But if Mars is so easy to hate, then why is our media saturated with iconic characters that are clearly born under the influence his planet? Let's see: off the top of my head, we've got ninjas, samurai, marines, Navy SEALs, Jedi, medeival warriors, Roman gladiators, cowboys, hitmen, gangsters, secret agents, martial artists, renegade cops, and (wait for it...!) super heroes.
Like it or not (and some of us love it,) the red planet of Mars' namesake is present in all of our birth charts. However, the negative attributes ascribed to the Greco-Roman War God are usually found in individuals who have an afflicted Mars. Being a malefic force, a stressed Mars can lead to a very unstable person. Someone who throws a punch where diplomacy is called for, who screams at loved ones against their own heart's wishes.
A healthy Mars, however, will usually lead to the qualities we revere in our action heroes - men of will, vision, courage. Our Clint Eastwoods, John Waynes, Bruce Lees, our Scharzeneggers, Stallones, Bruce Willises (Willii?,) our Steve McQueens, Jackie Chans, and various James Bonds; these are the guys who put a presentable face on wrathful action.
Turning our attention to the higher echelons of geekdom, there is only one comic book character I can think of who so singularly personifies the Mars archetype. Love him or hate him, Wolverine is about as Mars as you can get as one of the good guys.
Anti-Hero
When we think of the word "hero," Wolverine's not really the first image conjured up. The heroes of myth are usually Mars archetypes who have received Jupiter's blessing and been given a task from a Saturnine figure. Jupiter is the planet of growth and expansion, whereas Saturn is a force of restriction and discipline. Usually, both of these energies figure into the making of a classical hero.
Take for example, Perseus, who decapitated Medusa and destroyed the sea-monster called Kraken. He wouldn't have done so if he had not been given marching orders from Zeus (his father,) and Athena, who charged him with a mythic quest. And while they're the ones who ordered him around, they're also the ones that gave him the gifts he needed to succeed. His heroism was bestowed on him by providence.
A modern parallel might be a character like Captain America. The US government granted Jupitarian blessings on mild-mannered Steve Rogers, but they only did it so they could make him into a weapon. Spider-Man is another example: he was granted amazing powers by a freak accident, but was tasked to responsible use of those powers by the words of his late Uncle Ben.
Wolverine was born a mutant; he was born with his healing factor, his heightened senses, and his bone claws. There was no divine hand to guide him along a quest - he was simply thrown out into the world with the ability to go rip-shit crazy.
Wolverine was bestowed with his adamantium skeleton by the Weapon X program, but there's nothing much Jupitarian about having metal surgically bonded to your skeleton. No, this transformation seems much more like Pluto's work, especially if we consider that the Lord of the Underworld is often known as Lord Pluton, God of Hidden Riches. Adamantium is, after all, a very rare and sought-after metal.
As for Saturn, well, it's pretty plain to see that Wolverine has serious authority issues.
For these reasons, Wolverine is what we call an "anti-hero." While there's less glory and bluster in his story, and while he doesn't always behave in a manner that society would condone, there is a primal element that we can all relate to. He is human because he is animalistic, and is possessed of a brutality that many of us hide away deep within ourselves.
We relate to his pain, too. Though our own personal torments are not usually quite on par with his, his suffering and frustration are familiar.
His image has been somewhat softened since his early days, but as much as he as labeled as a "super hero," his anti-hero nature remains at the core of his character. Which is fine - most of the people he eviscerates have it coming.
Exalted
Aries is the exultation of the Sun, the placement that makes most efficient use of identity. Logan has a shit-ton of Aries signatures, and if we were to assemble a fictional chart for him, it'd probably be where his Sun, Mercury, and Mars all reside. He acts like an Aries, he talks like an Aries, and he sure as hell fights like one.
Aries is Cardinal Fire, represented by the ram in the West and as the dragon in the East. It is the first emergence of divinity, sustained by self-belief and through conflict with others - creating "sparks" with which it can add fuel to its fire.
Like the ram, Aries often seeks out esteem through dominance of others - think of that Aries asshole who just savors the experience of butting heads with you. And like a dragon, Aries is a paragon of willpower. Though it is but a mythical beast, I think we can safely imagine that there's not much stopping a dragon from doing what the hell it wants. And being possessed of bestial super powers, soaring through the air and affecting the weather, the dragon (like Aries) probably had little regard for the affairs of the other animals down on Earth's surface.
Wolverine is relatively self-centered. Always standing slightly apart from the rest of the X-Men, always taking off at the drop of the hat to explore a lead in the search for his lost past - shit, he's basically commandeered the entire franchise. There was a period where you couldn't pick up an X-title without seeing his face on the cover.
It's not that he doesn't care about others. It's just that he's the center of his own universe.
Aries is the both the first sign of the zodiac, as well as the eternal child. In a sense, Wolverine is "first" among the X-Men, being far older than almost any living mutant, but kept relatively young by his mutant healing factor. Despite his age and inflated attitude, his stature ensures that he'll always have the nickname of "runt," another obvious indicator of his eternal childhood. Also like a child, and like a certain other "first man," Wolverine has a habit of assigning nicknames, himself - "bub" and "darlin' " are his basic means for designations for male and female.
In addition, Wolverine has a tendency to group himself with younger people. Even in a group of young people like the X-Men, he seeks out the youngest as his pseudo-sidekicks. First it was Kitty Pryde. When she grew out of it, there was Jubilee. For a time, even Cannonball seemed to be Wolverine's shadow.
