Mark Millar's "Wanted": a review
At my brother's recommendation, I picked up Mark Millar's "Wanted" and read it over the past few days. I have mixed feelings about it because I actually really like the magic of superheroes, but I can't deny that this very anti-hero mini-series was just really, really well-done.
It's a little bit like Garth Ennis' "The Boys" in that it's got a lot of anti-superhero sentiment, but while "The Boys" just tells you that Superheroes are in reality all assholes underneath, "Wanted" tells you that they're all dead (or close to it, anyway). In the world of "Wanted", the supervillains have taken over the world and brainwashed us (the common folk) into believing they'd never existed.
The writing is (as to be expected from Millar) very strong, but I found that the book's lack of a protagonist that I could identify with largely unsettling. In "The Boys", the reader was meant to identify with the bumbling Wee Hughie. Sure, he killed a superhero every now and then, but he always felt *bad* about it, (and they were usually assholes, anyway). The Butcher (a.k.a. the bastard, iron-for-blood team leader) may have been the cool one, but Wee Hughie was undoubtedly the protagonist.
In "Wanted" we have your basic three leads: Killer (protagonist), Fox (love interest), and the Professor (mentor). Given that Killer's backstory includes a Neo-esque (ala Matrix) beginning, you'd think that reader would easily identify with him. But as the story progresses, he just... well, he just isn't likable. He's a prick, really, and not somebody I would like to know, much less *be*.
Fox is basically Catwoman (of Batman fame), but I have difficulty empathizing with her, as well. Her background wasn't really developed all that much, except for establishing that she's hot, an excellent killer, and really great in bed.
All told, I liked the Professor best of all. He was the brainy, inventor type of villain, and I've always enjoyed that stereotype in mainstream comics. He was the Morpheus to Killer's Neo, and he served his purpose fairly well.
In any case, in the midst of pages and pages of Killer and company killing a whole bunch of people (mostly innocent bystanders and non-powered common folk), we are told snippets of what happened to the heroes of old. Superman is dead, Batman and Robin are old has-been television actors, etc.
The actual plot is pretty much your regular "Hero's Journey". There's a call to action, a training period, and a "save the world" moment. (Or in this case, "screw the world".) It's a straightforward superhero story from beginning to end, except tilted at a 90 degree angle; the perspective's slightly fucked on everything.
In any case, the most depressing thing about "Wanted" was that I kept waiting for heroes-- *real* heroes-- to come in and save the day. Never mind that it was a Top Cow publication and that in logical terms, no Marvel or DC character would ever step into it. I couldn't bring myself to root for Killer, and as hopeless as it was, I kept wishing that the superheroes would come back and save the world.
They don't, of course, and instead we get more pages of Killer killing all the bad guys who aren't on his side. And there's a bit in the back of the book where Killer makes his choice to remain a supervillain (after he's killed all the supervillains who were in his way), and he breaks the fourth wall as he describes the mundane life of the stereotypical comics fan and tells us that we're screwed.
If I were to search for a "deeper meaning" in this book, it would be this:
Hoping for superheroes to rescue us is an exercise in futility.
Supervillains control the world.
We're all mindless sheep who exist only to be gunned down at random.
Humanity is screwed.
This is actually quite clever because it shows us in pretty pictures and clever dialogue what the newspapers tell us everyday: There are no superheroes. Assholes are in charge of the world. Humanity is screwed.
It's escapism so far out that it goes full circle and ends up firmly set in reality-- to say that "Wanted" was an unsettling read is putting it mildly. All told, I have only one thing left to say:
Mark Millar: you are a bastard and a genius. In that order. Never stop writing.
It's a little bit like Garth Ennis' "The Boys" in that it's got a lot of anti-superhero sentiment, but while "The Boys" just tells you that Superheroes are in reality all assholes underneath, "Wanted" tells you that they're all dead (or close to it, anyway). In the world of "Wanted", the supervillains have taken over the world and brainwashed us (the common folk) into believing they'd never existed.
The writing is (as to be expected from Millar) very strong, but I found that the book's lack of a protagonist that I could identify with largely unsettling. In "The Boys", the reader was meant to identify with the bumbling Wee Hughie. Sure, he killed a superhero every now and then, but he always felt *bad* about it, (and they were usually assholes, anyway). The Butcher (a.k.a. the bastard, iron-for-blood team leader) may have been the cool one, but Wee Hughie was undoubtedly the protagonist.
In "Wanted" we have your basic three leads: Killer (protagonist), Fox (love interest), and the Professor (mentor). Given that Killer's backstory includes a Neo-esque (ala Matrix) beginning, you'd think that reader would easily identify with him. But as the story progresses, he just... well, he just isn't likable. He's a prick, really, and not somebody I would like to know, much less *be*.
Fox is basically Catwoman (of Batman fame), but I have difficulty empathizing with her, as well. Her background wasn't really developed all that much, except for establishing that she's hot, an excellent killer, and really great in bed.
All told, I liked the Professor best of all. He was the brainy, inventor type of villain, and I've always enjoyed that stereotype in mainstream comics. He was the Morpheus to Killer's Neo, and he served his purpose fairly well.
In any case, in the midst of pages and pages of Killer and company killing a whole bunch of people (mostly innocent bystanders and non-powered common folk), we are told snippets of what happened to the heroes of old. Superman is dead, Batman and Robin are old has-been television actors, etc.
The actual plot is pretty much your regular "Hero's Journey". There's a call to action, a training period, and a "save the world" moment. (Or in this case, "screw the world".) It's a straightforward superhero story from beginning to end, except tilted at a 90 degree angle; the perspective's slightly fucked on everything.
In any case, the most depressing thing about "Wanted" was that I kept waiting for heroes-- *real* heroes-- to come in and save the day. Never mind that it was a Top Cow publication and that in logical terms, no Marvel or DC character would ever step into it. I couldn't bring myself to root for Killer, and as hopeless as it was, I kept wishing that the superheroes would come back and save the world.
They don't, of course, and instead we get more pages of Killer killing all the bad guys who aren't on his side. And there's a bit in the back of the book where Killer makes his choice to remain a supervillain (after he's killed all the supervillains who were in his way), and he breaks the fourth wall as he describes the mundane life of the stereotypical comics fan and tells us that we're screwed.
If I were to search for a "deeper meaning" in this book, it would be this:
Hoping for superheroes to rescue us is an exercise in futility.
Supervillains control the world.
We're all mindless sheep who exist only to be gunned down at random.
Humanity is screwed.
This is actually quite clever because it shows us in pretty pictures and clever dialogue what the newspapers tell us everyday: There are no superheroes. Assholes are in charge of the world. Humanity is screwed.
It's escapism so far out that it goes full circle and ends up firmly set in reality-- to say that "Wanted" was an unsettling read is putting it mildly. All told, I have only one thing left to say:
Mark Millar: you are a bastard and a genius. In that order. Never stop writing.
(Anonymous)
what i like about Wanted was that it was so unapologetic with its lack of conscience. it was going for pure hedonistic insanity, and on that level, it's the most enjoyable read I've had since Top Ten's "SMAX" mini. (Which you should also read, btw. You'll never look at fairytales in the same way again.)