Thunderbolts: Blood Sport Speed Demon comes up short, from Wolverine 167

"Blood Sport" Wolverine 167, 168, 169 (October - December 2001)
(2001/10/01)

Reader Rating: Average; Thunderbolts Interest: Low

Summary: Wolverine is lured to Madripoor to participate in the "Blood Sport," a bracketed series of battles between super powered contestants. The main event is Wolverine vs Mister X, a powerhouse mutant with the ability to predict his opponent's moves. But Logan soon learns that the event is being manipulated by Ogun, Wolverine's one-time sensei, who wants to possess Logan's body.

Wolverine's first bout is against Speed Demon. Other contestants: Anaconda, Cat, Eel, Forearm, Gamecock, Headhunter, Oddball, Puma, Razorfirst, Taskmaster, Toad, and Zaran. Wolverine's wife, Viper, runs the show.

Continuity: Speed Demon appears in the first installment, using throwing blades. He winds up beaten and cut, but alive and at large.

Comments: This was not a new idea when the Thunderbolts did it (1999/10/01), but at least that super-fight-for-entertainment seemed motivated. Here it's just a device to inject some violence between various scenes where villains exposit to Logan about their motives. (And don't think about it too much, because luring Wolverine overseas sure is the long way around considering what Ogun is trying to accomplish.) The Blood Sport is very similar to the wrestling league that Axum will get involved with in the upcoming Thunderbolts reboot. If you like the slash-'em/ninja style of comic-book action, I suppose this isn't a bad example, but I can't for the life of me figure out why Speed Demon would get himself involved with this carnage.

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This page was revised on March 30, 2005

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