Just a Man [ EPIC: The Musical | Animatic | Remake ] 

A fun iliad fact is in book six, hector went to hold his son Astyanax, but the baby was scared of him because of his helmet. So he laughed, took his helmet off, and then cradled his baby boy So it isn't Quite in character that astyanax is smiling and laughing when Odysseus holds him, but I like to imagine that the thought process is Helmet = dad Dad = nice Helmet = nice? But he's definitely more at ease when Odysseus takes the helmet off

The fact that he takes his helmet off when he’s talking about his family, holding the child and playing with him, but puts it back on and only holds the baby by the blankets just kills me. He’s physically going from soldier to father and back, and he creates distance between him and the baby, no longer cradling, almost like if he holds the baby it means he cares. Plus all of the emotions in his expressions! I am in love with this animatic!!

This was so emotional and heartbreaking. I wasn’t expecting Andromache to show up but seeing her trying to run to her infant son in vain, after already loosing everything and everyone around her, that was painful. And seeing the tiny detail of Odyssey’s wedding ring, really made me think of how in the name of getting back to his family, he’s taking the last of Andromache’s away from her. This animatic is as beautiful as it is heart-wrenching, and I applaud you for always making the songs in Epic truly come to life, even in its darkest moments.

WHEN I SAW ANDROMACHE I LITERALLY GOT GOOSEBUMPS, HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME?! 😭😭😭

This is the first animatic I've seen that shows the baby's mother and the baby's death is already heart breaking but the thought that his mom had to witness it makes it 10 time worse

GOD GOD THIS IS SO GOOD. Even though Odysseus is at the precipice of the chaos, and everyone pauses to look up and him and what he’s been forced to do, it feels so personal, so isolating. Even as he begs the child for forgiveness and his resolve steels, it’s just him and this baby, the chaos of war is merely the backdrop. YOURE SO GOOD WHAT THE FUCK

I didn't think it could get any better than the original, but omg- The way it shows his humanity and the baby's innocent and then how he tries to distance himself emotionally towards the end by the way he lifts the child. And then the baby's mother trying to rush to defend it! It's heartbreaking and beautifully done!

This just about killed me. The baby reaching out and laughing at a stranger because all he'd known in his short life was safety and love, but then, when the soft touches and taken away and he's dangled like that by an unsmiling man, he looks so confused. TT_TT It was amazing the way Odysseus's expression hardened after he remembered Penelope and the reason he was doing all this. And you even included the baby's mother, you really did a great job showing the horror of what Odysseus had to do.

Omg when Odysseus asks "when does a man become a monster" and he holds the helmet up in front of the baby, like he knows that if he let's the baby live he will grow up into a monster. That was so heart-wrenching, well done Wolfy!!

How. Could. You. When I thought this couldn't get more emotional, than it already was, YOU HAD TO SHOW ANDROMACHE??? HOW DARE YOU BREAK MY HEART LIKE THIS 😭😭😭 Congratulations, you made me cry, I hope you're proud of yourself No, really, you should be proud of yourself, this is absolutely incredible!!! Seriously, the level of detail, the amount of frames here... It's almost a full animation at this point! I absolutely LOVE how you showed so much more of Asty and Ody's interaction, the flashback to Penelope and Odysseus' look after that... I can't count the amount of heartbreaks this animatic gave me 😭💔 Thank you for making this masterpiece, you're skills are out of this world, you're amazing ❤❤❤

I like how much like at Athena Odysseus looks like with the helmet, and then takes it off when he says he's "just a man" so much detail!! 😍

Love the difference from the original! It's so fast paced and you can feel Odysseus' panic as he forces himself to come to terms with the inevitable. We also get to see more of baby Astyanax and the sheer chaos of the war. Both are great in different ways, one is more emotional the other is more chaotic, it's just, *_chefs kiss_*

Holy shit. Listen, the song itself is already intense but GOD. Your visualization of it gave me chills. How the hell you manage to bust out these phenomenal animatics one after another - on top of your regular drawings and your casual 200 figure studies - is just beyond me. But damn. Mad respect. I'm freaking honored to call you an inspiration, Wolfy.

oh boy a new epic animatic! hope no one gets thrown off or anything!!

