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

Comics this week

Tons of books out this week. How much is there to love? I mean, not as much of a ton. But certainly some! Let's talk about it.

Daredevil 9
As anyone who's read this blog knows, I'm pretty into this DAREDEVIL run by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. The last issue set up the newest arc for this team (now joined by colorist extraordinaire Matt Wilson), an arc that will pit Daredevil against the evil children of the recently hit-by-a-bus Purple Man. Creepy, creepy stuff almost definitely coming.

Death of Wolverine 4
As I've intimated the last couple reviews that have connected to DEATH OF WOLVERINE, this series has suffered a couple of delays that have made the tie-ins a little less effective. The upside is that this series has been a fairly strong (and, perhaps more excitingly, quick) little event. It's clearly a big shift for the Marvel Universe as key character since his inception Wolverine will, if the title is to be believed, die. So goodnight, sweet prince. Hopefully your death will at least settle out some of these tie-ins.

Ms. Marvel 9
Just a fantastic book. I really can't stop raving about it in my every day life. I wish someone would help me because it's starting to really impact my relationships negatively. But I don't want this book to be less good, so I suppose it's a push.

New Avengers 25
We're eight months in the future and Black Panther is having a tough time. It's never easy to watch Black Panther having a tough time. We're lucky because he so rarely is. That dude knows what's up, like, all the time. But now eight months have passed and NONE of us really know what's up. All we know is that the Cabal is BAD NEWS BEARS and it's going to be quite the fight to stop them. That fight isn't made easier by the fact that the regular type Avengers are none too pleased with the Illuminati. So much happening in this series that has been so reliably good since it started.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 16
It came down, at the end, to voting for SUPERIOR FOES or voting for AXIS as the final book to recommend this week and AXIS left a bad taste in my mouth last week whereas SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN has not disappointed me yet. Or at least since the start of the series. That was like, a year ago, I can't be expected to remember that far back. Anyway, check out this series before it leaves us.

Uncanny Avengers 25, Death of Wolverine 3

Uncanny Avengers 25

Magneto manages to attack Red Skull, freeing Scarlet Witch, Rogue, and Havok from his mind. They all fight with Skull's S-Men for a bit while Magneto, helmet on, attacks Skull. Magneto forces Skull to the ground, beating him with all of his might, using his fists instead of his powers. After restraining Wanda so she couldn't stop him, he picks up a slab of concrete and slams it on Skull's head, horrifying the Unity Squad and bringing the fighting to halt. As Magneto explains his actions and shows no remorse for them, Skull emerges as the Red Onslaught.

There's obviously a lot happening here, between Remender exploring Magneto's youth and his understandable hatred for Skull, who is a Nazi, a mutant-hater, and who stole the brain of his dead best friend, and showing us the mutant contingent of the team he's spent the last 25 issues building. The way to connect the stories, of course, is through Wanda, so she's our narrator here, explaining the best she can the complicated relationship with her birth father. She also lets us in on the secret that she has to really restrain herself to not act like him, to not revel in his rage and allow him to do what he's doing, particularly against the Skull, for whom such rage is warranted. As a result, there are a lot of interesting things happening but it happens on a backdrop that is so chaotic and so necessary that it's easy to get lost in the jumble of things. We're still trying to get acquainted with the S-Men (especially since we haven't seen them in twenty or so issues now) and there are many moving parts here and yet they're not meant to be our focus. Remender, understandably, wants to get a lot done here in the preparation for next week's AXIS launch. However, the rush sets this one back a little bit.

Total Score: 4/5


Death of Wolverine 3

Kitty Pryde saves Wolverine from Lady Deathstrike, forcing Deathstrike to flee as Kitty injects a fading Wolverine with a quick regen serum, something that will heal him temporarily but certainly won't substitute for or replace his healing factor. She insists he allows her to come with him to help him fight off the assassins after him and get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, Wolverine quickly discovers that her mind has been taken over by ninja master Ogun, who has a long history with these two and who is ready to deliver Wolverine to the one asking for him. Wolverine fights him and Kitty, who is somewhat used to having Ogun take over her mind at this point, fights back against him as well, forcing him out into a nearby innocent's mind. Wolverine follows him while Kitty comes back to her senses, though she reveals that the one orchestrating everything is a guy named Abraham Cornelius. Wolverine catches up to Ogun, who shows him the body of the killer Cyber, another one on Cornelius' list, which seems to at least have some tie-in to adamantium-enhanced individuals. Ogun just wants Logan to leave Japan and tells him so, saying that he'll spare the innocent man he's inhabiting of Logan just leaves. Logan agrees to, but tells him to warn Cornelius that he's coming.

