Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… This is my last review for the week *whew*. Ending with a bang, here is the ‘Wolverine: First Class’ review. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: First Class #16 (preview | thread)
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Gurihiru

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with Dazzler going back to her room after a show with her manager Kathleen. She is excited to be playing a huge halftime gig for the Mega Bowl. When she gets to her room, however, she sees ‘DIE” scrawled on the wall.

Alison goes to Professor Xavier for help and he assigns Wolverine to be her bodyguard. Logan is not thrilled with the assignment, since he is not a fan of her singing or disco. He suggests using Kitty as a buffer.

Pryde is naturally thrilled by this, it is a chance to meet a star and be back stage at a major concert. She tells her friend Terry, aka Siryn, who gets the Professor to let her come along as well.

Kitty is understandably annoyed that her friend has honed in on her fun and becomes jealous when they find out, on the bus to the show, that one of Dazzler’s backup singers is too sick for the concert. Terry tries out for the part and is hired on the spot.

At the concert, Kitty is forced to play spotter in the rigging while Wolverine handles the crowd and Siryn and Dazzler are in the spotlight. But Pryde plays her part even spotting a suspicious looking guy in the crowd. She tells Terry to use her power and the extra noise overloads Alison’s mutant light show and blinds the audience.

Wolverine and Kitty confront the man who ends up only having a video camera and not a gun. The concert over, Kitty tries to save face by accusing Dazzler’s manager of being behind the threat. She is distracted when the real threat, Kathleen’s boyfriend, walks up and hits Dazzler with a pie. Which he explains was the original threat, not ‘DIE”.

The issue ends with Wolverine revealing that even though Kitty was not paying attention, he was aware of the man the whole time and knew he was not a threat. Logan allowed the man to pie her because he hates disco.

MY TAKE: This issue was cute and entertaining although I did not like it quite as much as the last issue. Mostly this is because of the very simple plot and the lack of Wolverine and Kitty interaction. The series is best when you see Wolverine and Kitty together and most of their screen time here is with other people.

Although the plot is extremely basic, it does provide several fun and amusing moments. My favorite was Wolverine and Kitty confronting the man video taping the show. But most of the interaction between Wolverine and Dazzler was humorous as well.

Kitty felt very real in this story. Her teenage excitement and jealously was nice to see. So often she was treated as an adult, even when she was a young teen. I am glad she is allowed to actually be a kid in this series.

Wolverine, on the other hand, did not seem like himself. Although he is undoubtedly cultured, I have never seen him to be much of a music critic and his unrelenting disco-bashing did not feel normal. While I personally agree that disco is awful, it felt tacked on. Especially since, in canon terms, Dazzler joins the X-Men not too long after these events and no tension is ever shown between the two of them. It is an admittedly minor point but I have never liked comics that are meant to be in continuity and then ignore history.

I really do wish they would drop out most of the guest stars and get back to focusing on the Wolverine and Kitty dynamic. We barely see them together at all in this story and I believe that does hurt the overall quality. The best issues in the series are ones with a strong Logan and Kitty interactions.

But the issue is still very good and that is something I rarely can say for an all ages comic. While David is still finding his style a bit, he comes up with some very good ideas. The ‘die’ and ‘pie’ mix up alone is nearly worth the price of the comic.

In the end you have a fun issue that manages to be entertaining despite a generally childish feel. I do hope we get more focus on Wolverine and Kitty together rather then have them doing parallel stories in the same comic. While both of them are great characters, the best part of the series is seeing them handling the problems as a pair.

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 time.

Hey, everyone… Here is my sixth review, I am almost done thankfully. Next up is the final issue in the Ghost Boxes story for Astonishing. Hope you enjoy it.

Astonishing X-Men #30
(preview | thread)
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciler: Simone Bianchi
Inkers: Simone Bianchi and Andrea Silvestri

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the X-Men confronting Forge about the Ghost Boxes and fake mutants. Forge insists that he has solved the M-Day problem and that his creations are real mutants but none of the others agree.

