WEN-DI-GOOOO!

I few weeks ago I picked up a copy of King-Size Hulk #1.  We all know what books like this entail - a few new short stories of little relative consequence followed by tons and tons of reprinted material.  In that regard, at least, this issue did not disappoint.

This is not to say that I necessarily dislike reprinted material, mind you - in fact, I think it's a great way to present enjoyable or otherwise significant stories that the average fan wouldn't otherwise be able to find or afford.  When I'm paying five bucks for campy old stories from the 70s, well...

This has nothing to do with my overall point, though.  King-Size Hulk #1 reprinted two issues of the Incredible Hulk - numbers 180 and 181, known to many as the first appearance of Wolverine.  These issues also heavily feature a rather Yeti-like villain in the Wendigo.

The Wendigo actually springs from Algonquin folklore and served to dissuade others from becoming cannibals (I guess the temptation used to be pretty great), but I know this comic book version best - or, that is, I know the X-Men arcade game equivalent of the comics Wendigo.  Though the game itself must be between 15 and 20 years old, the arcade X-Men video game has probably swallowed more of my quarters than any other arcade game not named TMNT or Ms. Pac Man.

The X-Men arcade game was a sprawling, epic journey that always took me like ten bucks to beat, but was so addictive that I didn't care.  To me, at least, the most annoying end-of-the-level bad guy was the Wendigo, who would do nothing other than swipe at you and chant - incessantly - "WEN-DI-GOOOO!  WEN-DI-GOOOO!  WEN-DI-GOOOO!" to the point of insanity.

I have never understood why this is the only word the character, in the books or in the game, would ever be able to say.  He never even had distinct intonations as far as I could tell, just his name, over and over again!  This must be why, in the first panel of the page linked above, the Hulk is seen kicking the Wendigo directly in the groin.  Serves him right.