When The Wolverine’s CinemaCon footage hit the Internet a few days ago, the world at large finally got a good look at one of the most badass bad guys in the Marvel universe, the Silver Samurai. And as you can tell from the image above, he’s capable of looking just as menacing without a hint of silver involved. And even without his trademark color, he’s still cooler than that other cinematic silver guy.
The image appeared courtesy of director James Mangold’s Twitter page, tagged with the message, “As we are beginning to offer glimpses of Silver Samurai, here’s a new great one sheet image for #thewolverine.” This Japanese watercolor-style portrait of the villain-turned-hero-turned-villain was almost definitely designed by the same guy who gave us a similar look at Wolverine himself last year. One has to wonder whether or not Viper will get this kind of poster treatment next. Wait, what’s that? Oh, Jean Grey just telepathically texted me and said it’s a possibility.
Mangold’s “mutant in Japan” flick will follow the excellent 1982 comic book arc from Frank Miller and Chris Claremont that sets outsider nomad Logan in an Asian setting that completely clashes with his Western roots. He will face an epic battle like no other, as he faces a mysterious figure from his past, and finds his mutant powers at risk. Of course, we’ll have to sit through another round of trailers and movie posters before actually getting to see anything. Promotional campaigns certainly claw my ass sometimes.
But don’t go into Berzerker mode. You can check out The Wolverine and all its high-flying, explosion-filled action when it hits theaters on July 26, 2013.
