Enemy of The State
Just like me.
Before I start my shitty ass review, here’s a Weblog Award update: The 2005 Bloggie Awards
Oh course, I still got no love. Effed this weblog shit. Still, vote if you feel like it.
Second. What made my day was when I hit that Hip-hop Site news bookmark link and found out that Portishead is working on a new album. 2005 could actually be a pretty good year in music.
Now onto my review of Wolverine, issue number 24. This is some of the best Wolverine storytelling that has been done in ages. The character had become cliched and overdone, appearing in more Marvel books than you can think of. It was Wolverine overkill. And then this Enemy of the State shit pops up.
Pretty much, Wolverine is killed by the Hand and resurrected. He is forced through the resurrection to become a assassin for an offshoot of the organization headed by Baron Von Strucker, pretty much like Elektra was forced to do before him. In fact, Elektra is featured pretty prominantly in the story arc, but we’ll get to that later. Wolverine’s new goal after death is to be a super-powered hitman, going after other super-powered heroes so that they can be turned by the Hand through resurrection. Along the way, Wolverine dabbles in corporate espionage and begins stealing secrets from Tony Starks Enterprises and the Fantastic Four. For what reason, we have no clue. But the master plan is revealed in this issue.
As the last issue ended, we come to believe that Daredevil is the next super-powered target. And with this issue, the battle begins. And that’s when this shit gets good. Because John Romita Jr is drawing this shit, and he’s the second, or possibly, third best artist ever to draw Daredevil. The first being Frank Miller. I would also give props to David Mazzucchelli, who also did Batman: Year One.
I really loved that shit Simonson and Romita cooked up in the late 80s or early 90s, that Thyphoid Mary shit. And now, with this issue, Romita Jr, one of my all time favorites, returns to draw Daredevil in another classic. Some people hate his minimalist backgrounds and his cartoony looking characters, but that’s what makes his shit special. Plus, he always draws the seams in the costumes. His boots always have the look and weight of boots, and don’t look like just some socks. It’s little shit like that that makes Romita Jr. one of the best in the industry. So, stop hating on the master. And this issue here is classic Romita Jr, shit, all cinematic to boot.
The issue centers around two combats, one between Wolverine and Daredevil, and the other between Elektra and some new dude named Gorgon, or some shit like that. Elektra has been on Wolverine’s trail since day one, working for Nick Fury and SHIELD in the hopes of capturing Wolverine before he does any real damage. And Gorgon is the dude who intially kills Wolverine. Apparently his mutant power is some lame if he looks at you he can kill you shit. Anyway, we initially come to believe that the actually target is Daredevil, but as the story plays along we finally understand that what the Hand really wanted was their old assasin, Elektra. And when Gorgon takes off his sunglasses, that boy can’t fail. So, you should get the drift how this shit ends.
Anyway, Wolverine accidentally impales himself. And before being transported back to the Hand for repairs, he regains control of himself and reveals to Daredevil that he really wasn’t the actual target. He also tells Daredevil of a plan to kill the Potus, who we discover is shorthand for the President of the United States (I can see that some of you are already wishing Wolverine was real). Anyway, once we learn the big target is the president, and the Hand not only has Wolverine, but Elektra, well, you can only guess how this shit ends. But I wouldn’t want to be the president in the Marvel Universe right now because it kind of seems that you’re sort of fucked. Some over the top letdown shit can only come next.
Stories like this always have that letdown final chapter, because no resolution can ever live up to the tension created in the earlier issues. But I’m hoping this isn’t the case for Enemy of the State. I don’t know how Millar, the dude writing this classic shit, and Romita are gonna end this shit, but I’m hoping beyond all hopes that it’ll live up to the hype. I mean they actually got a brother looking forward to the next issue. Here’s hoping that Millar and Romita stick around on Wolverine for some time to come. Because this is some of the best action packed comic book storytelling that I’ve read in ages. This shit is that good. And Wolverine hasn’t looked better in ages.
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