I was legitimately surprised when I got to the end of this issue and found that there was only one issue left in DEATH OF WOLVERINE. It's really refreshing to see a major event like this start and finish in four issues (though I'll believe it when I see it, and when I'm satisfied with the aftermath stuff that's already been announced, THE LOGAN LEGACY, maybe it's called?). It's the first time in a long while that something with this magnitude has wrapped up so quickly and I'm one hundred percent onboard with it. I'm also really enjoying this book. There is a bit of a complicated note to make here too; I was reading this issue and had quickly decided this was the best Kitty Pryde I'd seen in literally years, someone who was strong and self-assured and loyal and smart and not some weird caricature of herself. Of course, then Ogun happened to be in her mind. Was it really Kitty steering the ship up until Ogun revealed himself or was Ogun the one who I thought was the best Kitty I'd seen in a while? I prefer to think it's the former, that Ogun just piggybacked on Kitty until it was time to make his move, because that way I can still credit Soule with the best recent Kitty. ANYWAY, it's been a really interesting series so far and it's moved extremely well, aided now by the revelation (that isn't so much a revelation as it is a known and expected fact) that the next issue is the last.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Boy, it doesn't get much easier than this one, huh? There are weeks where I really have to weigh things out, pick out the top five books I'm looking forward to/that I believe are most important in the coming week, whether because there are too many vying for this prestigious list or because I just can't get myself up to five I'm excited about. But boy if five didn't jump right off the page to me this week. Is it a perfect five? No, probably not. I didn't have room for DEATH OF WOLVERINE on the list so now no one will know it could have been here as well. But the five that are here? Oh, I think you'll be interested in them.

Black Widow 11
WELL LOOK, I'M INTERESTED IN THEM, OKAY? How many times do I have to tell you to be interested in this one? Look, I'll level with you, I don't know if you're reading this book or not, I shouldn't be so mad at you. I'm just saying you should be reading this book. It's interesting because, logically, based on the other books that are coming in this list, I should have cut this one to make way for the important DEATH OF WOLVERINE, but it literally did not cross my mind. I'm not cutting this book from this list.

Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier 1
One of three premiere books this week (along with GUARDIANS 3000 and THOR) and one I'm really interested in. Yes. Interested is the right word. I go very back and forth on writer Ales Kot, who I wanted to like in his first SECRET AVENGERS take, don't like in the current SECRET AVENGERS series, and do like in his current IRON PATRIOT series. The series will be illustrated by Marco Rudy who I am rather obsessed with right now (loved his MARVEL KNIGHTS: SPIDER-MAN and his NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL). Also worth noting: its protagonist is a character I love in Bucky Barnes. Color me warily optimistic.

Captain America 25
WHO IS THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA? We all likely know by now but that last page of the last issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA saw our best guess fly a bomb straight into the air, so maybe we're not a hundred percent sure? Look, it's a momentous issue for the series and I'd advise you check in on it (and it's been a really good series ANYWAY).

Thor 1
The second premiere issue to make the list this week (sorry GUARDIANS 3000, but I also kinda don't know why you exist) and, as with CAPTAIN AMERICA, big changes are here as we get our first real look at the new Thor. If that doesn't entice you at least a LITTLE, maybe you're on the wrong blog.

Uncanny Avengers 25
I know I may say this frequently, but we're right on the verge of AXIS and this book has been excellent to this point. Want to get the scoop on the upcoming Marvel event (or maybe even the one that's starting here, in UNCANNY AVENGERS 25? I don't know, I can't be bothered to do the slightest amount of research)? Check out this issue.

Death of Wolverine 2, Edge of Spider-Verse 1

Death of Wolverine 2

Armed with the knowledge that Viper has put the contract out on him and with a fairly new Iron Man helmet with which to barter, Wolverine travels in a fairly lax disguise to Madripoor and meets with one of Viper's underlings to set up a meeting with her, showing off the Iron Man helmet and offering to make a deal. When the underling brings him, she immediately knows who it is (he's really not hiding it) and she sics her real henchmen on him. He easily beats them and moves on to questioning his ex-wife. She admits that she's just subcontracting another job she got for an extraordinarily wealthy client, one whose name she refuses to divulge. She promises more answers if he can defeat Sabretooth in battle, which he does but only by the skin of his teeth and the intervention of Lady Deathstrike, who reveals her name has also popped up on the hit-list Viper put out to the world's mercenaries. Viper herself has disappeared and Lady Deathstrike suggests the pair of healers team up before learning Wolverine's not healing any more and rescinds her offer, instead hoping she can defeat him and trade his freedom for hers. However, she's surprised to find Kitty Pryde reaching through her chest before she can act.

