Heroes for Hope Starring the X-Men #1 (1985)
Written by Chris Claremont
Pencils by John Romita Jr.
Inks by Al Gordon, Colors by Daina Graziunas
Chef’s Note: As the title says, nothing more really to see here – just Wolverine eating a banana.
While it is true that simply diving in and not waiting for the meal to formally begin seems in character for Logan, such panels make me think that there’s got to be some inside joke or wager going on in the Marvel bullpen here. He and his banana-filled gob are right smack dab in center spotlight on the biggest panel on the page. He could have been eating an orange or an apple, but no – he’s eating a banana.
The suggestive shape of the banana itself led to an increasing association of the banana with sexual imagery and themes. By the 1920s and 1930s, lyrics that included the banana often alluded to it as phallic symbol. “I’ve Never Seen a Straight Banana,” by the Happiness Boys, “Banana In Your Fruitbasket,” by Bo Carter, and Memphis Minnie’s “Banana Man Blues” all referenced the banana as a fruit of symbolic sexuality. In 1943, Busby Berkeley’s bizarre performance “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” from The Gang’s All Here featured dancers riding gigantic banana and strawberry props as Carmen Miranda sang, to the shock of viewers everywhere.
