Dark Wolverine 88/Franken-Castle 19 (Cross-Over)

[Arsh]

Part 1



Part 2



And Frank's vengeance continues in this here cross over.  I'll give a quick sum-up first, then my thoughts.

Part 1:  Dark Wolverine 88

Haven't read this title before, all I got from it is that this Daken dude wants some sword and is a complete prick.  And he's gay, kinda.  And Frank shows up and starts kicking ass and they have some gay banter and it leads into Daken scampering off (and finding out about the Bloodstone) and Frank suffering side effects which he takes pills to alleviate.

Part 2:  Franken-Castle 19

Now this?  Is more like it.  No hold barred, ziges, Frank goes to town and begins tearing Daken apart.  Throws him in a pit of spikes, electrocutes him, throws him under a train, jumps on him, snapping his spinal cord, and then in the most glorious moment ever, SHOVES A RUNNING SAW INTO HIS GUT IN A SPECTACULARLY BLOODY FASHION.

It's ziging awesome.

And then just as Frank's about to drown Daken in 400 tons of concrete, Logan (wtf?) shows up to defend his boy's honour... or something.  Also, it's confirmed that the Bloodstone will fix Frank, and that the side effects are getting much more severe.

Quick thoughts:

I liked DW88... it was ok, I didn't hate it, Frank came off as decent in that title.  I liked the way Frank was portrayed artistically, big hulking mass of metal and man.

Franken-Castle 19 though was a hell of a lot better.  Most of it has to do with us really getting into Frank's head, him just considering Daken as a means of suicide rather than anything was interesting, plus the fact that he won't stop until Daken's dealt with, no rest.  Tony Moore's back, and his work is ziging fantastic.  Remember how Frank got cut to pieces in The List?  That barely compares to what Frank does to Daken, and he's just getting started.

And then Logan showed up, and I was like whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhy?

But seriously, even if you hate Franken-Castle, you should read this issue just to see Frank beat the ever loving zig out of some douchebag.  Revenge is so sweet to behold.

Next Month...

Part 3

DARK WOLVERINE #89
Written by DANIEL WAY & MARJORIE LIU
Penciled by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
“PUNISHMENT,” part 3
Daken barely survived his encounter with Frank Castle, but that only makes him more dangerous than ever -- especially when Wolverine shows up to save the day. Killing two birds with one stone has never been more appealing...
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$2.99

Part 4

FRANKEN-CASTLE #20
Written by RICK REMENDER
Penciled by MIKE HAWTHORNE
Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
“PUNISHMENT,” part 4
The Punisher and Wolverine must kill Daken! In hunting Dark Wolverine, Frank Castle has unwittingly given him the thing he needed most to complete his mission of retribution. On the rooftops of Tokyo, The Punisher, in a broken body, and his unwitting partner Wolverine, his healing factor negated, fight against a vengeful son reborn in the Exo-Mind! Dear lord is it going to get bloody.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$2.99

[Jimbo]

Daken being a douchebag is what makes him an interesting character. I dropped the title right before the crossover, but the previous stuff, in particular the lead up to Siege, was pretty cool. Daken was manipulative and always playing games, you could never tell if he was good or bad. What he was up to was always a cleverly guarded mystery. With moments like his telling a civilian woman to "Run you stupid zig!" while saving the day, Daken proved to be more interesting than most of the cookie cut characters running around.

[Kevin]

If I had to pick, I kind of liked Dark Wolverine #88 better. As long as you're running with the whole "big weird characters" thing, the art completely smoked Punisher #19's, except for a weird panel or two (I thought Frank punched off Daken's head for a minute there!) And I can't stand Remender's dialogue, it just beats you in the face like a hammer with the same thought over and over, that did not help at all.

I will admit I did completely relish that one moment where I thought Daken was going to get buried in cement before daddy showed up to save him.

