Hey, everyone… I am going to be very busy doing reviews this week. I have a whole bunch lined up so expect to see them through the weekend to as late as Monday. For my sixth and (thankfully) last review, I am going to do Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk. Hope you enjoy it.

Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #6
(preview | thread)
Writer: Damon Lindelof
Pencilers: Leinil Francis Yu

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP:  The issue opens with Wolverine lamenting having to fly commercial rather then his stealth jet and recalling all the time he has been asked how he gets through security at the airport. In this case it is by slipping a grenade made of soap into the bag of the guy in front of him and getting through in the confusion.

He catches up to Betty in her hotel in Hong Kong. She tries to reason with him and distract him with nudity but Logan is having done of it. He insists she puts on the collar to prevent her from changing.

She hulks out and tackles Logan, tearing out one of his eyes in the process. He pops two of his claws one through he spleen, one through a kidney and promises to pop the third through her liver and kill her if  she does not change back on put the collar on. He also promises to kill her if she tries to warn Bruce or interfere again.

She surrenders and begs Wolverine not to kill Bruce because she still loves him. Logan responds ‘Too bad.’

He confronts Bruce on a passenger plane, quickly getting the collar snapped in place around his neck. They talk for a bit about how Logan found him, what happened to Betty and what Logan is planning to do. Bruce assumes it is ego and Wolverine wants a rematch. But Logan simply wants the Hulk to die.

Logan explains it is purely about revenge. He decided how he wanted the Hulk to die when he was being torn apart and although he has no problem with Banner, he fully intends to make the Hulk die slowly. Bruce argues that he is a good person and that Logan is not a bad one. To prove it he opens the door and jumps out of the plane.

Logan manages to save the plane getting the door shut from the outside. He then dives off to catch up to the still falling Banner. Banner refuses to change making Wolverine chose whether to kill Banner or save the Hulk before impact. He decides to cut off the collar so Banner can change.

They impact in the desert safely and are met by Nick Fury. Fury tells them that the Hulk can go free because thanks to Logan they have Betty in custody. He offers Hulk the chance to work with him again knowing that eventually Banner will agree because he loves her. He then tells Logan he is on his bad side for lying and leaves.

Hulk and Logan are alone together. Hulk agrees to carry Wolverine to the next town when he gets his breath back. It ends with an amusing back and forth as they literally walk into the sunset.

MY TAKE: While this was not a bad issue, if I had to pick one word to sum it up, it would be anti-climatic. It felt like everything needed to be wrapped up in a neat little ribbon to return things to the status quo. The huge fight I was waiting for never occurred. Instead we got a brief scuffle with She-Hulk and a whole lot of character driven exposition.

That being said, several of the character scenes were very well done. I do not like the way they made Wolverine into the heavy of issue, driven solely by rage and revenge but you can understand it. If I had been ripped in two and had my legs almost eaten I would be ready to kill someone too. And he does redeem himself nicely in the free fall.

I felt bad for Betty, she definitely got the raw deal in the issue. But since she was a new character I can understand wanting to write her out. I am not sure why a claw through the liver would kill her after surviving a nuclear blast but there is nothing established to countermand it so I will let it slide.

I have a lot less forgiveness for the idea that the Hulk can be strangled. In Ultimate Human he survives test of being on a planet with a different atmosphere so there is no reason to believe he even needs to breathe. Or, with Wolverine’s example of last issue, that he needs anything more then a head to live.

Still, I did enjoy much of the dialogue and taken by itself it is a good if somewhat bland issue. But as the comic we waited years to see, it disappointed. I really wanted to see these two go at each other tooth, nail and claw. But since that did not happen I will have to be satisfied with good character dialogue over a somewhat weak plot.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next week.

Hey, everyone… I am going to be very busy doing reviews this week. I have a whole bunch lined up so expect to see them through the weekend to as late as Monday. For my fifth review (whew my fingers are getting tired!)I am going to do X-Men Legacy. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Legacy #224
(details | thread)
Writer: Mike Carey
Pencilers: Scot Eaton
Inkers: Andrew Hennessy

NOTE: Wolverine only appears in flashback images in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP:  The issue begins with a flashback of Rogue confronting Mystique about love. It then jumps to the present where Rogue is using the Shi’ar’s’ ship to confront them.

