Hi, folks…your friendly neighborhood Brian Knippenberg back again! Today we have on deck the next chapter in  our X-Force/Cable crossover! Without further ado…

Cable #14 (preview | thread)
“Messiah War, Chapter 4”
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Art: Ariel Olivetti

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…

WHO’S GOT A PLAN?: In chapter three, Stryfe had captured Warpath and Hope, whisking them off to his citadel. We open chapter 4 outside of Westchester as Cable & X-Force desperately try to come up with a plan of action. Cable’s greatest fear has come true and all he wants to do is barrel through Stryfe’s domain, take him out and bring back Hope alive. Wolverine, thinking rationally, tells him that would do nothing but get her killed.

SHE WAS MINE FIRST!: Back at the citadel, Warpath is tortured as Stryfe tries to divine the identity of Hope and what she means to Cable. Bishop fears that Stryfe is getting too close to knowing, which could ruin his own plan of killing her himself to “save the future”. He checks his weaponry to ensure it’s in working order for the right moment.

DING-DONG, DEATH CALLING!: In the Adirondacks, Archangel meets with Apocalypse, who is barely clinging to life. He assumes that the evil one wants to die by the hand of his former Horseman, but as Apocalypse cluches at Archangel’s throat, he seems to have other plans.

DON’T I KNOW YOU?: Within the citadel, Hope notices something familiar about Stryfe as he studies her. Just then, Stryfe falls in agony and drops the telekinetic bubble which held his captive. Bishop had launched a nanite bomb, which has temporarily distracted him. He then pulls his gun to finish off Hope only to have the bullet stopped in mid-air. Stryfe attacks Bishop, thinking that he was his target, until he sees the look in Bishop’s eyes and realizes that it was Hope he was after.

WHO’S GOT A SCORECARD?: Meanwhile…our heroes have split up into two groups, one to the citadel for the rescue, the other to deal with the time trap they are all caught in. Domino learns from the older version of Deadpool that the timeshield holding them is not a place or thing…but a person. Outside the citadel, Cable is seriously injured but continues to fight on with Wolverine as Elixer tries to heal him. Back in the mountains, Archangel breaks free and refuses to help restore Apocalypse, leaving his decrepit form behind.

DADDY ISSUES: We close our issue with Stryfe beginning to understand what Hope’s purpose must be, as she lifts off his helmet. She is surprised to see that it’s Cable (so she thinks) in disguise to rescue her from Bishop. Stryfe tells her that he’s here to rescue her from her false father.

THOUGHTS FROM A HUMAN’S POINT OF VIEW: Duane Swierczynski & Ariel Olivetti continue to keep the ball rolling with the Messiah War, but with this issue I felt it was not much more than padding to help stretch out the arc for the 7 issues or so issues it was solicited as. Great when read as part of a collection, but as an individual issue it lacked much of the forward momentum that it could have used, other than the villain and our heroes learning a little bit of info that they didn’t know prior. An adequate read, but not very compelling.

Feel free to let me know how this review strikes you…Do you like the recap? Is it unnecessary? Share your opinion (or your own review)!

Wednesday’s box office is now official, pushing the ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ total to $99.2 million. That places ‘Wolverine’ as the #430th domestic grossing film of all time, beating up ‘Hercules’, ‘Billy Jack’ and ‘Inspector Gadget’.

Next up? ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’, ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’ and ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’.

Overseas box office have also been updated, upping the worldwide box office to $178.9 million. That puts the movie as the #415th grossing film of all time worldwide, just ahead of ‘Kill Bill, Vol. 1’, ‘Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ and ‘Flubber’.

In Other Wolverine Movie News…
–Newsarama: Illegal ‘Wolverine’ Downloads – Over FOUR MILLION Served (details | threads)
–Newsarama: Jimmy Palmiotti Rips ‘Wolverine’ Movie (details)

From 2008 to 2009, Wolverine Files highlighted, in chronological order, iconic Wolverine covers and their homages. Want to start at the beginning? Click here…

Incredible Hulk #340 by Todd McFarlane and Bob Wiacek.

It’s about as perfect a cover as it gets.

