Wesley Gibson

Wesley Gibson
Millarworld character
Wesley Gibson in Wanted. Art by J. G. Jones.
First appearance	Wanted #1 (December 2003)
Created by	Mark Millar J. G. Jones
Portrayed by	James McAvoy
Voiced by	James McAvoy (Russian) Jimmi Simpson (video game)
Likeness	Eminem (comic book) James McAvoy (video game)
In-universe information
Full name	Wesley Gibson
Gender	Male
Title	The Killer II
Occupation	Leader of The Fraternity of Super-Criminals Assassin
Affiliation	The Fraternity of Super-Criminals
Family	The Killer I (father) Alicia Gibson (mother) Film series: Cross (father)
Significant others	The Fox Cathy (ex-girlfriend)
Abilities	Master marksmanship Expert hand-to-hand combatant Skilled gunsmith Superhuman strength and speed Explosives expert Specialized bullet-resistant body armor Pain resistance

Wesley Gibson (The Killer II) is a fictional supervillain appearing in the comic series Wanted, published by Image Comics, and set in the Millarworld. The character was created by artist J. G. Jones and writer Mark Millar, and designed with the facial likeness of American rapper Eminem.

In Wanted, Wesley is an office worker-turned-assassin, recruited to join the Fraternity of Super-Criminals, a powerful organization of supervillains that rule the world (identified offpage as a variation of the DC Universe) after they wiped the world's memories of all superheroes in 1986, after his father "The Killer" (Deadshot) was apparently killed by an unknown assassin, with the Professor (Lex Luthor) training Wesley to become desensitized to and enjoy acts of violence and vengeance, joining the Fraternity on raids of alternate universes across the multiverse, becoming the Professor's bodyguard, and lovers with the Fox (Catwoman). After the Professor goes to war with a rival Fraternity faction lead by Mr. Rictus (Joker), both sides are killed, and Wesley learns that his still-alive father and the Fox, also lovers, had been grooming him to assume control of the Fraternity. On killing his father per his wishes, Wesley takes his rightful place as the ruler of the world. Wesley returns in Savage Dragon: Wanted! as an antagonist, facing off the Dragon while raiding the Image Universe during the events of Wanted, as a supporting character in Nemesis and Nemesis Reloaded, mentoring two different men named Matthew Anderson in becoming supervillains, and as the main antagonist of Big Game, having his forces set out to assassinate the world's new superheroes, opposed by Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass, Eggsy Unwin, and numerous others.

Wesley Gibson is portrayed by James McAvoy in the feature film adaptation Wanted (2008), whose likeness is reprised for the character in the sequel video game Wanted: Weapons of Fate (2009), in which the character is voiced by Jimmi Simpson. The character has received a generally positive critical reception.

Comic series

Wanted

In Wanted (2003–2004), office worker Wesley Gibson (illustrated with the facial likeness of Eminem) is recruited to join the Fraternity of Super-Criminals, a powerful organization of supervillains who secretly rule the world (identified offpage as a variation of the DC Universe) after they wiped the world's memories of all superheroes in 1986. Learning his absent father had been their leader "The Killer" (Deadshot), and was recently assassinated, Wesley is trained as his replacement, using his inherited superhuman traits as a marksman.

On training to become desensitized to and eventually enjoy committing acts of violence and vengeance, Wesley kills his best friend for having been sleeping with his girlfriend, joins the Fraternity on raids of parallel universes where the superheroes won, becomes the personal bodyguard of The Professor (Lex Luthor), and lovers with the Fox (Catwoman). After the Professor goes to war with a rival Fraternity faction led by Mr. Rictus (Joker), both sides end up killing each other, and Wesley learns that his still-alive father and the Fox, also lovers, had been grooming him to assume control of the Fraternity. On killing his father per his wishes, Wesley takes his rightful place as one of "the masters of the world", asking the readership if they're happy with the outcome.

Savage Dragon

At the conclusion of the "Grim World" arc of Savage Dragon: This Savage World (2006), set in the Image Universe, while Mister Glum and Angel Dragon are celebrating their victory after the presumed death of the Dragon (the latter's stepfather), on using the first of three wishes granted by the "God Gun" against him, they are surprised by the arrival of a blue-goggled Wesley (simply referred to as the Killer) and the Fraternity, on one of their raids of parallel universes (during the events of Wanted, prior to the Fraternity's civil war and Wesley assuming control), who demand the God Gun for themselves.

