Alex Tang
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Medical Students /Paediatric notes
Reviewed by Dr Alex Tang
The movie
The movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine attempts to trace in chronological order the life story of James Howlett Logan a.k.a Wolverine. For me, a fan of Wolverine , it has taken me at least three decades to learn the life-story of Logan. From Wikipedia
The character first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) and was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe.Wolverine later joined the X-Men's "All New, All Different" roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer John Byrne, who insisted on making the character older than the other X-Men. Artist Frank Miller collaborated with Claremont and helped to revise the character with a four-part eponymous limited series from September to December 1982 in which Wolverine's catch phrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice," debuted. Read moreWe have been offered bits and pieces of his life-story: he is a mutant with incredible healing power, strong, short, hirsute (hairy), invulnerable with adamantium fused to his bones and have claws coming out of his knuckles. And there is this continual battle in him to control the amok berserker beast inside him which tends to take over. He is an amnesic with no memories of his previous life. Over the years, we learned that he is the result of project X (a US government covert scientific experiment). We also learned of his adventures in Japan, and in Majipoor as Patch. Recently we get to know more of his origins after Wanda (Scarlet Witch) in the series House of M changed reality and Logan got his memories back. More of the definitive biography here at Marvel Universe
Hugh Jackman gives a good performance as James Logan. However, IMHO he is still too tall, too handsome and not hairy enough as Logan. Somehow, the movie tend to give too much information so at times it seems like a documentary. The fight scenes are good. There are some new mutants featured but it is good to see some familiar figures such as Gambit and Sabertooth (who do not look like the Sabertooth in the X-Men movies and comics).
Wolverine, like the Hulk reminds me of our dual nature - the good and the bad. This is often portrayed as an angel whispering in one of our ears and the devil whispering in the other. What we become depend on who we listen to. Unlike animals which seem to have one nature, human beings have two. This is why I like the comics cover Wolverine Origins #1. In the reflection in the pool, the wolf has one reflection while a beast is reflected back to that of Wolverine.
I admire Wolverine because of his self knowledge. He knows that he is good but is capable of great evil. He knows that he is dangerous when he gives into his bestial side. I guess it is the same for all of us. We are all aware of the beast inside us. It may be an insidious anger which may flare out into a rage at a moment's irritation. Then we become like the Hulk. Or the capacity to do damage or a danger to others as in Wolverine. Comics (and movies based upon comics characters) have become the modern mythology. Characters like the Hulk and Wolverine have taken over from Odin and Thor or Zeus and Hercules as mythological characters which teaches us about our own nature.
|posted 20 May 2009|