Charles Soule just signed an exclusive contract with Marvel (his DC titles will continue through next March though, giving him time to wrap things up if you're reading those) and it continues to seem like an ace move by Marvel, who has proven in the last couple years that it's dedicated to keeping good talent around as best it can with the use of exclusive contracts (Kieron Gillen jumps to mind) and new titles (I'd look to someone like Dennis Hopeless for that, or Sam Humphries, though I haven't liked as many of his titles). So far, DEATH OF WOLVERINE is proving another in a long line of really compelling and exciting stories from Soule, who I lauded for revitalizing THUNDERBOLTS and for kicking SHE-HULK off to a very fun start (jury's still out a little bit on INHUMANS but I'm mostly liking it so far, just confused by its timing). This is the Wolverine I've been missing from his solo title the last couple years, one who faces danger head-on but doesn't always go in half-cocked. He's quiet, he's threatening, he's quick-witted, he's tough, he's maybe a little bit menacing, and...he's going to die? Geez, now I'm sad again. Really solid second issue with a number of twists and turns that generally work for me and some great art from McNiven.

Total Score: 5/5


Edge of Spider-Verse 1

In 1939, the magician Mysterio wants to take real control in the city and he aims to do it by taking the blood of the vigilante Spider-Man (Noir). Though he's working under the control of the Kingpin right now, he hopes to infuse Spider-Man's blood, which he believes is truly from the spider god Anansi, with his own and gain his mystical powers. Teamed with his own magic and illusions, he believes he could run New York City. He lures Spider-Man out with a threat on Spider-Man's old lover Felicia Hardy. Though Mysterio manages to trap Spider-Man, the vigilante breaks out and defeats the magician, though it doesn't stop the pounding of his danger-predicting sixth sense. Suddenly, a masked figure approaches, threatening to eat the Spider-Man, when another Spider-Man (Superior) appears, distracts the figure, and transports Spider-Man (Noir) out to meet in 2099 with a handful of other Spider-Mans (assorted).

EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, the new Spider-Man event, has its official debut on the heels of a prologue in the suddenly continued SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN and the Spider-Man offices at Marvel make a good call by kicking things off with Spider-Man Noir, one of the more interesting ideas and visually compelling (particularly with Isanove's skill and affection for noir) Spider-Men we've seen. It's a strong first entry as writer David Hine manages to give us some good backstory and character development despite having to start in the middle of a story that isn't actually the story he's tasked with telling, which he gets to. LOOK, it's late and I'm tired and I KNOW my sentences are breaking down by the second but these books are both event books and AVENGERS 34.1 didn't really justify being in the first day so here we are. Anyway, good book, still an interesting premise even if we didn't really learn anything we didn't already really know from SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 32.

Total Score: 4/5

Death of Wolverine 1, Rocket Raccoon 3

Death of Wolverine 1

Wolverine, on the recommendation of Reed Richards, has removed himself a bit from the heroing life while Richards tries to work on a way to reboot his healing factor. Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop moving just because Logan tries to step away from it. He finds himself on the wrong end of a bounty and suddenly has a number of interested mercenaries trying to cash in. One such merc is failed super soldier Nuke, who tracks Wolverine to the woods of British Columbia. Wolverine, who has already faced down a number of these mercs successfully, despite the toll it's taken on him, manages just barely to survive a fight with Nuke and learns that the bounty requires he be brought in alive and that the price on his head decreases the longer the bounty is out, making it a race for everyone interested. He also learns that it was placed by Viper, who also has Sabretooth in chains.