Their powerhouse, Horse, is pretty much nuts and he charges the ship only to get blasted away. But it gives their tech person the time to partially regain control and open the ship’s door. One of the Shi’ar quickly boards and is able to beat Rogue with a electric blast.

The captain is about to execute Rogue when Xavier gives the command sequence to free Danger from her programming. She quickly disarms the captain and takes out Horse forcing the aliens to take to their ship and flee. Instead of turning on Xavier though, she cauterizes his wounds until he can be properly treated.

Later that evening, Xavier presents a theory on how to help Rogue with her powers. He speculates that the reason she never learned control was that her mind was fractured by different personalities from the very first use. But now she only has one other person in her head so it should be possible to destroy the passenger, Mystique, and break down all the barriers.

Rogue agrees to this technique, and with Danger monitoring her vitals, Xavier enters Rogue’s mind. He destroys the Mystique persona and is successful in breaking down all the self-imposed partitions in her head. The process is traumatic and afterward she sleeps. When she wakes up her skin feels different but she is initially hesitant to test it.

But after a talk with Xavier, she decides to test it out with a kiss from Gambit. The test is a success, she is now able to control whether she absorbs someone’s energy or not. It ends with her not knowing exactly where to go from here but at least she now has options.

MY TAKE:  Let me start by saying neither Rogue nor Gambit are high on my list of favorite characters. I did like Rogue at the beginning but after all this time I have grown tired of her whining. Still, all I can say about this issue is, it is a about time someone took the initiative and let Rogue move forward. The story is not amazing and the explanation is somewhat lacking, but in the end it is the results that matter.

I do not believe I am exaggerating when I say, Rogue finally being able to use her power is a huge leap forward and a massive milestone in the X-Men mythos. Love her or hate her, she has become a foundation for the team.  Rogue first appeared in 1981 and joined the team two years later. So for nearly thirty years, she has struggled with this power.

The rest of the issue was decent if more or less forgettable. The Shi’ar pirates still had no real purpose, they were a one dimensional plot device used to free Danger. Having done so, they left and I do not expect they will show up again. Danger does have some interesting potential as a character although I have never been a fan of the original story. The idea of the Danger Room gaining awareness and attacking the X-Men seemed a bit too Terminator. But here she is given an attempt at depth so we will have to see how it pans out.

I have no strong feelings about the Gambit and Rogue relationship though I am sure there are plenty of very happy people with the new developments. Personally I just hope they either put them together or break them up for good and this seems to be a start on that process. I am still not sure if I like the new Professor Xavier but at least he is thinking clearly and trying to fix his numerous mistakes.

In the end, although there was little real plot or conflict, the huge leaps forward in character development more then made up for it. I am just glad we are finally getting some real change and progression on X-Men that have been languishing for so long. The issue earns a huge thumbs up from me for that if nothing else.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again tomorrow.

Hey, everyone… I am going to be very busy doing reviews this week. I have a whole bunch lined up so expect to see them through the weekend to as late as Monday. For my fourth review I am going to do Wolverine First Class. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine First Class #15
(preview | thread)
Writer: Peter David
Pencilers: Scott Koblish

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue begins with two trolls escaping Asgard and the larger one of them being hit by a subway train.

Flash to Wolverine reading the paper and Kitty begging him for something. Her cajoling lasts throughout the day until Wolverine forgets what she is even asking for. Finally we find out that she wants to meet Thor since she bragged to her friends at dance school that she knew him already.

She finally convinces Logan at the pool after she makes him ‘laugh’. The pair goes to Thor’s event where Logan indicates he does not know Thor but that something will come up as it always does when multiple heroes are in the same place.

Which of course leads into the trolls attacking. The big one has a shield which traps Thor’s hammer and which leads to a fist fight between the two of them. The smaller troll takes the shield with the hammer while the bigger one knocks Thor around with a light pole.  Wolverine then steps in and helps the god.

Kitty confronts the smaller troll and manages to defeat him by getting him to slice into a major water main, washing him away. Instead of a hammer, she finds an unassuming stick of wood. But she gives that to the man that appears and suddenly Thor is back and ready for round two. He grabs the troll and takes the fight back to Asgard.

