Grandad and Wolverine - Who Knew!

The Dude is obsessed with anything super-hero related and when I say obsessed I mean his every waking thought is about one super-hero or another and his time is spent "in training" as he puts it, or fighting imaginary battles with super-villains.  It's very re-assuring knowing should the world ever be enslaved by some super-villain with a whole heap of nasty super-powers then the Dude is ready to take his place beside Batman, Superman, The Flash, The Green Lantern et al.

The Flash - Currently The Dude's Favourite Superhero

He has them all categorized in his head and has ratings assigned to them according to whatever their powers are, how many battles they've fought and what super-villains they have defeated, oh and there also seems to be a rather arbitrary "cool" rating.  On any given day, at any given moment I am asked, "who is your favourite super-hero?"

This question is not as straightforward as it seems! The Dude rotates the super-hero ratings and his current favourite is usually sitting in the number one spot.  Woe-be-tide you if you answer this question with a character who is not currently in the Dude's favour.  You will be asked (no - demanded) to justify your answer and you'd better have it ready!  Many's the car journey (yes, his favourite place for these interrogations) that has degenerated into a full on family row over the virtues of Batman versus Superman.  Interestingly, Superman has never been high in the Dude's ratings till this week - we are all wondering what has brought about this "road to Damascus" type conversion and are all fearful it's just a ruse till the next time he has us all trapped in the car!

The Batman v Superman Battle Is Due To Hit
The Big Screen This Year
After Being Played Out In Our Car For The Past Few Years!

Anyhoo, his current favourite is Wolverine, who also just happens to be one of The Mad Mammy's favourites (I mean come on - you gotta love Hugh Jackman in those jeans and that white vest, stretched tantalisingly across those pecs and revealing the most perfect biceps.....whoa! Okay you get the picture as to why Wolverine is one of my favourites - I must confess to having my own ratings system for super-heroes and it's very different to the Dude's!)

Hugh Jackman As The Wolverine

However, I was somewhat surprised when the Dude announced yesterday that Wolverine was a friend of Grandad's.  The Dude is prone to the odd spot of storytelling and can sometimes tip over into fantasy in the interests of keeping a good tale going but this was a stretch even for him.
"Wolverine and Grandad were friends?" I asked, "are you sure about that?"
"Oh yes," he nodded his head vigorously.

Now, I should add here that Grandad is also quite the storyteller and I wouldn't put it past him to have regaled the Dude with tales of his times with Wolverine.  So I asked the Dude, "Did Grandad Tell you that?"
"Nooooo!" He shook his head vigorously, "I saw it in the book."

Okaaaay, at this point I have to confess to having a little confusion going on and Big Daddy was looking on totally lost and I could see he was thinking, "this is what I get for marrying in to a bunch of storytellers...."  I decided to press on and see where the Dude was coming from.

"What book are you talking about?" I asked, wondering what book existed that could possibly have Grandad and Wolverine in it!

"The family book," replied the Dude.

The family book?  Okay this was getting stranger and stranger so I had to take a minute to gather my thoughts.  Big Daddy looked at me questioningly.  I looked at him, utterly bewildered at this stage and then it hit me.

"Did this book have photographs?" I asked.

The Dude jumped out of his chair in delight.  "Yes! Yes, it did!" He exclaimed.

Big Daddy looked at me as if to say, "there can't possibly really be a book with Grandad and Wolverine in it?"

I smirked, an all-knowing smirk.  "Was Grandad sitting on a couch beside Wolverine?" I asked.

"Yes," nodded the Dude, his delight, at my knowing the "book" he was talking about, evident in the smile lighting up his face.

I started to laugh and it was Big Daddy's turn to be totally bewildered.

The "book" the Dude was referring to was an old photo album he had come across in my parents' house last summer.  In it are photos of Grandad in his heyday back in the seventies, complete with luscious dark locks and the must-have seventies accessory - sideburns, just like the ones sported by our favourite X-man.  In one of the photos he is sitting on a couch with two of his side-burn sporting pals and if memory serves me correctly, one of them is a dead ringer for Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

So there you have it, Grandad used to run with Wolverine, now it doesn't get any cooler than that, especially if you're a seven year old boy whose Grandad is just as much a hero to you as any bloke with super-powers.

Note: As I go to press the Publish button, this morning's battle has seen the elimination of twenty bad guys, one super-villain and his helicopter.  Planet Earth is a safer place this morning thanks to the heroic efforts of the Dude.  Rest easy citizens the planet's in good hands.

The Super Dude