PlayStation and Insomanic Games have released a new Marvel’s Wolverine trailer, showcasing yet another look at the upcoming PS5 exclusive game from the team behind the Marvel’s Spider-Man series. One of the biggest talking points, if not the biggest, is the reveal of Lady Deathstrike, an X-Men supervillain and, in particular, a foe of Wolverine. As a character, the X-Men villain first debuted in 1983 in Daredevil #197 as Yuriko Oyama. The character as Lady Deathstrike, didn’t come until three years later in Alpha Flight #33. She isn’t the most iconic X-Men villain, but she could sneak into the top ten in this regard. Whatever the case, her popularity is about to take a boost if her role in Marvel’s Wolverine is substantial. Unfortunately, the popularity may be more negative than positive.
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So far, the response to the character reveal has been a mixed bag. The character herself, being in the game, hasn’t been met with criticism, as it’s a reasonable choice, but some fans are not impressed with the character’s design. To this end, many of the top replies on any given X post highlighting the news she’s in the game and spotlighting her design are slamming the character’s “ugly” and “awful” design.
Many X-Men Fans Aren’t Impressed
To this end, the literal top reply on a DF tweet promoting the reveal slams Insomanic Games, claiming “they refuse” to make attractive female characters attractive. This is, of course, a reductive take, but it is a popular one, hence the over 400 likes it has.
Another fan adds, “Why does Insomniac’s art direction always look like that?” Meanwhile, a third further adds: “This is awful.”
Being more specific, some fans have criticized minor details, like her claws being too short, the character’s apparent age, and the fact that the character’s head seemingly looks too big for her body.
Of course, there is also praise for the design, but it’s just not as common. The most common feedback is negative. And this isn’t new for Insomniac Games. This was a big talking point with various character designs in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, as well, and, in particular, Mary Jane’s design.
The sex appeal of Lady Deathstrike in Marvel’s Wolverine aside — as it’s not very relevant — it is a pretty tame and boring overall design, especially for a character who has had many great designs over the years. That said, this is not the first boring design of the character either. We have seen various character artists struggle with the character, especially in anything that has a more grounded art direction, like Insomniac Games usually prefers.
It’s worth noting that the character’s design could also evolve over the game. In the meantime, there is a measurable disappointment that seems to be building against this game. You can see this in its like-to-dislike ratio on YouTube. The new trailer has 31k likes, but an appreciable 14k dislikes.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the video game conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.