He shows the team his mutants and they are just a group of experimental freaks. Forge releases the pseudo-mutant that the X-Men were holding as Wolverine and Cyclops realize that Forge has an inhibitor that is slowly shutting down their powers.

Forge takes them to the Ghost Box he has which is rigged to be opened. He explains he is fighting a war with the invaders and that he is ready to strike back through the portal.

Just then Armor’s phone rings. It is Agent Brand who has a super powerful laser trained on the base from orbit. Forge is not deterred and wants to proceed but Wolverine cuts off his robotic leg and shuts down the inhibitor field.

Forge activates the Ghost Box and tells his mutants to throw in the X-Men. Beast tosses Armor’s phone into the box and tells Brand to shoot for that spot. The X-Men then fight through the fake mutants to their ship. Ororo tries to get Forge to come but he refuses, hinting that her marriage and treatment of him is why he lost his mind.

The X-Men leave just as something starts to come through the Ghost Box. Brand fires her laser and destroys the base and anything that might have been trying to invade from the other side of the portal.

Both Beast and Storm lament the choices they were forced to make but there really were no other options. In order to save the world they had to stop Forge and destroy the invaders. In the end they head home in silence.

MY TAKE: Although this was an alright issue it was still plagued by most of the problems that have affected the arc to this point; namely pacing and characterizations. The conclusion is reasonable but it would have been better if they had picked someone else to be the villain. It seems to be too much of a stretch to think that Forge would suddenly decide to make his own mutants and wage a war against another world.

The characters still seem off especially Forge. Most of the others do not have enough time to really be highlighted although Armor and Emma still feel like stereotypes. Beast feels more natural here and Scott and Logan are playing off of each other pretty well. But even after reading this comic twice, I am not sure I really understand what is going on with Forge.

Madness can explain some of it, naturally, but I have a very hard time accepting that Storm getting married was enough to drive him that far over the edge. They have broken up before and even moved on and he did not react this way. Perhaps it is meant to merely be the final straw after M-Day and his attack by Bishop but if so then it should have been established that way. As it is, his problems seem to be far beyond what her marriage should cause.

The pace is still an issue as well. This comic seems to be more interested in doing splash scenes and most pages only have four or five panels in them. It slows down the plot and the action and makes the whole issue feel rushed because so much dialogue has to be squeezed into a couple of panels. While the art is nice, I would prefer that the story drives the art and this seems to be the reverse. The comic still reads fine and the plot works, within the confines of the story that has been established, but I am glad we are getting a new artist for the next arc.

The conclusion is more or less satisfying but I am getting tired of people using Agent Brand as a Deus Ex Machina. While I understand that there is some high tech equipment in the Marvel Universe, having her have access to a weapon that is ten thousand times more energy then all the power the Earth gets from the sun seems ridiculous. Add to that it can be narrowed to sixty eight centimeters and fired with pin point precision from orbit and it becomes laughable to the point of distraction.

In the end, things get wrapped up very well and returned to the status quo. I lament the loss of Forge as a character but I understand that he had to be killed after the massive personality change. The issue works fine for as a story conclusion but I hope the next arc is more focused on plot and characterization and less on art and technology.

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 time.

Hey, everyone… Here is my fifth review. Went ahead and tackled ‘Wolverine Weapon X’ next. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine Weapon X #3
(preview | thread)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciler: Ron Garney
Inker: Jason Keith

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the Blackguard operatives hunting the jungle for Wolverine and not doing very well. The mutant is slowly evening the odds with guerrilla tactics and traps. The men heal, though he does manage to capture one. Another he ambushes and shoots with his own cancer gun, forcing the rest of the men to take the sick man back to base.

The leader of the unit, Klein, contacts his headquarters and assures the CEO that the prisoner will never talk. There is a quick cut to Wolverine torturing his captive but without obvious success.

We then see the reporter, Melita Garner, meeting with her contact who ends up being a Vice President for Blackguard. He tells her that Blackguard has been recruiting dishonorably discharged soldiers. The V.P. gives Melita the files and leaves but is snatched by his company before he gets too far. But his abductors are all shot by Maverick with a sniper rifle.

