It's that time again! It's time to join the Wolfpack in their war to save the South Bronx from the Nine! Last time, one of the Pack faced a horrible tragedy. What will come of this next? Let's find out in Wolfpack #3!
The cover is a Ron Wilson and Kyle Baker piece. It's pretty funny. It depicts Slippery Sam and Rafael Vega leaping down towards some gang members, while looking like they're trying to do their scariest monster poses. Although I'd think at that range, those gang members would have an easy time putting bullets in them. This is why you don't hire Imperial Stormtroopers to teach people how to shoot.
"Throwdown"
Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: Ron Wilson
Inker: Kyle Baker
Colorise: Max Scheele
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story starts with a brawl. A massive brawl. I am talking a fight that takes up the entire street.
So, what is this big brawl about, you may ask? Well, it's because a bunch of gangs are duking it out.
This fight is being witnessed by Slippery Sam and Rafael Vega. Sam notes that the Black and Irish gangs have teamed up to whup on a Latino gang known as the Regals. This new alliance refers to themselves as the Scorpions. Evidently, in the Marvel Universe's New York City, these gangs are quite fond of 80s metal. I don't blame them, 80s metal rules. 🤟
Rafael finds this whole thing fishy.
Two particular gang members get their attention. One of them is a heavyset Black teenager wearing a green hat. The two Pack members recognize him as Jelly. He was once a member of the DTKs, Lamarr Battle's old gang from the original graphic novel. Another is named Feeney, the president of a gang known as the Rovers. Keep these two, especially Feeney, in mind.
The cops arrive and manage to break this rumble up, the people watching from their windows jeering the fighting gang members as a bunch of hoodlums. Jelly calls out to the Regals to meet them at the playground tomorrow night. That's where they'll finish this. Sam and Rafael follow the Scorpions to a warehouse, as it's not likely they're meeting at their regular spots.
Meanwhile, Wheels is over at the home of Slag. Slag and his mother brought him over so they can study together. Like Slag himself, Mrs. Slagley is implied to be attending school herself. No shaming here, it's never too late to learn something new. 😊 Wheels believes they're doing this as a way to help him get over his father's death in the last issue. A knock is heard at the door, and they have a guest.
Mrs. Slagley recognizes the boy. His name is Malcolm Brown, and he's the son of their neighbors. Wheels notes that he looks like he was beaten badly. His parents come by to pick him up. Malcolm's father angrily snaps at the Slagleys and Wheels, calling them out for seemingly acting like they're better than everyone else.
Back to the warehouse! A meeting is going down. The DTKs and the Rovers are meeting with our old friend Mr. Crenshaw, a lawyer in the employ of the Nine from the graphic novel. We also get some follow-up to Lamarr's fate in the graphic novel. Mr. Battle is healing from his fire-induced wounds...and he has much to learn. Crenshaw has come bearing a gift for the Scorpions.
Uzis, Ingrams, and Smith and Wessons, oh my! Crenshaw has provided enough guns to outfit a small army. It's clear the Nine are using the Scorpions to get a foothold in the South Bronx. The next day, the Wolfpack have a meeting about this. Their meeting is interrupted by Sharon's dad, who drags her home. On the way to his home, Slag finds a pair of kids with Malcolm's teddy bear. He takes it from them and gives it back to the boy. Malcolm is hiding out in an abandoned building, but he insists he's not running away. He's just visiting someone. Who? Well, anyone else but his parents.
Sam and Rafael return to the warehouse, and they find it empty. The Scorpions are on the move, and they are armed to the teeth. By the time the two can gather the rest of the Wolfpack, the fight will be over...and it will be a massacre.
Yeah, it's going to be up to them to take care of this. Back to the Slagleys! Slag tries to convince his mother to take Malcolm in, but she can't. Malcolm has to tell the police about the abuse, but he won't rat on them. Technically, they're committing a crime, and Mrs. Slagley can't have that on her. She got a new job, and she's working on her degree in business administration. Slag understands (seriously, what is this kid's first name?! Why won't anyone say?!)
Anyway, Slag has another idea for where Malcolm can go. While this is going down, Sam and Rafael are following the Scorpions. The two Pack members slowly ambush and whittle the group down, taking advantage of the Scorpions not expecting an ambush. Slag tries to take Malcolm to Sharon's place, but she can't take him in either.
Meanwhile, Sam and Rafael manage to whittle the Scorpions down to just Jelly and Feeney. Sharon's old man is not happy to see Malcolm, but then Malcolm asks if the old man is going to beat him up. Sharon's dad assures him that won't happen here.
At the playground, Jelly's getting some nerves. The rest of the Scorpions seemingly turned tale and ran for it, and despite him and Feeney having assault rifles, it's still just two of them against all the Regals. Feeney doesn't care. He wants Regal blood, and he's going to get it through hell or high water. He sees two men, and guns them down thinking they're Regals. They were not Regals.
Yup, Feeney just shot two police officers, and one ended up dead. Inspector Cassidy tries to calm the situation and talk Feeney into standing down. You see, Cassidy's mother and Feeney's grandmother are old friends. But Feeney panics and shoots at Cassidy, believing there's no way out for him after this. Cassidy yells not to shoot, but the cops do shoot, and Feeney is turned into Swiss cheese. Sam and Rafael witness this, wondering how the cops knew about this. It turns out Wheels called them in, as he feels this is not the Wolfpack's problem.
The next day, Mrs. Slagley arrives for her first day of work at her new job at the Three-Square Corporation. And she meets her new boss.
Yup, Mr. Crenshaw. Looks like the Nine may be able to get their claws into Slag...
I enjoyed this issue. Its biggest strength was that it touched on the family lives of the other members of the Pack. One of my favorite scenes was the bait-and-switch with Sharon and her father. With this and the graphic novel, we got the idea that he was a self-pitying angry man I did like that this issue touched on Wheels and the loss of his father, but I do feel it was kind of cast aside here. I do understand that the other members have their own stuff going on, and that's understandable, but I do feel I would have liked the issue to touch on Wheels's feelings and grief a bit more. After all, his dad is still dead. The end was a genuine shock to me. I wondered why Mr. Mack didn't help Slag's mother out like he did Rafael's. Did she turn it down, or did she start this after he died?
I do think Wilson and Baker's art works for this issue, as it has that gritty, rough, street vibe to it.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Wolfpack: The Complete Collection. Thanks for reading this blog entry!
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