Let’s take a break from the happy world of Secret Origins and head into something that is tonally, the complete opposite. Grant Morrison has always been a modern classic when it comes to comics. His writing has changed the industry and some of DC’s most popular and successful characters. Whether it be Batman, Superman, the Justice League, Doom Patrol, or Animal Man, a part of their history will be forever defined by Morrison’s tales which, for their time and even now, contain something so unique. Morrison was a pioneer of foreign land for comics. He would take on issues and ideas that had never been explored before and in some instances, they were subjects he cared about passionately. This takes us to We3, a story that could have easily been in his Animal Man run. As a vegetarian and huge supporter of animal rights, Morrison writes his most emotionally fuelled story with We3. Its story may be creative and entirely fictional, but there is something about its cruelness that makes it appear to be only a step away from the harsh truth of the world. This is certainly different from all of Morrison’s other works, but perhaps that is why it is ranked, to me anyway, as one of his best…
We3 1-3 was published from October 2004 to March 2005 by DC under their Vertigo imprint. It was written by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant.
I have read the story in the We3 trade paperback.
We3 begins each issue with a similarity, one which is key to understanding the cruelty of the story. On the cover of the first issue, you’ll find a missing poster of a dog named Bandit. For the second issue, there is another poster, this time of a lost cat named Tinker. Lastly for the third issue, there’s a poster of a lost rabbit named Pirate. The relevance of these posters will be become evident soon enough. A secret government program sends three small robots to take out an evil dictator. Using their high tec weaponry, the robots brutally murder him and return back to base. In a secret United States Air Force base, the scientists remove the helmets of the robots and they are revealed to be the lost dog, cat and rabbit. They all have wires and machinery connected to them and into their brains. Meanwhile, Doctor Trendle shows some government officials around the site, presenting his animal tests to them, including a remote-controlled mouse with a drill attached to its head, using it as a tool for murder. Doctor Roseanne Berry then appears and visits the three animals, with the government officials worried by the animals’ power to talk. However, since they have finished their task in killing the dictator, the government official states that they are decommissioning We3. Reluctantly, Doctor Berry hides her anger at the decision from Doctor Trendle, who is ordered to kill the animals and end the project. Secretly however, Doctor Berry releases Bandit, Tinker and Pirate and using their advanced weapons such as mines and guns, they escape from their prison. But, upon their freedom, the three animals argue with their computerised voices, wondering where to go now that they no longer have a home. Part One ends there and it is already evident how much this means to Morrison. You can tell by how he writes both the story and the animals through their robotic dialogue that this is a subject he cares passionately about and due to that, the emotion there. It is incredibly powerful. It shows how cruel humanity can be and although this may be fictional, how do we know that? We don’t know everything our government does, but for all we know, something similar to this might be happening right now somewhere in the world. All it takes is a streak of humanity, which Doctor Berry had, and it results in the animals escaping. But, with their life support systems failing, time is running out. At the start of the second part, we see their weapons working against them. They escape through the forest, but as a result of their hunters in helicopters, a group of wild rabbits eating their grass are killed by gunfire. Meanwhile, Doctor Berry is held captive for what she has done, and she watches as the military confront Bandit, Tinker and Pirate in the forest. The battle begins, and ends relatively quickly. The military are no match for We3, who escape onto a bridge. Bandit and Tinker then argue about their next course of action, but Pirate intervenes and insists that the three of them must stay together. Suddenly, a horde of scientifically altered rats appear, created by Doctor Trendle and the scientists. Although Pirate luckily manages to cause a train to crash on the bridge, both Bandit and Tinker fall into the river below. In the wreckage, Bandit attempts to help a man as he believes it is his duty as a dog to do so, unaware that the man has been torn in two. The three animals reunite and continue their aimless journey, for they still have no home. Later, they run into a house, but they are met with a hunter and his son. Afraid, the hunter shoots Pirate’s forehead, damaging his brain and communication device. As the hunter tells his son to run away, Bandit leaps for the man with his sharp teeth. His vision goes red. Later, Bandit sits with Pirate, who is struggling to communicate. All that Bandit can say to himself is the words “BAD DOG”. Meanwhile, Doctor Trendle has realised that all of his other plans have failed, and he needs Doctor Berry to lure them back, but when they do come back, they will be confronted by We3’s fourth member, a modified and tortured pit bull known only as Weapon 4. One of Morrison’s clear skills in writing this story is conveying the characters of We3. For example, the scene featuring Bandit and the dead man shows that underneath all the machinery and cruelty, Bandit is still a dog and he wants to help the man. The same applies to when he kills the hunter. He knows what he did was wrong, and he feels remorse. You don’t really get that so much with Tinker and Pirate, but that is most likely down to the fact that they are cats and rabbits respectively. They don’t show the same loyalty or emotion like a dog does, but they are still recognisable as the animals they were born as, even with the machinery and wires that are attached to them. To reflect the tone of the story, the third part begins in a thunderstorm. An old tramp runs for cover in an abandoned building. There, he finds We3. Instead of running away, he feeds the animals before leaving, promising to come back. Upon leaving, the tramp is met with the military, who warn him of the danger nearby. But the tramp doesn’t listen, calling the military fascist pigs. Doctor Trendle then appears with a remote control and although Doctor Berry begs him not to use it, he ignores her and activates Weapon 4, who quickly finds Pirate and kills (continued)