Back with Wolverine, he has apparently broken his prisoner and pulls him out of the hole he is held in. The mercenary was faking it and attacks Wolverine and flees. But Logan was expecting this and had put a tracker behind the man’s eye.

We see the CEO in the Senate doing hearings for a big deal to provide his people to spots all over the world. It is a mere formality though since he has bought the votes.

Back with the reporter, she returns home to find a Blackguard man waiting for her. Maverick shows up again and kills the man. He tells Melita he is there to help.

Wolverine returns to the camp to find it deserted and his tracker and the eye left in a tree for him to find. The Senate hearing ends with applause for the Blackguard CEO.

MY TAKE: This was a good issue but it is still just more setup. I was glad to see Wolverine’s skills being shown. It is rare we see him actually being stealthy and using real tactics. We know that he is a gifted strategist and an expert in the art of war but he is normally pictured as merely a savage brute fighter.

The plot is still very simplistic, an evil corporation is building Wolverine clones to get a huge defense contract from the Senate. Wolverine does not have a very big role in this issue, most of it is told from the perspective of others. Still Aaron proves again that he truly understand and appreciates Wolverine’s character even in the few scenes that he is in.

I am still not completely sold on the villains for this story arc. The Weapon X program has been mined for ideas far too often and the bad guys are too obviously clones of the real world Blackwater security forces. I much prefer my enemies to be more original then that. Although, it is nice to see Logan beating up the bad imitations, I would have liked something different to start the new series.

But it was nice to see that the villains were not incompetent either. As much as Wolverine had a plan he followed, he is still playing catch up. I had been afraid that things were going to be far too easy for him in the story. Even with the basic plot it seems like he might have a worthy trial ahead.

My favorite part of the issue was the return of Maverick. I always thought he was a unique and underused character and his involvement bodes well for the overall direction. Melita Garner is beginning to grow on me as well. I was worried that she was going to be merely a shrieking violet but she showed that she was capable of handling herself in this story. I am still not sure about her as a love interest but at least she can be an engaging character.

In the end, although this story might not be the most original, it is still pretty entertaining. I really enjoy the care that is given to Wolverine’s character and the return of his supporting cast. While this story might not be the best idea to me, it is still being written well and gives me a lot of hope for the future of the series.

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 time.

Hey, everyone… Here is my fourth review. Next up in the last ‘Uncanny’ issue before the crossover. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men #512
(preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Karl Story

Note: Wolverine does not appear in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Beast pulling his Science team together with the addition of Warren and Betsy to travel to the past, specifically San Francisco in 1908. They are going to meet the parents of Dr. Nemesis, James Bradley, and get blood samples to study. The other members of the science team are Madison Jeffries, Kavita Rad and Yuriko Yakiguchi. They will only have thirty-two hours to complete the mission before they must return or risk death.

The scene cuts to James’ dad, Nicola, working on a device to create free, wireless electricity. He is attacked by goons wearing Hellfire garb but is saved by his wife, Catherine, who is wielding energy guns. Once they escape they contact Nicola’s sponsor, Cornelius Shaw, who informs them there is no issue and to take as long as they need. He will keep providing the money.

The Science team arrives in the past with Betsy subtlety altering their appearance mentally. They approach Nemesis’ house but he remains behind. They attempt to explain their mission but are thoroughly rebuffed by Catherine.

Shaw and his lady return to the Hellfire club where it is revealed that they are using psychics who have predicted the beginning of the super hero age. In order to stop the rise of the Overman, as they call them, they need Nicola’s device.

Meanwhile, in his lab, Nemesis’ dad manages to finish his invention. He goes to tell his wife only to learn she is pregnant.

The Science team is running out of time and ideas on how to best get their samples. They decide to split forces and try to handle the parents one at a time.

Nicola is busy presenting his completed marvel to Shaw and of course he steals it and the father. More goons attack the house and Catherine but she is saved by Archangel and two members of the Science team. She is bleeding due to complications with the pregnancy.

