The Geek Beat: Rewriting Weapon X
Filed under: Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, The Geek Beat
The Wolverine trailer has hit the net, and I am a really happy girl. I think it looks fan-freaking-tastic, the ponderous tone perfectly in tune with Wolverine's moody mantras. Yes, I'm biased. I adore the character so much that I can't ever get drunk at ComicCon for fear I'd wake up with him tattooed on my person. (Please don't ever let this happen, kindly onlookers) But I think overly enthusiastic fandom is a more pleasant thing than the overly critical kind, where I hate on the trailer for "betraying" the character somehow. However, what kind of nerd would I be if I didn't do that a little bit? There's plenty of stuff in that trailer to discuss, wonder about, and ultimately criticize because Oh My God, it departs from the Wolverine canon! Besides, I probably won't get to write another Wolverine column until summer 2009, so consider this a personal Christmas indulgence.
The one nagging issue I have with Wolverine is the scene that kicks off the trailer – Logan consciously choosing to participate in Weapon X, his feral name all picked out and ready to be stamped on his dog tags. I get why. It looks cooler onscreen than the truth, which would involve Logan being beaten to a pulp by anonymous government agents, drugged, hooked up to tubes and wires, and pumped full of adamantium. That was only the beginning of poor Logan's trials at the hands of sinister scientists, who implanted him with all kinds of weird sensors and chips to control his brain, kept conscious enough to feel everything, tortured him, and sent out into arctic weather to fight abused animals.
The goal was to strip him of his humanity, perfect the animal, and create the perfect fighting machine. It's all described in excruciating, nightmarish detail in Barry Windsor-Smith's Weapon X. It's also where Wolverine's bone claws were first introduced -- we never saw them, but the doctors couldn't figure out why so much adamantium was being sucked into his wrists. They found out with his first SNIKT, as did Logan ... who has forgotten he possessed them a few times in his long life. (One of the sillier retcons.)
The torture he endured in that lab has been what informed Logan's character for years. The experiments and lost memories were shadows hung over his life; they prevented him from trusting anyone, least of all himself. He was ashamed of the "berserker" side that was so easily and eagerly manipulated by those unknown scientists, and he constantly fought to control it, to retain his humanity. That struggle is a key part of his character, an aspect that's often forgotten when he pops up in movies, comics, video games, or cartoons. Everyone thinks of him as thuggish and badass – but he doesn't actually enjoy killing or violence. It's a necessary evil for him, bloody work that he doesn't shirk from, but he strives to live by a personal code of honor and justice. (He is a superhero, after all, even if he's a grungy, beer-drinking one.)
Obviously, it's a theme that carried over into the movies – Logan's determination to find out what happened to him has been a plot point in two X-Men movies. In X2, his past finally caught up with him in the form of William Stryker, who taunted him with the knowledge that he had always been an animal. "I just gave you claws." The idea that he had ever volunteered for the procedure was a stunner to Wolverine, who has tried to comfort himself with the idea that he was made a killer, not born one.
But if Wolverine is a willing participant in Weapon X, well, that changes the dynamic quite a bit. He begins as a man who thrives on violence, someone who enjoys killing enough to make his entire body a weapon. The element of sympathy, horror, and mystery is gone -- and it makes him Sabretooth, not Wolverine. One of those is not supposed to be like the other. The point of their feud is that they're the opposite sides of the same feral coin -- one kills only because he must, the other because he likes it -- and it's what has driven their feud for decades. Sabretooth knows Wolverine has a sensitive side, and he slashes at it ruthlessly. if they start out the same, sure, one can have a crisis of faith ... but it's not nearly as interesting as immediate polar opposites.
Of course, I am assuming a lot from very little -- Logan may have no idea what he's really in for, or he may think he's participating in a gruesome science project for more altruistic, team-building ends, although none of that lends itself to wanting to rename himself Wolverine. However, it does set up a tidy arc that sees him redeem his unfortunate choices at the end of X2. But he's not a character that should ever lend himself to that tidy of a redemption arc. Logan is a messy guy. That's why we like him.
I'm knowingly making a mountain out of a trailer molehill here, mostly to hear you weigh in. In all honesty, if they rewrite his entire origin to keep some bloodsoaked mystery, get rid of multiple Japanese brides, resurrected girlfriends, an emo son, and the Howletts, I'd count us a lucky bunch of fans.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-16-2008 @ 1:45PM
Rudy said...
Wow, Elisabeth - this may be the geekiest article I've ever read (especially written by a beautiful girl)
Well done!