The issue ends with Thor showing up at Kitty’s school after Logan has tracked him down. But all Kitty can think to ask is how he gets his hair looking so good.

MY TAKE:  This issue is a definite return to form and I am glad of it. I had faith in PAD’s writing ability but the last two issues failed to capture the fun dynamics of the series. This one, however, was full of good interactions and lots of very amusing scenes from Kitty’s wheedling to Wolverine’s faith that something will come up when they show up at Thor’s rally.

I particularly liked the reason for Wolverine’s giving in finally was that he found Kitty funny after she admitted she asked Scott first and he said no. Also, it was good to see an acknowledgment of the dance school again. So many writers completely forget that Kitty had a school with normal kids as well as the X-Men. And that kids often say and do things to impress each other.

Mostly though, the big thing was seeing the interaction between Logan and Kitty again. The strength of this series has always been the relationship between the two main characters. From funny, to sweet, to even combative, the Kitty and Wolverine relationship has always been a highlight. I do not think it ever got the attention it deserved so I am glad that they made a series to focus on it.

The action scenes were fine and under played as usual. This is meant for an all ages so they tend to soften up the fights. Most of the time, comics that are meant for kids are barely readable by older people. But I am consistently entertained by the innocent but fun stories. While they might not be strong on drama or action, the characters shine through.

I am still not completely sold on the guest star format where each issue has a new character in it. If David can make them interact well I do not mind but is has to be seamless to the story. I can see problems trying to come up with ways to bring in guest characters leading to weaker issues. Plus it can easily dilute the interaction between Kitty and Logan which is bad for the series.

The art is a bit childish but it works well for the format. It is not the style I generally enjoy but I can not deny the faces, especially Kitty’s, are amusing and extremely expressive.

All in all this was a good issue and a major step up from the last two. I hope that PAD can continue this level of story telling for the rest of his run. Next issue seems to feature Dazzler and I can imagine a lot of good scenes between her and Kitty.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again tomorrow.

Hey, everyone… I am going to be very busy doing reviews this week. I have a whole bunch lined up so expect to see them through the weekend to as late as Monday. Third review is for X-Force. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Force #15
(preview | thread)
Writers: Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost
Pencilers: Clayton Crain

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Hope confusing Stryfe with Cable and him playing it up. Proudstar manages to break free of his confinement to break them up but is blasted away after a few shots at the mutant madman. Bishop takes advantage of his distraction to blast Stryfe and try to get his shot at Hope.

We cut to Deadpool, X-23, Domino and Vanisher trying to gain access to the building where the time suppression device is being stored. Deadpool is feeling sick and so is Vanisher, but Laura pushes ahead anyway.

Next we get a flash of Warren trying to suppress his Death persona but failing and heading after Apocalypse in his transformed state.

Next we go back to the fight between Bishop and Stryfe. Bishop is holding his own surprisingly well and even manages to take Stryfe down briefly. But before he can kill Hope, Styfe retaliates destroying Bishop’s mechanical arm and taking him down.

We go back to the inflitrators where Domino has discovered the building they are trying to break into is Ship. Before they get too far Deadpool reveals that he and Stryfe are in each other’s head and the telepath knows all that is going on.

Back to Stryfe and we find him confronting Cable who reveals he still has some level of his old telepathic powers. Although neither they nor Cable’s guns can do much more then annoy Stryfe they do distract him from the real threat. Wolverine and Elixir attack from behind with Wolverine giving the distraction so Elixir can give him a fatal disease.

Stryfe blasts them both away and forces Elixir to heal him. He makes Wolverine stab himself in the face while he turns to deal with the bigger threat that Elixir poses.

The issue ends with Warren confronting Apocalypse and refusing to give in and kill the ancient mutant despite what he had done to make Warren into Death. Once he is sure that his life will be spared, Apocalypse offers an alliance to kill Stryfe together.

MY TAKE:  This was another strong issue in what is becoming a surprisingly good crossover. I have not really enjoyed the Cable series and therefore did not have much hope for this story arc but it has been consistently solid with a good combination of action, character moments and revelations.

