January 25, 2011

Moon Wolf in UNCANNY X-MEN

In an online conversation, someone jokingly suggested the name "Moonwolf" for an Indian character. Turns out Marvel Comics does have a Moon Wolf:

Moon WolfFirst Appearance:  Uncanny X-Men#356 (June, 1998)

Powers:  Moon Wolf has no known powers, though he believes he can control the crows of Anchorage through his Bag of Enchantment filled with birdseed. Crows do gather and attack at one point, so it's possible he does have some crow-gathering powers. He also believes he is the God of Ice and Snow. There is no evidence to support this claim, however.

History:  Moon Wolf is an Native American, possibly an Eskimo, who believes he can talk to the Crow god Chulyen, and is his humble servant. To most of the people of Anchorage, though, he is just a crazy loon.Comment:  This is a very typical Native comic-book character. On the one hand, his name, costume, and tribal affiliation are totally generic. On the other hand, he isn't a buckskinned warrior who uses a bow and arrows or tomahawk.

His ambiguity--is he serving a god or simply crazy?--makes him slightly interesting. In short, he's better than some characters, worse than others.

For more on the subject, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.

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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous2:09 PM

    Not to mention, Moonwolf is a stupid name. Indians in children's stories always have stupid names. At least he dresses semi-sensibly for Alaska. Remember how most Indians in comics, Golden Age more than Silver Age (admittedly), dressed as plains Indians? Usually as plains Indians, going into battle, in the middle of summer? Yeah.

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