An examination for the poignant in Logan

Hugh Jackman as Logan

Some Major Spoilers Ahead

    This is especially for the men...

    A few weeks ago, I had a friendly disagreement with someone on Facebook about how good Logan is. He was clearly a Wolverine fan and he said the movie takes itself too seriously as another story rehash of “omg Logan isn’t healing.” I admit I’m not a fan of the source material the way he is. I didn’t really like the last two solo movies and I expected this one to fail. But I’m really excited about this one.

   In Logan, the challenges are grounded in a way that puts the character under a strain we’ve never seen before (at least onscreen). Logan appears on the scene with a grown out beard. He’s taken a job now as a chauffeur in Texas. The facial hair is a way to avoid being recognized. It becomes mourning. An unexplained horror took place years before with the X-Men in Westchester and now his goal is to quietly save enough money to retire out at sea. Part of his daily routine is to visit a contact at the hospital that does him a favor by giving him medication. He comes home to a downed, hollowed out water tank where he keeps Professor Charles Xavier as comfortable and as hidden as possible-- now a fallen, sometime profanity-spewing shell-of-a-man to heartbreaking effect. Logan has to give him shots daily. If he doesn’t, Charles can have a bad seizure and inadvertently send out telepathic blasts that paralyze- and potentially kill- anyone within the surrounding area. Logan copes now with a failing healing factor that has caused him to age naturally. Somehow, the adamantium that coats his bones is poisoning him. One of his claws does not extract evenly. He soothes himself with alcohol and the small security of an adamantium bullet he keeps in his pocket.

   And then… his cover is blown when news reports come in of several mutilated thugs discovered on the road the night before. Some bad men tried to jack his car and wouldn’t listen when he tried to talk them down. He is then sought out by a woman linked to a secret government operation for the breeding and experimentation of new mutants. He tries hard to discourage her away. Adding to his irritation, he is located by Donald Pierce who is after the woman. And then a mysterious little mutant girl named Laura who shares attributes with Logan is introduced to him by Charles.

Patrick Stewart (in wheelchair) as Charles Xavier

   The carnage in the movie is plentiful. But that’s not what makes the movie exhilarating for me. I’ve never been too impressed with Wolverine in the comic book because he's really this mean-spirited thug. The positive for this is that it’s always been a great dynamic when you put him in the company of other Marvel characters. But in my opinion, Hugh Jackman has made him more accessible. I recall a scene in a comic book where Captain America and Wolverine were in a private chat on a plane. Cap was putting Logan in check. Wolverine lunged at Cap enraged. I mean, he was going to kill Cap. Cap gets the upper hand in the fight and knocks Logan out of the plane. The sight of Wolverine landing on his back in the arctic was one to gladden the heart! However Logan actually makes him a more interesting character. The R-rated violence and language for the movie only aligns in harmony with the story. No small feat. I was initially disappointed to hear Charles cursing, but I settled into the understanding that this was part of his decline and not something to glory in. It’s safe to say that being in isolation with Logan would rub off in that way.

"It's not a choo-choo..." - Logan to Charles

   Charles Xavier is reeling from having his vision seemingly crushed. He set out to help young mutants find safe shelter, and he provided a sense of family and education. He taught them to love by using their powers to protect people that hated them. He opposed his old friend but never gave up hope in appealing to his conscience (I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Magneto). Now, this massive failure should build a very strong case to discredit him in front of the whole world. Isn’t that in large part why Logan fled to the Southwest and hid Charles? But we see a spark of life in Charles when he comes in contact with Laura. He sobers up. He’s excited at being a mentor again. He offers her cornflakes because there’re no cookies. His heart is aflutter. The purpose of his life was always to nurture young mutants. Charles Xavier remains the greatest of all characters in Marvel's mutant mythology because his purpose was to love and even after falling into a kind of ruin, he doesn‘t lose that. And Logan is like a good son who sacrifices what he wants to care for his “incapacitated father“. Of course, expert film-making makes that easy to sit through. We don’t see the worst interactions between scenes. But talk to anyone who looks after their ailing, bedridden loved one. Or rather, volunteer to help. Or watch for a couple of days as they clean up fecal matter. There’s zero glamour in it. It is taxing. But there lay a great nobility in it that finds a weight in heaven that no man can measure.  