Strong first entry to the DEATH OF WOLVERINE event that seems primed to stand in the tradition of OLD MAN LOGAN sorts of stories (even going so far as to have McNiven still at the art helm). The problem with a shared universe, of course, is that Nuke has so recently had a big appearance in CAPTAIN AMERICA so I'm reading the whole thing trying to ignore that my brain is like "wait, Nuke's dead unless this is before the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA which would kind of make sense except that Steve's old now and I bet old Steve and Wolverine have appeared together since but maybe they haven't which would mean that this could all happen before that and that could be a link between...you know what, never mind." I don't like that my brain does that and I don't think it's fair that a single book be tied to the rest of the universe in a way it can't really help (though nothing specifically "Nuke" happens so it feels like they could have put any merc in his role and avoided all the confusion). Still, pretty good start as Charles Soule sets out to kill one of the most beloved Marvel heroes.

Total Score: 4/5


Rocket Raccoon 3

Rocket, Groot, and Macho attempt to fight off Rocket's ex-girlfriends, still unsure who they're fighting and why, when Macho uses one of his fish-themed escape plans to get them safely out of harm's way and on to Funtzel's home planet, which, coincidentally, puts them back in harm's way. However, the harm isn't too worrisome as Rocket quickly destroys Funtzel's guards and makes it to his compound to ask him a few questions. He knows that the guard who was shot by the impostor raccoon was one of Funtzel's men and figures Funtzel has done some sort of investigating to find the perpetrator, which is accurate. Funtzel says that he's barely gotten any answers back, just references of some tower and the book of Half-World, which astonishes Rocket though Funtzel calls it a fairytale. Before Rocket can tear into him for a perceived slight, the lights in the compound go off and Rocket investigates, finding the impostor raccoon on sight with Groot tied up behind him.

I've said it already but this one hundred percent feels like the book Skottie Young wants to be writing. It's often very rare that you see such a chemistry between a writer/artist and an idea but this book is so very clearly straight out of Young's imagination and Marvel should be lauded for letting him do his thing. A quick scroll through Young's website and his other work shows such a depth of ideas and creativity that would almost be wasted by just having him illustrating a book. Of course, he's a phenomenal illustrator so it's never a waste to "just have him illustrate," as if that's a minor achievement, but you see books like this or his sketchbooks or his warm-up sketches and you can kind of see how many stories he has wanting to get out. Here he's set Rocket out on his own, far away from the rest of the Marvel Universe, so it's very nearly acting like an indie book, which is very rare for a comic to do. Really strong stuff and extremely fun. It's not the kind of book I'll mention in the same breath as the heady and introspective HAWKEYE or X-MEN LEGACY or something like that because it's not going for that sort of feel, but it's certainly one that I'll recommend to anyone anywhere and would be astonished if they don't like it.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Happy September, friends! Lots of big comics out this week so let's dive right into it with the top 5 most anticipated/most exciting picks of the pre-week.

Black Widow 10
Excited by the tease of Hawkeye in this phenomenal BLACK WIDOW series just a few short issues ago? Well wait no longer for the team-up that introduced these two to the Marvel Universe and to villaining/eventual heroing as Natasha teams with Clint in a somewhat rarely seen team-up between just the two of them (they're always together but I feel like, without looking into it WHATSOEVER, they don't really hang out by themselves too often because, you know, Natasha would probably kill him).

Captain America 24
Interested by the reveal that Sam Wilson is set to become the new Captain America? Wondering what will become of Steve Rogers in this new world? Surprised to find that both Cap's son Ian and fiancee Sharon have both been alive since Steve left Dimension Z? Looking to see the origins of the upcoming AXIS event? Well this book has all that and PROBABLY more! Though I can't confirm as I've not read the book yet. I honestly can't confirm it has everything I said, just feels like PROBABLY they'll touch on most if not all of it.

Death of Wolverine 1
Say what you will about the death and resurrection of superheroes, a well-written death story can still shake the universe to its core. Charles Soule has impressed me with his runs on THUNDERBOLTS, SHE-HULK, and INHUMAN so far (and I've heard his work at DC has been stellar as well) so let's see just how he plans to kill the world's most popular X-Man, assuming this isn't a big ol' fake-out.

Original Sin 8
FINE, I'm not that excited about this one. Maybe it will surprise me but I've not found myself totally enthralled by this series at any point, be it with the main series or the tie-ins. Of course, this pre-game primer tends to mix the books I personally am excited to see (BLACK WIDOW, CAP) with books that are maybe a little more important to the Universe as a whole (DEATH OF WOLVERINE, ORIGINAL SIN) so here is ORIGINAL SIN, highlighted for you so you don't forget it will exist this week, closing out the 2014 summer event. You know OS, it's books like you that make it so I can't highlight SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN, which is on to its last legs and really a fun book, or PUNISHER, which I'm sure will be really good this week, or MOON KNIGHT, which gets a new creative team after a stellar first six issues. Too bad there's no way to get the word out about those books.