In this particular issue, I was pleased to see things being shown from Stryfe’s point of view. Although he is undoubtedly evil and insane, he is not without his own motivations and personality. Too often the bad guy is simply a one note obstacle to be over come with no thought at all to his feelings and reasons.

There was not as much action in this issue but everyone gets to take a legitimate shot at Stryfe being being beaten and that is pretty rare. Even though he is undoubtedly powerful, he is not being portrayed as unbeatable. It makes his eventual defeat that much easier to take and gives everyone a moment of triumph.

The characterizations are still strong although I felt that Laura was a little flat. But the others seemed pretty consistent and there was still a bit of comedy mixed in with the violence. I think putting Deadpool into the mix was inspired although I am not sure that he would work as a permanent team member. His secret, that Stryfe has been in his head, pretty much explained all the problems they had experienced since the beginning.

While I expected the ending, especially with the Sourcebook that came out his week, I am looking forward to a rematch between Apocalypse and Stryfe. While I can not imagine Cable would enjoy working with old foe, I think it could led to some very interesting dynamics in the story arc.

The gritty painted art is not my favorite style, but it does work for this type of issue. The whole thing looks dark and bloody and suitably desperate, and it would be hard to get the detailed, layered effect in a different style.

While this was definitely a build up issue it managed to be entertaining while giving up hints at the end. If this comic is any indication the remaining story should be a wild and fun ride.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again tomorrow.

Hey, everyone… I am going to be very busy doing reviews this week. I have a whole bunch lined up so expect to see them through the weekend to as late as Monday. Next I am going to do Wolverine Origins. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine Origins#36
(preview | thread)
Writer: Daniel Way
Pencilers: Doug Braithwaite
Inkers: Bill Reinhold, Andrew Hennessy & Kris Justice

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with Wolverine dreaming of Daken being subjected to the Weapon X testing, by him. He wakes up groggy after being beaten by Victor and immediately starts to track his scent hoping to get to his son before he undergoes the process. In order to do so, Wolverine gives in to his primal side for the hunt.

Next we find Daken and the Tinkerer preparing to coat Daken’s claws with the metal of the Muramasa. The tinkerer has to anchor Daken’s claws to an adamantium sheath and even then they will not be very durable since they are not bonded to him. He begins the surgery.

Wolverine catches up to Victor and is getting tossed around. Just when Wolverine is going in for the kill, a policeman steps in and interrupts them. Logan manages to restrain himself and not kill the man and heads off after Victor again. He catches the other man on a subway train but instead of giving into the rage and fighting, he separates the cars so he can find his son.

But Wolverine arrives too late. Daken has already undergone the procedure and it was a success. Daken’s inside claw on each hand is now coated in the mystical metal. After a brief struggle, Daken reveals that he got the claws with the intention of using them on Romulus who is on the train. Wolverine tells his son that he let Romulus go when he split up the cars. Daken stabs his father through the chest but does not use the new claws allowing Wolverine to heal the damage.

The issue ends with Wolverine vowing to stop at nothing to track Romulus down and Omega Red being transferred to a new Russian prision.

MY TAKE:  I have been hashing this out for a while now. I generally like to start with the good parts of any issue in order to be positive. Unfortunately, there is very little good here to work with so I am going to start with the bad.

First thing is Wolverine is knocked out by a single punch from Victor and has a pretty much pointless filler dream. This is the same guy that has taken full shots from the Hulk, Juggernaut and Thor and gotten back up more mad then hurt. Considering that Victor uses doors rather then walks through the wall, I do not see him as having that level of strength.

Next Wolverine gives into his inner beast in order to track Victor down despite being able to track anyone without doing so. And despite the fact that he spends much of this time controlling the rage, here he does it just to find someone?

When he does catch up to Victor in full rage mode he does not even get one shot in even though we know that when he goes bestial his mind and actions are one and his speed is phenomenal.

Then when he is finally about to attack he is interrupted, coincidentally, by a policeman and he actually listens to the cop? In a full rage he is generally shown to attack his close friends and allies and ignore anything between him and his target.

In the few moments it takes to deal with the policeman, Victor somehow manages to lumber far enough ahead to board a moving train and get into an ambush position so he can slow Wolverine down again.