   Speaking of R-rated movies. This isn’t Deadpool. One of the points made by the fan I disagreed with was that Deadpool was superior to Logan. I beg to differ. Deadpool is an irreverent and gross assassin. A colorful character, sure and that’s okay in the world of fiction. But the maturity of Logan elevates it. I’ve highlighted the suffering of these characters in part to show how it translates into an intimacy that is found in the family unit-- the troubles between people you are knit to who can draw out the worst. There’s nothing gratuitous about this film. It’s a moving and outstanding piece of story-telling that raises superhero fare the same way The Dark Knight or …Winter Soldier succeeds in doing.

The Munson House

   The choice to use the song “Hurt” by Johnny Cash in the first trailer makes it a classic among trailers. From the opening rift, the western is set before me. There’s a down-to-earth... a weathered sturdiness that is evocative in this song. When he sings, “I hurt myself today… to see if I still feel,” it perfectly senses the weariness. It’s commonplace for trailers to give you the plot and how the actors affect it. But Logan stays confident by staying vague. As a result, I think I felt a greater impact of fear and revulsion when X-24 appears and the ensuing abrupt finality of the Munson family. There is the striking image of X-24 scowling at Logan as he comes down the Munson house steps. He was genuinely

Screenshot of Jackman as the X-24 clone

frightening. If you want to see exquisite brutality on Jackman’s face, then pay close attention to the scene when Rictor is lifting the truck over X-24 to drop it on him. Jackman looks almost unrecognizable in a brief shot of him gazing up at the truck. We see it again when he mercilessly slashes Logan before being shot by Laura. For years, Jackman has expressed his ambition in bringing the most authentic performance of Wolverine to the screen. If anyone still doesn’t believe he did it, then I submit that he certainly overshot that goal by playing X-24.

 

Front cover of Old Man Logan

   This film is loosely based on the graphic novel, Old Man Logan. I read it years earlier and I loved it. I hope a proper sequel will be produced. In this alternate reality, all super villains have united in a concerted effort to overcome the heroes by sheer numbers. They mount a clever assault on Wolverine at the mansion and deceive him into killing all of the X-Men. He is numb with horror and staggers out and away into the woods to kill himself. When he fails to do even that, he goes into exile vowing to never pop his claws again. Having removed a genuine threat to their plan, the super villains defeat the majority of the heroes and take over the country. The ones who are not dead go into hiding. Several years later, Logan is living a quiet life with his wife and children. He is soon hassled and threatened for rent money by his landlord (a corrupt and deranged Hulk). Logan hooks up with a now blind Hawkeye for a job to deliver a package back in New York. The revelations and the territories seen are part of a gripping story, so well done. Logan takes the mood, the shame, the urgency and the catastrophic encounters from the graphic novel and still succeeds without the presence of Spider-Man, Hulk or any of the current MCU characters. That is a triumph in itself! Just like in the book, Wolverine is the most human in this film. It makes him more than just berserker rages.

Hawkeye poking fun at Logan in a scene from Old Man Logan

   During the end credits, the producers included another Johnny Cash song in keeping with the tone of the trailer. “The Man Comes Around” is a beautiful send-off for the character. But much more noteworthy is who Johnny Cash is actually singing about in that song.  I’m of the mind that the decision by the producers was not wholly of their own making. There're simply too many biblical references to the second coming of Christ in secular media everywhere and that simply can't be plain coincidence. In the deep consciousness of people throughout the world, God is making it very clear that the promise is going to be fulfilled. Looking at a select choice of verses from the song:

“And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying,

‘Come and see,’ and I saw, and behold a white horse.”

Dafne Keen as Laura

“The hairs on your arm will stand up.
At the terror in each sip and each sup.
Will you partake in that last offered cup?

Or disappear into the potter’s ground?”

“Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing…”

Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce

“It’s Alpha and Omega’s kingdom come…”

“The virgins are all trimming their wicks…”

“It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks…”

“The wise men will bow down before the throne

And at his feet they’ll cast their golden crowns…”

   I’ll begin to close with this. If we take away the metal claws and healing factor, there’s the familiar trudge of a man surviving. He's beyond tired and beat-up. He's broken-hearted. Whenever a man loses something that gives him power, he has to come face-to-face with himself in plain. If the man is wise then he’ll recognize the health in letting humility finish its work. It’s a very grievous process. I would know. In “The Man Comes Around” Cash sings, “It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks…“ It’s a Greek proverb. It’s a reference to resisting discipline. When Saul of Tarsus was going around dragging Christians out of their homes, beating and throwing them in prison, Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. A great light knocked him off his horse. Saul heard a voice: “Why do you persecute Me? It’s hard for you to kick against the pricks (Acts 26:14, depending on the translation).” In the Hebrew agriculture of that time, an ox goad was used to steer oxen when they were plowing. If the animal went a different way and the farmer stuck the iron tip in its flesh, sometimes the animal would kick back in rebellion. I know, it’s awful. I love animals. But if we could be honest, we’re all pricked by some awful thing that causes us to change our mind about a particular path. God does cause the sun to shine on the just and the unjust. But God disciplines those whom He loves as sons and daughters and if someone is without discipline then that person is an illegitimate child (Hebrews 12:7-8). Saul of Tarsus repented and was saved by faith in Christ. He became Paul the Apostle and wrote more than half of the New Testament.

"It makes him more than just berserker rages."

    Most of the time, I think, suffering is a way for God to get a man’s attention. Instead of humbling down, a man may decide to get worse. I knew a guy years ago-- a younger guy I used to work with who told me in a resolute way that he would rather be a bully than be bullied. At least he was upfront about it. There’s a multitude of men and women like that. They rely on their own strength, their peoples and their credentials and they keep the blinders down. God is clearly trying to make contact with people to introduce them to something better-- on this earth and the next. The awful things that happen to us-- sometimes they happen because we choose to ignore the guard rails that God lovingly set in place to keep us from unnecessary harm. Like a good father who makes sure that his little ones don't play on the stairs. Having success doesn't produce dignity. It's often the reverse. Just watch Wolf of Wall Street. God brings dignity from humility. Humility handles success with grace. In this case, a fictional mutant superhero dies with his daughter at his side in dignity. I think that’s why we cried. A man lives and dies well in the dignity of living sacrificially. But for what? Let me remind the die-hard fans who may be reading that in the really, real world physical and emotional abuse very rarely finds you dignified… or in good mental health for that matter. This difference does make Wolverine a very unique and interesting character. It should also point in some way to something greater than even this.

Logan is directed by James Mangold

Screenplay by Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green

Old Man Logan’s storyline is written by Mark Millar 

The Problem of Evil

INTRODUCTION

            In May 2010, I wrote this essay for my Philosophy of Religion course in college. My professor and I hit it off immediately as the chief opposing voices in that class. In the very first class, he opened with a discussion that positioned religions as nothing more than groups who competed to bolster their ranks. I became uncomfortably aware of being in a very hostile environment. I very pointedly explained to him that the 12 disciples were not a "basketball team." They developed a very personal and intimate friendship with Jesus and their purpose was noble. Not ambitious. Well, he did make a mockery of me. People laughed. I remember being very humiliated that first day in class. In retrospect, it may have been his way of knowing who he'd have to deal with. Things mellowed out as the semester progressed, but I stood my ground in class discussion, as respectfully as I knew how, against what was a proud opposition to the existence of God. The unbelieving can be vicious. Besides myself and a few Muslims, not many spoke of their belief that God existed.
            In this essay, you will see a badly restrained sarcasm on my part which thank God found expression only in my writing. I've grown since then. It may be important to note that I was immersed in research that revealed undeniable evidence of an occult presence, of mind and in our society. It's a research that I've laid down since. New Age was one of the religions we touched on in class. My professor gave an exasperated sigh when I explained it's roots and practices.
            I finished that course well. I initially got a B for this essay, but was given a C because it was a day late. 

            I believe the existence of evil can only be reconciled in traditional monotheism for Christianity. It holds for me the most stable explanation than what other religions have put forward, and class discussions have been frustratingly short-sighted. But I will limit my explanation based on those discussions and on the readings. 

            In his essay, “The Argument From Evil”, David Hume is asking about God, “Is he (sic) willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?” (Eshleman 293). Hume is essentially saying that if there be evil in the world, then God cannot be all good and powerful. He is wrong. 