Frankly, words don’t do it justice, so I’m going to shut up and let you enjoy their work…

Next up is the original black and white artwork for the cover…

Then we have two terrific homage covers.

On the left, Powerless #5 from 2004 by Greg Land, and on the right, Marvel Zombies #3 from 2006 by Arthur Suydam…

Not to be outdone, the epic ‘Hulk vs. Wolverine’ animated short features a brief, but wonderful tip of the hat to the Incredible Hulk cover…

And finally, from within Incredible Hulk #340 itself, Todd McFarlane really struts his stuff…

Wow…

Previous Classic Wolverine Cover: Alpha Flight #52 | Next: Marvel Comics Presents #1

Want to see the Classic Wolverine Covers from the beginning? Start here…

Hey, everyone… Welcome once again to the weekly (or more) review of your friendly X-titles. This week we have the long awaited (at least by me) return of the New Mutants complete with double-sized cover. So without further ado, let’s begin…

New Mutants #1 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: Diogenes Neves

NOTE: This issue does not contain Wolverine

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with Shan attempting to help an unknown mutant child and being caught inside of her mind. We then flash to an injured Magik arriving at the school and being met with an angry group of the Young X-Men. She is rescued by Sam and Roberto and taken to Beast. She tells the others that she has come from the future at the behest of a dying Amara to try and save Dani and Shan’s lives.

We get a brief scene with Amara and Empath before finding out that Illyana is telling the truth and healing very quickly. Sam goes to Cyclops and requests permission to take Roberto, Amara, and Illyana to try and rescue Dani and Shan. When he gets permission, they take one of the jump jets to Colorado where they had been sent to dispel rumors of a new mutant emerging. We get a couple more good character interactions in the jet on the way.

They arrive and go into town incognito, heading for the first bar they find. Illyana, acting on her future knowledge, takes Amara to the house of a missing girl to look for her friends. Meanwhile Roberto and Sam get into a bar fight with the locals who seem to know the boys are mutants. Both groups find Shan. The boys discover her comatose body in a backroom and the girls hear her voice from a box in the missing girl’s basement. But when the box is opened, the person that steps out is Legion.

MY TAKE: For those that do not know, the New Mutants was the second monthly X-title and consisted of a group of young mutants. The first students were Sam, Rahne, Dani, Shan and Roberto but they were joined by Amara, Doug, and eventually Warlock. This series has all of the New Mutants expect for Doug who was killed, Warlock who has been missing and Rahne who is in X-Force currently. I have been waiting for this series for many many years. I loved the original series and we never really got that same dynamic again. The original X-Force had its moments but it never felt like the same team.

It has one been one issue but I am ready to say that the New Mutants are back and I am very glad they are. The series has already managed to get a good feel for the past while keeping things in the current status. The personalities feel more genuine then I have seen in a decade but they have obviously grown and matured. Well, maybe not Roberto, but you cannot expect him to really grow up. I loved the interactions; you could feel the personalities come through especially with their conversations with each other.

The scene showing the Young X-Men members and Illyana was a nice nod to the current situation but I was especially impressed with Amara and Empath’s scene. So few people remember or acknowledge that they had a quasi-relationship during the New Mutants run. In fact there were a lot of these little nuggets that had me nodding and smiling as I read the issue.

There was not a lot of plot; the whole comic was basically an excuse to get the team together and to reintroduce an old villain. I was alright with that though because the characterizations were so strong. I was not a huge fan of the art style but I generally will overlook that if I enjoy the story. The time travel plot is admittedly weak and way overdone but I was personally glad to see this part of Illyana’s power reemerge. Besides that, considering the foe they are up against they will need any advantage they can get.

Normally I do not really like first issues. I feel that it takes the creative teams a while to find their stride and get the stories cohesive and the characters established. This was an exception to this rule. I already cannot wait for issue number two.

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 if not before.

Tuesday’s box office was just released, upping the ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ total to $95.1 million. That ties ‘Wolverine’ with ‘Princess Diaries 2’ as the #446th domestic grossing film of all time, having slashed past ‘Unbreakable’ and sinking both  ‘Master and Command’ and the original ‘Poseidon Adventure’.