And of course, even though the whole fight and chase could not have taken too long, by the time Wolverine arrives, the process is complete. So the Tinkerer had time to complete two major operations on a person with a healing factor and then a bonding process. Oh and if adamantium is so rare how come so many people have it?

Then of course there is the major problem with the issue, giving Daken the Muramasa claws. To give a character with almost no development weapons of such caliber is, in my opinion, a monumental mistake. He will never have a chance to be developed or become more then a bad plot device. He is now simply the guy with the claws that can kill anyone. I have no idea why Marvel did this with Daken getting his own title but it make no sense to me personally. I do not believe there is a way to make the character likeable or interesting.

There are a few glimmers of goodness in the issue. I did enjoy that Daken seems to be thinking for himself now and acting more rationally. Some of Wolverine’s conflicted dialogue was good and insightful and the set up for the next arc is promising.

In the end though this was a poorly written chase scene issue with all kinds of plot hole that ended in a change in the status quo that I can not agree with or support. Hopefully they will make some changes to improve the series and redeem Daken as a character.

NOTE FROM DIG: I know that some readers my strongly disagree with this review. So please feel free to cordially share your own thoughts below or on the message boards. I look forward to reading what everyone else thought!

Hey, everyone… I am going to be very busy doing reviews this week. I have a whole bunch lined up so expect to see them through the weekend to as late as Monday. I am going to start with the long awaited return of Old Man Logan. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine #72
(preview | thread)
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencilers: Steve McNiven
Inkers: Dexter Vines & Jay Leisten

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with the Red Skull finishing off a nearly dead Captain America in the past. Flash to the present and we find the Skull in his trophy room wearing Cap’s still bloody uniform and gloating over his prizes.

Three of henchmen bring in the bodies of Hawkeye and Logan but unfortunately one of them is not dead. Logan quickly takes out the three guards but is not faring so well against the Skull. He is out of practice and still resisting the call of violence.

Automatic barriers close off the pair from the rest of the building and the Red Skull picks up a sword to finish off Logan. But he counters with Captain America’s shield and takes the fight to the villain. In a brutal sequence he defeats the Skull and cuts off his head with the shield. He snatches up the money Hawkeye was to be paid so he can make his escape.

Guards outside are trying to break in so Logan slips into Iron Man’s armor and blasts them before flying away. He makes it to less the five hundred miles from home before the power in the suit runs dry. He beat up a couple of scavengers with the money case and makes it home thirty-six hours later.

Unfortunately, it is still too late. The Hulk gang has come and gone and left his whole family murdered. One of his neighbors tries to prevent Logan from going off looking for revenge and maybe drawing the gang’s wrath down on the whole community. But Logan pops his claws for the first time in many years and states his name is Wolverine.

MY TAKE:  While I have not been the biggest fan of this arc, this is a fairly strong issue. While there are not a lot of surprises in it, you do feel genuine emotion for Logan and concern for his plight. The fight scenes are a trifle overdone but since we have been waiting a long time to see Logan get a little revenge, it is satisfying.

I do not know much about the Red Skull as a character but he works as a suitably creepy foe here. By the end of the first few pages you already want him to get his head handed to him and using Captain America’s shield was simply poetic justice. Seeing Logan suiting up in Iron Man’s armor was another fun moment and you could not help but cheer for him a little bit.

The ending was obvious and had been since the very first issue of the story arc. Much of the idea of this story was taken from movies and you knew how it was going to end. You do not have a character go through all this trouble and see him start to embrace his violent side and then get a happily ever after. Still you can not help but feel for Logan as he comes home and sees what happened.

The issue was not without its flaws however. It felt very short and in fact very little really happened. Considering how long it has been taking to get an issue of the series out, it was hard not to feel a bit slighted at the lack of content. While I understand completely why the issue ended where it did, I would have loved to see Wolverine get a bit of payback in this issue.

The art was suitably gritty and very violent. You can almost understand why it takes so long to draw considering the level of detail that is provided. You can actually read the faces most of the time and understand more of what is going on then the limited dialogue shows.

