Showing posts with label Elektra Natchios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elektra Natchios. Show all posts

Sunday 21 October 2018

Bullseye in the MC2

Having binge watched almost all of Daredevil Season 3 on Netflix, coupled with my recent post about the character in the MC2, I figured it would be a fun to do a quick little post about one of ol' horn-head's greatest foes: Bullseye.



Making a grand total of one appearance, Bullseye appears in the MC2 in just one panel of a two page story from J2 #7 where he squares off against his former victim Elektra and her daughter Wild Thing. With no context or other clues to suggest any information bout the deadly assassin, I figure it's best to just provide the story here in it's entirety.



There you have it! Bullseye appears to be alive and well and still up to no good in the MC2.

Until I find something of more substance to cover here, I remain

frogoat

Friday 22 December 2017

The Logan Family Tree


This one was an eye opener. I now understand why X-Men fans tear their hair out. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the combined kin of Natchios and Logan...with a few asterisks.

Wolverine has presented me with a conundrum. For the purposes of these family trees, I accept that MC2 characters share their published history (up to a point) with their 616/Main Marvel Universe counterparts. I make exceptions for any retcons implemented after the point the MC2 diverges from the 616 and in cases where it's explicitly or implicitly different (Aunt May really died) or when a writer later introduces a previously unheard of relative (the Lang family and likely the Pym family) who is never mentioned, seen or heard of in the MC2. With the last exception, I would add them to the family tree in later updates should they be mentioned in MC2 material at any point.

Wolverine presents a new case of a previously unresolved plot point (his true name and origin) being resolved post-MC2 but due to it being a long standing pre-MC2 mystery and it not at face value contradicting elements of the MC2. So, information revealed in the Origin mini-series can be accepted as MC2 canon also. I personally feel I need only list James Howlett as his real name and leave out his family members, at least for now. If later MC2 works utilize these story elements, I'll add them.

As for post-Origin relatives of Wolverine, including potential offspring such as X-23 and Daken and his half-dozen other kids from one storyline who die, I have decided that these are all later retcons not directly affiliated with his MC2 counterpart. Further, the Wolverine: Origins ongoing series apparently revealed that several significant characters throughout Wolverine's past were related to him, specifically by his mother's own extended family. Character's such as the Professor involved with the Weapon X program (Professor Andre Thorton) were retroactively made Wolverine's long lost relatives-the Hudson's- despite some of these characters having established names. I will not be referring to these characters in the family as they were later retconned relatives, not pre-established.


With all of that out of the way, let's start in earnest. Logan aka the mutant known as Wolverine first appeared in the final panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 with his first full appearance the following issue in The Incredible Hulk #181.  For decades, Logan's true name and origin was a mystery. It wasn't until the mini series Origin that we got the answers that had been long teased. We learn that the man we know as Logan was born 'James Howlett' as a result of an affair between Elizabeth Howlett and Thomas Logan, the grounds-keeper on the Howlett's estate. Thomas Logan had another son, 'Dog' Logan, making him James' half-brother. As stated above, I have decided to leave them off this MC2-centric family tree for now.


During an adventure in the Savage Land, seen in Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure, Logan find's spends a period of time with the leader of Tribe of Fire, a woman named Gahck. At the conclusion of the story, she is seen holding an infant. Logan's status as the child's father and the child's name (Erista) were only implied, at least until being confirmed in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004.



Logan also adopted a young girl named Amiko Kobayashi following her mother's death during a giant monster attack in Tokyo in Uncanny X-Men #181. Amiko was eventually left in the care of a woman named Yukio, which led to an encounter with the assassin Elektra, which is as good a transition as any to the other half of this family tree.


Elektra Natchios is another character with a somewhat convoluted family history. First appearing in Daredevil #168, Elektra was reportedly intended as a one-off character, but proved popular enough to make regular appearances in the series until her first death in Daredevil #181. Elektra returned from the dead soon after and has gone onto be a consistent fan favourite character.