Nicola is taken to the Hellfire club where they reveal their plan. They have created the first Sentinel and are going to use the device to power it. Hank, Betsy and Madison attack the club but are too late to prevent the Sentinel from activating.

Nemesis attends to his mother and gets her bleeding stopped, getting the sample along the way. He informs her the pregnancy will be hard and she must rest. He leaves the room and tells the rest of the group that she will die in childbirth.

The Sentinel is in the street attacking Beast and the others. Warren leaps to action taking Betsy to shut down the Hellfire members piloting the thing. Madison, meanwhile, creates a electric weapon and fries the robot. It explodes but one of the pieces impales Nicola. Nemesis gets the sample as Nicola dies in his wife’s arms after deciding to name the baby James.

They make Catherine hide the samples in Golden Gate park because they can not take them and then the team leaps forward just before the earthquake of 1908 hits. They track the blood in the park to directly underneath the Sleeping Celestial’s foot.

Nemesis then jumps back in time to attend his mother in her birth. She dies but the baby lives. He gives his infant self to his grandparents to raise.

MY TAKE: This issue was an interesting but ultimately a disposable one off arc. The story was not bad but was ultimately forgettable. They were obviously eager to get to the big crossover and did not want to spend much time on this plot. Most of the issue was spent with new characters but we do not have enough time to see them really developed before they are killed so their deaths lack impact.

Nemesis is the standout of the story. While I have yet to warm to any of the new Science characters, you can at least start to understand him better. Though it still seems like the writer is unsure what to do with the team as a whole.

I am usually a sucker for time-travel stories but there is nothing really new here. We have a Sentinel lifted mostly from the movies and a Hellfire club we have seen before. In fact all the of characters feel like cardboard cut outs of ones we have seen before either in other comics or movies. And tying the whole thing to the San Francisco earthquake felt forced. Like they wanted to story to have a historical reference and that was all they could think of.

In the end though, the issue was not bad it was simply nothing special. We get a little insight into a new character but that is about all. The story was decent enough but it suffered from lack of space and predictability. I just wish they would have had the time and space to make a proper time travel story with real impact.

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 time.

Hey, everyone… Here is my third review. Next up is the second issue of ‘X-Men Forever’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever #2
(preview | thread)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Tom Grummett
Inker: C. Hamscher

SPOILERS BELOW…

Note: Wolverine only appears as a skeleton this issue.

RECAP: The issue opens with police seeing a flash in the park. They investigate and find a burning skeleton that looks suspiciously like Wolverine.

We jump to Xavier’s mansion where everyone has been knocked out by a blast. Storm arrives to a quiet house with no lights and finds the X-Men passed out on the floor. Only Xavier is awake and he is groggy. He explains that Jean was able to divert the blast to the power grid. Still it was strong enough to knock them out. The others slowly wake up except for Jean.

Scott tries to carry her to Medbay as Gambit comes in carrying an unconscious Rogue. They got hit as well. Xavier tries to scan Jean’s mind but cannot get through. Hank looks at Jean while the rest debate what to do. Hank offers to call the Avengers but Fury is already contacting S.H.I.E.L.D.

He learns about the body they found in the park which is now under S.H.I.E.L.D. control.  One of the soldiers is being pestered by a girl but she disappears before she can be questioned.

Fury seems to sense something in the hall as he goes to inform the X-Men about the body. Storm is down in the basement trying to get the power started but she is jumped by Sabretooth who tries to kill her

He slashes her but she blows him into the Danger Room where she has room to maneuver. The other X-Men jump in and attack but Storm is going nuts and wants revenge. The X-Men do not do very well against the savage, attacking individually instead of as a team. But Storm fights back and pins him to the wall before nearly fatally blasting him with lightning. The strike does not kill him, however, but blinds him.

MY TAKE: Not much happens in this issue, but we get several new plot threads and potential story lines to follow up on. The base plot is simple recovery from the blast last issue and an attack of the mansion by Sabretooth.