In the end it was an enjoyable if predictable issue. It sets up the finale very well and gets you motivated to read it. While it may not be the most original story, it is an effective one and fun to read. I expect the trade of this story will be an amazing read where you will likely not even notice most of the flaws.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again tomorrow.

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ pulled in $7.8 million this weekend, bringing its domestic gross to $165.2 million and positioning it as the #147th domestic grossing film of all time, slashing past ‘Hannibal’, ‘Batman Returns’, ‘A Bug’s Life’ and ‘Die Another Day’.

Up next? ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’.

With international box office added in, ‘Wolverine’ has accrued $310.2 million worldwide, clocking in as the #181st grossing film of all time worldwide, placing ‘Wolverine’ just ahead of ‘Ransom’, ‘Runaway Bride’, ‘Chicago’ and ‘Liar Liar’.

And now on with the regularly scheduled Wolverine news…
–CBR Comic Book Legends Revealed: All Wolverine, All the Time (details)
–Marvel: Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu on ‘Dark Wolverine’ #75 (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 5/28/09…
–Amazing Spider-Man #595 (preview): Wolverine guest stars…
–Avengers/Invaders #11 (preview): Penultimate issue…
–New Avengers #53 (preview): Cool Wolverine moment in the preview…
–Runaways #10 (preview): Wolverine teams up with Molly Hayes…
–Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #6 (preview): At long last, the final issue…
–Wolverine #72 (details): ‘Old Man Logan’ returns…
–Wolverine: First Class #15 (preview): Thor guest stars…
–Wolverine: Origins #36 (preview): Weapon XI continues…
–X-Force #15 (preview): Messiah War, Part 5…

We begin the week-in-review with the Friday box office update (I’ll catch up with the rest of the weekend totals on Tuesday) that pushes the ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ domestic total to $157.4 million. That makes ‘Wolverine’ the #160th domestic grossing film of all time, slashing past ‘X-Men’, ‘The Mummy’, and ‘Fantastic Four’.

Up next? ‘The Longest Yard’, ‘The Firm’ and ‘The Sting’.

The overseas box office has also been updated, upping the worldwide total to $302.4 million. That positions ‘Wolverine’ as the #188th grossing film of all time worldwide, just ahead of ‘Rocky IV’, ‘Superman’ and ‘X-Men.

‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ returned this week with a new episode, “Future X’, and Marvel.com has all the details…

As for comics this week (May 20, 2009), Wolverine appeared in ELEVEN TITLES.

That puts Wolverine in THIRTY-NINE COMICS over the past five weeks, not including variant covers — way too many if you ask me.

Many thanks to Jrpbsp and Brian Knippenberg who have written up extensive recaps and reviews for…

• Wolverine: Weapon X #2
• Uncanny X-Men #510
• X-Men Forever Alpha
• Fantastic Force #2

As usual, I will give my impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket…

Wolverine Noir #2 (details | thread)
“Alley Cats”
Writer: Stuart Moore
Artist: C.P. Smith

I am not a fan of the Noir series Marvel has been putting out and this one is no exception. Sure the visuals are impressive, but the story is overly murky and confusing for no reason other than to be noir…

Timestorm 2009/2099 #2 (preview | thread)
Writer: Brian Reed
Pencilers: Eric Battle & R.B. Silva
Inkers: Andrew Hennessy & Vicente Cifuentes

Wolverine gets to battle an army of Hulks from 2099. As Wolverine notes, “How come my futures always stink?” Good line and a pretty good issue especially if you enjoyed the 2099 universe way back when…

Captain America #50 (preview)
“Days Gone By”
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Luke Ross
Inks: Rick Magyar & Luke Ross

Wolverine has a terrific cameo is this wonderful run by Ed Brubaker. I can can only dream what ‘Wolverine: Origins’ would have been like in Brubaker’s deft hands…

Agents of Atlas #5 (preview | thread)
“Taking the Fall”
Writer: Jeff Parker
Penciler: Carlo Pagulayan
Inker: Jason Paz

SPECIAL DIG PLOT SUMMARY: Agents of Atlas pretend to be villains to hoodwink Norman Osborn, incurring the wrath of the New Avengers.

A fairly weak premise. That is until the robot M-11 realizes that Wolverine is the same secret agent they met back in 1958 and burns all the flesh off of his arm.