Rocket Raccoon 3
Hard not to recommend this one. It always ends up in tough competition weeks, needing to scrap it out with really good books or really intriguing books or simply books that never let me down. Then it pulls ahead because this book is already so much fun and Skottie Young's art on the interiors of a major Marvel ongoing is just a delightful thing. Check this one out if you haven't already. If it's not your thing, it's not your thing - but I can't imagine how it's not your thing. I guess if the only comic writer you've ever liked is Frank Miller or something you're probably not going to come back around to the medium from this book?

Comics this week

Okay, we're going to switch it up because I'm not super-duper thrilled about the books out this week. I don't love going negative buuuuuuuuuuut, after some ridiculous amount of these posts, I'm going to mention the five books I'm least excited about because I think I can reach five without stretching, which I'm not sure I could do going the normal way. Sorry pals who don't like when I get negative. Just know, as is the nature of comics, any one of these could be great this week. I'm just not thrilled with them ahead.

All-New Invaders 9
Have I mentioned that I really love the Invaders and I'm really sad by how much I don't like this book? Because that certainly is the case. We'll see as they enter their third arc if things have changed any for this book.

All-New Ultimates 7
I had to read one of these last week! Why is there another one so soon? Maybe releasing them back to back means they won't have to spend most of the issue recapping who all these meaningless and uninteresting characters are.

All-New X-Men 31
Geez, we're three-fifths of the way into this post and we're STILL stuck in the ALL-NEW section. I've been against this book from its very premise so maybe some people have already written off my opinion (teamed also with my typical dislike for series writer Brian Michael Bendis) but if that's true, why do you keep coming back? Look, now I'm not just negative, I'm openly confrontational and argumentative. Feh. What did I hope to accomplish with this post?

Savage Hulk 3
Are we still in the first arc or did we get past that? I honestly can't remember. I certainly have not enjoyed this series as it's started, though I think there's still hope for a book like this one. I've just been real bored to this point, am I right?

Wolverine 12
Perhaps a controversial pick as Paul Cornell's second WOLVERINE series comes to a close and we prepare to move forward to the DEATH OF WOLVERINE mini-series but that doesn't mean I'm willing to forgive this last issue. Maybe my point for this post was just to include books that will likely never make it on to a typical pre-game post. Hey all you books, you can all try to be a DEADPOOL and turn around enough to at least be in consideration.

Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier ongoing, Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy mini announced

Couple of news announcements this week out of Marvel and they're pretty big ones (well, one is. The other is fairly predictable). The first is the announcement of a new ongoing, BUCKY BARNES: THE WINTER SOLDIER. Writer Ales Kot (SECRET AVENGERS, IRON PATRIOT) and artist Marco Rudy (MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN, NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL) plan to take Bucky all around the Marvel Universe, having him do his spy work anywhere and everywhere. It's an interesting move, one that was certainly bound to happen given the success of the movie and the success of the character, even pre-movie. I'm still lukewarm on Kot, not enjoying his SECRET AVENGERS pretty much at all but finding myself liking IRON PATRIOT. On the other hand, I'm already anything but lukewarm on Marco Rudy, absolutely loving MK SPIDER-MAN and his recent Dr. Strange-centric NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL. It'll be interesting. BUCKY BARNES: WINTER SOLDIER is set to debut in October.

The other new announcement is the follow-up to the anticipated DEATH OF WOLVERINE series later this year with a mini-series entitled DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY. A seven-issue mini set to run through October, November, and December, will alternate creative teams, placing the focus on various villains, mostly (with a nod to X-23). The first and the final issue will both be written by DEATH OF WOLVERINE scribe Charles Soule. It has drawn comparisons to the post-Captain America death book FALLEN SON. So that's two more new books coming with big, long titles, because apparently Marvel doesn't care about bloggers who have limited tag-space on a given post.

Wolverine 8, Savage Wolverine 20, Nightcrawler 3

Wolverine 8
Cornell (w) and Anka (a) and Curiel (c) and Petit (l)

Wolverine, guided by Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, visits a mystical temple where it is said that death takes a holiday. Offer comes to Sabretooth to, in theory, work out a way for him to free Pinch and her daughter Annie and Lost Boy. Of course, he doesn't really care about that and manages instead to offer up a way to track Wolverine in exchange for his services. Accepting, Sabretooth sends a team of ninjas to attack Wolverine.

