It Came From the '90s: "Silver and Bold!" <i>Silver Sable & the Wild Pack</i>

It Came From the '90s: "Silver and Bold!" Silver Sable & the Wild Pack

I’ve recently come into possession of the first twenty issues of Silver Sable & the Wild Pack (1992, Marvel Comics), a mostly forgotten '90s spinoff series (Sable first appeared in a Spider-Man story). Silver is currently starring in a one-shot that picks up the numbering of this series, so it seems like the right time to look back at her '90s output.

I knew nearly nothing about the character, beyond that she shared a first name and hair color with one of my favorite Batman love interests, Silver St. Cloud (look her up, kids, she was the bomb back in the day—she figured out Bruce was Batman!). After one issue of Silver Sable, though, I knew the important stuff: Silver's a fierce and highly skilled mercenary for hire, a shrewd businesswoman running an international empire, and a serious Type A personality who has no time for your sentimental bullshit. The oft-overused term “badass” (I'm as guilty as the next) doesn’t do her justice. She’s Adrienne Barbeau and Pam Grier rolled into one. She’s Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock in Scarface: ice cold, white gold, except that she's Silver, but you catch my drift.

The extreme nature of '90s comics is well documented, and Silver Sable certainly is a product of its age. Marvel spared no expense with the cover to issue #1, which is Exhibit A when it comes to '90s excess: both Silver and the series' title are embossed in, you guessed it, silver. She’s practically leaping off the cover and into your lap—where she would then proceed to put you in a choke hold, no doubt. Each successive cover features the fierce and fabulous Sable, teeth permanently gritted in the face of mayhem, big guns blazing, twisting and contorting her body around incoming gunfire from every direction. Comic book covers aren't always known for their truth in advertising, but each Silver Sable cover tells you exactly what to expect once you open the book—full-blown action!

When not fighting in her sleek and shiny body-stocking costume (because, comics!), Silver just as effectively kicks butt in evening gowns with plunging necklines and slits cut scandalously high, breasts and legs spilling out all over the panels (because, comics!), while high-kicking and karate-chopping her way through one toxic male jerk after another. Steven Butler's action poses hewed closely to male-gaze fantasy—these poses were ubiquitous in '90s comic books—but that gaze is ever-so-smartly subverted by writer Gregory Wright when you consider Silver's agency and how she consistently beats up one sleazebag bro after another. Silver is a certain character type, clearly, one that straddles a fine line between empowerment and exploitation. Today, you can even connect a straight path from Silver to Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde.

These are not always subtle comics, folks. They're not aiming to be, though. And at times, Wright is lacing in some truly subversive stuff, if you're paying close attention—Silver herself is subversive, a strong woman commanding a bunch of gung-ho, redneck jerks all while thumbing her nose at the patriarchy. Honestly, I'm enjoying these comics so much that I may review further issues, including the recent one-shot. We'll see, but in the meantime, if you stumble across these issues in bargain bins, scoop 'em up. They'll provide a ridiculously fun reading experience, trust me.

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