But there are several new questions that come up. The biggest one for me is, is that Wolverine’s body at all? We are clearly shown a broken claw and it comes up in discussion twice. Since adamantium is supposed to be unbreakable, what happened?

Next is of course what is going on with Storm. Although her thoughts seem normal her speech and actions are anything but. Add the scene with Rogue last issue and it is starting to look like maybe there is a lot more going on then we have seen.

As for the story, it is fine if you do not mind Claremont’s wordiness and rather cheesy dialogue and I do not. We see Sabretooth coming to get revenge for ‘the boy’ although we do not know how he found out Wolverine’s death, that Storm supposedly killed him or how he got to the mansion so fast. It is obvious that Claremont intends to pursue the father son connection with Creed and Logan.

I am still not sold on the addition of Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. to the series. The X-Men have always handled their own problems and now a single attack has them running for help to Fury or the Avengers? They have fought cosmic powers and gods before,  so I do not know where this sudden lack of self-confidence is coming from.

The characters feel right, naturally, since Claremont knows them well. All except for Storm who is obviously not meant to be. I am a little bothered by how blatantly things are being hammered into us by the story. Storm is very over the top here, so much so that there must be something wrong with her. Nothing else works. I would like it to be a little less plain. Same with Wolverine’s claws. We could see it in the picture so it did not have to be mentioned repeatedly.

I am still not completely sold on the series but there seems to be plenty of ideas and story to go for a long run. Each issue he is dropping little plot threads and hints and I have missed that sort of storytelling. I just hope that the writing and the characters do it justice.

In the end this was a good if not amazing issue. We are still very early in the setup process for the series but there is a lot of potential good here and just enough problems to make me worried. Hopefully the good will win out in the end.

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 time.

Hey, everyone… Here is my second review. Continuing the big story trend, I am doing the first issue of the big crossover, ‘Utopia’. Hope you enjoy it.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1
(preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencilers: Marc Silvestri with Michael Broussaro, Eric Basaldua, Tyler Kirkham, & Sheldon Mitchell
Inkers: Joe Weems with Marco Galli, Eric Basaldua, Rick Basaldua, Jason Gorder, Jay Leisten, Sal Regla, Jon Sibal & Ryan Winn

Note: Wolverine appears in only one panel this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with a march by Simon Trask and his mutant haters towards the San Francisco City Hall. They are met by Hank McCoy and a group of his friends and human rights activists who peacefully try to divert them. Unfortunately Hellion and some of the younger mutants’ tempers flare and soon there is an outright riot.

Several mutants, including Pixie  and a number of Trask’s people are hurt. Hellion blasts Trask and he and Beast are arrested. The press naturally has a field day and the X-Men hold up at their base waiting for the fall out.

The next day the mayor calls Scott and Emma in and berates Scott for not being able to control his people. At the same time Trask calls a press conference reaffirming his desire to march on City Hall and it is announced that Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R. will be stepping in to control the situation.

That night things get worse  after a confrontation between mutants and Trask’s people, riots begin to break out all over the city. The events are escalated because some of the mutants, like Rockslide and Toad, are more interested in fighting then in keeping the peace and they have to be beaten.

Norman calls out H.A.M.M.E.R. and his Avengers to keep the peace. The Avengers are ordered to arrest any mutant breaking a law no matter how minor. The Avengers make an immediate impact, Moonstone takes down several rioting mutant women and Venom attacks Colossus who had just beaten Rockslide.

Hawkeye stops a group of protesters from entering the Embarcadero just by showing up although he laments not getting to kill any of them. Meanwhile a mob has arrived at City Hall and despite Cyclop’s arrival things are getting seriously out of hand until Ares shows up. He faces down the mob single handed.

Norman Osborn has called Emma to task for not keeping to her end of the deal and keeping the mutants under control. He tells her he is making a new plan and she is going to have to be the leader of a new team.

