Marvel's
WCW Comic Book Issue # 6
As part of our WCW Wednesdays section, we have been reviewing the WCW comic book series created by Marvel in the early 1990's. Here's a review of the first issue, followed by a review of the second issue, third issue, fourth issue and the fifth issue.
When we last left off, The WCW Ghoul (a take off on the WCW Phantom character that happened in actual storylines) was proven NOT to be Ravishing Rick Rude (which is who The Phantom was unmasked as), the WCW World Championship was in limbo after Lex Luger left the company, and The Dangerous Alliance was running roughshod over the babyfaces.
So of course, this issue starts off with a match between Heavy Metal Van Hammer and Punch Fresh, the non-existent rap gimmick that was seen in the previous issue.
Points for continuity, I suppose, but why introduce a character that had NOTHING to do with actual WCW storylines? Or was Bill Watts preparing to unveil this character in reality, but he never made it to television? Only Marvel Comics know for certain....
Following that match, we recap a new rivalry between color commentator Johnny B. Badd and The Dangerous Alliance.
In reality, Badd (Marc Mero) had turned babyface, but it's still baffling how The Badd Man manages to be one of the central characters in this comic book series.
Along those lines, Badd has aligned himself with The Steiner Brothers and The Z-Man in a feud with The Dangerous Alliance.
We soon cut to a match (not sure if this is now a recap or an actual match) between Arn Anderson and a tights-wearing Steve Austin against The Steiner Brothers.
Scott is wearing a cast on his arm for no adequately-explored reason, and at one point, Austin slams him to the mat and crows "HAW HAW!" a la Nelson from The Simpsons.
From there, we go to the main event, where a poorly-illustrated and grossly overweight (?) Cactus Jack battles Sting.
This would be a rematch from The Bruise Cruise issue, where Cactus tried to blow up the boat with sticks of dynamite, only to have him and Sting rappel off the top of the ship into a waiting ring. After the dynamite was safely detonated in the river, Sting and Missy Hyatt happily danced the night away in a disco.
I wish I were making even part of that scenario up.
Back to our main event, Cactus is shown as an ally of The Dangerous Alliance, with Paul E. Dangerously (Heyman) arguing with Jim Ross over Sting's chances of survival and, yes, the whereabouts of Johnny B. Badd, who has suddenly disappeared. Sigh....
With Sting easily handling the onslaught of Cactus Fat (hey, it's not MY fault they drew him like he's the older brother of Bastion Booger), possible WCW World Champion Ravishing Rick Rude (see last issue for how he may have possibly won the gold in a War Games match) comes down to ringside. If this were an episode of Raw in 2017, the distraction would have been too much for The Stinger to overcome and he would have been pinned easily.
But this is WCW, where The Big Boys Play, and Sting isn't having none of this distraction crap. Instead, he rallies back and manages to defeat Food Love for the one-two-three, shouting to the ref "Hurry up and count, REF! I don't have ALL DAY!" while all Mick Fatley can do is let out a huge squeal as the ref counts him out.
After that, Sting holds up the WCW Championship Belt... wait.... didn't Rude win it in War Games last issue? Or does The WCW Ghoul still hold the gold? Does any of this matter? The previous issue said the "Final fate of the WCW Title" was going to be revealed in Issue # 6, but apparently not.
And after that two-star match.... we're done. Fade to black. Issue over.
HUH?
This was one of the most underwhelming comics in the series so far. Not only were the illustrations of lesser quality than in the past, but NOTHING HAPPENED OF NOTE HERE! No sinister beings materializing from the past, no Bobby Eaton dressed up like a hot dog vendor, no dynamite blowing up cruises, nothing!
Here's hoping Issue # 7 takes a turn for the better.