Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Continuing from last week, here’s my first review for this week, ‘Fantastic Force’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Fantastic Force #4 (preview)
Writer: Joe Ahearne
Penciler: Neil Edwards
Inker: Serge Lapointe

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Ego attacking the people of Nu-World with only Psionics and Natalie X available to help. Banner Jr. in human form and Logan as a skeleton take one of Reed’s time sleds to go and talk to Gaea, the spirit of Earth, in their future.

Psionics and Natalie X argue about using Ultron even without his personality when they are interrupted by the robot Nightingale 51.  She has his arousal module which contains a backup of his personality. They use it to repair Ultron but Natalie is mad about the perceived infidelity. Nightingale 51 tries to talk to him after the others leave and says to call her Gale.

In the future Logan finds a hidden book and has Bruce read a spell to summon Gaea to them. She takes away the power animating Wolverine’s skeleton and blasts Bruce. She then tells Ego to destroy those in the present.

Ego sprays Nu-World with spores which start growing into humanoid forms. Ultron, Cindy and Natalie X are teleported to Ego with Ultron getting an upgrade of liquid nitrogen so he can access the molten core of the living planet. Natalie gets the coordinates to Ego’s brain and Psionics hurls Ultron to that location.

In the future Gaea’s blast returns Banner to his Hulk state. He hurls his father’s skeleton and uses it to impale Gaea.

Meanwhile Ego’s spores hatch. He attacks Psionics while Ultron tunnels deeper into his body even as his nitrogen runs out. Natalie X tries to make contact with him and finds a captive Lightwave instead. Cindy is determined to save her father and makes Natalie X unleash Psionics’ inner berserker.

The rage unlocks her hidden magnetic powers and she uses them to change Ego’s magnetic poles and give him a stroke. Lightwave is able to escape as Ultron reaches the brain. Natalie X is actually able to hear his last thoughts of love.

In the future Gaea has regained her sanity and gives Logan back his flesh. She tells them to leave because all life will end with her death. Wolverine says he can not live on an artificial planet and chooses to stay and try and help her. He exchanges a tearful goodbye with his adopted son who takes the time sled back to the present.

The four heroes have returned to Nu-World though Ultron has been melted smooth. Banner tells Natalie to read his mind because he does not want to talk about his father. He admits that he still can not change back and forth to a human form. The robots are looking to Ultron for a leader but he refuses. In the end we see the future with a healthy and pregnant Gaea working along side Logan growing new plant life.

MY TAKE: This story had a lot of potential but has suffered severely by the lack of an issue of the series. This ending feels so rushed that it is hard to care about anything or feel that there is much of a threat. In fact I had to read it a second time just try to make sense of everything because I kept thinking I must have skipped a page or two.

It is too bad because you can still see the traces of brilliance that marked the first two issues especially. There are some great, original ideas here they are just not given the space or time to be properly developed.

We see some good character development as well with Ultron trying to be human and his relationship with Natalie and Banner’s self discovery as well. We even get a couple of good moments with Logan which is impressive since he spends most of the issue as a skeleton.

Still the problems with the story were too big to ignore. There were shortcuts taken everywhere from the appearance of the time sled to Banner and Logan changing back to normal at Gaea’s hand. And there were sudden new powers miraculously appearing and a hidden book with spells only Banner can read.

Even with those deus ex machina in place we did not get satisfactory endings to any of the subplots. Little was said about the robots sudden desire from freedom or Logan’s eventual fate or even what was going to happen to the team going forward. The issue just kind of ended.

As a whole the series was good but marred by the rushed ending. I would have loved to read the original plot and see how things worked out with another issue to fill. These are strong and original characters and it had a smart, well-done plot, it just needed a little bit more room to really live. I hope there is a sequel that is allowed to have the full run of its issues. It would be a shame to dump these characters into Limbo due to a mere editorial decision.

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.