Worldwide box office is now pegged at $168.2 million worldwide, placing the movie as the #448th grossing film of all time worldwide, just ahead of ‘Three Men and a Baby’, ‘Click’ and ‘The Santa Clause 2’.

In Other Wolverine Movie News…
–IGN: ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ – What’s Next? (details | threads)
–Yahoo! Movies: Ryan Reynolds to Star in Deadpool Movie (details | thread)

In Wolverine Comic Book News…
–CBR: Chris Claremont on ‘X-Men Forever’ (details)
–Marvel News: Daniel Way Q&A (details | thread)
–CBR: ‘X-Force’ #15 Preview (details)
–Marvel News: ‘Dark Avengers/X-Men: Utopia’ #1 First Look (details)

Hey, everyone… Welcome once again to the weekly (or more) review of your friendly Wolverine issues. This is a special bonus review of Saturday’s FCBD Wolverine title. So settle in and enjoy this exclusive bonus content!

FCBD Wolverine Origin of an X-Man
(preview | thread)
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Art: Gurihiru

SPOILERS BELOW…

The issue opens with James Hudson trying to convince the Canadian military to send an untried Wolverine on a mission to a small town after a military team disappeared. No one is quite sure what happened to the town and everything including aliens is being considered. Eventually he is successful and Wolverine is sent to Harbordale to find out what happened to the place. He ignores most of the briefing instead reading about memories and researching his own issues. Once he arrives and finds the town covered in metal, he is all business.

First believing that this is an alien invasion, Wolverine engages some small robots and defeats them. When they call for help, Wolverine allows himself to be captured in order to study the town better. It seems like the entire place is coated in metal and being built to show average human scenes. There are energy lines fueling the robots. Escaping, Wolverine destroys some of the lines to buy himself time.

When he runs into robot that looks like a seahorse, he is able to figure out what is happening. Following the smallest line he traces it back to the source where he finds the original team has been converted as well. Disabling them he finds a sleeping mutant. Waking the man, Wolverine discovers he is Madison Jeffries whose power is to restructure of inorganic materials.

He was using the town to help him recover from post-traumatic stress. The seahorse in Greek is hippocampus the part of the brain that regulates memory. The whole town was being remodeled to Madison’s past. Waking him freed all the people and Wolverine was able to take him to get help from James Hudson. The issue ends with Wolverine beginning his iconic fight with the Hulk and Wendigo.

MY TAKE:  This was obviously an all ages title which is not necessarily bad but tends to hurt the story. You know no one is going to be hurt and everything will work out fine, which is always something of a stretch when you are focusing on Wolverine. That being said the issue was better then I was expecting. The story was a nice little adventure and helps to establish Wolverine and Alpha Flight to new readers and can even potentially fit into continuity.

The plot was simplistic but not irritatingly so. It follows a simple mystery and search and rescue story but it has some nice scenes. I particularly enjoyed the opening where we see James Hudson trying to explain all about Wolverine to a bunch of generals. I felt their disbelief was amusing and realistic considering how secret Wolverine’s life was. I would not expect anyone to suddenly start trusting him with their safety.

There was not a lot of action as expected but it is always nice to see Wolverine using his brains rather then just his claws to solve a problem. Tying it into Wolverine’s own lost memories was interesting as well. Of course it had to include a little bit of learning for the young readers but it did not feel too tacked on. It was nice to see them use an established character in the mystery as well rather then just throw in some random or new mutant to have taken over the town.

The art was cartoony and clunky feeling, but no worse then any of the other all ages titles I have seen. All in all, this succeeded with what it was trying to do, be a good story for young people and give an interesting if basic story for the fans.

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 for the weekly review!

With such a tremendous opening for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, Variety has confirmed what we were all hoping.

There will be a ‘Wolverine’ sequel and it will take place in Japan.

Variety’s phrasing is a little odd, “Actor to star in ‘Wolverine’ sequel, ‘Carousel’.”

Or as Groucho Marx would say, why they’re calling the sequel ‘Carousel’ I’ll never know.

Ahem.