Babe wake up, WolfyTheWitch just posted the most heartbreaking, heart shattering, heart wrenching piece of visual art that has ever been posted on the internet. Also, Andromache showing up broke me I swear to god. Like she literally just lost everything and now she has to watch her infant son be dropped from a building and die and there is nothing she can do to stop it.

This song is so heartbreaking. My favorite line is "when does the reason become the blame". It's so thought-provoking. I also love your art. It's so cinematic.

Really captured the “I really don’t wanna kill this kid”

was the addition of Andromache really necessary? WAS IT? Oh this is just so beautiful so so beautiful and heartbreaking and I will be rewatching this for days

*genuinely crying* Andromache showing up broke me... Like, yeah, it hurt up to that point, but her desperation, the fact that she saw what was about to happen to her innocent child, her little boy... Yeah, that broke me, and I started crying. But this was SO GOOD, SO WELL DONE!!!

Wolfy why must you hurt me this way again??? 😭 god this was so good, Odysseus pushing the baby's head back so he can't see the slaughter that is happening to what would be men who served his father, Odysseus taking off the helmet in a frustrated way, showing that he has been tired of killing people throughout this war, the way you transition from the flashback of Penelope brushing his hair and Telemachus being there then he looks at the other side and sees nothing with a shook face, then we get to the the final parts and the way Odysseus completely goes serious and grabs the baby wrap in a rough way and then it zooms back to Hector's Wife who tries to reach for her only son but can only stare and be dragged away then we zoom back to the baby looking concerned, then Odysseus who goes from completely to nearly shedding tears but having to try and not show emotion, just absolutely brilliant.

Dear holiness... There so many good moments. 0:41 Him talking about the men he has killed while a man being killed. 0:49 and sliding down the wall and his helmet comes off, showing his face and emotional conflict... 1:08 oh he playing with him 😢 1:22 Not him nuggling his wifes hand 1:27...the moment he decided.. 1:38 holding the helmet over the babies to remind him of what he must do... 1:50 cuts the emotional attachment with the way he holds the baby unlike the beginning... 2:04 wooo... Everyone seeing him commit to the act with no way to hide... 2:09 omg... Is the the babies mom?! God her story is full on tragedy and frist time ive anyone include her... 2:16 the background with the city in flames and in a way seeing the future that Odysseus could face as told to him by Zeus... 2:22 him tearing up... This is amazing and heartbreaking😭😭😭😭

You know what happens most often when you throw children onto a matress? They will laugh while falling. And this hurts me. Very good work.

I love how you portrayed Odysseus's struggle with being a man or a monster, and the frames where he's holding the helmet and moves it away to see the child. I feel like that kind of symbolizes how Odysseus is willing to be a monster if that means getting his family back, but then saying he's "Just a man";not as in he won't kill the child, but that he has to, that this decision is impossible. A masterpiece.

Looking at that last couple of frames I'm drawn to a line from "Warrior of the Mind." "Have you forgotten to turn off your heart?" No, Athena. He didn't forget. Its just that after ten years of slaughter and being forced to kill a baby in front of it's mother he's tired of doing it.

That final look of Odysseus is haunting. So full of exhaustion, dark resolve, sadness, and cold determination. It's the last face the child sees. "I'm just a man" he says. But from the child's perspective? This is the face of a monster.

Okay I haven't seen anyone else point this out (I mean how could we get possibly everything, Wolfy??? This animatic has just so many beautiful details to catch) but when Odysseus is overlooking the battle below and says "every man I've slain" it cuts to an opposing soldier killing one of Odysseus' men (0:40) which makes the lyric have a double meaning as it sounds like Odysseus is blaming himself not only for the death of his enemies he's killed himself but also HIS OWN MEN that he's led to the slaughter or slain with his decisions and actions that they've obeyed across his time as their leader... Idk if that made sense but I just thought that it was (yet another) neat little detail that shows how tired Odysseus has become, longing for the time he was with his wife and son and didn't have this responsibility on his shoulders and also how desperate he is to get back to them by any means necessary

I really like how at the end he looks a little bit like Athena, how Penelope is more clearer here, and the expressions, it’s all beautiful.

