WEAPON X: THE DRAFT - MARROW #1
"Septic Beauty"
Neutral (4/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Christina Z
Pencils: Brandon Badeaux
Inks: David Newbold
Colors: Color Dojo
Letters: Paul Tutrone
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
The formula of the Weapon X: The Draft event -- watching one Weapon X agent go out and recruit a mutant for the nefarious operation -- is broken here somewhat. Instead of watching Marrow seek out a new "teammate," it's her own role in the organization and her self-perception that's at the center of this story. Christina Z taps into an inherent human quality -- disgust with one's appearance and a wish to magically look perfect -- to tell an emotional story, but other plot elements and some exaggerated art hold it back.
Marrow has turned to the Director of Weapon X to end the pain -- physical and emotional -- that her mutant powers cause her. He makes her wish come true, putting an end to the bony protruberances that she's lived with throughout her life, but in return, he gives her a mission: an assassination. Marrow, basking in her new "normalcy," realizes that she wanted to rid herself of more than just her bony spikes. She also seeks to eliminate that part of herself, of her past, that made her a murderer.
I enjoyed Brandon Badeaux's work on last week's Adventures of Superman #607 from DC Comics, but the strength I saw there is gone here. I think the most distracting thing about the art is that the title character spends her time fully or half naked. It's thoroughly distracting and doesn't entirely fit with what we're told about her psyche. Badeaux's focused on showing us that Marrow is sexy, not beautiful. It's just a bit too much. On the other hand, Color Dojo's dark and muted tones help to bring out the confused and negative emotional atmosphere of the story.
At the heart of this story is a young woman who yearns to fit in, who wants the normal life she was denied. The problem is that that normalcy was not just lost to her due to her powers and circumstances, but because of her own actions, and she discovers that there's no cure for her own memories. It's the first really compelling bit of characterization to pop up in these Weapon X one-shots.
Unfortunately, other plot elements get in the way of that emotional core. I know the Director wants to tear Marrow's mind apart, but the sexual violation doesn't seem the way to go... at least not for this book. Z clearly wants to tell a disturbing, emotionally tumultuous story here, but Marvel's own PG rating holds her back. In the process, instead of bringing a dark edge to the story, the sexual elements come off as gratuitous.
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