[Shockdingo]

I checked out both and enjoyed them.  I originally hated Daken, because he came off like a bland personality-free wannabe. I saw how Greg Pak wrote him in an issue of the Incredible Hulk and since then started to enjoy him.  He's quite morally ambiguous and is a entertaining bastard.  I actually don't mind that he's bisexual (initially I was worried how that would come across, but from the appearances I've seen, he actually makes funny situations heh); it's something that hasn't been done before with a mainstream character and he uses that to further his uniqueness.  Anyways, the issues were fun action pieces. 

Dark Wolverine #88:
-The Art was fantastic; great pencils and colors. The sequences were beautifully set up. I particularly loved the opening shot of Frank with the bolt cutters. One thing I noticed, was you could see all the extra bits of tech that's holding Frank together, particularly the midsection.
-Nice moments: Loved how Daken got the "Friendly" ladies to cover the bill, simply paid the poor bathroom attendant after traumatizing him, the dialog was well suited. All in all, a good brawler issue.

Oh and I love that despite this being Daken's book, they didn't give him any cheapshot wins.  He put up a good fight, Frank put up a better fight. He gored up Daken's arm pretty nicely.

Franken Castle #19:
-Loads and loads of gratuitous violence: impaling pit, carsmash, train thrash
-Loved how Daken wouldn't shut up and he kept getting his.
-I enjoy Henry as part of Frank's team; I recently have restarted Metal Gear Solid 2, and I feel like Henry's Frank's Otacon.

-Enjoyed Frank's distaste of Daken's mullet

-I enjoyed that Daken's berserker rage got the best of him in the end.  We've often seen Logan running around, tearing things up in this mindset, but it usually comes off as either a minor to major tragic moment, or even an unexpected advantage (Being a Wolverine fan, I can't recall a time where his berserker rage has completely been proven to be a fatal error for himself.)  Here we've got Daken, probably not this mishandled by anyone in such a short amount of time, desperate and losing his mind.  He just jumps into the remainder of the fight headfirst, and he majorly pays for it. I mean, wow, all of his injuries were pretty bad, but getting his upper chest and midsection pureed is pretty bad. That's just such a concentrated trauma.  That'll take a while to heal. Anyways, too much blabbing, my point is that, I was happy to see berserker rage end up being a true disadvantage. Being incredibly skilled is all well and good, but if any of the Wolverine family is fighting something bigger and more fierce than themselves, slipping into a berserker rage is only going to mess you up.

One thing I found interesting about all of this was Frank smiling. I'm not used to him visually  taking joy in his work, but seeing as how this guy killed him, and put him in this really annoying situation, it makes sense for him to make an exception.

I'm looking forward to Logan and Frank's interaction; they've got a history, and I'm wondering if he (and the rest of the  Marvel universe) are aware of Frank's murder and rebirth (and soon to be re-rebirth)

[Neil]

I must admit too liking both parts so far, am never going to ever to accept Frankencastle, but it's enjoyable , and Daken's moral uncertainess is refreshing for a main stream comic character.


Logan turning up is a bit predictable but it could add to the enjoyment of it all,
I really hope that when this series reboots at twenty one , Henry stays on, I like Frank having  tech support , it suits the Punishers character I think.

[Shockdingo]

Agreed, plus, like I've said to others about Venom (and his current, enjoyable direction), characters need a supporting cast in some form. It adds a lot to them. Henry is good for Frank, just as Jenna Cole is good for Anti Venom's Eddie.

[D-Omni]

God, I really hope Henry sticks around.  One problem with Ennis's run in 616 is that suddenly Frank wasn't allowed have a real supporting cast or reach out to people (Soap's a good exception, but once again, he's gone).  He just doesn't have a supporting guy that actually lasts when writing chores change yet ever since Micro died. 

[Intelligent Moron]

Finally picked up these books. They were pretty good books. Loved Frank beating the zig out of Daken in #19

The only problem I really have is in #19, why is Daken wearing the Wolvie costume?

Thought the exchange of events between the two in Dark Wolverine #88 was better dialogue wise. Can't wait to see what happens in the next two issues.

And I agree with all who have said it.... WTF is up with Logan coming in to help Daken?