I have seen so many animatics of this song. The moment that he picked up the baby by his blanket, and not by cradling him, I felt my heart drop. You're incredible

GOD watching this and comparing it to the feelings i got from your other animatic KILLED me. in the other animatic, Odysseus comes off as tired and suffering bc he’s been worn down by the many trials that he’s had to face. and still you can tell that having to kill a child is torturing him and eating at him from the inside. he’s incredibly desperate and is on the brink of a breakdown. as a viewer, you can sympathize with what he’s being forced to do despite knowing that he really does have a choice and that what he’s choosing is unforgivable. but this??? this is TERRIFYING. his emotions are so different here, despite the music being the exact same. here Odysseus is jaded, and despite the pain he’s feeling, you can tell that his resolve never really softens. he knows what he has to do and he’s going to do it. instead of being desperate, he’s a hardened soldier that is more resigned to his fate and has very little morality left to make him feel guilty about choosing to end the babys life in order to go back home. this version of Odysseus feels so much more threatening, and that’s only enhanced by how the baby never once shows any signs of fear. gave me literal chills.

A mental concept I always had for this musical is that whenever that little sinister side pokes out, his eyes flicker red. But characters like Poseidon always have that fire look in their eyes because they've already embraced their ruthlessness. Like in this song "But when does a comet become a meteor", his eyes would have that flickered flame. I think it would make thematic sense because he's still TRYING to be good. But when he embraces ruthlessness, he gives into the flames.

its because of animatics like this that i imagine how great EPIC would be as a "prince of egypt" style animated film

me, watching as Odysseus grapples with his humanity when faced with the decision of killing an infant Astyanax, begging for forgiveness as he rationalizes his decision: yeet that baby

It was a bold and absolutely heartbreaking choice to show the mother seeing what was about to happen and her reaction. As a mom myself, I felt that. But what made tears come to my eyes was the confused expression on the baby's face and the fact you don't show the drop. You keep the image on the baby and Ody, which keeps this atrocity personal and soul defining for Ody. Yes, this was an act committed during war. Yes, it was the will of the gods. But it was also a man doing what he knows is the worst thing he has ever done. Powerful. Beautiful. Bravo.

Watching this… my breath has been taken in a way that just listening to the song never did. The horror. The tenderness.

The baby is so cute and I love the way you drew this song!

I love how every animatic of Just a Man shows us the baby being so innocent and smiling and playing with Odysseus, so that we can really feel what Odysseus felt. The "it's just an infant, it's just a boy" line in the previous song always gives me chills

God, the tenderness, the _anguish_, the coldness that Odysseus puts on when he finally has to go through with it. Everyone has their own interpretation of this scene and I do so dearly love them all, but here Odysseus so gently cradles Astyanax that you can really imagine he would love this boy as his own if he could, and that he does so dearly miss the child he barely would have known when he left for Troy. You've done it again, Wolfy.

this animatic is honestly epic and i love the different ways the this and the original make me feel. The first one is almost like a nightmare that only affects odysseus so ypu feel more sympathy for him. In the second, you see the baby's mother and the burning city of troy, so honestly i dont feel bad for him at all. Taking the helmet off when the he pleads that he's "just a man" to make him more sympathetic and him putting it back on when he does it is so cool!

I cant even explain how much i wanted to cry when i saw the baby smiling and when Andromache tried to run even though it was impossible for her to save her child, this is so infuriating and sad, i cant even put how i am feeling into words

Okay, fuck you for real?? This song is already emotional on it's own and the ending itself gets me close to crying, but the visualization here?? It's like you're TRYING to hurt my feelings. Fucking hell, this is stunning. This is a work of art. Thank you for this gift. 🛐

This animatic is absolutely beautiful. It brought me to tears. You can clearly see the regret on Odysseus' face, but also the acceptance, which is what hurts. The part when I got emotional was 2:04, when Andromache looks up to find Odysseus holding Astyanax over the side, and she started to desperately run to her son, but was held back. Andromache doesn't want any more death or loss, she just wants her baby boy. You really do know how to get through people's hearts, and I greatly respect that. You are amazing, keep up the fantastic work.

