Wolverine Week-14-in-Review: Cable, Astonishing Tales, Avengers/Invaders
Wolverine appeared in three titles this past week (April 1, 2009), on one other and made a cameo in yet another from last week…
So on with the reviews…
Cable #13 (preview | thread)
“Messiah War, Part Two”
Writer: Duane Swiercyznski
Art: Ariel Olivetti
The art by Ariel Olivetti, as always, is stunningly beautiful, but the issue itself is not quite as good as the ‘Messiah War’ one-shot.
Deadpool is his usual funny self, unfortunately Duane Swiercyznski is stuck with unenviable task of telling nearly a thousand years of history.
And Deadpool is his narrator.
So all in all, a necessary and humorous issue, but one that doesn’t quite hold up to chapter one…
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Astonishing Tales #3 (preview | thread)
“Bloodlines! Part 3”
Writer: C.B. Cebulski
Art: Kenneth Rocafort
More of the same in this bizarrely over-the-top series.
Tyger Tiger shows up in grand fashion. But due to the opening credits-style entrances of every character so far, I was thrown by the lack of an introduction for a punky Asian girl.
Jubilee? Random Tyger Tiger nurse from Madripoor?
Bueller? Anybody?
Avengers/Invaders #9 (preview | thread)
“Yesterday Gambit”
Plot: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Script: Jim Krueger
Pencils: Steve Sadowski, Patrick Berkenkotter & Alex Ross
Shockingly enough, Wolverine actually gets some dialogue in this issue.
Only he’s not Wolverine.
He’s Captain Terror.
In fact, Wolverine as Captain Terror gets more lines than Wolverine as Wolverine in the last three issues combined.
I repeat again, why is Wolverine in this series?
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Finally, Wolverine appears, thankfully, only on the cover of Assistant-Sized Marvel Spectacular #1 (preview) and from last week (courtesy of Comusiv once again), comes a Wolverine television cameo within the pages of The Mighty Avengers #23…
Sigh.
What do you think? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments below OR join in on the fun in the Wolverine Files Forums…
I don’t mind Wolverine being in the Avengers/Invaders if they actually used him in the story. He has gone four issues with no dialogue and five issues with minimal dialogue.
I’m not asking for a central role, just a scene or two.
Honestly, I think the series would not be different in any way if he didn’t appear in it, and, to me, that means he really shouldn’t be in the story.
I think that could be said about many of the characters in the book. A lot of them are just there because they’re Avengers. For example Wonder Man, or Ares. What do they have to do with the story? Yet they’re in it because at the time this series takes place they were members of the Mighty Avengers. I agree, I don’t think it would change the book, but I don’t believe it necessarily harms the title or the experience either. The only people it would really negatively impact are the Wolvie collectors who buy everything he’s in. Which obviously… Read more »
I certainly don’t mind Wolverine being in Avengers/Invaders. The book was partially about uniting the New and Mighty teams, and Wolverine is a member of the New Avengers. It’s as simple as that, really. I don’t think one needs to analyze it any further. I assume you didn’t enjoyed the Assistant-Sized Spcial? I thought it was a rather neat way to tell some followup stories. The D-Man tale was a sequel to Bendis’s D-Man story in The Pulse. The American Eagle story was a followup to a recent issue of Thunderbolts, with some neat references to the Initiative. And the… Read more »
I agree, there are numerous characters being underutilized.
Perhaps Bendis has spoiled me. He has a way of giving every character a moment. And for someone, as you note, who reads for Wolverine (and great stories), that is all I am looking for.