In the following "Wanted!" arc, realizing he has two wishes left thanks to the Fraternity, Glum unleashes both his army of Dreadhead, the Vicious Circle, and numerous enslaved superheroes (including a version of Superman) against them, with Wesley shooting many of them, before engaging in a firefight with the still-alive Dragon on his return to Earth, the Dragon wielding one of Wesley's own guns, each shooting one another’s bullets out of the sky. After Glum and Angel take the opportunity to flee to another dimension, evading both marksmen, the God Gun is destroyed, and on learning that a being known as "Universo, the Devourer of Worlds" is en-route to the planet to consume it, Wesley and the Fraternity decide he would be too much "effort" to deal with themselves, and abandon the planet for other parallel worlds easier to raid, departing through a portal.

Nemesis

At the conclusion of Nemesis (2010), the deceased "Matthew Anderson" / Nemesis is revealed to have been employed by the head of a company that arranges for rich people to become supervillains, the story ending with the owner sitting on a beach, enjoying the sunset.

At the conclusion of the stand-alone sequel Nemesis Reloaded (2023), this owner is revealed as Wesley Gibson, who informs his protégé, the new (real) Matthew Anderson / Nemesis, that it is time for them to wipe out the new superheroes that have been coming into existence worldwide.

Big Game

Wesley returns in Big Game (2023), where-in he plots to have all the world's new superheroes assassinated worldwide. After Eggsy Unwin and Mindy McCready infiltrate the Fraternity's headquarters to assassinate Wesley, Wesley has his forces kill the former instead, before the latter steals the Fraternity's own stolen time travel suits to travel back in time to escape. As Wesley prepares to kill the last of the world's superheroes, Mindy returns from the prehistoric past with the army of an ancient galactic empire, seeking to conquer the future. As Wesley negotiates with their leader, Mindy travels back in time again and prevents the deaths of all the superheroes, leading her own army against both Wesley and the prehistoric army. Recognising he is outnumbered, Wesley kills Mindy, only to be killed himself by another Mindy (Mindy having duplicated herself via time travel paradox when she saved her slightly younger self and Eggsy). Wesley then awakens in the afterlife, where he is decapitated by Bonnie Black.

In other media

Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov and star James McAvoy, who portrays Wesley Gibson.

Film

The character appears in the 2008 film adaptation Wanted as Wesley Allan Gibson, portrayed by James McAvoy. On screen-testing for the role in early 2006, McAvoy was initially rejected because the studio was seeking an actor with "conventional Hollywood leading man looks and physique", before being recalled on being considered to be the "runt of the litter" among those who tested, and being cast in the role by 2006 of that year. According to McAvoy, "They [ultimately] wanted someone geeky." McAvoy subsequently worked out to improve his physique for the film's action scenes, suffering several injuries during shooting, including a twisted ankle and injured knee.

Mark Millar was unhappy with the first draft of the film's screenplay, considering its approach to Wesley to be "too tame" and "a little bit Americanized", since he had wanted the story to be "basically [the] opposite of the Spider-Man movie, the idea of someone getting powers and realizing they can do what they want, then choosing the dark path", before consulting director Timur Bekmambetov on using his "Eastern European madness" to bring the film "closer to the spirit of the book", while screenwriters would Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Chris Morgan would "refine" Wesley into a sympathetic protagonist. While Millar stated that while he would have liked to keep the supervillain mythos that dictated the original comic intact, he was ultimately happy with the adaptation, in particular the leather attire worn by Wesley and Fox, stating: "I wanted them to have those powers and then just wear those costumes for the initiation, but just for one panel. And then I forgot".

While a sequel film to Wanted featuring McAvoy reprise his role as Wesley entered development hell, McAvoy has continued to express interest in reprising the role, either as the protagonist or in a supporting/antagonistic role to a new protagonist,

Music video

As part of the viral marketing for Wanted, James McAvoy reprised his role as Wesley Gibson in a music video for the Russian band Delta, also directed by Timur Bekmambetov.

Video games

Wesley Gibson appears as the main playable character in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Wanted Fan Immersion Game (2008), and Wanted: Weapons of Fate (2009), the latter a direct narrative sequel to the film, with James McAvoy's likeness being licensed to represent the character, with his voice now being provided by Jimmi Simpson. The costume worn by Wesley in the original Wanted comic was given to the game version "to make the comic-book fans happy" and make him "look really badass",

Merchandise

The 2008 DVD and Blu-ray release of Wanted included with it collectible postcards and a photobook of Wesley and the Fraternity.

Reception

Reviewing the Wanted film adaptation, Joshua Meyer of Slashfilm lauded Wesley as an example of "#DoNotTryThisAtHome", in serving as the antithesis of the "man-boy perspective [of] movies like "The Matrix" and "Fight Club," [who] could likewise be misinterpreted by self-entitled bros who are more like [Chris Pratt's] Barry than Wesley", praising the deeper message of his closing fourth wall-breaking monologue: to "stop floundering and do something productive with one's life beyond consuming comic book movies" concluding that since "Wesley figures out who he is and what he's always wanted out of life — [that] the onus is on the viewer to go and do the same".

Accolades