UGGHH NOO THE LINES "close your eyes and spare yourself the view. how could i hurt you?" AND HE LOOKS SO TORN WHEN HE SLIDES DOWN THE WALL, I WANT TO MURDER THAT REVERBRATED INSTRUMENT OWJIEHRJKF,DH AND THAT LOOK ON HIS FACE AT 1:24 NOOOO ODYSSEUS PLSSS

I tried not to cry and then I couldn't. This is beautiful and sad and all kinds of feelsy. I cannot express how much it made my heart ache for Andromache, Astyanax and Odysseus at the same time. Truly amazing work

I like how at least in my eyes that he’s asking both the infant and its mother to forgive him. And maybe himself too.

2:10 THAT'S ANDROMACHE ISN'T IT OUCH 😭😭 BEAUTIFUL ANIMATIC WOLFY

I really like the tone shifts from the original and remake. The difference in how he acts towards the baby and the situation feel so different and it’s nice to see. The painful sorry of the original and the determination to go home is a beautiful duality

this is the most adorable version of astyanax that ive seen in an animatic, the most absolute baby, which makes the whole thing even more horrifically painful

Watching this without context is truly... an experience lol

Holy fucking marbles you really outdid yourself on this one!! The cinematography is top tier, not to mention the complexity of the animatic, at some point it's basically a rough animation I feel! The way you draw emotions never fails to land, god it hits so hard. I also really love how you perfectly showed the atrocity of the act without showing it, and without making it look goofy for being over the top (+the glimpse of andromaque is absolutely gut wrenching). I can't express how much I love and admire this animatic honestly, if the musical was an animated movie this would make me bawl my eyes out way too early (thankfully it's not so I can cry in peace)

I was waiting for it and it's funny because I was listing to the song when your notification showed up 😂 I've watched others animatics on "I'm just a man" and we usually see it like it's happening out of time. You, you place it perfectly in the action, during the war. It so much real !!! Thanks you very much for your always amazing work !

OH MY GOD you know what got me? the first "When does a man become a monster" he grabs the helmet and compares the baby to the helmet, it's like he's realizing that such baby will be a man one day and so possibly become "a monster" like him, so why should he spare him? he's like trying to convince himself that this is for the better

Andromache screaming no and trying to run back to her child destroyed me. Oh my god

This was GOOD! The first animatic was emotional and sad. It was like Odysseus had a constant wet look in his eyes and was constantly on the verge of crying. It was really good and emotional, but in retrospect, not very "Odysseus". But THIS ONE. Odysseus looked regretful but tired. Just tired after all the time that passed. His hallucination of his wife and son looked like something that happened often with Odysseus. The way his expression steeled after the hallucination and his previously gentle hold on the child became firm just SCREAMED: "I'll feel guilty about this, but that can wait until later". This is not a normal man being forced to do a horrific thing, this is a hardened war general who has to do yet another difficult choice to win this war. This fits Odysseus SO much better. AMAZING JOB!!!

I don't think I've ever seen an animatic of this song that has made me feel genuine fear or rage at Odysseus. The lack of emotion-- The absence of an apparent soul-- right before he commits the act just shook me to my core.

Ouch.. this hit harder than the first version... so much more symbolism, and so much more effect with the whole babe hanging over the wall.. Well done!

