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Is Foom 2 a Prototype for Wolverine?

Started by bronze johnny,

Is Foom 2 a Wolverine Prototype?  

354 members have voted

  1. 1. Is Foom 2 a Wolverine Prototype?

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410 posts in this topic

joe_collector

joe_collector

Posted
Posted

I think it's time to get out the tinfoil hats.

 

The New X-men were in the works prior to that contest, and the Hulk was in Canada running around busting up bridges, fighting Wendigo, etc. so it's hardly a stretch to want more Canadian content.

 

I live in Canada and the Wolverine is one of our mythical beasts, that will "fight a grizzly for its kill" and is very strong and tough for its size. The whole weasel/badger family is tough, and the Fisher might be meaner than a Wolverine, pound for pound. It's the size of a house cat, yet has no natural predators - do the math. :o

 

fisher-cat-30187083815.jpeg

 

Badgers are pretty mean too and are freakily immune to poison and venom.

 

honey-badger.jpg

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ChiSoxFan

ChiSoxFan

Posted
Posted
In fairness, the huge majority of those animals aren't exactly intimidating enough to make them worthwhile for use as a moniker for a hero/villain.

 

Not too many people are going to get excited about a battle between Spider-Man and the Blue-Crowned Parakeet, for example.

 

468px-Aratinga_acuticaudata_-San_Isidro_-Bolivia_-eating-8.jpg

 

Are you saying that Wolverine was the most dangerous and obvious animal left in the world to put in a comic?

 

I am sure many many just as or more obvious animals could be found.

 

It certainly is considered one of the most dangerous animals in Canada, as our brethren from that country can attest. For the telling of a story set in that country (and if you're going to use the Wendigo as an antagonist, that's where that story is going to be set), naming a Canadian super-agent "The Wolverine" would seem to be a no-brainer -- as the saying goes, that would almost seem to write itself.

 

I'm just having trouble seeing anything more than a coincidence in the use of the name. Even if -- and that's a big if that has not one single shred of evidence or corroboration to make its case -- Marvel had borrowed the name, that doesn't change the fact that everything about the character has absolutely no relation to whatever "that" was that was featured in the FOOM magazine, making any relationship between the two specious at best. Heck, if the "name" is the only thing that matters, maybe the University of Michigan should be complaining to both Marvel and Andy Olsen -- they were using the "character" name more than a hundred years prior to either one of them. ;)

 

 

 

 

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ChiSoxFan

ChiSoxFan

Posted
Posted
But who knows how it really happened?

 

Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita all presumably know what happened, and they've gone pretty in-depth in their recollections of how the character came about and the genesis of his creation.

 

While it can be said that they would want to keep their "credit" to themselves in retelling the story, it still boils down to the word of three pretty well-respected comic book creators (and one of them, Thomas, one of the industry's foremost historians) against the word of someone who has, in theory, just as much in the line of self-interest driving their account. None of the three creators has any financial interest in the character (Marvel does), so a financial motive for not wanting to share an inspiration goes out the window.

 

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ChiSoxFan

ChiSoxFan

Posted
Posted
I think it's time to get out the tinfoil hats.

 

The New X-men were in the works prior to that contest, and the Hulk was in Canada running around busting up bridges, fighting Wendigo, etc. so it's hardly a stretch to want more Canadian content.

 

I live in Canada and the Wolverine is one of our mythical beasts, that will "fight a grizzly for its kill" and is very strong and tough for its size. The whole weasel/badger family is tough, and the Fisher might be meaner than a Wolverine, pound for pound. It's the size of a house cat, yet has no natural predators - do the math. :o

 

fisher-cat-30187083815.jpeg

 

Badgers are pretty mean too and are freakily immune to poison and venom.

 

honey-badger.jpg

 

Not surprisingly then, according to Thomas, "The Badger" was apparently the other option the creators had in their final two choices. How much different would things have been if they had gone in that direction instead (at the least, we wouldn't be having this discussion ;) ).

 

http://www.wolverinefiles.com/wolverine-true-origin/

 

The reading at this link is interesting in making the point that, if anyone could be partially credited with a contribution to Wolverine who isn't currently (even if it would be a tenuous influence, though far more than Mr. Olsen's), it might be Dave Cockrum (at least according to Cockrum himself, by these accounts -- which wouldn't be much of a reach considering that Wolverine has many shared qualities with the revamped Timber Wolf, who Cockrum redesigned in a manner, both physically and personality-wise, with similarities to the later-arriving Wolverine).

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PowderedH2O

PowderedH2O

Posted
Posted

I remember a DC comic in the early 80's (I think it was New Teen Titans, but honestly, it could have been Adventure Comics, DC Comics Presents, or some other book) that had a similar deal. There was a little section that had drawings from fans for potential superheroes they would like to see. Maybe it had something to do with Dial H for Hero. I can't quite recall. But I would love to see it now and see if any of those characters or creators ever amounted to anything in the comic world.

 

Sam

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Slim Pickins

Slim Pickins

Posted
Posted

As silly as this discussion may be, at the very least it's bringing attention to magazines and fanzines. I feel these have generally been unknown or unappreciated by most amateur collectors. There are many great "keys" in fanzines that are practically ignored.

If Hulk 181 can used as a vehicle to bring light to these more obscure books, I'm all for it.

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october

october

Posted
Posted

is this copy from one of those Fantagraphics Foom kits from a few years back.?

 

I am not sure. I bought it on eBay 5 or 6 years ago for $15 or something because I liked the Steranko cover. It just came with the mag.

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batmiesta

batmiesta

Posted
Posted

is this copy from one of those Fantagraphics Foom kits from a few years back.?

 

I am not sure. I bought it on eBay 5 or 6 years ago for $15 or something because I liked the Steranko cover. It just came with the mag.

It is a great cover,this and a 9.9 Creepy, you did good. :applause:

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