Wolverine #2 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
WOLVERINE vol 8 #2
“Blood and Debt”
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Martín Cóccolo
Colour artist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
WOLVERINE:
Wolverine has accepted Nightcrawler’s argument from the previous issue that he can’t leave the world behind, if only because the things that he’s trying to avoid will just follow him. Nonetheless, for the moment he’s still hanging around in the wilderness, presumably because Cyber is still out there. Cyber doesn’t appear in this story, but the plot is driven by the murders he committed in issue #1. Nightcrawler doesn’t appear either: presumably he was taken to hospital after the end of the previous issue.
Wolverine decides to help the new Wendigo (see below), after reminding himself that he used to be an animal and that other people helped him to regain his humanity – a familiar Wolverine trope. He takes this idea to the point of fighting off the Department H soldiers who are trying to capture the Wendigo; he claims that he’s trying to avoid a fight in which the soldiers would just get slaughtered. Despite his dislike of Department H, he regards this squad as legitimate (if underwhelming) footsoldiers and tries to do minimal harm to them – but he suggests that he also fears that drawing blood would affect his self-control too. He seems to take it as read that Department H either wouldn’t or couldn’t help the Wendigo.
VILLAINS / ANTAGONISTS:
Department H send a squad to find the murderer from last issue. Based on the reports they’ve had, they’re are under the impression that it was Wolverine. We’re told that they still take it personally that Wolverine left them, and at the very least this seems to be a happy opportunity for them to go after him again. Still, they do seem to be here in their capacity as the legitimate authorities investigating a superhuman spree killing, and Wolverine’s initial response is simply to avoid them. The unnamed squadron leader is a blowhard; Agent Mehta is clearly the smart one, and Wolverine regards her as by far the most competent.
The last time we saw Department H was during the “Fall of X” Alpha Flight miniseries, when they’d become a fascist branch of Orchis. We’re not directly told who’s running it now, but both Wolverine and the squadron leader talk about the people in charge having a history with Wolverine. So presumably it’s back under the control of its traditional powers that be.
The Wendigo is the latest poor soul to fall prey to the curse that befalls anyone who eats human flesh while in the Canadian wilderness. Wolverine fights these things quite a lot, partly because he’s the high profile Canadian superhero, but mainly because there was a Wendigo in his debut story from Incredible Hulk #180-181. The last time we saw a Wendigo in the Marvel Universe was in issue #37 of the previous volume, when a stray Wolverine clone fell prey to the curse.
Unusually, this Wendigo has retained some of his human personality, and tries to get Wolverine to help it. He hands over an apparent diary, which we see as a fully illustrated and lettered comic, but presumably that’s artistic licence, given the circumstances in which the drawings would have to have been produced. According to the diary, the Wendigo is a boy called Leonard who ran away from a “group home” along with his friend Ryan, and got stuck in an abandoned cabin during a storm. Ryan died of starvation, and Leonard wound up eating his flesh to survive. Wolverine infers that this Wendigo has only just been transformed and has yet to hurt anyone – presumably this is why he still has traces of his mind.
Ultimately, the Wendigo does take a chunk out of one of the Department H soldiers, so it’s not obvious that Wolverine’s attempts to help it made much difference. But who knows, maybe if the whole group had reached the Wendigo, it would have killed the lot.
OTHER REFERENCES:
Page 16 panel 1 is a flashback to a generic scene of Wolverine being greeted by some of the 1975-era X-Men: Colossus, Professor X, Storm and Nightcrawler. Wolverine is overstating a bit when he suggests that they “decided not to just leave me to be an animal” – that was really more something that Heather and James Hudson did in his early time in Department H – but it’s with the X-Men in the 70s and 80s that he really comes to control his rage.
“The Wendigo is the latest poor soul to fall prey to the curse that befalls anyone who eats human flesh while in the Canadian wilderness.”
Not to mention the RCMP will heavily fine you for that too if they catch you doing it. Human flesh is to be consumed in urban centers only.
Incidentally, there’s never been a female Wendigo, has there? Why not? What, women *never* disregard clearly posted signs in Canadian national parks concerning wilderness cannibalism? Please. I can’t even count how many camping trips went south on me because some high af female in the group couldn’t just eat a sandwich.
I think it’s long past time for a female Wendigo, and I think her real name should be Wendy Gough.
“I think it’s long past time for a female Wendigo, and I think her real name should be Wendy Gough.”
Codename: Wendigal.
5-issue limited series written by Ben Percy or Frank Tieri, take your pick, coming soon.
@Moo- Some googling reveals that female Wendigos appeared in a Mother’s Day Infinity Comic in 2016:
https://www.tumblr.com/dennisculver/143864946323/hey-i-wrote-another-comic-for-marvel-its
Their name’s are Grace and Harmony? And they call themselves “The Wendigo Girls?”
Nope. Nope. Nope. No, thank you. Let’s alternate timeline that one.
I like Codename: Wendigal much better. Just needs a tagline like, “You wouldn’t like her when she’s hungry!” And if she ever gets a Disney+ series, they ought to have “Maneater” by Hall & Oates play during the opening credits.