Skull Kill Krew #2 (preview | thread)
“Apocalypse Cow”
Writer: Adam Felber
Penciler: Mark Robinson and Rob DiSalvo
Inker: Mark Robinson and Mike Getty

I have no idea why the hell this comic is being published (I know, I know. Grant Morrison/Mark Millar miniseries back in 1995 based on humans eating Skrull-burgers from the Skrull cows of Fantastic Four #2. Blah, blah, blah).

Regardless, someone claiming to be Wolverine appears wearing little more than a kinky rodeo harness, claiming to be undercover in a reverse rodeo (don’t ask and I won’t tell) to catch some non-cow Skrulls.

Sigh.

If this is a real Wolverine appearance, then Marvel has officially jumped the shark, or in this case, the cow.

Planet Skaar Prologue #1 (preview)
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Dan Panosian

Wolverine cameos in only one panel. For Wolverine completists only.

Marvel Adventures the Avengers #36 (preview)
“Which Wish”
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Jacopo Camagni

An especially weak outing involving a Hulk-hating genie who is freed by Tigra.

A shame as the last issue was actually pretty good.

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…

Hey, everyone… Here is the third and final review for the week. Last up is Fantastic Force #2 featuring the future version of Logan as the Hooded Man. Hope you enjoy it.

Fantastic Force #2
(preview | thread)
Writer: Joe Ahearne
Pencilers: Steve Kurth
Inkers: Serge LaPointe

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the newly christened Fantastic Force falling from their perch on the Statue of Liberty with Lightwave taking a gamma blast from the Harpy on the way down. Psionics manages to arrest their fall and goes on the attack but is blasted out of the sky.

The Harpy knocks down more of the Statue and snatches up Banner Jr who is convinced she is his mother. In a neat bit of team work, Logan manages to save Psionics from the falling debris. She grabs her father and makes for the nearest hospital ignoring the long queue of waiting patients. This triggers a confrontation with Alyssa Moy who does not believe they should be treated differently then the refugees but in the end she does not press too hard.

Next it flashes to Banner Jr and Harpy as they go to the Baxter building which has been renamed the Castle building by its lone tenant. There the Harpy completely imprints herself on Banner Jr instilling complete loyalty in the gamma-powered young man.

While Lightwave is being tended too, Ultron, Logan and Natalie X do some research on the Harpy. Logan does not remember anything beyond the fact that she is dead. Their history lesson is interrupted by Banner’s return. He is in full rage mode and rips off Ultron’s arm when he tries to stop him. His berserker mind proves to be immune to to Natalie X’s power and Logan refuses to fight back being proud of the rage his son is showing.

In order to save Logan, Natalie X goes into his mind and triggers the berserker. He and Banner fight until Psionics arrives and smashes their heads together knocking them both out. Ultron is cut in two by a blast from Harpy but Lightwave uses the same technique that saves him to remove her gamma powers. The roof then rips off revealing Harpy’s s sisters, the rest of the Hysteries in the form of Polaris, Scarlett Witch and Dark Phoenix.

MY TAKE:  This was another strong issue although it is starting to feel a little bit rushed. But then since it was reduced from five issues to four after the first one I can see how they are trying to cram too much into each issue. Even with that the characters all managed to keep a unique and consistent voice and the plot is still interesting and flowing very well.

There are plenty of good moments in this issue specifically with Logan. From the way he saves Psionics by digging in his claws and making himself into a human bridge to the ‘My boy’ before Banner throws him through a wall. But everyone gets at least one or two good character moments and you understand and even relate to their actions. Banner in particular continues to be an extremely interesting character caught between his mind and his savage nature.

What is more, even the faceless masses have a sort of voice to them and they react very realistically. They do not go from starving refugees to happy homemakers overnight. They still live in tents with no water, they either eat too much or not enough. And they resent the super heroes that have brought them here even though it did save their lives.

The plot is not complex, it is basically a group trying to get the heroes and the rest of the humans off the artificial planet that they invaded. The villains have changed or at least been further revealed but it is still a continuation of the last issue. But whereas in that one it was intelligence that won the day in this issue it was shown that strength and raw power have their place as well.