Monday’s box office was released today as well, pushing the ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ total to $90.5 million, tying it with ‘Madea Goes to Jail’ and ‘Space Cowboys’ as the #479th domestic grossing film of all time, having clawed past ‘Trading Places’, ‘Legally Blonde 2’ and ‘Waterworld’.

And with official international box office in at $73.1 million, ‘Wolverine’ has now amassed $163.6 million worldwide, clocking in as the #463rd grossing film of all time worldwide. That ties ‘Wolverine’ with ‘The Forty-Year-Old Virgin’ and just ahead of ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Dick Tracy’ and ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’.

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ did much better at the box office opening weekend than most had originally predicted (but less than the final weekend estimate). Friday posted $34.4 million (with $5 million from the midnight shows), Saturday came in at $29.3 million and Sunday at $21.3 for a weekend total of $85.1 million.

Wow.

To put that in perspective, ‘Wolverine’ already is the #518 domestic grossing film of all time, having slashed past ‘Die Hard’, ‘Alien’ and ‘Cloverfield’.

With international box office estimated at $73 million, ‘Wolverine’ has amassed $158.1 million worldwide, clocking in as the #478 grossing film of all time worldwide. That puts ‘Wolverine’ just ahead of ‘Crimson Tide’, ‘License to Kill’ and ‘Scooby-Doo’.

In Other Wolverine Movie News…
–IGN: ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ – From Comics to Film (Wolverine & the Blob | threads)
–Yahoo! Movies: Hugh Jackman on His ‘Wolverine’ Workout & Diet (details)
–Marvel News: X-Men Origins Up Close (Hugh Jackman | Liev Schreiber)
–Marvel News: Wolverine Movie Video Bios (Wolverine & the Blog)

In Wolverine Video Game News…
–Reviews: Ranging from Good to Near Perfect (Newsarama | Gamespot | IGN | threads)
–CBR: Getty Gritty with the Makers of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ Video Game (details)
–Marvel News: ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ Video Game Q&A (Brian Raffel)

In Wolverine Comic Book News…
–CBR: Chris Claremont Talks Wolverine’s Origins (details)
–Newsarama: Wolverine’s Top 10 Comic Book Battles with His Film Co-Stars (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 5/06/09…
–Astonishing Tales #4 (preview): More Wolverine, Punisher and Predator X…
–Cable #14 (preview): ‘Messiah War’, Part 4…
–Exiles #2 (preview): Starring Wolverine’s shiny skeleton…

BREAKING: ‘ X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ opened with a stunning $35 million on Friday, meaning the film may be looking at $90 million weekend (Deadline Hollywood Daily).

Holy cow.

DIG’S TAKE: In the lead up to ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, I tried very hard to avoid reading articles or watching clips that revealed too much of the plot.

Now running a Wolverine site is not the easiest way to achieve that goal, but it seems I was very effective in my endeavor, as much of the movie came as a surprise when I saw it on Friday.

What was equally effective in light of the tepid reviews and low rating by Rotten Tomatoes, was that I was able to divorce the movie from the comic book and walk in with very low expectations.

As a result, I was not outraged at any liberties taken, nor opportunities missed.

In a nutshell, it is not nearly as bad as I feared, but it’s not nearly as good as I hoped.

As is my normal course for these reviews, let me hit the highlights and leave the detailed analysis to others…

THE GOOD: Let’s start with Hugh Jackman. Despite his height, he is Wolverine. We can bitch, we can complain, but at the end of the day, Wolverine is on the screen because Hugh Jackman embodies him. Imagine if we were stuck with someone like Keanu Reeves. So at its core, the film is a Wolverine movie, not a fake wannabee.

Liev Schrieber is terrific as Victor Creed. Three-quarters of the way through the film, I realized that this film was doing a better job portraying Sabretooth than it was portraying Wolverine. Liev Schreiber wonderfully balances the savagery and danger of Victor Creed with the need for familial bonds.

Kevin Durand is fabulous as the Blob, especially in a highly entertaining 10-minute sequence in the middle of the film. It is perhaps the best balance of comedy, fun and plot advancement in the movie. If only the whole film were as good.

will.i.am is surprisingly good as John Wraith. A badass with a real talent for comedy and one-liners. Frankly, he would have made a terrific partner for Wolverine in the movie if given more of a chance.