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12-18-2008 @ 2:16AM
Elisabeth said...
I meant to say this earlier -- but thanks, Rudy. :)
I'm just glad so many of you keep coming back. It makes the all nighters worth it.
12-16-2008 @ 1:48PM
JackGonzo said...
I would assume they included him volunteering only because it was brought up in X2. Now going out on a limb, a very shaky limb, I am guessing that they're having him volunteer as a result of Silver Fox dying or something of that kind. That's about the only thing I can determine, that or the studio doesn't believe that the audience wouldn't buy Wolverine getting beat up or some stupid thing of that nature.
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12-17-2008 @ 3:37AM
Kayvan Ghavim said...
I think I might be in love with you Elisabeth.
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12-16-2008 @ 1:55PM
Don said...
Great write up. Makes me want to read Weapon X again instead of seeing the movie.
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12-16-2008 @ 2:02PM
Bryan said...
Do be perfectly honest I think you're largely over analyzing this. Personally, it looks to me like instead of beaten up by government thugs, this is a James Howlett broken by an endless life and this is a chance to forget all that and start new, a clean slate with a whole new identity, hoping to forget his brutal past and perhaps emerge as a weapon that can nevertheless be a force for good instead of the eternally hunted man. Maybe I'm reading into this too much my self. Regardless, aside from Wolverine's original involvement in Weapon X it looks like they're getting it almost perfectly right, I talk about it more at goodmoviebadmovie.blogspot.com
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12-16-2008 @ 2:20PM
Clark Parker said...
First of all, great article. Your love for the character never fails to spark some interesting conversations.
As for the content, I'm also a little confused by the scene where he chooses his name but for the sake of playing the Devil's Advocate, I'd point out that they probably have a good reason for it... It doesn't seem arbitrary to me and I think you are very close to the truth when you talk about him not fully knowing what he is in for. It's more then possible even that he is being manipulated or brainwashed. It's hard to say without seeing the flick itself. But even without that, I kind of dig the idea, certainly there is no obligation to adhere to canon, this is a different Wolverine then the comics and the changes so far have worked nicely. On that note, I actually think this choice goes hand in hand with the character they are presenting, for example, they have put significant effort to show his participation in all these different wars throughout history, certainly that has always been the case with Logan’s mysterious past but some things have to go and some stay… And a plot that revolves around war being in his blood is well served by his active participation in Weapon X. It creates a path of redemption that can serve the running time of a single film, if you will. On the other side of that, he is clearly fighting for what the western world would call “The Good Guys” in each of these cases.
There is a lot of back and forth in the comics (silly retcons notwithstanding) but one thing that seems to be pretty firmly implied in the X-Films is that he was not always honorable and as Stryker said, he just gave him claws. But we know that is a lie, don't we? Little Logan's bone claws make that pretty clear, if it was not already. My point being that Stryker is a liar and a manipulator and always has been… Long before his boy caused the man’s wife to drill her own skull, he was a deeply evil and opportunistic villain. So then can we not assume that he is tricking Logan? And if that is the case, as it more then likely is, can we not draw some logical conclusions from that? Like, as I pointed out, Logan is fighting for the so-called “Good Guys” in each war and as such, I think that Stryker is trying to twist the context of his Feral Nature, to make him seem like less the hero he tries to be. Logan could be made to feel guilty, he is treated like and animal and has the tragedies of his life rubbed in his face until he believes the lies. Until he embraces the animal. Doesn’t that give it more punch when he returns to the light? Sabertooth’s involvement also serves this quite well. I see where you are coming from when you say Logan would be no different then him if this were the case but isn’t that at least a little bit of the point? That they ARE the same and it’s choice that creates the rift, the choice to embrace the animal against the choice to remain a man. Whether this is the case or not, it is certainly a common and successful tactic to use in Superhero films (See entire Spider-Man trilogy) so I think it’s a given that Sabertooth is acting as his foil, as a mirror to Logan’s darker side. At the end of the day, Logan’s line about becoming Wolverine is clearly said in remorse. He is shucking himself of a life full of pain that not even his amazing biology can repair. Whether that pain was born from mistakes that come with his berserker rage, or misleading lies at the hand of an opportunistic mad man or both, remains to be seen.
But to bring it all full circle to a comment you made in a previous post, I think it is also more then likely that we are also being manipulated by Stryker, in our perception of the event. Not yet knowing the context of the scene, it could, as you said, be misleading information that is fed to Logan and we find out later that he was not the willing participant he was made to think he was. Certainly his mind has been ravaged more times then once and the man without memories that we know and love from the Modern Films needs to be explained in this one, so I think there is a good chance that his brain is going to be wiped, damaged, played around with and wiped again before the film is over. Heck, it even appears that Stryker’s son is involved and we all know what he can do.
