will be talking about Wolverine. Paul is building two stories here and teeing up something massive,” said Alonso.
Fans jumped in the session with questions about Wolverine’s power level, pain and new weapons.
“He can’t really pop his claws without bleeding badly, so he’s trying not to. He’s now packing a pair of artificial claws if you look close,” said Cornell.
“[Paul] told me he had a crazy idea to pitch to get rid of Wolverine’s healing factor. I brought it to Axel, and if I recall correctly, I said we’d tell some fun stories and then give it back to him. Then Axel said ‘What if we don’t give it back?’ I brought that back to Paul and he thought it sounded great.” said Schaefer.
“You can’t really be a hero unless there’s a threat to you doing brave things.” – added Cornell.
Having Doc Ock replace Peter Parker was controversial. The team compares how pitching this radical change for the fan-favorite X-Man to the Spider-Man switch.
“My initial reaction to Dan Slott’s pitch on Superior Spider-Man was ‘No f’ing way,’ but then I heard it in its totality. This is the same thing. I needed to be sold, and Jeanine and Paul came up with a story. When I allude to the anger and excitement fans are going to feel toward the end of the year, that’s because this is a huge story and one we’re taking seriously,” said Alonso.
Rogue Logan will test and break some of Wolverine’s longest and deepest X-Men friendships.
“The relationship will be strained and distant. Some of the X-Men think better of him than others, but he has left his old life behind,” said Cornell, “We don’t want to hurt readers, we want to move them, to stir them, to make them feel big emotions.”
Superior Spider-Man guest stars in issue two, Thor in issue three. Jubilee and the rest of Brian Wood’s X-Men team will appear in issue three.
The new Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Latour will explore Logan finding his replacement at the Jean Grey School.
By Editor