him. Meanwhile, Doctor Berry finds Bandit, telling him that she will save him. Suddenly, a sniper fires at Bandit, but Doctor Berry leaps in the way and dies. Enraged, Bandit charges towards Weapon 4 with the help of Tinker, they fight back against him. Noticing the amount of damage being caused by the fight, Doctor Trendle orders that Weapon 4 be terminated. At the flick of a switch, Weapon 4 explodes and dies. Quickly, Tinker and Bandit escape to the outskirts of the city, but they are continually being hunted by soldiers. Cleverly however, Bandit and Tinker remove their armour, causing it to begin a detonation countdown. When the soldiers find the armour, but not the animals, it explodes. Exhausted, the two animals rest hidden away in a building somewhere. That is, until they are found. As the career of Doctor Trendle is over after the ordeal, he heads to the courthouse, where he finds the tramp outside with Tinker and Bandit, recovering after the electrical equipment was removed by Trendle. From Doctor Berry’s death, he learnt from her care of animals that the surviving animals should be cared for and not used for as experiments. He gave them to the tramp, along with several hundred dollars. And from that, we get a happy ending, sort of anyway. Although it is obvious to say this, We3 is a depressing read. Its uncomfortable, pessimistic and melancholic in its plot. But that is what makes it one of Grant Morrison’s greatest comics ever. I’ve never been one to say that violence or cruelty makes a comic great. Only idiots would use that to defend something. But it’s the fact that it is linked so closely to something that isn’t impossible or far away from reality. Animal cruelty does happen. But, as Morrison has given the animals concrete characters, something which I imagine was tricky to do, the violence is meaningful, even if it is far more excessive than the violence you’d find in other stories. Its to show that the animals aren’t in control of their augmented ‘powers’ and because of that, the animals are obviously the characters you feel the most sympathy with. However, the same can be said of Weapon 4, who is very similar to We3. He too is a victim in this story, and he is not the villain as you’d suspect. The real villain here is the scientists. The real moral of the story is that humanity views animals as lower-class beings. We may be the most intelligent begins on Earth, but perhaps we aren’t the most sympathetic or emotional ones. Like the scientists in this story, there are many people who manipulate the loyalty that some animals display to humans. Ultimately, this is their planet as much as ours and they have the right to life here too. As I said earlier, who knows if what occurs in this story may be unintentionally reflective of something that happens in the real world. Nonetheless, We3 is a story about morality and animality more than anything else. As it is something that Morrison is keen about and passionate to share with the world, he writes the story successfully with so much emotion, more than he probably does in most of his other works. Because of that, an excellent plot and Morrison’s excellent storytelling, We3 ranks as one of the best comic books you could ever read.
When you see his superhero art, Frank Quitely’s style would appear to be very different from most other artists. Instead of the well-trodden path of muscular artists, Quitely’s approach of thinner characters with less defined muscles was very different and ultimately, while intriguing by its uniqueness, I’m not sure his that art style totally worked with something like Batman and Robin. However, his art in We3 is more than perfect. He combines the cuteness of the We3 animals with the grotesque machinery they are held in to create something which is difficult to describe with words. When you look at Bandit, Tinker and Pirate (RIP), you still see the animals they once were and because of that, the emotion of the story comes out. If they were forever trapped in the helmets like they were at the start, then the sadness of the story wouldn’t come through. Quitely also uses double page spreads incredibly effectively, something which I think is often used for no purpose in comics these days. One of the most effective here is the one in which We3 escape and a group of wild rabbits are murdered by the government in an attempt to kill We3.
This works perfectly as it conveys that they aren’t in control of their own powers and it causes distress because of it. Quitely’s page layouts are also very well done, reflecting the different characters in the story in different ways. For instance, most humans are depicted in darker environment on in panels which makes them look crazy. It can get a bit over the top in some areas, but the positives of the art far out-weight the negatives. Overall, the art adds so much more to the story and does more than just convey it. Without Quitely, the art could have been less imaginative, and the story could have been told in a much more conventional way, something that would certainly have made it worse.
VERDICT
Overall, We3 is fantastic story that proves to be one of Morrison’s best. It focuses on a subject which Morrison clearly feels passionate about and due to that, the raw emotion of the story can be felt by us readers. The main animal characters are brilliant in that we can see their characters still, even after the torture they have been through. It may be very dark and depressing, but that is why it works so well. It teaches us a lesson about morality and that there is something in humanity that deems it necessary to harm animals to advance into the future, unaware of the pain and problems we inevitably cause. Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant’s art transform’s Morrison’s story perfectly and without them, the story wouldn’t be as outstanding or great as it is. Without a doubt, We3 rates as one of, possibly the best, Grant Morrison story ever and certainly one of the best comics I’ve ever read.
Story: 10/10
Art: 9.5/10
Next Week: Even More Secret Origins. Written by Ed Hamilton, John Broome, Bob Haney and Gardner Fox with art by Curt Swan, George Klein, Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella, Lee Elias, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson and Joe Kubert. Expected by 28/03/2021.
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