“Nope. Nope. Nope. No, thank you. Let’s alternate timeline that one.”
Especially since normal Wendigos aren’t nearly so intelligent or chatty or wearing clothes.
Honestly, Wendigo Girls more creative than I expect from Marvel.
I would’ve guessed they’d be called the Wendi-Go-Gos, and their cry would be, “We’ve got the beast!”. So, you know, Marvel is getting a bit classier, I guess.
Wendigo Girls should have been named Amy and Emily.
Ahem.
Anyway, who’s brilliant idea was it to have a story so similar to the reluctant vampire trope, so soon after the big vampire crossover? Aren’t there heroes still battling their new hunger for humans right now? They could have waited six months for when the next event washes the current one from the reader’s memory.
I love how any given Canadian is one bad day away from cannibalism though.
I fear it is only the plentiful supply of poutine keeping us all safe here.
Quite apart from the fun wendigo discussion, I like that Wolverine took the time to get dressed before charging into battle. That’s comics time for you.
“I would’ve guessed they’d be called the Wendi-Go-Gos, and their cry would be, “We’ve got the beast!”. So, you know, Marvel is getting a bit classier, I guess.”
No, no. I genuinely find your idea to be far more inspired and preferable to Wendigo Girls. It also put to rest my worry that Hall & Oates might be too dated a reference.
“I fear it is only the plentiful supply of poutine keeping us all safe here.”
Honestly, every time I read the word “poutine” in reference to Canadians, it makes me wince. I want so badly to declare that the poutine thing is just a stereotype with no basis in reality. But I can’t, because I know that there’s a poutine specialty restaurant literally right around the corner from where I live, and I eat there often. So, touché, I guess.
Yeah, it’s definitely become a stereotype about Canada, but at the same time, they serve those things at Burger King.
I should have said ketchup chips. That is a far more esoteric reference sure to confound non-Canadian readers, unlike poutine.
@Chris V
That confounded me, actually. Because up until you told me just now, I had no idea that ketchup chips were a Canadian-centric thing. I guess I always assumed they were just as common a potato chip flavor in the USA as every other flavor of potato chip that we have up here in Canada, like salt & pepper, sour cream & onion, and BBQ’d human flesh.
I have nothing constructive to add to this particular comment thread, but I wanted to thank everybody because I LOL’d multiple times reading it.
I’ve never seen Salt & Pepper potato chips in the US that I can recall, either.
“I should have said ketchup chips“
We would also have accepted Timbits as an answer.
Damnit, I meant to write salt & vinegar, not salt & pepper. Whoops.
Kettle Chips make a really good salt & pepper chip, actually.
Ketchup chips sound terrible, but I bet I’d actually like them if I tried them.
In Moscow, Ketchup Chips, Salt & Vinegar, and CRAB (!!) are popular flavors of chips (even Lays and Pringles).
[…] #2. (Annotations here.) So we’re not picking up on the first issue cliffhanger at all, as it turns out. Instead, […]
If Edie Sawyer went to Canada and ate people, she’d be Wendi-U-Go-Girl.
As for Canadian snack foods I’m a fan of the All-Dressed chips. It’s like someone at the chip factory accidentally mixed all the flavors, and it all worked out.
All-Dressed is my favorite as well. Specifically, the Ruffles brand. That’s my go to potato chip. That’s a good description of it too. It’s as though they ran out of ideas, got drunk and just blended everything together.
Dill Pickle is probably my second fave. I haven’t had ketchup chips in years. Maybe if they’re sitting out at a Superbowl party or something like that I’ll partake, but I never buy them. I was in the second grade back when ketchup chips were first introduced, and I went absolutely crazy over them. My fingers were dyed red almost all of the time. Too much of a good thing.
Mr Sinister as Wendigo
Ketchup chips are just flavored potato chips? Huh, I learned something new. I live the American southwest and I figured they were made of dried ketchup.
“I figured they were made of dried ketchup.”
Yuck. I’d sooner resort to cannibalism.
“ ‘I figured they were made of dried ketchup.’
Yuck. I’d sooner resort to cannibalism.”
You’re not the only one, @Moo.
Fun fact: Ketchup chips were originally made of dried ketchup, but too many Canadians chose to eat human flesh instead. The country was overrun by inarticulate cannibal monsters, so they changed to the current formula.
I have a new theory, the Wendigo curse exists all over Marvel Earth, but most places never know because they almost never eat people. Canada on the other hand …
Well, a person can only eat so much poutine, so…
There are some American ketchup chip brands from smaller companies. The ones I’ve had offer a nicely vinegary tomato flavor, not much like the sweetened taste of actual ketchup.
Are Canadian ketchup chips different in taste?
Nah, they taste the same in Canada as you’ve described them, Omar. I think only children and adults easily prone to suggestion believe they actually taste like ketchup.
So is nobody going to mention Scottish crisps?
I was under the impression that this wendigo kid is somehow contagious like a zombie… are all wendigos like that?