Elektra's first appearance in Daredevil #168 is also her father's first appearance and death, as he is shot to during a terrorist hostage situation. It's not until the Elektra Assassin mini that we learn his name is Hugo Natchios. Through the story, Elektra attempts to recall her past by revisiting memory fragments, some of which seem to be partially imagined, such as her recollection of her own birth during her mother Christina's assassination as depicted in Elektra Assassin #1.




Christina Natchios proves to be an interesting case of multiple characters providing differing accounts of her personality, character and even the events surrounding her death. A later mini-series called Elektra: Root of Evil features Hugo telling a young Elektra his version of the events of Christina's death and Elektra's birth. According to Hugo, his wife openly had affairs, embarrassing the newly appointed ambassador. When Christina became pregnant, Hugo drunkenly shared his shame with his son Orestez (more on him later) who -enraged- organised the assassination which injured his father and killed his mother who gave birth to Elektra as she died (Elektra: Root of Evil #2). When Hugo learned Elektra was in-fact his daughter by blood, he threw himself into raising her.




Alternatively, as recounted in Elektra (vol. 1) #18, we are given an entirely different account of Christina by a man named Stavros who knew the Natchios family well. He tells an adult Elektra that as a teenager Christina used to work for a resistance cell led by Hugo, showing cold determination and kindness. While eight months pregnant Christina was shot during a hostage situation, but managed to disarm the shooter and prevented him from being killed by the angry crowd before she dying as Elektra was born. While it's perhaps possible that parts of Stavros' story could be true (how Hugo and Christina met) it's impossible to reconcile the two different series of events leading to Christina's death. As such, I'm inclined to go with the earlier telling of events given they connect to much of Elektra's family history, including Orestez, who goes completed unmentioned in this new telling.






Orestez Natchios is the older brother of Elektra, and son to Hugo and Christina who first appeared in flashbacks in Elektra: Root of Evil #2. As mentioned above, a drunken and disgraced Hugo tells Orestez of his mother's infidelity and the likelihood of her current pregnancy being to another man. Orestez hires mercenaries to kill his mother as punishment while she vacationed, unaware his father had joined her. When Orestez learns his beloved father was injured during the attack, he left the family out of guilt. Years later, Orestez saved his young sister Elektra from an attack and returned her home to their father, telling him she needed to learn to protect herself, choosing to remain in his self-imposed exile.




Finally, we arrive at the MC2 section of this write-up! Rina Logan aka Wild Thing, daughter to Logan and Elektra first appeared in J2 #5. Seeking out the titular character for information about his father the previous Juggernaut, Rina battled J2 until Wolverine put a stop to the fight. Though young, Rina is frequently depicted as adventuring far and wide, even sending her parents letters from her travels. At some point in her past, Rina was brutally attacked and left to die on a mountain top by her half-brother, Hudson.








The animalistic Hudson aka Sabreclaw first appeared in J2 #8, working alongside the villainous Enthralla against the combined efforts of J2, Magneta and his half-sister Wild Thing. Following his initial appearance, Sabreclaw would join various teams, including The Revengers and The Savage Six before finally seeing the light and joining The Avengers. There is no information on the identity of Sabreclaw's mother.

It's not immediately clear whether Hudson is Sabreclaw's first or last name, nor if he shares the surname 'Logan' with his half-sister. The only name we are given in-story is simply 'Hudson' in his first appearance so that leaves secondary sources, so let's explore those. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 identifies Sabreclaw as 'Hudson Logan', while the following year's All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #12 Wild Thing profile back-tracks to 'Hudson (surname unrevealed)'. The All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #3 (2007) features a Sabreclaw profile entry in which his real name is given as 'Hudson (full name unrevealed)', suggesting the name could be either his given name or surname whereas The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 7 refers to him as Hudson Logan. However, the Wild Thing profile published in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 13 (2010) reverts to 'Hudson (surname unrevealed)'. Personally, I'd assume Hudson is Sabreclaw's first name, based on the context of it's usage in J2 #8 and it's debatable whether Logan is his surname.

This entry took a lot of time and effort to research and I am still uncertain if I've done it justice. Hopefully my rationale regarding the use of family members and names discussed at the top makes sense and holds up to your scrutiny. I've given this a lot of thought.

Until I take up a nice relaxing hobby like bee-keeping, I remain

frogoat