            Let me flip this. Suppose God did save us from the day-to-day drudgery of life with all of its surprise disappointments, heartaches and shrinking pleasures. Suppose God stopped every earthquake, hurricane and holocaust. What does that look like for mankind? The world hails God! Our Superman! Everything is well. But David Hume groans, “… somehow, I’m still not satisfied. Why does God allow such misery?” God hears the growing restlessness and He does double time in the granting of unlimited wishes. The world hails God! Our genie of the lamp! Everything is well. But the result is a people grown fat, super-lazy and incurably wicked. Why should people do anything, never mind reflect anymore?

            The Hip Hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons once said that out of 16 wealthy men that he knew, only 14 of them were unhappy. Why? A man meets the woman of his dreams. She's gorgeous and she makes him very happy in the bedroom. But a year later he hates her guts. Why? Because we are a people that habitually take everything and everyone for granted. It’s just never enough. We are a clamoring fast-food type generation and patience is an enemy. We talk a good game about fairness, integrity and justice, but all of our actions demonstrate that we think character is a waste of time. It’s very chic to be rebellious as long as we put a self-righteous spin on it. This is the hidden evil. David Hume, a malcontent cynic who wants to live his life without accountability and is offended by people who do.

            But let’s continue. God has created “perfect life” on very imperfect earth. David Hume is wracked with boredom. He shakes his fists and curses, “How could You do this to us!?” Man cannot bear this "perfect life" and losing his mind with frustration, he slides fully into his primitive self and shows the meaning of his misery upside the skull of his neighbor. Like a drug addict, he feeds off of his emotions. To find peace again, he begins to savor with abandon the simple pleasure of blood lust. But wait! Out of the ashes of the interrupted holocaust arises a new crop of Hitlers taking advantage of the great discontent of the nations. Now God must again satisfy Hume by working quadruple time to stop the violence and “demonstrate His omnipotence.”

            It should be clear that my illustration of an all-powerful and all-moral God according to David Hume does not assuage the problem of evil at all. The world hails God! Our wimpy celestial maid! All… is not well.

            God may demonstrate firmness and wisdom in what is best for His children. The adult man steps out and finds his life easier because of tough lessons; his selfishness and childish beliefs burned out of him in the fires of the difficult trials he endured. He's better for it. History has shown that men failed when they tried to engineer a utopia, having nothing but horror to show for it. It’s not what we were intended for. One might insist that heaven on earth could be had if God wills it. But how do you upload the magnificent, holy and higher state of heaven into this terrestrial, decomposing mess that we have around us? Man remains fallen on this plane and the world and everything in it is subject to corruption. Everything dies here. A utopia on earth is impossible without the return of Jesus Christ as it is prophesied in the Book of Revelations.

            But David Hume is still not satisfied and he thunders, “No, no, how could a loving and moral God allow such a massive evil like the holocaust to happen?” I won’t deny the worthiness of that question and since no one can give a ready and good answer, certain people in class should abstain from writing that off condescendingly as “checkmate.” I say that no one on earth can really answer this question- certainly not David Hume. But would it surprise the atheist to know that it was his legacy that contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler? Ahh, let’s briefly examine my mini-assessment of the prequel to Nazi Germany. 

            After the middle ages, there was the Renaissance which gave great weight to the study of the Greeks and the Romans, and from this came Individualism, Humanism and the delightful values of Machiavelli, effectively loosening the holds of Christianity on society (no thanks to the corruption of the Church). The Scientific Revolution came. The Enlightenment came. The Industrial Revolution won the hearts and imaginations of men, in terms of progress with a helpful dose of laissez-faire to keep them nice and numb from morality. Realism, Naturalism and Positivism enters the fray one by one like thugs taking turns beating the faith out of people… but in a subtle way, of course. Enter Charles Darwin to great fanfare, with his theory of evolution tucked under one arm and his principle of natural selection tucked under the other. Mr. Darwin effectively sounds the death knell of faith that had progressively become weaker from the profane isms that ailed it up to then- not to mention keeping people illiterate so they can’t read their bibles. Darwin: the new gospel. If I am an ape and there is no God to look to for help, what now? The insidious evil of nationalism is kicking around and gets a nice power-up boost from Social Darwinism. It gets real nasty out here. My flesh is the new religion! My clique is the new religion! Everyone is dividing up in clan, in color and in creed. Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated by Serbs and the unbearable tension that’s had every nation walking on egg shells explodes into World War I. History clearly shows that the world enters the 20^th Century with a sense of high anxiety. Being a bully is the new and only philosophy. Enter Adolf Hitler, a consummate failure who tried his hand at being a soldier, an artist and a priest. He was born in a time when Germany was being bullied by surrounding nations into a demoralizing poverty and hopelessness. We know the story. But hey, cheers to Lil’ Charlie Darwin!