More H.A.M.M.E.R. troops show up and Osborn takes a personal hand calling a press conference. He identifies Scott as a person of interest to be arrested and introduces Professor Xavier as a character witnesses denouncing Summers. This man is in a wheelchair and is obviously a duplicate.  Intercut with that, we see Beast in prison being weakly contacted mentally by Charles Xavier. It ends with a picture of Emma in her new black uniform and an obviously hurt Xavier saying their powers are being taken.

MY TAKE: This is just a setup issue and it feels that way. There are no surprises to be found, everything is in the previews somewhere. The revelation with Xavier was a personal surprise but the hints were there, I just did not pick up on it.

That being said, it is effective at setting up the conflict. It does a masterful job at breaking the mutants into three factions and giving them both a mob and a bunch of police, H.A.M.M.E.R and Avengers to deal with. One of my concerns was that considering the number of X-Men it would be impossible to make it seem like legitimate struggle. But those concerns are gone.

What is better is that it all made sense. I can see Beast leading a group of mutants on a peaceful march to support their rights and I can see some of the younger kids simply wanting to lash out at someone. The core X-Men have been through this before and their concern is merely keeping people safe but even some of them have doubts.

It really came through in the kids though. Many of them want to do the right thing but simply do not know what that is. When the adults are on both sides, who do you pick? It effortlessly transformed the extended family into a bunch of divided groups that would have a hard time standing up to each other much less the Avengers.

I think the characterization was strong in general although Cyclops really steals the issue. My favorite part was his line after he got hit with a brick. Nice to see the sense of humor there.

My only real complaints are the predictability, and I do not know how that could be avoided, and the level of respect and awe Norman’s Avengers are given. For groups that are willing to attack dozens of powered mutants, I do not see them backing off because one Avenger says to. Perhaps it just speaks to their level of respect, but if so it makes Norman’s abuse even worse.

In the end we have a good comic with a strong political and social message which is rare these days. The ending is interesting enough to make me want to read more. I was a bit concerned about this series but if this level of quality keeps up it should be a fun read.

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 time.

Hey, everyone… Here is first review for the week. Going to be another heavy week so I wanted to kick things off with a bang. That said I am starting with X-Force.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Force #16 (preview | thread)
Writers: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost
Art: Clayton Crain

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Wolverine, Warpath and Cable fighting against Stryfe. They are holding their own until their time runs out and they are struck by the attempted time reversal.

We flash to Domino and Laura who are still with Kidden. She begs X-23 to kill her but the girl can not do it. So Domino shoots her in the head and ends the time stasis that is holding them in place.

The fight has now gone against the heroes but before Stryfe can act to finish it, Apocalypse and Archangel arrive.

We get a quick flash of the others. Domino hypothesizes that the devices are still holding them in place. Vanisher immediately takes his off and is jerked to the present.

Back to the fight and Apocalypse and Warren are beating on the clone. Bishop takes the time to once again try to kill Hope but is stopped again by Cable. He manages to wound Nathan but Wolverine steps in and cuts out one of his eyes ending the fight.

Stryfe attempts to fight back but Apocalypse is much stronger now and shrugs it off, beating Stryfe down. He snatches up Hope and nearly kills Bishop before Lucas manages to time jump. The immortal mutant is going to use Hope as a host body. The others move to fight Apolcalypse for the girl, but Warren steps up and demands her as payment for sparing him.

Apocalypse hands her over and takes Stryfe as a host instead. Cable takes Hope to the future on Wolverine’s orders. Knowing they have little time to accomplish their mission in the present, they split in two teams. Wolverine, Angel and Exlir head to the U.N. and crash land. They strip off their devices and are pulled back.

Domino, Laura and Warpath are given the task to save Boomer. They cannot get far, though Domino nearly kills herself in the process. Laura sends her back and continues promising to save the girl. Crawling she makes it to the designated spot and removes her device.

MY TAKE: This was a good ending to what was a surprisingly entertaining story. The characterizations remained strong even though this was primarily an action based issue. It still felt like a fitting and satisfying end to the overall story arc. It was filled with a number of great moments and I especially liked the ending as a fan of X-23.