Very light news week for Wolverine and even lighter set of previews coming from Marvel for the week…

• Marvel: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost on X-Force (details)
• CBR: Cup O’ Joe with X-Force Preview Art (details)

Probable and Possible (Dark) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 9/30/09…
–Hulk #15 (details): Wolverine vs. Red Hulk…
–Marvel Zombies Return #5 (preview): Details still secret…
–Wolverine: Weapon X #5 (preview): ‘The Adamantium Men’ finale…
–X-Force #19 (details): X-23 takes center stage…
–X-Men Forever #8 (details): More on Logan’s past…

(Dark) Wolverine appeared in TEN TITLES last week (September 23, 2009), plus we catch up on an appearance I missed from a few weeks past.

So let’s get to the reviews by our very own jrpbsp…

• ‘Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1’: More Than You Can Chew
• ‘Wolverine: First Class’ #19: Space Kitty!
• Uncanny X-Men #515: A New Kingdom Shall Be Born!
• ‘Dark Reign: The List – X-Men’: Something Fishy…
• ‘Fantastic Force’ #4: Jrpbsp’s review coming soon…
• ‘Wolverine: Origins’ #40: Ace’s review coming soon…

And as usual, I share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket…

The New Avengers #57 (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Inks: Wade von Grawbadger

New Avengers is not quite as good as Dark Avengers, but Bendis continues to impress, even if Wolverine has gone walkies.

So why the mention here? Dark Wolverine cameos…

The Incredible Hulk #602 (preview)
Words: Greg Pak
Art: Ariel Olivetti

Wolverine cameos on the final page. The whole final page…

Dark X-Men: The Confession #1 (preview)
Words: Craig Kyle and Chris Yost
Pencils: Bing Cansino
Inks: Roland Paris

Recap issue extraordinaire features Wolverine in flashback cameos.

What a letdown…

Marvel Zombies Return #4 (details)
Cover: Arthur Suydam

Wolverine appears on the cover only…

Hulk Team-Up #1 (details)
Writer: Marc Sumerak
Penciller: Sanford Greene
Inker: Victor Olazaba

I have no idea how I missed this Wolverine cameo from two weeks ago, but miss it I did.

Nothing special, mind you, but it is a minor Wolverine appearance…

Shifting gears to animation, we had another new episode of ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ this past Friday, Aces & Eights, a well-done story focusing on Gambit. For full details, see the Marvel.com preview.

No new episode this Friday with only four to go in the season…

As always, share your opinion in the comments below OR or simply join in on the fun at the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Starting to wind up the reviews for the week. Next we have the X-Men issue of the ‘The List’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Dark Reign: The List – X-Men
(preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Mark Farmer

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Norman Osborn revealing his secret weapon against the Atlanteans to his assistant Victoria. He has genetically changed Namor’s ex-wife and former member of Alpha Flight member Marrina into a monster that will kill and eat any Atlantean it can find. He releases the creature as revenge for Namor’s betrayal in joining the X-Men.

Marrina does her job well hunting down and killing the peaceful underwater people in great numbers. Namor discovers this and brings one of his dead people to the new mutant island nation. Namor does not want the X-Men’s help in this but he is not given a choice in the matter by Emma.

Pixie and Illyana teleport all of Namor’s people in the Pacific to a safe area in the Norwegian sea, leaving Namor to be the bait for his ex to attack. The creature comes to the island and the Cuckoos confirm that there is nothing left in her head but hate.

Bobby and Betsy take the first attack with Psylocke increasing Iceman’s powers to try and freeze Marrina in place. It works for a moment but he can not hold her. Wolverine then attacks to get her attention while Surge gets on her back and electrocutes the monster. Immediately after Nightcrawler teleports her to safety leaving a bomb in his wake.

The combination attacks draw her to the land where Namor is waiting. He survives her first attack and is able to lift her up into the air. He then takes Marrina down deep into Mariana trench where the pressure destroys her.

Namor then flies her body to New York and smashes it into Avengers tower where he serves warning to Osborn. At the end we see all the Atlanteans come back through the portals to presumably settle near Utopia.

MY TAKE: This was a decent one-off story with some actual consequences and impact and even some character development. All of this is rare in a one shot and I believe this one was helped by the fact that Fraction wrote it as a tie in directly to ‘Uncanny X-Men’. I am interested to see if the Atlanteans are going to be remaining around Utopia and if so where that will lead.

