The Original Kingpin: Kingpin #1

The following is my review of Kingpin #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Before Walter White, before Tony Soprano, and before Dexter Morgan, there was another criminal mastermind who set the bar for fictional crime lords. He's big, he's tough, he's ruthless, he's intimidating, and he's cunning on a level that frustrates every prosecutor from Hell's Kitchen to Harvard Law School. His name is Wilson Fisk, the original Kingpin. He is to crime lords what Captain America is to patriots. He is the standard by which all others are measured.

At a time when superheroes are more prone to fighting cosmic tyrants and/or each other, criminals like the Kingpin tend to fall to the wayside. In a sense, that creates a perfect environment for a competent and cunning crime lord to make a bold move. Wilson Fisk put himself in a position to make such a move during the events of Civil War II. Now, with the superhero community in a state of division and disarray, Fisk stands ready to make that move.

This is the narrative Matthew Rosenberg and Ben Torres forge in Kingpin #1. In many respects, their timing couldn't be better. This is an era where Lex Luthor is a member of the Justice League, Dr. Doom is the new Iron Man, and Donald Trump is President of the United States. It's an era defined by heroes becoming villains and villains becoming every bit as interesting as heroes. This creates a perfect opportunity for Wilson Fisk and if there's one thing crime lords know how to do, it's exploit an opportunity.

If Kingpin has a weakness, it's that he can only be so complex as someone whose entire persona is build around being a crime lord. The challenge for Rosenberg in Kingpin #1 is to add those layers of complexity without making Wilson Fisk something he's not. He can't turn him into Walter White. He can't turn him into Tony Soprano either, if only because that would be redundant. Despite these challenges, Rosenberg manages to give Fisk the extra complexity he needs while still making clear that he's the same ruthless Kingpin he's always been. Walter White can rest easy.

The story itself is told through the eyes of Sarah Dewey, a reporter in a city where the J. Jonah Jamesons of the world tend to stomp all over the souls of those who try to write objectively. She also happens to be down on her luck, divorced, and in need of money to mend an unbalanced custody arrangement with her son. In any other context, she's low-hanging fruit for someone like Wilson Fisk.

However, Rosenberg does not paint Sarah as the kind of character who will look at Fisk through rose-colored glasses. He makes a concerted effort to establish that this character has a point of view and that point of view is basically the same as anyone who has ever read Fisk's Wikipedia page. She knows his reputation. She knows his history, both the public persona as Wilson Fisk and the private persona as the Kingpin. She understands that getting involved with someone like him puts a target on her back and it doesn't take the skills of Bullseye for someone to hit it.

Despite knowing full-well that this is a dangerous man who tends to attract both drug dealers and costumed vigilantes, Sarah chooses to explore this world. She chooses to learn about this man. Along the way, she shows a fair amount of reluctance. She's still very much the average person who knows enough about Wilson Fisk to understands that it's good for her long-term health that she stay away from him.

This is where Kingpin #1 reveals its greatest strength. In addition to not hiding the obvious dangers that come with being around Wilson Fisk, Rosenberg creates a situation where Sarah Dewey make a believable, understandable decision to enter his world. She never gives the impression that she's overlooking that danger. She's taking a chance at getting to know both the man and the crime lord. It may still be hazardous to her health and lead to one too many encounters with costumed heroes, but it's a chance she's willing to take.

In doing so, Kingpin #1 also sets a different tone for Wilson Fisk as a character. He's not trying to redeem himself. He's not trying to make the public love him. He's not even trying to gloss over his crimes. Through Sarah Dewey, he's trying to present the objective, bias truth about who he is. There can't be a J. Jonah Jameson influence on the story. There can't be any alternative facts either. He wants to put his story out there and let it speak for itself.

It's an intriguing concept, one that creates a tone and theme for the series as a whole. However, while the intrigue is there, the substance is lacking in some areas. Other than Sarah Dewey's constant reluctance, there aren't a whole lot of memorable moments that make the story stand out. Kingpin #1 is more of a pilot episode in a sense. It doesn't try to do too much, but it doesn't necessarily do enough to tell a complete, self-contained story.

There are some moments that highlight the new layers of Wilson Fisk. They take him from fancy parties to donut shops. It's not exactly Latveria or the Savage Land, but it does fit the context of the story. There is also a moment that makes clear that Fisk isn't looking to change his Kingpin ways anytime soon. Given his uncanny ability to avoid Spider-Man's webs and the Punishers bullets, why should he?

Kingpin #1 sets up plenty of intrigue and creates a great deal of long-term potential. Not much of that potential is realized, but there's enough there to make the story feel engaging. This is a story that doesn't try to fit into the mold of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, or House of Cards. It really does try to be its own story. Even if that story is centered around an unapologetic crime lord, it's still a story worth telling.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Love Disinterest: Savage Wolverine #6

The following is my review of Savage Wolverine #6, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Here’s something that a number of media properties haven’t figured out yet. Are you ready? Here goes…it’s not always necessary for the lead male character to have a love interest. Shocking, I know. Take as much time as needed. It’s also shocking how writers have such a hard time of telling a compelling story that doesn’t involve some guy trying to hook up with some girl or vice versa. I’m all for romantic sub-plots. Heck, I even write them myself. But I also understand that it’s not always necessary to tell an awesome story. And that’s where I come in with Savage Wolverine.

