Death of Wolverine 4, Death of Wolverine - Logan's Legacy 1

Death of Wolverine 4

Wolverine arrives at Dr. Cornelius' laboratory to find the doctor majorly behind the Weapon X program and responsible for his adamantium skeleton has been trying to perfect his technique on what would be a fully controllable, adamantium, healing army, claiming that he wants to better the world in a way he couldn't with Wolverine. He derides Wolverine as simply a killer, even named after the only animal (aside from man) that kills for pleasure, and explains that he doesn't want his legacy to be making a killer better at killing. His problem so far, and why he's wanted Wolverine and others, is that he can't seem to perfect the healing factor the would-be soldiers need to survive the adamantium. Of course, that doesn't go so hot since Wolverine no longer has his healing factor and, after he puts down Cornelius' protection, forcing Cornelius to flee, he destroys the machines, causing the last of the adamantium Cornelius has secured and re-used for hundred of experiments to pour out over him. He grabs the last syringe of passable healing factor Cornelius has been using and follows Cornelius to the roof, where his getaway chopper pilot bails before the wounded Cornelius can follow him. Cornelius bleeds out on the roof asking what Wolverine has ever done besides kill. As the adamantium hardens on our hero, he decides he did enough, looking into the sun as he solidifies.

Wolverine has always been defined by a number of things, particularly his animal nature and the Weapon X program. Soule and McNiven crafted Wolverine's death story with that in mind and, as such, gave us a final Wolverine story befitting the well-loved dark and mysterious hero. It's a story that allows Wolverine to go out unquestionably as the hero, destroying a mad scientist's attempts at making an unstoppable army and ensuring no one else goes through what he's gone through, while doing it quietly, succeeding in a way that, as Wolverine himself says it, is enough. Most hero deaths, when they happen, happen in front of witnesses, ranging from the many to the few but always with shocked onlookers. Instead, Wolverine, despite the impact he's had (which we're going to see in great length all across the Marvel Universe in the coming weeks), dies silently, away from everyone he knows and loves. And it works really, really well. Great work by Soule and McNiven and though all the makings are there for his inevitable rebirth, it's the kind of death story that has meaning and works thematically with the character so well that you can understand why Marvel was willing to do it.

Total Score: 5/5


Death of Wolverine - Logan's Legacy 1

Someone has captured Daken, X-23, Sabretooth, Mystique, and Lady Deathstrike and, supposedly, implanted them with a number of trigger words that should effectively control them. Together with their mysterious benefactor, they're meant to get to the bottom of a few secrets behind Wolverine's death.

Okay, this one wasn't nearly so great. It's just...the thing is, this one is so weird. I don't know if it's hindered by the slowed release schedule or if it was just planned to have a weird first issue, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen. The issue teases moments and character changes still to happen in this series. I legitimately wasn't sure of this and thought that maybe we were being shown clips from some infinite comic I hadn't read or something but no, it seems like it's just previewing issues to come. I...I don't get it. I mean, I get it to a point, but I don't think it's a good storytelling technique and it feels like it really doesn't benefit this series in any way. I'm hoping the next few issues will be better as they'll likely be in a more standard format. This one's just so strange though.

Total Score: 1/5