It was nice to see  Osborn hatch a plan that is both practical and ruthless. He is attacking Namor both through his people and through his heart and that can be a nasty combination. I am sorry to see Marrina used this way but I can understand the reasoning for it and she did make a powerful villain. It led to Namor showing his feelings a bit which is good development for the character based on his recent appearances.

The team work and timing the X-Men showed while fighting Marrina was impressive and I am glad that they are still being shown as a well-trained unit. They had multiple levels and waves of attack and executed them perfectly. The effect was kind of spoiled by Namor more or less defeating the monster single handedly however.

I am still on the fence about Namor being on the team and this does not help. In a group with so many members I would much rather see the spotlight fall on some of  lesser-used and not have a well-known character from other titles being the focus. In truth I am not sure that this belongs as an X-title. This was Namor and Atlantis’ story and the X-Men were really just a back drop for it. I would have preferred that the story focus more on the mutants and less on the undersea kingdom.

Not much else really happened in the issue. The plot was a simplistic and straightforward revenge tale. If it does lead to a treaty or alliance between the mutants and the Atlanteans that will be a major development for the whole Marvel Universe. It would be very unusual to have that happen from a one shot but otherwise I do not see the point of the ending. I supposed only time will tell.

In the end this was a good story that had some important  moments and strong action and it tied in very well with the main titles. I just would have liked it better if this story had focused on more background characters that do not get much attention in the ongoing series. It seems like a missed opportunity for a tie-in comic to focus on an already well-exposed character.

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, jrpbsp here… Next up on the list is Uncanny X-Men the beginning of ‘Nation X’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men #515
(preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Greg Land
Inker: Jay Leisten

NOTE: Wolverine only cameos in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Scalphunter in his diner being attacked by a super-powered team. Though he fights back well, he is severely outnumbered and outgunned, and he is taken down. Their leader plans to take him back to New York and feed him to their predators.

Jumping to Utopia, we see Betsy bringing Dr Yuriko Takiguchi his breakfast. The old man only says a few words before he passes away peacefully.

Scott is meeting with Emma, Namor, Hank, Bobby, Xavier and Storm to go over their plans now that the island nation is formed. Things like water and food are priority but so is defining their role to come. Scott admits to not really knowing what their purpose is besides peace and safety.

Emma is critical of gathering everyone up together, and she and Storm exchange harsh words before Psylocke brings the group news of the death. The Science Team meets to pay their respects but Scott is being practical about what to do with the body.

Cyclops decides he needs to go to the mainland and meet with the Mayor to see where they stand. Xavier tries to come with him but Scott forbids it. Meanwhile Nightcrawler, Emma and Danger break into their old base and go down to the prison level. Emma convinces Danger to be the new warden and use her abilities to create a prison of the mind and help them rehabilitate.

The Science team decides that Dr. Takiguchi’s body should be disposed of on the island and work to make a furnace usable for that purpose. Scott meets with the mayor to try and get supply shipments and see what his legal standing is. He is reassured that she does not know of anyone looking to arrest them.

The funeral is held but Scott keeps himself distant from it. He returns to Emma and gets no sympathy from her. He starts to yell at Frost but she explains she is incapable of feelings in diamond form especially with a part of the Void in her head. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Magneto to his old base.

MY TAKE: This issue begins the new Nation X storyline so it was all about setting up a new status quo. Some of the roles are defined and a number of practical issues get worked out. Still it seemed to lack any real spark to draw me into the issue or larger story. Parts of it seemed more like a business meeting then a super hero comic book. Plus many of the plots did not really seem to fit together. I am sure some of this will be addressed in the future but it makes for a less then compelling start to a new arc.

The issue is most definitively not bad however and it has some good parts. I am interested in this new team that took down Scalphunter, and I think making Danger into a jailer is a nice twist and a good way to remove her gracefully from the spotlight in ‘X-Men Legacy’. I am also a fan of Magneto and his return is definitely the most exciting part of the issue to me. It will be exciting to see how he is going to react to the new mutant ‘Utopia’.

