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huginsmemory · 1 year

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Wolfwood, the Symbolism of the Punisher and Tragic Narratives

ID: A shot of Wolfwood carrying the Punisher.

MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS

Considering that my post on Wolfwood being a tragic character is doing the rounds and people seem to adore it in the most horrified manner, I thought it might be fun to point out some of Wolfwood's 'dead-since-the-beginning' motifs, specifically through what the Punisher signifies.

Symbolism of the Punisher

There are five (from what I've pulled out) things the cross-machine gun of the Punisher symbolizes. First and foremost, I'm going to talk about how the Punisher, in it's shape of a cross, represents Christianity and Christian morals. This is something that is highly ironic, as while it shape symbolizes the morality and salvation of Christianity, of forgiveness and unconditional love--and such missives as 'thou shalt not kill'--it is also clearly a specialized weapon created specifically to kill people, violating the assumptions of Christian morality.

In a way, this irony or contradiction reflects Wolfwood's own irony; outwardly looking like and pretending to be a priest with Christian morals while at any closer inspection is clearly an assassin. However, the inverted is also true; although Wolfwood is an assassin and kills people, it is shown through his moral quandaries, that these Christian ethics are ones that Wolfwood subconsciously believes in, but has rejected to survive in the world. As a result, the Punisher symbolizes the irony and contradiction of Christian ethics that Wolfwood carries.

Interesting side note, Chapel directly says that their actions as assassins--executing people with their machine gun crosses--is mercy and leads them to save themselves and others to redemption, much in the same way humanity was redeemed through the cross in Christianity, which is the excuse that Wolfwood carries with him for killing others; but that's a digression from what I want to talk about.

ID: Chapel says, “If killing is a sin... it is also the path to redemption. Did you not understand that?” Wolfwood, through black panels of narration, thinks: “I understand. I understand, but... He is foolish. His words are no more than the nonsense of a child. Idiot. I understand that.”

The second thing I wanted to talk about, was that in a way, the Punisher in a cross shape is apt, as the cross previous to Christianity was a literal torturous execution device. To be sentenced to crucifixion meant hours of pain until one finally died from asphyxiation. The Punisher in that manner, stays true to the execution part of the original symbolism of the cross, as it is being used to kill and hurt others; as well as in a way, it applies to Wolfwood himself, which we will get to later.

The third thing I want to talk about the Punisher, is how contextually it symbolizes Wolfwood's profession, and his connection to the Eye of Micheal (EOM), which causes him guilt (the fourth thing). The cross is literally given to him by Chapel, the man who inducted him into EOM; Chapel giving Wolfwood the Punisher, a prestigious weapon used by those from the EOM, can be considered the physical signifier of Chapel giving Wolfwood the brutal lifestyle that he lives under and his connections to them. Hell, specifically because of his weapon, Wolfwood is mistaken for being Chapel, it is so tied to EOM and Chapel himself. As well, by both being the weapon that shows his correlation to the EOM and the weapon that he uses to kill people with, the Punisher (and it's weight) also represents his guilt from the lifestyle, becoming literally the 'cross he has to bear' as a result of trying to protect the orphanage.

ID: First 2 images show young Wolfwood being given the Punisher and being told it’s the Eye of Michael’s highest honor. Its skull-shaped handle is shown. 3rd has Legato saying, “That cross... I’ve been waiting for you. You’re ‘Chapel,’ correct?” He and Wolfwood look at each other.

A quick, bullet point recap, of what the Punisher signifies:

Christian morality: unconditional love, absolution and forgiveness, and 'thou shalt not kill' and Wolfwood's irony around this concept

a literal historic torturous execution device

signifies his profession and connection to the eye of Micheal

signifies his guilt over his profession

Narrative doom and Wolfwood

The fifth thing I want to talk about, is how the Punisher and it's symbolism is related to Wolfwood being a narratively doomed character. I choose this specifically as the Punisher literally becomes Wolfwood's grave marker (or one of them, at least). Thus, the fifth thing the Punisher symbolizes as Wolfwood's grave marker is his death-- and how he's been dead since the beginning.

ID: Wolfwood’s grave with the Punisher sitting as a grave-cross above the flat headstone is the foreground of the last page of volume 10, chapter 8. In the background Vash and Livio discuss where Vash will go next.

