I read this years ago, but after watching the movie adaptation I wanted to go back and compare it to the comic. This is definitely a different story.
This is a story about supervillains, and these are the cruelest villains ever, without the comics-code censorship from the big 2. They rape, torture and murder without hesitation and remorse. All of them, including the stars Wesley and Fox. This might be off putting for some people, and I must admit it was a little for me too.
I don’t mind the violence, but I just didn’t see any reason for it, other than “they can”. I think Millar wrote this story just because he could do it without censors. There is a scene where Wesley seems feel remorse and even cries, but nothing else comes out of that. It felt more like a scene Millar inserted just so he could say Wesley had some human feelings. But it was not explored at all.
There is also one huge plot hole for me. Wesley is only using a gun, so why is it that he can kill every single supervillain? None of them had invincibility? Or a shield, or a bulletproof costume? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. And I hate how he gets rid of Shit-head. It might have worked as a joke, but it just doesn’t make sense after all the serious killings in the story.
What I did like was the history behind this world. I love the division of the Earth among 5 families of supervillains, I love how the old heroes don’t even remember who they were. I loved the throw away scene with Adam West as the detective. I love all those references to Marvel/DC and the real world.
I also liked how the Professor manipulated the Emperor to his advantage, using the kryptonite condom. That was a clever one. But then he is so easily killed that it almost annuls that clever move.
I liked that twist about the Killer, but I wish we were given a better explanation about that. Nothing was really explained, just that he faked it. But then I did enjoy how Wesley ended it with his father. The final scene was a meta F-you from Wesley to us readers, complete with the blank outline of us and our boss. I wasn’t offended by it, it was a classic Millarism that I find harmless.
Probably the biggest draw of this book is JG Jones’s art. It’s dynamic, detailed and fun to read. He modeled the characters after famous people, and it is fun. His supervillains are such a diverse group of characters, many of them obviously inspired by Marvel/DC charaters. I loved the scene where they went to a parallel earth, that was the biggest action scene in terms of scope. But even a smaller scene is great to read. JG Jones simply can do no wrong.
Despite the many problems I have with this comic, I still enjoyed it for the clever idea of supervillains ruling the world and the superb art. Any grown up superhero fan would probably enjoy this aspect of the story.
I don’t have much problem with stuff that’s a little over the top, or even offensive, so long as it’s that way for a reason. I don’t think Millar has much of one in Wanted. It’s not particularly funny and it certainly isn’t making any kind of meaningful satirical point.
I agree with you that the basic concept is sound and that the art is very good (although “casting” the main character as Eminem makes the book seem a little too much like a movie proposal). That’s pretty much my take on almost all Millar stuff, though. He has good ideas and works with good artists, but falls down in the execution.
Have you read Mark Waid’s Empire? It you like the overall concept of Wanted you might like it.
I think we agree on this, I just enjoyed the other part of the story enough to balance the problems out.
I have read Empire, and I did like it. But my expectations were higher and were not met. I thought it was a great concept and I liked both creators involved. The end result was not mind-blowing, but it was fun.
What about The Ultimates? Did you read that? It might be my favorite Millar of the last few years. I thought it had some point to it.
Well, I wrote too much on this. The short version of what’s below is that I have read Ultimates and I think it is pretty good, but it might have been even stronger if Millar had a co-writer.
I read the first vol. of Ultimates as it came out in floppies (not recommended, BTW). I’ve also read most of the second volume, though not very carefully. Despite my dislike of Millar, I have to admit it’s a good comic. It is sort of the perfect fit for Millar. It’s a mainstream book, so he can’t go too far overboard, but it’s outside of ordinary contintuity, so he can make his characters kind of broad and cynical. I still think it would have been better if Millar had passed the basic storyline over to a writer who was a little more interested in dialogue and characterization, but Millar doesn’t do too bad.
The art is fantastic. With the exception of his Iron Man, I think Hitch’s character designs ought to be adopted by the regular contintuity. The big screen stuff is phenomenal. The pacing was annoying if you read it in the floppies, but I’m betting that pretty much disappears when you read it collected.
What did you take Millar’s point to be? It seems clear that he intends to be making one, but I couldn’t get clear on what it was. Maybe I just need to read the second part more carefully. One option would be that it is intended as a critique of American arrogance, but I’m not sure it works as that. I may be trying too hard to read the politics as American left-wing or American right-wing. You can point to various things in Ultimates as advocating both sides. It may be that Millar’s coming from someplace different politically, and that’s throwing.
me. that’s throwing me.