You have to give Marvel Comics this much: While they may not know from good work, they certainly know how to maximize return from hot properties. In the restructuring of the Avengers title line, we find Moon Knight in Secret Avengers and Wolverine in Avengers, even though neither character is exactly a team-player, nor does either actually have the contacts which would merit this move.
Of course, Wolverine has a history with basically every character in the Marvel Universe, as he's been the company's hottest property for about 30 years now, and Moon Knight is no stranger to guest appearances in his own title, nor to making guest appearances in other titles; still, being a loner is literally key to both characters' personae. Furthermore, as the whole thing is supposed to usher-in The Heroic Age, it's somewhat ironic that they should choose two of the more brutal superheroes to anchor their flagship team.
But we're not going to look at this from a literary standpoint; that these two characters are among the very least likely to join a team of any kind, much less on a regular basis, is regardless - certainly no one at Marvel ever stopped to consider this; that these two characters move units is the criterion here. The problem is that I didn't realize Moon Knight actually moves units. Wolverine, sure - duh! - but Moon Knight?
Again, can't stress enough just how little I hold it against companies which seek to make a profit; companies exist to make a profit. But neither Wolverine nor Moon Knight are appropriate members of any team, and Wolverine now belongs to at least 14.
Anyway, I'm subscribing to Secret Avengers only to follow Moon Knight, and I may wind-up canceling that after a handful of issues. I quit trying to follow Wolverine's exploits 20+ years ago - even if I were rich, I couldn't read all the issues in which Wolvie makes an appearance each month. Still, I'm literally doing this more for research than enjoyment, so we'll see how it goes.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
2 comments:
I meant to add that Moon Knight was an Avenger previously. It seems like I remember something along those lines, but not having followed the Avengers, ever, I couldn't say for certain when this was, nor do I know the circumstances. I'm thinking it was during a point when his own title wasn't running, but again, I can't say for certain (and doing research on this topic for a post like this is too time-consuming).
Wolverine is an X-Man, plain and simple; he should not be a member of any other group, ever, except as "honorary" or the like. It is against the character's nature and role within the MU.
You need characters like these because they fill specific roles; without these loner characters, leaders like Cyclops and Steve Rogers seem less impressive in their roles as leaders.
You can present the "Batman-as-leader" argument, and I freely grant there is a point in there somewhere, but Batman's role is more of a group organizer than leader, and that fits perfectly with his crime-fighting obsession. Likewise, Nick Fury is a leader who does things his own way, even though writer after writer has written him (incorrectly) as a loner.
The problem may well be that so few writers have ever gotten these characters right that their roles have been lost in the confusion, but their hands are certainly being forced - to whatever extent - by a need to "move units."
Gah! I also meant to include Thor: The Mighty Avenger in this discussion. Sorry. I'm sick - having really bad coughing fits, which also hurts my neck, and am still playing catch-up after being offline all month.
Anyway, won't be buying that one, either. I do want to note, for what it's worth, I am buying the first issue of all these titles, just not subscribing and have no plans on becoming a regular reader. Technically speaking, the second and third issues of any new title tend to be better investments (in the long-run) because fewer people buy them, but I'm only getting the second issue of a handful of these (Thor: The Mighty Avenger is one of those).
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