This series takes Wolverine away from being an X-man, an Avenger, and a guy who occasionally does some solo heroics so that he can get in touch with his true nature. And for him, his true nature involves him being a snarling, violent, ill-tempered brute that you still want to love, hug, and have a beer with. That has always been part of his mystique. What’s more, there are already plenty of stories about Wolverine tempest-tossed on the waves of relationships. Going all the way back to Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s Wolverine. And some of those stories are pretty good. But there’s nothing essential rescuing the damsel in distress when it comes to Wolverine. So it shouldn’t be the case that only these kinds of stories are told about the character.

The first arc of Savage Wolverine succeeded in telling a simple, gritty Wolverine story where he interacted with a beautiful woman wearing nothing but a bikini. Yet there were no romantic or sexual undertones. Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil toiled in the Savage Land to find an alien artifact and while they failed miserably in the end, they did it without it turning into a bad porno. This arc ended up establishing one of the best Wolverine series I’ve seen in recent memory. It’s Wolverine without the emotional baggage that turned him into an Edward Cullen wannabe in the movies and that’s the Wolverine that we all know and love and love to hate.

But now that arc is over. Now Savage Wolverine #6 begins another arc that involves another hot female co-star. Elektra, she of Daredevil and more recently Thunderbolts fame, is the new alpha female of this arc. She’s also the one that sets it into motion by revealing that whoever was hired to guard Bullseye’s dead body needs to be fired. Like Shanna, her presence in this comic adds a nice blend of estrogen-powered awesome to a series based on someone who has more testosterone in his pinkie finger than most men ever will.

This issue also highlights just how different Wolverine is from his fellow Avengers. Like the first Savage Land arc, there’s a nice bit of internal narration that helps offer some unique perspective into Wolverine’s thought process. Without it, he would just be another snarling beast who got hacked off because someone other than Cyclops handed him his butt. He knows that he’s a killer. He knows that he’s not a hero on the same level as the Avengers. And that sort of thing often gets lost in the whole spectacle of having such a diverse cast in books like the Avengers or Wolverine & the X-Men. Sure, Hawkeye may have an attitude, but Wolverine has both an attitude and serious issues that no amount of therapy could treat.

This sort of perspective on Wolverine is compelling. What isn’t so compelling is how Spider-Man is shoehorned into the story. Reading this issue gives the impression that the events of Superior Spider-Man are being completely ignored. That may be music to the ears of those who utterly despise what Dan Slott has done to Peter Parker as of late, but in this comic it’s a distraction. So when Elektra shows up asking for Wolverine’s help, we get an entire page of Spider-Man making a total fool of himself. If this was meant to add a touch of humor to the book, it failed miserably.

The conflict that Elektra drags Wolverine into is deadly serious. The Kingpin may now be the leader of the Hand, but for whatever reason they question his strength. Now I have no idea why they would question the strength of a crime lord whose pants are probably stronger than any of his predecessors. I guess it must be a ninja thing. But the Hand’s snooty lawyer (every evil organization has to have one) says that he must face some kind of twisted ninja arbitration. It sounds like an extreme version of Judge Judy, but it’s apparently a big deal and the Kingpin has never taken challenges to his power lightly.

It sets the stage for some interesting challenges and some more interesting insight for Wolverine, but it falls short in the end when the nature of Elektra’s mission is revealed to him. Even though Wolverine is a killer and a brute who doesn’t think things through, even he has to understand why this mission is bound to be a painful failure.

The setup of this issue is compelling. The characterization for Wolverine and Elektra is spot on. But the details are what’s lacking. And an entire page was wasted on Spider-Man. Moreover, there’s still no romantic overtone between Wolverine and Elektra. While he refers to her as a “kindred spirit” that understands what it’s like to be a killer, he’s just fighting alongside her without without even the suggestion of romance getting in the way. It’s a refreshing take on Wolverine that shies away from clichés and as much as it does misogyny.

Final Score: 7 out of 10.

Thanks again PopMatters.com!

Scanned Thoughts: Savage Wolverine #6

When I get a new comic, my brain is overloaded and twisted thoughts start oozing out of every orifice. This week Savage Wolverine #6 generated plenty of oozing. These are the thoughts that leaked out, along with various other fluids that may or may not require a doctor.

Whereas Shanna was the bonerific co-star of the first arc, Elektra fills that role in this arc. She’s not wearing a bikini or anything that allows readers to admire her boobs, but like Shanna she’s as tough as She-Hulk’s adamantium dildo. She can break into a highly secure facility being guarded by men with boring ass marital problems and access what should be the corpse of Bullseye. Instead, she gets an empty coffin. I know all too well the dangers of a woman who is denied her prize. Anything with a penis in a mile radius usually has to flee to an underground bunker. For Elektra, I imagine that radius is much wider.