Gambit is a lot of fun. Taylor Kitsch brings the perfect vibe for Remy LeBeau, even though the character is horribly underused, feeling more like a last-minute addition than a character central to the plot.

THE BAD: The movie is just kind of there. There is no emotion. A few hours after it’s over, the movie doesn’t last in your head. It’s a lightweight summer action picture that will be forgotten as soon as Star Trek hits the big screen next week. Harsh, but true.

And after seeing the action sequences in ‘Watchmen’, the fights here seem rather prosaic. And for a character that can heal like Wolverine can, there are no jaw-dropping sequences of him recovering from a horrific injury that would put this film at a cut above your regular summer action picture.

Deadpool is soooo underused and his dialogue so lame that one wonders why they even included him. This character is a goldmine, as anyone who has seen the Hulk vs. Wolverine DVD can attest. It is a genuine travesty that he wasn’t given a single good line.

Other characters were wildly underused as well, like the one played by Dominic Monaghan. What the hell was up with that? Or the couple who gave Logan his clothes and motorcycle after his adamantium bonding. It wasn’t until writing this review that I discovered that they were supposed to be the Hudsons.

I could go on about wasted opportunities, lack of coherency and a lack of genuine emotional pop.

But at the end of the day this wasn’t a bad movie.

It simply wasn’t anywhere near as good as it could have been, or perhaps should have been.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below. We are not trying to argue with anyone who liked it or hated it. Merely trying to give a forum for fans who want to share their feelings after finally viewing the Wolverine movie.

Or if you would prefer, join us on the forums for a more-spirited discussion.

Well, ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ is finally here!

Unfortunately, Rotten Tomatoes has the movie at a 36% fresh, better than ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’, but nowhere near where we were hoping for.

And don’t forget Free Comic Book Day is SATURDAY! Wolverine appears in Wolverine and The Avengers…

As for the comics that came out this past week (April 29, 2009), Wolverine (and Dark Wolverine) appeared in SEVEN TITLES.

Jrpbsp has written up an in-depth reviews for  Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #5

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

X-Men Origins: Wolverine #1 (details | thread)
Writer: Chris Yost
Artist: Mark Texeira

This is a really strong comic for people who want to know more about Wolverine after seeing the movie.

Or for older readers who are returning for the first time in a while.

But for folks like us who read Wolverine on a fairly regular basis, it covers ground that has been covered a lot recently. And once again, tells a story that doesn’t quite fit with all the other stories that have been told of late.

Nothing egregious, but the path that Wolverine takes from Department H to the X-Men just keeps getting more and more convoluted.

Uncanny X-Men #509 (preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Greg Land

It is really hard for me to get past the white teeth, the supermodel faces and outfits that come with Greg Land as artist. It’s like reading the X-Men brought to you by Victoria’s Secret, Chippendales and and an S&M catalog.

And when I say I read X-Men comics for the story and visual layout, I am starting to feel like the Playboy subscriber who claims to only be reading it for the articles.

That said, Wolverine does appear and it’s much more than a mere gratuitous cameo.

Dark Avengers #4 (preview | thread)
Writer: Brian Michael David Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato

Not much going on with Daken, but another tremendous issue by Bendis and Deodato.

You gotta love a team that can pull off 20 brilliant panels without a single line of dialogue.

Avengers/Invaders #10 (preview)
“Past. Tense”
Plot: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Script: Jim Krueger
Pencils: Steve Sadowski & Patrick Berkenkotter

Wolverine, as usual, is a bit player in a series that feels rather dated. Not because of the time-traveling to World War II, but to the juxtaposition to ‘Civil War’ and the death of Captain America…

Marvel Adventures the Avengers #35 (details)
“Lover’s Leap”
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Casey Jones

I have been very tough on this series over the years.

And guess what.

This is a pretty funny issue. The artwork by Casey Jones is a perfect fit for Paul Tobin’s lighthearted comedy, even if the final panel is a bit of a letdown.

And finally, Assistant-Sized Marvel Spectacular #2 (details) features Wolverine on the cover only, nothing on the inside.

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…