Hell--our first introduction to Wolfwood is him slumped under the Punisher in the desert, and assumed to be dead by the bus driver. The bus driver even comments that he's a really well-prepared dead guy, referring specifically to the cross of the Punisher, which in the first-ever panel we see Wolfwood, looks like a grave marker for him-- and ultimately ends up being his grave marker. Since the beginning, our introduction to Wolfwood is him as a dead character, and in a way, he remains so as he literally carries his grave marker throughout the story, only waiting until the right moment when he can truly die.

ID: 1. Wolfwood is starkly shaded as he sits unconscious in the desert with the Punisher behind him, almost like a grave marker.

2.. The bus driver comments, “Whew... That’s one well-prepared dead guy.”

As well, not only is the Punisher literally his grave marker and is a symbol of his death, but the other symbolism that it carries can be considered to cause Wolfwood's death; Wolfwood's connection to the EOM, his guilt, and Christian morals. For Wolfwood's connection to the EOM and Chapel, it is Chapel whose actions cause Wolfwood's death. In fact, as Chapel is the one who gave Wolfwood the Punisher, Chapel is the one to give Wolfwood his grave marker--and was the one to ensure that it became his gravemarker. Since the beginning of Chapel taking him under his tutelage, he was condemned to die.

Not only does it symbolize Wolfwood's death as a result of Chapel, but it also symbolizes Wolfwood's guilt over killing as a result of working for EOM, which also contributes to Wolfwood's death. Wolfwood's guilt come into play in his choice to defend the orphanage alone, as he believed that due to his guilt he wasn't worthy or important enough to ask Vash to help him; even if he knows Vash has proved over and over again that he would put aside everything to help anyone. Ultimately, he is proved wrong when Vash shows up anyways, but by this time, it is already too late. Adding to this is Wolfwood's staunch refusal to kill Livio as he declares his belief in Vash--and Vash's principles, ie, Christian principles-- which also causes Wolfwood to die, which Chapel himself notes. As a result, it is his guilt, his connection to Chapel, and to a smaller degree, his acceptance of Christian ethics, that kills him--all things the Punisher, his grave marker, signifies.

ID: Chapel berating Wolfwood for not shooting to kill Livio.

As well, tying into the historical interpretation of a cross as a torturous execution device, one can take the symbolism of the Punisher, specifically of Wolfwood's profession and deep self-loathing guilt as a result of his ethics he's had to forsake, and interpret the Punisher as metaphorically torturing Wolfwood. And, as it's symbolism is tied to the reasons for his death, one can also metaphorically claim that it is also what causes Wolfwoods own death, or execution; fully fulfilling its historic significance.

Summary

TLDR/To summarize: The Punisher, in its cross shape, ironically symbolizes Christian values which both the punisher itself and Wolfwood contradict, although may aptly symbolize it's historic use of a torturous execution device. Contextually, the Punisher also symbolizes Wolfwood's connection to Chapel and the Eye of Micheal, as well as his guilt over killing people.

The final thing the Punisher represents, is Wolfwood's death, as it literally becomes his grave marker. This is connected to how he is narratively doomed as that he has since the beginning been carrying his grave marker, and even in our first interaction it is foreshadowed to be his gravemarker. The other things the punishers signifies is directly correlated to his death as well, such as Chapel being to one to give Wolfwood his gravemarker, and being the one to cause Wolfwoods death.

All in all, Wolfwood as a character was never, since the very moment we met him, meant to survive the series; he's been literally carrying his grave marker the whole time. There was never any chance of him being able to escape his life the way he so desperately wanted to. He's been dead since the beginning.

ANYWAYS Uhm if u enjoyed reading my meta, here's a master post of some other trigun meta I've done :D

Edit (mar 26): At the suggestion of @princess-of-purple-prose and using/adapting the ID's they've added via a reblog on my post, I've added ID's to the photos to allow clarity of reading for those unable/have difficult accessing the photos.

