redconfession (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redconfession) wrote2010-06-03 06:33 pm
redconfession) wrote2010-06-03 06:33 pm
Dark Wolverine/Wolverine Origins Crossover
I know, much like my rant on The Avengers 1, that I'm late to the party, but oh well. I've gotten around to reading it NOW and NOW I feel like ranting. Spoilers for Dark Wolverine 86 and Wolverine Origins 47/48 ahead.
I read all three issues in one shot (I was too lazy to dig out Dark Wolverine 85 to re-read it), and I have to say I was completely underwhelmed. For one, they turned the Muramasa Blade into one annoying Macguffin (and not a particularly well-used MacGuffin) and did nothing to help either Wolverine or Daken's characters. Romulus, the big baddy who they've been touting for ISSUES, was essentially taken out of the picture in a matter of pages. I typically like Way's stuff in both Dark Wolverine and Dark Wolverine, but this was terribly executed.
I think the main thing that I'm hung up on is how he treated Daken's character. Way, through Dark Wolverine (and even to a certain extent Wolverine Origins) seemed to show that Daken was moving away from (and possibly even past) his Daddy issues. Sure, he still hates the guy, but it's not to the point of obsession like it was at the beginning of Origins. Daken seemed to be getting creative in his ways of pissing off his dad, and he seemed to have more fun pissing him off in those ways then pure brute force. It also felt like he (and Bendis in Dark Avengers) portrayed Daken as having more fun with achieving anarchy through manipulation rather than brute force. Frankly, that's what I loved about Daken--he knew he could gut someone with the flick of a wrist, but he'd rather toy with someone else to do it for him.
Then, all of a sudden, Reckoning happened and all of that became undone in four (three?) short issues. He was a perfect Wolverine clone, or rather a perfect Anti-Wolverine clone, being all angsty and filled with Daddy hate in epic proportions--proportions that, even at Daken's most angry and angsty, he never seemed to possess. It felt solely like a poorly chosen plot point, one that they beat into the ground very quickly. Anytime Daken was on panel (for the first half) it was "let me kill daddy." He seemed to have no other motivations. Hell, he didn't have any witty one-liners other than the "I'll settle for a hug" line at the very beginning of Dark Wolverine 86.
Then there was his whole relationship with Romulus. Maybe I wasn't reading it well enough, but I always took his relationship with Romulus to be solely professional. There was no love lost between the two of them, and Daken was content to play Romulus' game until it was beneficial for him to turn the tables. Then all of a sudden Wolverine suggests Daken's in love with Romulus and two issues later Daken rages and has major daddy issues with Romulus, something that, at least to me, seemed pulled out of thin air. Daken went from indifferent to completely apeshit angry thinking about his relationship with the man who raised him in a matter of 3 issues. I'm sorry, I don't buy it. Seeing Daken all raged up trying to find Romulus and just so happening to fall into Wolverine's trap just seemed contrived and necessary to advance the plot.
Finally, there was the matter of Wolverine declawing Daken. I don't buy it. Wolverine is many things, surgeon is not one of them. Unless he got someone else to do it (which it doesn't seem like he does) I find it incredibly hard to believe he managed to remove the Muramasa Claws Daken had. Sure, he could have pulled them out, but I'm pretty sure that it would have killed Daken, so yeah. I don't buy it.
I also don't know why Wolverine thinks that this will make everything better between him and Daken, as if I was Daken I would be MORE pissed off at him for basically amputating a part of him. And seriously, Daken's got a brain, it wouldn't be that hard for him to find them again if he really wanted to.
I read all three issues in one shot (I was too lazy to dig out Dark Wolverine 85 to re-read it), and I have to say I was completely underwhelmed. For one, they turned the Muramasa Blade into one annoying Macguffin (and not a particularly well-used MacGuffin) and did nothing to help either Wolverine or Daken's characters. Romulus, the big baddy who they've been touting for ISSUES, was essentially taken out of the picture in a matter of pages. I typically like Way's stuff in both Dark Wolverine and Dark Wolverine, but this was terribly executed.
I think the main thing that I'm hung up on is how he treated Daken's character. Way, through Dark Wolverine (and even to a certain extent Wolverine Origins) seemed to show that Daken was moving away from (and possibly even past) his Daddy issues. Sure, he still hates the guy, but it's not to the point of obsession like it was at the beginning of Origins. Daken seemed to be getting creative in his ways of pissing off his dad, and he seemed to have more fun pissing him off in those ways then pure brute force. It also felt like he (and Bendis in Dark Avengers) portrayed Daken as having more fun with achieving anarchy through manipulation rather than brute force. Frankly, that's what I loved about Daken--he knew he could gut someone with the flick of a wrist, but he'd rather toy with someone else to do it for him.
Then, all of a sudden, Reckoning happened and all of that became undone in four (three?) short issues. He was a perfect Wolverine clone, or rather a perfect Anti-Wolverine clone, being all angsty and filled with Daddy hate in epic proportions--proportions that, even at Daken's most angry and angsty, he never seemed to possess. It felt solely like a poorly chosen plot point, one that they beat into the ground very quickly. Anytime Daken was on panel (for the first half) it was "let me kill daddy." He seemed to have no other motivations. Hell, he didn't have any witty one-liners other than the "I'll settle for a hug" line at the very beginning of Dark Wolverine 86.
Then there was his whole relationship with Romulus. Maybe I wasn't reading it well enough, but I always took his relationship with Romulus to be solely professional. There was no love lost between the two of them, and Daken was content to play Romulus' game until it was beneficial for him to turn the tables. Then all of a sudden Wolverine suggests Daken's in love with Romulus and two issues later Daken rages and has major daddy issues with Romulus, something that, at least to me, seemed pulled out of thin air. Daken went from indifferent to completely apeshit angry thinking about his relationship with the man who raised him in a matter of 3 issues. I'm sorry, I don't buy it. Seeing Daken all raged up trying to find Romulus and just so happening to fall into Wolverine's trap just seemed contrived and necessary to advance the plot.
Finally, there was the matter of Wolverine declawing Daken. I don't buy it. Wolverine is many things, surgeon is not one of them. Unless he got someone else to do it (which it doesn't seem like he does) I find it incredibly hard to believe he managed to remove the Muramasa Claws Daken had. Sure, he could have pulled them out, but I'm pretty sure that it would have killed Daken, so yeah. I don't buy it.
I also don't know why Wolverine thinks that this will make everything better between him and Daken, as if I was Daken I would be MORE pissed off at him for basically amputating a part of him. And seriously, Daken's got a brain, it wouldn't be that hard for him to find them again if he really wanted to.
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I don't think he'll stop hating daddy either, but I don't think it was Daken's main priority then. Personally, if I was him it would be my main priority now because daddy amputated me, but I really hope that Daken doesn't feel the same way. I like him toying with Wolverine, not fighting him head on.