With the much advertised DEATH OF WOLVERINE coming, Cornell kicks off his three part THREE MONTHS TO DIE run by sending Wolverine, still trying to rediscover himself in the new killable world, to meet Death and to work out with Shang-Chi and Iron Fist. I tend to be wary of the physical representation of Death whenever it appears in fiction, just as I'm still a little flummoxed by the physical Heaven that we saw in AMAZING X-MEN to bring back Nightcrawler (although, somehow, I'm past the point of quibbling over Hell existing in Marvel - maybe it's just time that these things need). I tend to believe that having a character who actually is Death is a little on the nose for my liking. Still, teaming Wolverine with Shang-Chi and Iron Fist isn't a bad thing so maybe this will all turn out okay. Still don't like businessman Sabretooth.

Total Score: 3/5


Savage Wolverine 20
Tieri (w) and F. Ruiz (a) and Brown (c) and Petit (l)

It's the roaring '20s (the roaring late '20s, to be exact) and prohibition is all over the place with Al Capone running the most successful bootlegging gig though it puts him at odds with Bugs Moran, a Canadian bootlegger who's enlisted Wolverine. When Wolverine's girlfriend turns up dead (fridging at its finest), he hunts down Capone, who gives him the name of the man who actually did it. Of course, that man is Sabretooth and Sabretooth enacts the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, of which Wolverine was a victim before healing.

The tone of this book is pretty dead on to where it needs to be and Felix Ruiz does a swell job making it feel like the '20s, making this another interesting enough installment of "how does Wolverine play into this time/this event?" a game that this series has been playing since the first couple of arcs passed. Still, the story isn't particularly compelling (which might be my own bias against gangster stuff, I just tend not to care unless it's really a different take on gangsters) and somehow businessman Sabretooth turns up again, albeit in a more questioning and mercenary sort of way. I wouldn't say that I'm burnt out on Wolverine, exactly, which is a credit because boy is he EVERYWHERE but I am certainly, at this point, well burnt out on Sabretooth.

Total Score: 3/5


Nightcrawler 3
Claremont (w) and Nauck (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Petit (l)

Trimega, showing up with three robots now, attacks the circus and immediately begins to show off how powerful he is, tearing through Kurt's friends and adopted family like nothing. Margali shows up just in time and easily overpowers them and Kurt decides, to keep the others safe and to get some back up, that he'll bring Amanda and Margali to the Jean Grey School, where they're greeted with suspicion and hostility. There are far deeper issues at play, though, as Margali and Amanda attack their interrogators behind closed doors and as a horde of Trimegas show up to attack the school.

While the story feels like it's moving a little too slowly to be particularly compelling, there's a bit more to like here. I want to clarify - the story itself isn't necessarily moving that slowly but the sheer amount of dialogue and exposition slows down the actual pacing of the book to a point where it's sometimes hard to get really drawn into the story itself. There is some decent characterization based on the way the X-Men react to Margali and to Kurt and the way Kurt has to continue to struggle with his return to life, leaving behind everything he'd lived his previous life working towards. Heaven is real, confirming all of his hope and faith, but he still rejected it, which is a compelling story but seems pretty well over by the time the issue's done with.

Total Score: 3/5

THE DEATH OF WOLVERINE limited series announced

With his healing factor gone for nearly a year (by that point), it's time for Wolverine to go into the light. Current THUNDERBOLTS, SHE-HULK, and INHUMANS scribe Charles Soule along with art pro Steve McNiven give us a weekly four-issue limited series called THE DEATH OF WOLVERINE, set to launch September 3rd. In an interview with EW, new X-editor Mike Marts talked about Wolverine being the "eternal victor," someone who doesn't lose a fight because he can always jump back into it before asking what happens now that he can't always get back into it. Soule hopes that the death will feel appropriate to the character and that it will feel like the definitive end to the character. As comic fans, we all know that second "feel like" is kind of the key. This is Wolverine, Captain SellsBooks, so it's hard to imagine he'll stay out for long but this is another in a string of high-profile "deaths" in the Marvel Universe of late, like Captain America, Nightcrawler, Johnny Storm, and, most recently, Spider-Man. All of those mentioned have returned within the last few years but still, that doesn't mean the story of each's death wasn't engaging. We'll see how this one reads in September.