            So the atheist is blissfully near-sighted when he blames God or Christianity for the moral decline of modern civilization. Man was content to kick God out of his affairs in the first place and now he’s mad when he can’t find Him. Is it possible that the Holocaust was a bit of a wake up call for how low mankind had slumped in their own self-worship and their drive for material gain? That’s a gruesome conclusion, isn’t it? Well… then the next question should be, ‘does man listen to God much?’ Think about it. God is not going to bless progress in as far as it is used to deny His sovereignty by the ingrate and scornful. And it is a naïve foolishness on the part of Hume to expect God not to correct him. I am fully sympathetic about the horror that took place in Germany, but I am certain that God’s intervention in the Holocaust would’ve redoubled military monsters like Hitler and the awful lesson would not have been grasped. God is not to be mocked. If God emphasizes that this world is merely a shadow of the next one, then we must take from that a confidence that death will not be horrible for those who believe unto Jesus (as promised in the bible). But since we generally regard death as horrible, maybe God uses that misconception to wake us up from the stupors we're often prone to fall into.

            So David Hume is sorely in error. If those who are for Hume really must declare “checkmate” in class discussion as the last word about God, then in regard to the existence of God, Richard Swinburne’s teleological design argument has “checkmate” completely. David Hume is still on checkers.

            Lil’ Charlie Darwin removed the good near completely from the lives of Christians whose faith wasn’t strong enough to contain it. And when you remove the good, it’s hard to see in the dark.

            Let’s look at Augustine.

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.”

-Roger “Verbal” Kint in the film, The Usual Suspects.

            I will not overlook the existence of Satan. We’ve already relegated God to pale philosophy, and leaving out fallen Lucifer in discussing the problem of evil is a parallel error. If we are going to talk about God, then His angels are relative to this discussion- even the fallen ones.

            In the essay, “Evil as a Privation of Good” by Augustine of Hippo, he writes, “For what is that which we call evil but the absence of good?” (Eshleman 291). I like this because without the sanction of God, Lucifer shrivels up in his own pride and is this living devouring void. Augustine goes on, “But if it should be thoroughly and completely consumed by corruption, there will then be no good left, because there will be no being. Wherefore corruption can consume the good only by consuming the being” (Eshleman 292). For me, this completely describes the irredeemable nature of Lucifer and the 1/3 of heaven that fell with him. In hell, there is no light and there is no peace. Again, Augustine says, “But for good to be diminished is an evil, although, however much it may be diminished, it is necessary…” (Eshleman 291).

            Unfortunately, the discussion of the existence of God using blunt logic is already a significant problem, and to take on the existence of the devil would be overwhelming. But without straying too far from the parameters of the philosophical, it’s my belief as well as my summation based in research of certain peoples, world events and biblical scripture that Lucifer is moving people away from the Word of God and setting up the world stage for the entrance of the Anti-Christ. There are educated, scholarly and well-researched men of sober and reputable dispositions who are noting the physical and metaphysical observations of this truth.

            Lucifer is a defeated enemy who was bested 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ. His chief means of oppression is fear and lulling deception. He is very cunning. If I want to confuse you as to which path to God was the right one, I will first find you in a desolate state and introduce you to a variety of choices. You will see this as a generous luxury. In your mind, you’ll think what a liberal and flexible God we have, and you’ll regard any claim of a “one way to eternal life” with contempt. Political correctness will give you a card for coolness and be your security blanket to shield you conveniently from the wrath of an ultra liberal crowd. Look to the New Age/ New Thought Movement with its roots in theosophy and Satanism, names like Benjamin Crème, Helena Blavatsky, Albert Pike, Aleister Crowley and potentially Maitreya, the so-called World Teacher.

 

Eshleman, Andrew, ed. Readings in Philosophy of Religion. Wiley-Blackwell, May 2008.

            Print.