I just finished reading Jason Aaron’s Wolverine – Manifest Destiny mini series as part of the X-Men – Manifest Destiny collection. The other stories were crap but the Jason Aaron story was a pretty fun ride. The X-Men have just relocated to San Francisco and Wolverine has violated a 50-year-old ban by entering Chinatown that results in an epic kung-fu beat-down, training, and then revenge/ redemption story.
I guess it’s obvious, if not somewhat safe, to put the story in Chinatown because even people not familiar with San Francisco can figure out what kind of neighborhood Chinatown is.
I still maintain that The Outer Sunset is a far more versatile neighborhood that you can tell several different kinds of stories in.
The Outer Sunset has loud Chinese and English advertising that makes a great background for any kind of kung-fu or Blade Runner type story.
The Outer Sunset is littered with these beautiful miniature castles, Hansel and Gretel type homes, and suburbs on acid that would make for great surreal or head-trip stories.
And then you have some straight up batshit crazy neighbors.
With locals that drive around in Burning Man art cars or demon busses.
The Outer Sunset is like living on the set of the weirdest movie David Lynch never got around to making.
I really love this house in The Outer Sunset.
It’s your classic San Francisco kung-fu house.
I could brainstorm an entire X-Men mini-series just off of this house.
Here’s my pitch –
This is Mr. Hung’s house.
1969 -
Back in the late 60’s Mr. Hung was this 20-year-old Jet Li looking kind of guy with this rad Jim Lee hair and bitching yakuza tattoos.
Mr. Hung is China’s #1 spy and the world’s #1 assassin. He’s the best there is at what he does.
Back before he was in The X-Men and was in Weapon X or Strikeforce X or whatever, Wolverine is loaned off to this ultimate black-opts project that no-one has words or even clearance levels for and finds himself working with Mr. Hung.
They don’t like each other.
They’re off with Nick Fury, the previous Dr. Strange, and Snake Eyes on a covert mission to seek and destroy a downed unidentified astral object.
2009 –
Mr. Hung is this Sammo Hung looking kind of guy who actually looks like he’s 40 years older.
40 very haggard years older.
He’s a few feet shorter, has almost no hair with a receding hairline, a potbelly, and is always wearing a goofy Hawaiian t-shirt. Now that the X-Men are in San Francisco, Logan always comes over to crash on Mr. Hung’s couch in The Outer Sunset whenever he needs to unwind and heal in private. They have a much better rapport these days. There’s a Jacuzzi and an endless supply of beer in the back yard with a bitching view of the sunset.
I love the backyard too.
This is actually from a completely different Outer Sunset house but I’m gonna take some artistic liberty and fuse the 2 of these images together for the sake of my pitch.
Mr. Hung’s tattoos are all fucked-up now. There are scars, bullet holes, stab wounds, claw marks, cigarette burns, electrical burns, farmer tans, and a potbelly. It’s a mess.
Logan’s giving him a hard time and is all
“Jesus Christ, Hung. Who does your touch-up work these days? GG Allin?”
And Mr. Hung is all,
“Tell me about it. kid. When I was young and stupid I used to be into tattoos, Now that I know better I’m into scars. Each one tells a different story about how it fucked-up my life”
Camera zooms into Mr. Hung’s right arm and this lengthwise burn in the form of an iron chain.
1969 –
Escape pod from Hell has just crash landed in Vietnam.
4 Ghost Riders hit the ground running at 100 miles per hour in opposite directions.
Wolverine + crew destroy them all in less than 3 issues but in the process they also massacre half of an early Private Frank Castle’s platoon in seconds.
Hearts, minds, blood, guts, and demon curses are splattered everywhere. It’s a bloodbath.
And that’s my pitch for the -
Punisher Ghost Rider Wolverine – Manifest Destiny mini series.
Sign Jason Aaron onboard and that’s just money in the bank.
