Wolverine: Weapon X #4 Review: It’s Clawing Time

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here…I have a couple for this week so we’ll start off with a bang. Here’s ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: Weapon X #4 cover Wolverine: Weapon X  #4 (preview)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ron Garney

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the Blackguard’s Chief Financial Office being retired in a way that leaves no need for severance. Several H.A.M.M.E.R. agents show up at the scene, although the official story is suicide, they know it was murder.

One of the agents, Gertrude, receives a call from Maverick and fills him in on the details. They exchange a little information but North manages to slip away before she can confront him.

He receives another phone call but this one is from Wolverine. He tells Logan that all the Blackguard execs are being secluded in a Caribbean resort but Wolverine is already there. He has killed the men, except for the last one who he is currently drowning in a punch bowl of champagne. The man talks and giving Maverick information over the phone.

The Blackguard CEO is running scared. With a couple of his Strikeforce X soldiers, including their leader, he makes a run for it. Maverick already has the place scoped out and gives Wolverine the information when they run. Logan crashes his motorcycle into their car  slashing the CEO’s face and disabling the vehicle.

Their leader attacks Wolverine starting a vicious and savage battle of blood and claws that is only halted briefly when a school bus drives by. On the walk to a more secluded place, the other man tells Logan that he saw him fight once and that was the inspiration for his current transformation.

The other Strikeforce X solider is getting the CEO to safety when Maverick confronts him. Since North has a gun he is confident of his ability to win at a distance until the soldier fires his laser claws into Maverick’s chest.

Wolverine’s fight continues with Logan seeming to be the better man. They take a break where the leader asks Wolverine about the ending to the book he is reading obviously surmising that he will not survive the fight. One more pass and he is down although Wolverine collapses moments later only to be found by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents.

MY TAKE: This is another great issue even though it is mostly focused on combat rather then plot. But sometimes mindless action has its own entertainment value and that is what this issue was, entertaining. The fight scenes, especially the main fight between Logan and the Strikeforce X leader, were well drawn and executed. You could feel the frantic pace and the  powerful blows during the sequence. The splash page was especially well designed. When you have scenes without dialogue the art has to work and it certainly did.

My favorite part of the issue, however, was the phone call between Maverick and Logan. The whole scene was extremely well crafted with great banter between the two. It only got better when you found out where Wolverine was calling from. There were nice little personal details in the conversation that gave it an extra boost like North’s lineage and Wolverine’s movie preferences. The latter of which could be a homage or even a poke at Old Man Logan.

Of course there are some flaws as well. The biggest, as noted, was the overall lack of plot. It was just a series of conversations designed to move the action forward and get to the big battle scene. While this is certainly an action oriented title, I would have liked to see a little more how the CEO went from high and mighty to running scared after Wolverine executed his people. After all he had one of his execs killed in the first scene and did not care. Because Wolverine can kill some suits, the big boss is terrified? It did not make a lot of sense.

My only other problem was pretty minor, namely why did North call his H.A.M.M.E.R. friend from the same building? He has never been shown to be reckless or hasty and it was a phone call. He could have made it from another country or at least routed it so it looked like that was where he was. It seemed uncharacteristic for him to take a risk like that for no real gain.

But even with a couple of small issues, this was a very strong and enjoyable book. It read fast but it was hard not to get a silly grin at the dialogue and action pieces. Thankfully this series continues to show Wolverine respect as a character and gives him strong action and fun stories. I am eagerly looking forward to the conclusion of the 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.

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Pamela
14 years ago

Great recap and review! Sounds like “Weapon X” continues to be a good series, and something worth watching.

jrpbsp
14 years ago

Thanks. At this point I do believe it is the strongest of the Wolverine solo titles so certainly worth a read

14 years ago

i agree, this series has been a very fun read for me..what i like most about this title is that it isn’t continuity heavy, you just have to know the charcters..and you’re good to go..nice review jrpbsp! can’t wait to get my copy!

jrpbsp
14 years ago

Thanks. i agree that it is nice to have some stories set outside of the current events. Dark Reign has its moments but way to pervasive for me. I hope you like it when your copy arrives.

14 years ago

i’m pretty sure i will, great job with the reviews by the way! keep it up! i know it’s hard since he appears almost everywhere..i like this book cause this doesn’t force you to read other books too..you could enjoy this one by itself and still know what’s going on..plus, i’m looking forward to the next storyline, i don’t think i’ve seen wolverine in that situation before..

jrpbsp
14 years ago

Thanks again. Thankfully his appearance count is dwindling down so i can get some breaks. The next storyline should be fun. Lots of Lovecraftian elements to play with.

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