Warning: contains spoilers for Wolverine: Black, White & Blood #3
One of the most engaging aspects of Marvel's Wolverine is his honor in spite of his bestial nature. Through the years, many layers have been added to Logan's past, but perhaps some of his most intriguing stories have sprung out of his discipline as a Katana-wielding martial artist in Japan. Given these character overtones, it wouldn't be difficult to imagine a Wolverine story through the lens of writer/director Quentin Tarantino.
Two of Tarantino's most acclaimed films are both volumes of the Kill Bill series, which track Uma Thurman's Beatrix Kiddo on a vengeful quest for retribution against the assassin squad that betrayed her. While that may not initially sound tangential to Wolverine, some of the broader details might. Most fittingly, both Beatrix and Wolverine are defined by their codes as honorable warriors; they believe in living and dying by the blade. Now, in Wolverine: Black, White & Blood #3, Wolverine emulates Beatrix more than ever in a fight that parallels the yellow-haired warrior's most memorable action sequence from Kill Bill Vol. 1.
The initial story of Black, White & Blood #3 from John Ridley and Jorge Fornés, titled "32 Warriors and a Broken Heart," is set in Wolverine's past, at a time when he was engaged to his love, Mariko. The action begins after the Silver Samurai kidnaps their adopted daughter, Amiko, and demands Logan and Mariko defeat his hoard of thirty-two warriors. If they succeed in this, the Silver Samurai promises to return Amiko back to them. Much like Beatrix's face-off against her former partner turned enemy, O-Ren Ishii in the climax of Kill Bill Vol. 1, a hyper-violent battle of blades against a gang of henchman-like characters must first be completed before the hero can come face-to-face with their boss-enemy. In Beatrix's case, it's the Crazy 88. In Logan's, it's the 32 Warriors.
The aesthetic of Wolverine's battleground shares some commonalities with the blood-splattered Kill Bill sequence as well. As the title suggests, this comic is presented in black and white, with the only exception being the color red, as to put an emphasis on the brutal violence of Wolverine's exploits. Meanwhile, Beatrix's clash against the Crazy 88 begins in color, but shifts to black and white the moment she removes an eye from one of the gang members. Interestingly enough, the use of black and white in Kill Bill is meant to homage how it was used in 1970s kung fu movies airing on U.S. television at the time; as a way to downplay the intense violence - essentially the exact opposite reason black and white is utilized in this new Wolverine comic.
It's also worth mentioning that both Kill Bill Vol. 1 and "32 Warriors" take place in a snow-filled Japanese setting. However, Logan's entire battle against both the Silver Samurai and his gang occurs within the white ambiance of the snowfall, while Beatrix isn't earned that honor until she arrives at her climactic one-on-one clash against O-Ren. Either way, snow is used in both cases as an effective backdrop to the merciless violence between these hardened warriors.
Beatrix Kiddo and Wolverine are undoubtedly two fan-favorite, hyper-violent heroes of their respective mediums. "32 Warriors" and Kill Bill both do an excellent job at reminding fans that these honorable protagonists aren't without their flawed penchant for violence. In a perfect world, Tarantino announces his next film as a blade-carving crossover between the not-so-different worlds of Beatrix and the Wolverine.
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