As for the question of where the fuck Bullseyes body is and who besides daring necrophiliacs would want to desecrate it, we find out it has to do with the Kingpin. Now the leader of the Hand, he’s learning the hard way that dealing with an army of ninjas isn’t as awesome as it sounds. Like every evil organization, they have overpaid lawyers to ensure their evil is legally binding. The Hand’s lawyer looks about as intimidating as a baby squirrel, but he talks like he has the balls of Chuck Norris. He tells Fisk that the Hand has invoked some secret ritual of arbitration that will force him to prove his worth. I think that’s just legalese for “We’re going to fuck with you and legally get away with it.” The Kingpin reacts the way only most of us react when we deal with lawyers, by maiming two innocent ninjas. Personally, I would rather have a punching bag.

The Kingpin isn’t the only one with anger issues. Wolverine, at his core, is an angry, ill-mannered, brute with poor impulse control. But we love him anyways and Savage Wolverine is one of the few X-books that highlight these lovable and no-lovable-traits. During a mission with the Avengers, he gets more pissed off than usual and the Avengers have to hold him back. Yeah, it’s one of those things they probably deal with every Monday. Yeah, it’s still entertaining and refreshing. I’ll take this Wolverine over the pansy ass Edward Cullen wannabe we see in the movies any day of the week.

Wolverine’s method of dealing with anger involves beer and not removing a piece of his mask that got burned to his face. Somehow I doubt that’s healthy, but I’m not a therapist. If it works for him, why the fuck not?

What doesn’t work here is Spider-Man. He’s supposed to be an arrogant prick now, not some clumpsy dip-shit who can’t handle a sword and is stupid enough to barge into Wolverine’s room and use them. If it’s Peter Parker, he might as well be a brain damaged version. If he’s Doc Ock in Peter Parker’s body, he’s either bored or has a death wish. It’s not made clear and in a comic about Wolverine, it may be understandable to have inconsistent characterization. But this just comes off as stupid and fucking lazy. I’m not against being lazy, but not when it comes to the comics I pay good money for.

Before Wolverine can get his drink on or beat Spider-Man to a pulp, Elektra shows up. And since she has tits, Wolverine pays attention to her. And unlike the Avengers, she doesn’t give a shit that he’s a killer. Like him, she’s a killer too and the only time she asks for his help is when something or someone needs killing. Again, it’s that refreshing aspect of Wolverine’s persona that is lost whenever some writer tries to make him a pretty boy who thinks with his dick around married red-headed women. He doesn’t even flirt with Elektra. That alone makes this a powerful moment.

Yet once again, it’s ruined by Spider-Man. Here’s a guy who once banged a supermodel in Mary Jane on a regular basis, yet he’s still stammering around Elektra like nerdy fanboy trying to ask Scarlett Johannsen on a date. I get that he’s trying to be the funny guy here. He would have done better if he just stuck to fart jokes.

While there are no romantic undertones, Wolverine does some inner narration just like he did in the first arc. It is not only revealing, but engaging because he points out just how similar he and Elektra are. They’re both killers. They have both been manipulated as killers at some point in their past. They’ve also helped each other on numerous occasions. He even calls her a kindred spirit. But there’s no thought about her ass or how nice her tits would feel with his face buried in them. For a guy who keeps locks of hair from women he tried to bone, that says a lot. Some fans may be whining at the lack of pornographic undertones here. I say fuck those fans. Wolverine doesn’t always need to be trying to bone a woman. He can just be that lovable brute out on a mission that involves killing.

The target of his mission is the Kingpin. He’s one guy who Wolverine can be as mean as he wants to and never feel bad about it. And he’s just sitting in a fucking park in plain sight, ripe for killing. That alone should raise several dozen red flags. But Wolverine isn’t known for analyzing a situation. He leaves that shit to Cyclops or other guys who get all the hot women he can’t. But before he can go in for the kill, Lady Bullseye shows up. Thinking she can handle herself, he goes for the Kingpin. But it’s not that simple. When is it ever? Why can’t fat white guys just die easily?

We get an explanation as to why Kingpin was out in plain sight. It’s not a very good one, but we get it. Elektra didn’t bring Wolverine in to kill him. She brought him in to help him. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. Maybe I should start reading more comics while sober, but until that happens I’m confused. He tells them that until Bullseyes stolen body is destroyed, both him and Elektra work for him. If you’re asking me for an explanation, you might as well ask me for the cure for cancer. Because I don’t have it and I can’t for the life of me surmise a circumstance where Wolverine and Elektra would be okay working for the fucking Kingpin. Maybe I just don’t have enough imagination or need more LSD in my diet. Either way, I’m still confused.

If there is a logical or even semi-logical explanation, we don’t get it in this issue. Instead, we get more evil from the evil lawyer. Using the Hand’s patented and probably copyrighted method of exhuming corpses in ways that even necrophiliacs would find unsettling, the Hand brings in three oddly dressed individuals called the Arbiters. They look like cos-players on crystal meth, but if they’re supposed to be the ones that test the Kingpin’s strength I can understand why he wants someone like Wolverine or Elektra helping him. It’s still sad that this act of mystical bullshit makes more sense than the Kingpin recruiting Elektra and Wolverine.

These are my deranged thoughts about this comic and I’m not apologizing for them. Nuff said!