So what I am saying I guess, is that I don't think it will damage "the elements of sympathy, horror, and mystery." in Logan. I don't think even in the context of the film being seperate from the comics, that we will see a Logan that thrived on violence and was little more then a brutal animal. I think the idea is simply that Stryker has convinced him of this fallacy and a large amount of the tension between these men (Sabertooth included) will grow from that. As I said, the film needs to devote a significant portion of the plot to Logan's damaged mind and this seems like a fairly logical way to go about it.
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12-16-2008 @ 2:48PM
Matt said...
longest. comment. ever.
12-16-2008 @ 2:50PM
Clark Parker said...
On a side note, by making the choice to become Wolverine his own, they are giving far more context to the modern Logan that to this day, continues to live his life as Wolverine. Even after learning all that he did in X-2, he is still Wolverine and will continue to be long after the events of any of these films. But this origin story is not a full redemption, it has promised to end on a note that rings true to the Bar Fight in X-1 and so we know that this film will leave him still hurting, still going through all of this anguish that has made him the man he is, whether he remembers all of it or not. I think it to be a bit empowering that he would, at the end of the day, choose to become the man he is and choose to remain that man long after he learns the truth. His time with the X-men has certainly changed him but he IS still Wolverine. He always was. I think that makes a twisted sort of sense and when you think about it, having the role thrust upon him would have required him to turn his back on it at some point but this is not the case. When pushed, those claws still come out.
Also, there appears to be some context behind WHY he chose that name in particular. It is clearly not a spur of the moment decision, it's something he had been brooding on and I am willing to bet whatever that reason is, it will go a long way toward answering all these questions we have.
12-17-2008 @ 3:33AM
Elisabeth said...
Thanks for the compliment, Clark. I always look forward your comments -- you always say what I want to!
I really want to believe Logan (and the audience) are being manipulated by Stryker. I think that would be brilliant, and a daring story choice. The cynic in me thinks that's precisely why it won't happen -- I can't see an X-Men movie willing to say "What you just saw was Logan's FAKE memory." Regular audiences might think that was a cheap trick.
I originally ended my piece with a hope that the movie would keep a lot of mystery to Wolverine's past -- and then I thought about all the interviews I've read from Hugh Jackman, and realized that we're not likely to get numerous origin stories, particularly since he wants to make the Japan story next. So my hopes of implanted memories and brainwashing flew out the window ...
But hey -- it's WAY too early to judge. I don't care if they keep to the canon if they can just keep to the spirit of it. I hope someone involved with the movie read the *ending* to "Weapon X," because it's so chilling. Every time you think he's escaped, it's another manipulation, and even the ending is quite vague as to whether he truly escaped ... or was set free. It's that kind of uneasiness that I hope they keep.
12-17-2008 @ 11:15AM
Clark Parker said...
Absolutely. That would a bold way to end the story. But as you say, not a likely one, given the nature of the film business. The Japan thing is up in the air for me, on the one hand it was a great concept and had incredible potential, on the other hand, I don't personally think that concept was always handled very well, so, for me anyway, it just goes to show that Canon is not always the go with these things. At the end of the day I just hope they pull what works, add what is needed to suit the film's universe and strive to keep it "Wolverine"
And frankly, it seems they have done exactly that, so far.
Slightly off topic... Have you heard this 1:55 rumor about Deadpool? That the topless, kicky fella is him after his mutilation? It's only a second long clip and he is moving so fast that it's hard to get a decent pause but I think it's possible. What about you?
Also, it looks like his red outfit is his Weapon X prison garb. Everyone in the program seems to be wearing it, so I get the impression that he is going to keep it and just customize it. And by customize I mean weigh it down with every damn gun/knife/sword that he can find.
12-18-2008 @ 2:16AM
Elisabeth said...
Oh man, I'm going to have to go watch it again! I do know Deadpool is in the trailer -- it's the same shot from ComicCon footage, just one quick shot of him. I think it's him pre-mutilation though, as he looks awfully handsome...but I'll have to pause it and see. Thank goodness for high definition, eh?
I just read an interview -- I have to find it again and write it up, but Hugh Jackman mentioned they had taken some liberties with Deadpool, and he hoped fans were ok with it. He gave no details...what do you think they might have changed?
