Last time, I looked at Wolverine’s crucifixion at the hands of Pierce and the Reavers, a pivotal character moment that further defined his human-beast moral and psychological pairing–that of the human who exerts his independence through the exercise of conscious choice, and that of the beast, the violent, murderous alter ego that can only be called upon as a last resort, and which removes the function of choice from Logan.
This post, I’ll dig into Wolverine’s first solo outing in his original mini-series before we pick up the pace and jump to his second volume.
THE BEST THERE IS
Like so:
Back when Logan had sweet Jack Nicholson eyebrows.
Wolverine’s four-issue mini-series, released in 1982, by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, was not only Wolverine’s first solo outing, it was where his famous catch phrase was coined (above). On the surface, the story is deceptively simple. Beaten by Lord Shingen, leader of the The Hand and father of his love, Wolverine is thrown out with the trash onto the streets of Tokyo, convinced by the shame of his defeat that he is less than human, a simple animal.
In the FACE!
Again with the face. This series doesn't let up!
This establishes two crucial things. First, that Wolverine’s top priorities are the preservation of his humanity and honor, and second, that the greatest challenges to Wolverine are not necessarily those who can best him in a purely physical sense, but who can challenge both his physical and moral mettle.
So begins the quest for redemption as Wolverine and Yukio, assassin and lover, find themselves beset by The Hand, led by Shingen:
Ninjas: cheap in bulk.
TREAT ‘EM ACCORDINGLY
On a deeper level, the story is a katabasis, an epic journey to, and return from, the underworld here represented by the neon streets of Tokyo,with the manipulative black-clad Yukio fulfilling the role of psychopomp, or guide. His climb back to humanity and life–and finally to happiness–is literal and figurative. Yukio is a poor replacement lover, a tepid doppleganger to Mariko’s Eurydice, The Hand the denziens of the lower realms, desperate to appease their leader, Shingen, by killing Wolverine, thus trapping him in the lower, bestial realm:
What's he standing in front of, inflatable rock?
Wolverine looks up from the lower realm of stagnation to a hole in a glass ceiling. Beyond, the night sky, the stars, and the promise of humanity, “[n]ot a beast. A MAN!” (23). Growth, change, dreams–these are the traits of the human being, the man as opposed to the beast’s simple acceptance of circumstance.
REDEMPTION
At last, Wolverine climbs Shingen’s tower and challenges him, this time to the death.
The mis-color on his eyes makes the panel read a tad bit different.
While the body can be stabbed, the head–the seat of reason and human intellect, can’t be severed. Shingen isn’t so lucky. The last shot is of Shinen’s smiling face, already triumphant as Wolverine’s fist draws near. That Wolverine defeats Shingen by stabbing him in the head is equally symbolic: Shingen’s human faculties, his ability to dream, to enact change, are shut down, and it is he who ultimately falls permanently to the underworld. Wolverine succeeds in establishing and protecting his humanity and honor. His reward is redemption, and marriage to a Mariko weary of her father’s abuse and criminal past.
Very blue serious time.
CONCLUSION
It’s easy to see why these four issues remain among the most (possibly the) definitive takes on Wolverine’s character. They complete the definition of his two sides by adding the challenge to continually grow, dream, and reject stagnation for the human while shifting those scorned attributes to the beast. Honor, control, discipline, worthiness–these are what Wolverine fights for, the meaning behind “the good of others–for right–for the truth” against which Shingen stood (22). More importantly, it adds a spiritual dimension to Logan’s struggle to control his inner over the beast: “This represents all we were and are and wish to be. It is perfection–of form and function, of reality and spirit. . . Logan, the honor sword is yours” (italics mine, 22). In addition, an archetypal template is laid for the women in Logan’s life: the honorable non-combatant Mariko represents a fragile, beautiful, humanity. By contrast, Yukio, a rough-and-tumble assassin, caters to the more carnal, bestial side of Logan. As we’ll see in upcoming posts, the women that make impacts on Logan rarely deviate from this role.
Speaking of women, next up: the death of Silver Fox, and another classic scrap with Sabretooth. Stay tuned!