Kitty's recent homage panel
Jubilation Lee
What's more, straddling the line between totally childish and completely badass, Wolverine is world-famous for his berserker rage, a homicidal battle frenzy that overtakes him whenever the shit hits the fan. While it's cool to see our angst-ridden anti-hero flip out and kill things, it should also be noted, in correlation with the notion of Aries-as-child, that his berserker rage is also a glorified temper tantrum. This is why I've never really bought Wolverine as a ninja/samurai/master of Japanese martial arts. Because seriously, when do you ever see him fight in a way possessed of any discipline? And while one of Aries' innate qualities is betterment by way of self-mastery, it seems pretty clear that Logan missed a memo somewhere and skipped over all his training to get to the bloodlust.
A final evidence of Aries lies in Wolverine's most-used mutant ability: his healing factor. Unlike Leo, whose fire is sustained by social approval, or Sagittarius, whose fire is simply fueled by excitement and vision, Aries' runs on self-belief. This can translate into a stubborn "never say die" sort of attitude, so it is appropriate that Logan's mutation keeps him alive through incredibly traumatic situations. It used to be considered impressive that he could sustain a bullet to the head (not that it could penetrate his adamantium-laced skull.) Since then, Wolverine has survived the horror of having that same adamantium lacing ripped completely from his system by Magneto, only to be replaced once more by Apocolypse. Most recently, in the Civil War crossover series, an explosion triggered by Nitro left Wolverine reduced to little else but his metallic skeleton and a bit of tissue, and he still managed to regenerate fully.
Fallen
While Aries' signature is certainly the largest zodiacal signature on Wolverine, the War God's other half, Scorpio, also seems to have a marked presence. Though I believe Logan's Sun would have its exaltation in Aries, I'd also believe his second luminary, the Moon, to be fallen in Scorpio.
The Moon is the mysterious foundation of our souls – a bundle of intrinsic needs and desires which we are often unconscious of. And while a good understanding of one's emotional base is healthy, the Moon often contains mysteries that we have unconsciously locked away from ourselves, truths that we cannot deal with. Dredging up painful psychological complexes can be most unsettling, and the Moon – being the foundational structure of the psyche - should not be unsettled.
At first glance, watery Scorpio, notorious for its connection to stories of intrigue, should be right at home in the mysterious structure of the Moon. The problem is that in all those detective or spy stories, the Scorpionic character is the one who works toward unraveling the mystery – in short, Scorpio doesn't like any mystery that it isn't at the center of. And so, a Scorpio Moon relentlessly tries to solve itself, which is equal to a drilling of, and eventual negation of this all-important emotional base.
This circumstance is pretty easy to apply to Wolverine. If the Moon is a mysterious foundation, it can also be a person's past. A different man might be content to let sleeping dogs lie, and get on with enjoying his new family with the X-Men and finding gratification in super-heroics. Not Wolverine. No matter how excruciating the truth is, Wolverine cannot help but delve into his past at every possible opportunity. And this is a past that is most painful to relive, and was probably buried for a good reason. Though he's lived for ten lifetimes, he's seen nearly all his loved ones cut down at the start of their lives.
Wolverine also has very clear connections to the Death card, Scorpio's representation in the Tarot. Like the black-clad horseman, Wolverine has been known to indiscriminately mow down whatever's in his path. In fact, recent events had him playing the role of Death after he was brainwashed by Apocolypse and converted into the leader of the Four Horsemen. But even when he doesn't carry the title so obviously, he still lives it. One of the first tests of his ability as Weapon X was to exterminate an entire midwestern town called Roanoke, a memory that had been suppressed until his recent investigations finally yielded results.
Death
Considering his mass appeal, rich characterization, and constant involvement, it seems odd that Wolverine doesn't get a lot of glory. There's not too many major villains that he's toppled – sure, he'll get a good cut in on Magneto every now and then, but that's usually only after he's been nailed by Cyclops, punched by Rogue, and has been mind-raped by Professor Xavier. And even then, he only really tags the super villains when he sneaks up on them. Most of the time, Wolverine's the guy who's ripping through henchmen while others rumble with the big fish.
Again, this is an echo of the the Greek God, Ares. Ares was bested by Athena, defeated twice by Hephaestus, and was injured by mortals on two separate occasions. There aren't very many stories about the War God winning important battles. Those big victories usually rely more on clever thinking (Hermes,) a brilliant strategy (Athena,) or raw power (Zeus.) Battle frenzy has its place, but that place is usually reserved for chewing through the ranks of foot soldiers. That's what Ares was good at, and that's what Wolverine's good at.
And if we think about it, who's are his archenemies? He only really has Sabretooth, who's just a representation of his shadow side, and the things about his bestial nature that he refuses to accept. Sabretooth enjoys being an animal and a death-machine, and his purpose in Wolverine's story is mostly to remind him that they are the same thing, like it or not.
A Venusian Menagerie
He's no Remy LeBeau, but Wolverine does get some bitches. He usually ends up with long-standing relationships that are ultimately doomed, but which carry explosive emotional weight for him until they disintegrate.
Many of the Gods, following Zeus' example, would just fuck whoever they pleased with little regard for the consequences. But Ares, despite his gruff function, would have relatively consistent and consensual consorts. The most notable, of course, being with Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty.
Venus is represented in the Tarot as The Empress, and Wolverine tends to attract women in that sort of role. His late lover, Silverfox, ended up being the leader of a terrorist organization known as HYDRA. He was betrothed to Mariko Yashida for years, before the yakuza princess was tricked into an untimely death. He had a relationship with another beautiful crime-lordess in Madripoor, Tigerlily. His most well-known romance, of course, is his unconditional (yet unconsummated) love for Jean Grey, who was in many ways the "Empress" de facto of the X-Men. And while she eventually married the philanderous and totally lame-ass Cyclops, the geeky little pervert inside of me likes to believe that she flicked the bean to Wolverine. And that rhymes.
Sup, Darlin
Logan as Death
Copyright 2006, Nerdcore Astrotypes
No comments:
Post a Comment