What the @#$% Is Jeph Loeb Doing to Wolverine

By Rob Bricken August 23, 2012 Comics 0 Comment

Uh… the new Wolverine comic by Jeph Loeb came out, and there’s… uh… some developments (the photoshopped panels above are not part of them). They are clearly spoilers, so they’re after the jump if you’re planning on reading it but haven’t quite yet. Everyone else.. see you in a sec.

Okay, let’s start with the good. Apparently Loeb had once said that Wolverine and Sabretooth were descended from actual wolves, which is an idea that’s spectacularly dumb even in a comic about mutants who all have superpowers. Anyways, in yesterday’s comic, this is revealed to have been a lie. Which immediately leads into this panel–

WHAAAAA? A FOURTH CLAW?! But more importantly…

…yeah.

Okay. there’s a few things to discuss here. First of all, in a comic where major reveals happen directly after a major reveal is revealed to have been bullshit… well, most authors would use that proximity to imply doubt on the new twists. Unfortunately, having read Loeb’s work, I don’t think he’s that aware a writer. If anything, Loeb’s work is impressively devoid of subtlety, so I imagine we can scratch that out.

Second: Dude. A fourth claw? I actually understand the reasoning behind this, but Wolverine’s regular claws are just too iconic to change or be changed. There’s no way #4 is sticking around, and I think most readers understand that in their gut, if nothing else. Captain America’s shield is never really going to change, and neither are Wolverine’s claws.

Third and the big one: Logan started Weapon X? That makes zero sense, both in the comics and one a story level. First of all, Wolverine’s been examining Weapon X for decades worth of comics and this point, fucking around with military and scientists and shit, and somehow the fact that Wolverine started it was never even hinted at? Bullshit. Although there’s nothing explicitly contradictory in all these Weapon X stories, the fact people have discussed Weapon X ad nauseum and this shit has never come up is contradictory unto itself. It’s not like Ed Brubaker turning Bucky into a Russian assassin. Bucky had completely disappeared and was supposed to be invisible during all those years, so his complete absence in 40+ years of Cap comics made narrative sense. This… just doesn’t.

Third part A: I honestly don’t know what Loeb can do with this twist. I have no idea what story he thinks he can get out of it, and I can’t imagine anything that interesting coming out of it. Again, Brubaker’s Bucky is a premise that’s rife with story possibilities; this just elicits a confused “Huh?” Maybe I’m wrong, and Loeb has the modern Wolverine masterpiece of our time waiting for us. But based on his recent body of work, I’m betting that’s not the case. Honestly, I’d bet that Loeb just really, really wanted to do a big Wolverine twist, came up with this one, and decided he figure out what to do with it later. Why don’t you ask M. Night how that’s working out for him? Thanks to Dalla sP. for the tip. (Via Bleeding Cool)

About The Author

Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.

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