I’m glad we got a conclusion with at least a little emotion and some suitable character moments, but of course it was mostly about the fighting. Wolverine got an especially good moment but it really came down to Apocalypse and Stryfe. The showdown had been hyped almost since the beginning so I was really hoping to see it a bit sooner then the final issue. Still it was a pretty good brawl with Apocalypse finally getting his moment to shine. I never was a fan of Stryfe as a character so is was good to see him getting beaten like a little girl.

Though I admit to being a bit disappointed in the briefness of the fight. I really would have liked to see it last more then a few pages. Still it worked for the story and I do not see what could have possibly been cut to make room. Stryfe’s final fate was poetic justice and I was glad to see how much he was going to suffer.

There were some other good moments too, Warren standing up to Apocalypse was enough to warrant a cheer. But the big stand out in the issue was Laura. Her failing to kill her friend was a huge statement on her value of people and her being more then just a killing machine. The ending especially showed just how far she is willing to go to save people, forcing herself on when all the others, even Wolverine, had returned to the present. Enduring horrible suffering just for the chance to save a stranger and keep a promise to Domino. She is rarely shown as having a human side and I was glad to see it in this issue.

Overall this was another strong comic and it was a fitting end to a great story. I just hope that some of the plot elements from this show up in the books and we can see the fall out or maybe even a sequel to the story. I know I will enjoy it.

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 time.

Two major comic book conventions convened over the weekend, Heroes Con 2009 and Wizard World Philadelphia, and both had breaking news…

• CBR was all over Wizard World Philly, covering Dark Reign: The List,  the Mondo Marvel Panel, and Jason Aaron,
• Newsarama got the Heroes Con scoop on the X-Men Panel, the Return of the X-Babies, and Dark Reign: Wolverine – The List…

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ is winding down at the box office, its domestic gross inching up to $177.4 million over the weekend, positioning itself as the #125th domestic grossing film of all time, slashing past ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Tootsie’. With international box office added in, ‘Wolverine’ has accrued $360.6 million worldwide, clocking in as the #126th grossing film of all time worldwide, placing ‘Wolverine’ just ahead of ‘Planet of the Apes’ and ‘Toy Story’.

In other Wolverine News…
–Newsarama: Marvel Comics FULL September 2009 Solicitations (details)
–Marvel: ‘Astonishing Tales #6: Wolverine/Punisher Digital Comics Exclusive (details)
-Houston Chronicle: Wolverine faces off with Dr. Octopus in Spider-Man Strip (details)

Probable (and Possible) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 6/24/09…
–Astonishing X-Men #30 (preview): Ghost Box, Part 6…
–Avengers/Invaders #12 (preview): At long last, the finale…
–Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1 (preview): Dark Avengers Take on the X-Men…
–Dark Reign: Elektra #4 (preview): Wolverine guest stars…
–Ms. Marvel #40 (preview): New Avengers (and Wolverine) guest star…
–New Avengers #54 (preview): A Sorcerer Supreme is chosen…
–Timestorm 2009/2099: X-Men #1 (preview): X-Men 2099…
–Uncanny X-Men #512 (preview): Wolverine appearance seems doubtful…
–Wolverine: First Class #16 (preview): Dazzler guest stars…
–Wolverine Noir #3 (preview): Make it stop…
–Wolverine: Weapon X #3 (preview): The Adamantium Men, Part 3…
–X-Force #16 (preview): Messiah War finale…
–X-Men Forever #2 (preview): Wolverine dies!

Probable (and Possible) Dark Wolverine (Daken) Appearances in stores on 6/24/09…
–Dark Avengers #6 (preview): Dark Reign continues with Daken…
–Dark Wolverine 75 (preview): Daken takes over…

Wolverine appeared in FIVE TITLES this past week (June 17, 2009) and once again, our very own jrpbsp provides a series of write-ups for…

• Wolverine: Origins #37
• Cable #15
• Fantastic Force #3
• X-Men Legacy #225

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

Marvel Adventures the Avengers #37 (preview)
“Doll Winners Squad”
Writer: Paul Tobin
Penciler: Dario Brizuela
Inker: Leandro Corral

A little more silly than the usual Marvel Adventures fare, but amusing nonetheless with Wolverine getting more than his share of comedic one-liners.