12-18-2008 @ 11:22AM
Clark Parker said...
Hmm... If I had to guess, I'd say it was a few things, starting with the outfit. He is in red, yes. But as I said, it seems to be his Prison Garb, Emma Frost is wearing it too. Tied at the waist, just before she goes diamond. I doubt he will be in the comic’s badass bodysuit. Which is alright I guess, they have not given many mutants a suit so far, I can't expect them to reverse that now, just for the Merc. Although with the swords and such, I imagine will get an approximation of it, so that works. Although, I am certain if he does get the chance to branch out into his own film, he will start wearing a cooler suit. The idea in my head being that this film will follow him through little more then his time in Weapon X and subsequent escape... It's Logan's show after all.
Second, I bet he looks different. Wade started normal looking so the shot of Reynolds with hair and handsome as ever doesn't really bother me too much, I am really starting to believe that is simply from before they really start messing with him in Weapon X. But as I said, rumor is that shot at 1:55 is him and if it is, he doesn't exactly look like Freddy Krueger, which is the texture I always imagined his live action skin would have. It's kind of grey, it certainly looks strange but I can't tell one way or the other, even in HD. It just goes so fast. But he is cut like Reynolds, even if it's obvious he has some form of prosthetic on his skin, so I am inclined to believe it's him and they have given him a slightly different look.
Finally, I am more then willing to bet that his noble streak runs a fair bit deeper then in the comic. If he is getting his own flick, I get the impression they will make him every bit the mouthy, sarcastic nutcase we know and love but at his core, I think he will be a decent enough guy, similar to Wolverine in that aspect, I guess... Rude and crude but willing to help. Classic anti-hero stuff. I kind of hope he stays more, I don't know... Freelance. But who knows, a second of footage and closed mouths all around Fox studios isn't helping, so it's just speculation. On that same note, I bet they go a whole different direction with his insanity then this 4th wall thing he has going in the books. Given the tone of these films, I doubt they would be served well by him turning to the camera and asking how my popcorn was. Maybe a sly glance at us now and then but little more then that. I think instead they are going to let Ryan just go nuts with that particular style he has, Hannibal King's rants against Parker Posey come to mind.
That’s my guess anyhow. But I think the most important part is that this is just going to be a set up, we will see hints of the man he is going to become but not much more then that. I bet they save all the good stuff for his own flick and just get us excited for it in the meantime.
12-16-2008 @ 2:48PM
Adam C said...
Thanks for bringing that up Elisabeth, I was all too willing to go with the movie canon, but you really brought up some great ideas about what makes Wolverine Wolverine.
That being said I agree with with earlier comments that Logan is going to face a past so wretched that Stryker's opportunity to forget it all will send him down the rabbit hole that will create Wolverine.
Also, smoking a cigar during Normandy: bad-ass.
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12-17-2008 @ 3:33AM
Elisabeth said...
Yeah, I love that Normandy cigar. It's so casually badass. :D
I will be a little disappointed if Wolverine went into this *knowing* his memory will be wiped ... it makes the Logan running around in X1 and 2 saying "I don't remember who I am, and I must find out!" seem kind of retarded.
Then again, that DID work for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" so...who am I to judge that! :P
12-16-2008 @ 3:38PM
irongiant said...
to me the trailer had Logan entering the program as a means to forget all of the "awful" things he had to endure in the past.
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12-16-2008 @ 4:58PM
Quito said...
Elisabeth,
I’m a big fan of your posts and have loved your geeky writings. I too am an avid Wolverine fan and have been since I first started reading comic books. There is something very unique and engaging about such a tortured character. However, I think your romanticized notions of the character may have blinded you to one of the very obvious and odd problems with Smith’s original Weapon X story – Logan’s capture. Yes, Smith’s story is iconic and brilliant in just about every way, and I’ve always loved it but it always had that tiny snag. In Smith’s version of Logan’s capture, he was taken down by a few "anonymous government thugs" as you put it. This is a guy that even without adamantium was a formidable fighter, was a black ops soldier, had already fought in at least 1 war, and still had heightened senses. Even without adamantium, do you really think it would have been that easy?
I understand the point you make about the duality between Wolverine and Sabertooth, but for both the difference is the choice that they make. The reason they are opposite sides of the same coin is because they both have this wild and primal savagery within them. But while one chooses to suppress it and control it to be more human, the other embraces that savagery and revels in it. That has nothing to do with the adamantium.