In the end this was another strong and enjoyable issue. I really wish they would make this an ongoing series. I would certainly be getting everyone and, if the same team was involved, I would probably like them all.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again tomorrow.

Hi, folks… Brian, here! Today we have on deck a review of ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’ #2!  So, without further ado…

Wolverine: Weapon X #2
(mini-preview | threads)
“The Adamantium Men”- Part 2
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Ron Garney

We’ll be breaking this review down into a recap and then sum up with my thoughts. If you wish to avoid spoilers, then proceed to ‘Thoughts From A Human’s Point of View’.

SPOILERS BELOW…

We open our story in a meeting room at the San Francisco Post where investigative journalist Melita Garner makes a case to her editor for doing a story on Wolverine’s background since so little is known about him, much to the aggravation of a fellow reporter who’s already covering the X-Men beat. Her editor thinks that Wolverine is already overexposed as a public figure and wouldn’t be of much interest to the paper. Later on at home, Melita tries placing some calls to retrieve Logan’s military records, with no success. She then receives a mysterious phone call from someone warning her that she will get herself killed if she continues to dig and that Wolverine is only a smaller part of the picture. The caller tells her that she needs to set her sights on Blackguard, the same mercenary unit that Wolverine is after. With an abrupt click on the other end, Melita realizes that she has her story.

Meanwhile, Logan makes his way down to the Pacific Coast of Colombia, where he revisits a local drinking establishment he’s been to in the past. He drops a wad of money and buys drinks for the entire place. While acknowledging his own keen tracking senses, he opts to take a different strategy for locating the Blackguard unit by simply staying put and letting them come to him.

Hours later, Logan stumbles his way back to the hotel with a bottle in hand and a song on his lips. High above, two Blackguard soliders crouch in the branches of a tree, one of them aiming a high-powered rifle towards Logan’s room. The rifle is armed with three bullets designed to release 38 different kinds of cancer within the intended victim’s system. They figure it will at least slow him down. Jokingly, the two soldiers take bets as to which nostril of his nose they can shoot the bullet through, from their distance.

As the soldier takes aim he quickly realizes that his target is gone. The soldiers begin sniffing him out, as they are enhanced with similar tracking abilities as Logan. They lock onto the scent only to find Wolverine, suited up and ready, below them. He pops his claws and slashes at the tree, causing it to tip over. One of the soldiers falls right onto his claws, but continues to fight him off. Wolverine quickly uses his senses to size up his opponents’ capabilities…drug-induced animal-like senses, bionic implants giving them enhanced strength, artifically engineered techno-organic, nanite-induced healing factors, adamantium bones, and much to his dismay as he gets them shoved through his body…energy blades.

A long and fierce battle erupts between the three in the jungle. After a while, amidst spilled blood and fallen trees, Wolverine realizes that it’s inevitable that the two will go down. However, things take a turn for the worse as a dozen more soldiers like the ones he’s been fighting appear and surround him. Knowing his limitations, Wolverine breaks through the mercenary crowd and makes a tactical retreat into the wild. The soldiers fan out to look for him, not realizing that Wolverine has them right where he wants them…To Be Continued!

THOUGHTS FROM A HUMAN’S POINT OF VIEW: Jason Aaron delivers a great issue in this new series. The kid gloves are off as we now have our two opposing factions square off. The last half of this issue really has to go to the talents of Ron Garney as he gives us an especially brutal beginning to what will probably become a long and intense battle. Wolverine looks downright spooky with beady eyes, peering through shadows. The battle is so fierce, their jungle surroundings become decimated. You really get the sense that Wolverine will not have an easy fight on his hands. Aaron also does a great job with handling Wolverine as a strategic fighter who’s no longer willing to just throw himself into the thick of things without having a plan of action, hoping that his healing factor will make up for it.

The only part of this series that I’m still not completely sold on is the character of Melita Garner. The young, plucky reporter who will inevitably get in way over her head and most likely fall for Wolverine hasn’t exactly set my world on fire yet. But I’ll give Aaron the benefit of the doubt and see where he takes her.

All in all, a solid entertaining issue. If you haven’t jumped onboard with this series yet, do so!

Feel free to let me know how this review strikes you.  Share your opinion or your own review…