Daily Bugle 1939 (details)
“Cross-Border ‘Creature’ at Canadian Border”
Writer: J.C. York

The free ‘Daily Bugle’ handout at stores this week is from October 13, 1939 in recognition of Marvel’s 70th anniversary. Included are numerous news items about the mysterious heroes of the day. And one particular article chronicles the sightings of “a short, stocky man” glimpsed along the U.S.-Canadian border.

Definitely worth a look if your store has a copy.

TV Update: Friday night featured a brand new ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ episode, the surprisingly good “Battle Lines”, dealing with the coming showdown between Magneto and the Sentinels (episode details)…

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 final review for this week. The last issue is ‘Wolverine: Origins’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine Origins #37 (details | thread)
Writer: Daniel Way
Pencilers: Scot Eaton
Inkers: Andrew Hennessy

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with two prison officials discussing the day’s incidents and what they did to have Omega Red sent to their facility. Neither one has any answers.

Next we find Lavrinenno calling the Russian Defense Minister Konstantinov with important news of a Wolverine sighting. The minister asks to speak to Logan and is told by Wolverine that he is on a personal mission but needs the minister to spread false information of his sightings to throw off Romulus. In the next scene we see that Wolverine has killed Lavrinenno while on the phone.

We cut to Wolverine in a hotel room, he is tracking Victor, Romulus’ servant. Back in the prison and the only one that is willing to take Omega Red his food is an old prisoner dying of AIDS. He wants to be killed so he will not die alone. Red tells him he will not die alone but does not kill him yet.

Next we flash to two men in Amsterdam who find the Carbonadium Synthesizer in the water. One kills the other and then is immediately shot dead by police. The cop is shown to be working for Romulus.

Next we see Wolverine follow Victor onto a train, after a brief flash of Omega Red receiving his orders to attack, we see Wolverine continue tracking the blind man. The chase ends at a prison which is mostly destroyed and filled with death. We see the old prisoner’s body and the smashed door. By the time Wolverine finds the Synthesizer and realizes he has been set up, he is in the coils of Omega Red.

MY TAKE: This issue is a vast improvement over last month and one of the better issues of Origins I have read. It still has plenty of flaws, but there are some good scenes and a couple of nice attributes to the past. While the plot was simple and predictable, it made sense and was easy to follow. Romulus is more interesting in this issue, as well, since it shows how much power he has and how well he can plan ahead.

I still do not feel, however, that Way has a firm hold on Wolverine’s personality. His killing Lavrinenno served no purpose and Wolverine does not kill without a reason. I was also surprised at how easily he fell into the trap. Even when he is eager, Logan is a hunter and he has amazing instincts. But even seeing the place destroyed and dead bodies all around, he never paused until he found that Carbonadium Synthesizer.

The only real plot hole I saw was that the Synthesizer was still in the river where Wolverine threw it. It was a nice nod to the continuity but I would have thought that Wolverine would have made an effort to better secure something that is that important and valuable. Add to that it was left on the floor by Omega Red and I felt it was treated a little bit lightly.

Wolverine’s inner dialogue felt more natural in this issue and so did his overall actions with a few exceptions. Wolverine was always a proactive person and it never seemed right that he did not make more of an effort to hunt down the man that was responsible for so many of his tragedies. It was nice to see him so focused and ready to tackle the problem head on.

While I am always up for an Omega Red and Wolverine fight, his involvement in this seems a bit odd. Romulus only seemed to be interested in the feral type mutants and Omega Red is far from that. I can see why Red would be helping Romulus, the Carbonadium Synthesizer is reason enough, but not why Romulus wants his help. Maybe it will be explained in a later issue.

In the end this was a decent if not amazing issue. It was far better then most of the Origins stories and I am interested in seeing what happens next month. It is still plagued with enough problems to be noticeable but I hope we are in for a pretty good story arc.

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 time.