#trigun #trigun manga #trigun maximum #trimax #wolfwood #nicholas d. wolfwood #trigun manga spoilers #trigun spoilers #tragic narratives #trigun meta #trigun analysis #hugin rambles #chapel trigun #livio the double fang #vash the stampede #uhm yeah not actually vashwood for once. but in spirit u know.#god Nightow is fucking insane #when i realized that the punisher was one of his gravemarkers and hed carried it around with him since the beginning #i was frothing at the mouth #just the amount of foreshadowing to wolfwoods death. and because you onow he just desperately doesn't want do this and he yearns #for a softer life outside all of it... and only to die. to since the beginning be doomed to die #another foreshadowing i didn't put in here is the foreshadowing when he tells vash to kill him if it would make vash finally kill #but thats a whole nother can of worms #anyways uhhhhhh hey yall did anyone ask for a larger serving of angst today!#btw if peeps wanna scream about shit w me the dms/ask box is always open #i think its enabled aksjskskk #god to have your character literally carry their gravestone with them the entire time is. fuck #me desperately trying not to be emotionally devastated by everything: *literally crying* yeah this is fine #the promise of tomorrow was a promise that never could be kept you know?#vashwood

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pancake-breakfast · 8 months

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Trigun Maximum Volume 9, Chapter 5: Demon and Chapter 6: Fortitude really hit the whole justice, punishment, and mercy themes hard. I guess it's kind of inevitable when you have a religious cult who sees justice as something that's primarily meted out via "punishment" at the end of a barrel of a huge-ass gun.

The whole discussion on these three items is continuous throughout the story, but at this part it's very much focused on the conflict between Wolfwood and Chapel. Or, perhaps, between the teachings Wolfwood received from Chapel and the outlook he's gained from Vash.

It seems like Wolfwood's idea of justice is and has always been different than Chapel's, but Chapel did his best to beat that out of Wolfwood over the years. He wanted Wolfwood to be the perfect assassin, to sever all ties and to kill for the cause without thought or hesitation. It must have taken to some degree, since we still have this scene way back at the beginning of TriMax.

This is the first time Wolfwood goes into battle alongside Vash, and Vash's suggestion that they should try to get through this without killing anyone takes Wolfwood completely by surprise. (In the '98 anime, the subtitles translate Wolfwood's response as, "Don't ask for the impossible!" while the dubs have him say, "Why don't you just ask me not to breathe?") Nonetheless, he does his best. We don't see him take anyone else out until Rai-Dei, and he gets an earful from Vash for doing that.

In fact, it seems like after Vash first repremands him, the only people Wolfwood still goes after with intention to kill are the other Gung-Ho Guns. Even at this point in the story where he's coming after Chapel and Livio, he's done his best to spare all the mercs, with the only casualties being caused by Livio and by the mercs themselves.

And Wolfwood, like Vash did with him, reprimands Livio for the kill he makes.

At this point, Wolfwood's not simply trying to be merciful (if one defines Vash's philosophy as mercy... which seems to be Nightow's intent despite the room for debate on, say, whether all the people Vash injures actually make a decent recovery). Rather, Wolfwood has moved on to preaching it to others he cares about.

And what does that get him? Oh, right. It gets him beat into a pulp by Razlo, with Chapel looming over him, ready to end his life. For justice.

Chapel takes one look at Wolfwood's sorry state and decides to chastise him, to remind Wolfwood that he is a failure and a disappointment, and it is for those reasons that Wolfwood will die.

The thing is... if Wolfwood dies because he refuses to kill Livio/Razlo, I don't think it would be reasonable to say he failed or made a "wrong" choice choice. The moral perspective here is muddy; one person might find Wolfwood's lack of self-preservation morally repugnant despite any attachment Wolfwood might feel to his murderous opponent, but that's not going to be the universal experience. But to label it failure, a sin...?

**Minor spoilers for Attack on Titan ahead; skip a few paragraphs if you want to avoid them.**

I'm reminded of a conversation from Attack on Titan where Captain Levi was debriefing some Scouts after they found themselves in a life-or-death situation against humans rather than titans. Levi had given them all orders to kill since it was a bit of a kill-or-be-killed situation. But this isn't what they signed up for, and one of the Scouts can't bring themselves to take a life when faced with a human enemy.

This hesitating Scout apologizes profusely to Levi for their hesitancy and disobedience. Levi is quick to turn their apology away, not because "it all turned out alright in the end" or "at least you made it through" or any other common platitude, but because he notes his own moral system isn't what any of the other Scouts should base their own moral systems on.

Levi straight up admits he has no idea what the "right" choice was in that scenario. He knows what choice he personally would make, but readily admits that maybe for the hesitating Scout, the "right" choice would always be to refuse to kill, even if it cost the Scout their own life.