It is sad to see Odyssey trying to argue with the baby why he is doing what he is doing, to somehow show the child why they are dying... Heartbreaking

This changed everything I thought I knew. I first heard this song on Spotify and assumed it was about Odysseus questioning his humanity/morality because of the war and how he lead the adventure with help from some gods. This animatic here, changed everything

00:52 My eyes got teary at the exact moment he slid down the wall 😭 I like all animatics of this song, but I find yours to be a little more personal and realistic, there are just him and baby on the roof, looking at each other not moving around too much and you can really see how much Odysseus struggles from his body language. Well done as always 😄

IM GONNA EXPLODE, THE DIFFERENT ANGLES, THE EXPRESSIONS, THE EMOTIONS CONVEYED, ITS ALL SO GOOD AND WELL DONE

oh. i forgot how to speak. as always i do when i watch ur animatics. great job. my fav thing in this animation is the mom of the child (i guess she's the mom). the expressions on her face. how she tries to save him, to run away. and she gives up. the way it's drawn is beautiful. u should be proud of urself. anyways. HAVE A GREAT DAY

Holy shit, this animatic makes the song hit so much harder it's insane. Very well done!

Man, this hurt even more than the first one you did. The fact that you made the baby even cuter makes it worse! I LOVED IT!

AGHHH. the scene where he’s a silhouette of a man, but he puts his helmet back on, meshing his body with the armour and making him look slightly monstrous,, i ADORE your work.

Poor baby Astynax. In the Iliad, there is a scene where he cries because Hector, his father, is wearing his helmet. He takes it off to hold his son without scaring him and embraces his baby and Andromache, who has been crying because she doesn't want Hector to die and leave her a widow and her son, fatherless. Seeing Odysseus take off his helmet and baby Astynax smiling reminds me of that scene in the poem. Andromache's wailing broke me. This video has shattered my heart yet again...

Omg i actually sttarted crying whrn I saw Andromache. That one second was such a powerful addition to an already heartbreaking song.

I like this piece so much... I like how Odysseus is wearing a similar helmet to Athena's, when he wears it it feels like the rational (warrior of the mind) part is revealed, and when he takes off the helmet he's "just a man". Cry on it.

OH THIS IS DEVASTATING. HEARTWRENCHING. I AM INCONSOLABLE. the turmoil and conflict and immense guilt is already so painful, and then watching him lift the baby over the edge of the wall is too much to bear, but then THE BABY'S MOTHER??? i am SHATTERED. this is so good. so excruciating and so masterful.

Its been 5 seconds and i love it already!! Your art style is so amazing and this is my favourite epic song

Honestly makes me think about how the Spartans would cull any babies that had birth defects Makes you think how ingrained their societal values were and if any Spartan parents fought to keep their kids alive

2:25 POV you have fall damage

Omg this is amazing I did imagine the boy’s mother trying to save her son and the betrayal of his own son here . Amazing work as always wolfy

OMG!! I LOVE IT SOO MUCH! My favorite part would have to be at 1:35, just from the fact he’s having to distance himself emotionally and then proceeding to have to get the baby afterwards. Another amazing animation!!!

Wow just wow. Wolfy not gonna lie, but I just woke up and I was not expecting to cry at the start of my day. Truly a work of art. The way you capture emotions so effortlessly! Your animatics are only getting better and you can really see the progress you have made if you put this Just a man animatic and the older one side by side. Keep it going Wolfy!

Dude really said, "I'm only human after all. Don't put the blame on me." Lol :'D

Absolutely stunning poses and facial expression, tears are flowin Thank you for not animating him actually dropping the child, I don't think my heart could take it, it's gut wrenching enough you brought his momma into it-

I'm back, I often rewatch this video cause the emotions is so raw. I love every moment. How he holds out the infant, how he cradlea it. The war below. How he covers the kid with a cloth. How the helmet tumbles. This is my fave work of yours cause sure it's not as flashy as the other ones (cuz hell yeah the remember them part with the sword carving is GOATED AS HELL IT'S GREAT-) however, this? It's absolutely full of love. Hector's wife trying to run and save the boy. Each second was heartbreaking and we didn't even have to see the death itself. I will always love this.

Noooo not again, I'm researching the Illiad and Odyssey and this just hurts so much more.

Oh lord, andromache!! She lost her lover and her son in the same day...I'm in tears!! You've portrayed this scene perfectly, well done. ❤

I wonder sometimes if the line close your eyes and spare yourself The View is him talking to the baby. Or him talking to himself because he's holding the baby a directly in front of him over the ledge

This is immaculate. The hand kiss with Penelope was so tender it broke my heart 😭

This is honestly one of the most beautiful and tragic things I have ever seen. I'm obsessed with Epic Musical !! Just wish I was able to find it sooner

Bro, this was heartbreaking and im literally crying. I were screaming here "NO DONT KILL THE BABY" Im sad now.