Wolverine and Sabertooth were both soldiers with Team X. That was a path they both chose, but that doesn’t put them on the same side of the coin. It does add some depth to their longstanding rivalry – as two men who found somewhat of a kindred spirit between them that was ultimately slashed to bits by a difference in ideals – just like Magneto and Xavier. Wolverine choosing to participate in the Weapon X program isn’t much of a stretch. Being kidnapped in a parking lot is.
Volunteering to the program doesn’t mean that Wolverine is a creature of violence who thrives on it. It doesn’t make him a person who enjoys killing. What it does show us is a man so desperate to escape the horrors of his past that he is willing to do anything – especially since suicide doesn’t pose much of an option. When someone comes along and promises that he can take it away, why wouldn’t the tortured soul who can’t die take that option?
Let’s not forget that before this (in the current mainstream canon) Wolverine had watched his father’s murder and mother’s suicide, had accidentally killed the love of his life, been in WWII, had met and fought with Captain America and Nick Fury in Madripoor, had become a black ops federal agent and joined Team X, and had another love, Silver Fox, killed by Sabertooth. He was already a man of violence, whether he chose it or not.
Volunteering for Weapon X doesn’t change Wolverine – it doesn’t make him the savage animal that Victor Creed is. What it does is give us an insight to his desperation, and his blind willingness to do anything to save himself from the torture of his own memories.
That’s just my take on it.
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12-17-2008 @ 4:40AM
Elisabeth said...
Oh no -- I was hoping I hadn't romanticized Wolverine! :P
This reply may not make much sense, by the way -- I'm REALLY tired, so excuse my rambling.
I never had a problem with Logan being captured because I always assumed he was drunk. He was captured outside of a bar, still carrying a bottle of booze, so I figured it had slowed his senses enough for them to be able to take him down. Cornelius harps on his drinking too, going on and on about how he was a drunk loser they were "rescuing" from his aimless life. (I think Weapon X was a secret PSA on alcoholism. :P)
But, you are right -- it *was* kind of preposterous. Wolverine manages to get his ass kicked in the most unlikely of scenarios sometimes -- it bugs me so much. What takes him down in one issue doesn't take him down in the next. :/ (Have you read the recent Chinatown arc? There's a perfect example -- that was a brutal beat down, but for a guy who has survived being burnt to a crisp, it just doesn't seem that dire, you know?)
My take on Wolverine has always been (and maybe it is a romantic one) is that he's a magnet *for* violence rather than a man of, if that makes any sense? The Silver Fox story is probably the best example -- he consciously tries to retire from the outside world and live in peace (he can't even shoot their rabid dog). But for whatever reason, it's not a choice he's allowed, and some outside force shakes it up, forcing him to kill again. Before it was simply "Sabretooth likes ruining his life," now it's that whole "Romulus" thing.
Not that he's a conscientious objector -- he does participate in wars and government ops, but that fits with his code of honor and justice. Signing up with Weapon X doesn't, *unless* he believes the intentions are honorable. And I think the trailer suggests that could be going on, "I'm putting together a special team" etc.
And since he is currently running around the comics *wishing* he could forget his regained memories again, it is perfectly in character to say he'd sign up in exchange for a clean slate. I like it better if he lost them unknowingly, but that's because I enjoy the contrast of Wolverine being *physically* difficult to destroy, but it's relatively easy to break his psyche.
I love reading all the comments, though. :D I was hoping I'd get some disagreement, because that keeps things interesting, but I didn't expect to get such cool comments! I love my fellow Wolverine fans ... we can talk for pages it seems like!
12-16-2008 @ 8:27PM
Moo said...
Elisabeth, great column per usual. Honestly, Wolverine has never been one of my favorite characters. That's not to say I dislike him, really, he just wasn't on my radar for whatever reason as a kid (I was more of an Avengers guy than a X-Men guy), so he's not now. But your column and the obvious love you (and the commenters...some GREAT comments here) have for the character is getting me more jazzed up for the film than I might otherwise be. The duality concept between Wolverine and Sabretooth, while a well-worn dramatic device, is still compelling (there's a reason it's well-worn) and if handled correctly could be really cool.
As for the trailer itself, looks much more interesting than I'd initially expected. Cool, over the top action, if this is any indication, which is exactly what I'm looking for here.
Nice work.
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12-17-2008 @ 9:47AM
BloodwerK said...
regardless of what has been said, written, and drawn over the past however many years, wolverine doesn't have bone claws. period. all that crap came about after chris claremont left the x-men, and the title was left in the hands of a bunch of artists. people who, basically, had no business writing comic books to begin with...
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