**End Minor Attack on Titan Spoilers**

Neither killing nor refusing to kill is necessarily morally superior here.

Chapel treating Wolfwood like his mercy is a flaw is... well, more indicative of the kind of person Chapel is than anything else. Chapel sees mercy as hesitancy and hesitancy as weakness; even if the opponent is fully incapacitated, the merciful person has hesitated to kill, and that might very well lead not only to their own doom, but to failure of their mission. Since the mission is defined as just by nature of it being from the Eye of Michael, then such a failure is shameful and entirely unacceptable, a betrayal of the righteous cause.

In Chapel's eyes, Wolfwood has failed the cause over and over and over again, even going so far as to fail right in front of him when he refuses to kill the mercs and Livio. For these failures, Chapel thinks Wolfwood should pay.

But Chapel's not so blind he doesn't recognize Vash's influence in this. He sees Vash as having turned Wolfwood from a simple traitor to Eye of Michael to someone who would risk their own life to spare another, and his anger that Vash would further "corrupt" his pupil is palpable in the way Nightow frames his dialog.

But, for Wolfwood, it was never just about Vash.

Wolfwood may have been assigned by Knives to escort Vash, but chose to follow Vash in more than just a physical sense. He didn't decide this easily or blindly. He knew the risks, not just from Chapel's teachings, but from his own experience.

But Wolfwood has always been a protector.

Chapel may have tried to run that out of him, to make the thing that Wolfwood "protects" be the Cause over everything else, but he failed. Wolfwood attacked and tried to kill Chapel to protect the orphanage before he ever met Vash. Nothing Chapel or even Knives could do would stop Wolfwood from wanting to prevent any dangers that might come to the orphanage and all those who belonged to it... including Livio, who disappeared from the orphanage before Wolfwood was recruited to Eye of Michael and who has forced him into a position of kill or be killed.

When Wolfwood shoots Livio through the heart, he begs him not to die. I think even without Vash's influence, Wolfwood would have wanted to show Livio mercy. If Livio didn't get back up from that wound, Wolfwood would have never let go of his guilt over pulling the trigger. Which would have suited Chapel just fine; it would have just been one more deserved punishment for Wolfwood.

And without Vash's influence, it's entirely possible Wolfwood would have just accepted that punishment, added the guilt of Livio's death to all the guilt he already feels for all the lives he's taken.

Over their time together, Vash has shown Wolfwood not only that even when pulling a trigger, Wolfwood can be merciful, but also that Wolfwood himself deserves a measure of mercy. Nightow once said of the Punisher in an interview, "But who's being punished?" With each life he takes, Wolfwood punishes himself a bit more, but in working with Vash, he's slowly, painfully, gradually learned that maybe... just maybe... he doesn't have to.

Maybe Wolfwood should be merciful to himself.

The final chapter of Volume 9 ends with Wolfwood trying to pull himself to his feet, not done with the battle yet despite all odds, but even if dies here, we're shown that his regret will not be that he hadn't killed Livo, but that he hadn't saved him.

He probably wouldn't even be so concerned with killing Chapel if he could see a way forward that prevented Chapel from preying on the children in the orphanage. His motivation in taking Chapel's life at this point isn't revenge or even justice. It's simply a matter of protecting that which he holds dear. And because Chapel has no mercy for the children of the orphanage, Wolfwood has no mercy for him.

How ironic that this one time that Wolfwood goes with a calm heart to administer the kind of "justice" the Eye of Michael has instilled in him, it's not in the name of their cause, but in the name of following those ideals he's had since he was just a kid. For once, he would kill without fear or regret, not for the Order, but so he can protect those he loves.

Chapel tries one final time to pound into him all the ways Wolfwood has become a worthless, sullied sinner who won't find redemption even in death, but Wolfwood's having none of it. Despite everything Wolfwood's done, he's come to an understanding and a peace with himself. Chapel's words, meant to hurt and drag down, only fuel his resolve.

Wolfwood's chosen his path. He'll follow what he learned from Vash because regardless of how difficult the path is, it's the path he wants for himself, has always wanted for himself. He won't let his past failures be an excuse to turn from it.

#nicholas d. wolfwood #vash the stampede #chapel trigun #trigunbookclub #trigun maximum #volume 9 #character analysis #manga analysis #pancake thoughts #cw religious trauma

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