*grips the edge of the bed* Good lord Wolfy

Holy sheezle, that scene where you showed Ody being with Penelope and the way it switches to an empty space was so sudden, that it feels as though he is missing a part of himself after fighting for all those years. He has no one currently there with him to comfort him on what he’s about to do and the decision to kill the infant is his and his alone. You made the guilt he feels later on in the story much more heavier. One of the key difference I would like to point out between the old and new animatic is that before you put a lot more emphasis on the facial expressions of Ody, but here you allowed the camerawork and scenery to express this for him. As evidenced by the figure of him sitting by the wall and the large space you left around him. This is amazing, well done.

well, this made me cry, and I can assure you that I´ve listened to this song many times and seen other animatics.... but i don't know if it was the expressions in this one, or the composition, like when he puts back his helmet, it just broke my heart

My partner showrd me this at first o though it was a gaurd protecting the royal family and going to fight to the death to prottect the kid, but then i listned to "The hour and the infant" and shit got dark

Fffffff! This hurts do much, but it's so frgging good! You did an incredible job with this!

I love the lyrics of this song. As it has many meanings. "When does a man become a monster" can apply to both the baby and Odysseus. Odysseus is doing a horrible, monstrous act here he doesn't want to do. The baby, will become a monster if he lets it live but right now it's just a boy.

0:23 hector’s son is so cute

The visual cues improvement is just incredible, the choice to have Odysseus visually expressing his decision before the song itself makes it clear - putting the helmet back, the way he stopped cradling the baby to merely hold him by the blanket. And yet he asks for forgiveness looking him in the eyes. All around breathtaking and heartbreaking, the inclusion of Andromache gave me chills, all around why the hell I haven't watched this before (when I watched the first one when it came out!) is beyond me

I love the detail of Odysseus being colored in a much darker gray at the end. The transition to it, when the hand holding his helmet is dark and the one holding the baby is light, is such a cool moment. That and the amount of emotion you show on his face, matching the lyrics and the power in the singer’s voice, it’s all amazing

BRO THIS IS SO GOOD !!! i cant evem explain why i love it so much, but i LOVE how its just him and the infant. Just seeing that blankness after seeing Penelope and Telemachus, i just love it! Oh my lordy and when odysseus puts his helmet back on, to make him the captain again. God i love your art 🖤🖤

The way he holds the helmet and then moves to see the child, at the “when does a man become a monster” seems to imply that he’s wondering at one point would the innocent child be the monster that he was said to become

As always, your animatic is incredible Wolfy! I adore your style! The moment when Ody snuggles to Penelope's hand, Andromache, Astyanax playing with his fingers... Utterly heartbreaking and gutwrenching, congrats. 10/10, would recommend. Lots of love!

Ok but this was perfect timing, I use epic songs to study and I was just about to start on maths 😂

I always imagine Odysseus dropping the infant of a balcony that leads to a cliff or the ocean or a river

I find myself watching this over and over. You brought the music to life. The expressions on Odysseus’ face, the way you animated Andromache’s despair… it’s all quite haunting.

AW MAN MY HEARTTT already loved the original animatic, but this tops it, you did an amazing job!! I also thought back to a ticktock Jorge posted a while ago where he described how Odysseus ruthlessness correlated to his use or rather lack thereof, of guitars in the songs. And The way you encapsulated that switch in odysseus expression and mannerisms is just sooo damn good!! really looking forward to more of your animatics in the future!! 🥺

Okay this was awesome but can we talk about 0:35 ? Like, the fluidity of the animation, the timing to the music. Obviously the whole animatic is a masterpiece, but that was a particularly cool moment for me. I’m crying now.

WOOOO 🎉🎉🎉 IT'S FINALLY HERE :DD WE WERE ALL WAITING FOR THAT!!