I did not see the point of killing off Dr. Yuriko. He is a background character so his death really affects nothing. It seems to be thrown it to make an emotional statement but we do not know the character enough to really care that he has died.

Scott is being thrust more and more into the spotlight and although he is a good character, he was never made to carry a title on his shoulders. Watching him meltdown will only be interesting for so long. While is it nice to have the realism of his dealing with water, food and their legal status, it is not exactly page turning especially when focused on a character that has traditionally not had a outgoing personality.

It seems like the purpose of infecting Emma was to return her to her bitchier ways. Since I am not a fan of the character, I do not much care but I would like to see it being consistent. She goes from picking fights with friends and loved ones to being the person to convince Danger to take a new role. It just seems like they are trying to please both her old fans and the new ones and it does not work to me.

In the end this is an alright start to the new story but I am really more interested in the side plots than the main thrust with Scott and Emma. With Magneto jumping in for the next issue I am worried that I will actually like the villain more then some of the primary characters fighting him. Hopefully, once everything is established the stories will be less about running the nation and more about the characters living on 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.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… I’m wasting no time this week so here is my second review ‘Wolverine: First Class’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: First Class #19
(preview | thread)
Writer: Peter David
Art: Dennis Calero

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Kitty Pryde getting up and doing her morning routine. It is not until she opens her blinds that she notices that instead of her bedroom she is actually on a space ship. At first she thinks it might be a trick but after testing the outside with a cup she learns that the view is real.

But she is still having a better day then Logan who is also on the ship and is being tortured by the Super Skrull. Wolverine is confident of his escape even though his bonds are adamantium. The Skrull does not reveal his intentions but shows a video of Kitty in her ‘room’ which was recreated from hard-light and which is protected by a field which activates when she tries to phase through it.

Wolverine tries to get the Super-Skrull to tell his plans but the alien refuses. But in the few moments of distraction, Kitty apparently vanishes from the room.

A group of Skrulls are sent in to search but they do not see her. That is when Kitty emerges the bed she phased into and makes a break for it. One of the Skrulls catches her but Shadowcat phases him and uses the room’s defense against him. More Skrulls arrive from each direction, but Kitty phases through their fire so they shoot each other.

She then runs into Wolverine in the hall who says he escaped from the Super Skrull but is hurt. As Kitty helps him, ‘Wolverine’ reveals himself to be another Skrull and knocks her out. The green alien is interrupted by someone and taken out as well.

We return to Logan who is still a captive being tortured by the Super Skrull.The alien is demanding to know where Kitty went. His question is answered by the timely arrival of Shadowcat and her rescuer Captain Marvel.

MY TAKE: The story is very Kitty-centric and it starts out very strong. The scenes in her room are definitely the best in the issue. The rest of the plot is kind of weak however, and it seems to just be set up as an excuse to allow the use of Captain Marvel. While the character is interesting that should never be the driving force for a comic.

The characterizations are very good especially Kitty and it is great to see her using her mind and thinking through problems rather then just phasing through them. We do not see much of Wolverine but he is still given a strong fighter voice which works well for him.

The plot is the weak point here. While it was nice that the Super Skrull is smart enough not to fall into a villain monologue, the lack of discussion gives us nothing of the reasons behind the abductions. We are left with a whole bunch of questions that distract from the enjoyment of the story.

While the beginning was great, I do not see the logic in the Skrulls recreating Kitty’s bedroom. She is a prisoner so why should they care if she knows it immediately? She would find out when she tried to leave the room anyway.

Besides which we are not given any real explanation at why or how the pair are snatched from the mansion without detection. Or in fact how Wolverine was taken at all considering his senses and fighting skills. All we have is a general explanation about wanting to conduct tests on the mutants which seems to be a pretty poor reason to risk it.

In truth the plot just feels like a generic science fiction story, even the cover has that feel. I want more from the writing then vague references and excuses as to how the heroes got into trouble. We do not get it here.

I do want to mention that the artwork was very good. It especially strong in the expressions on Kitty’s face. I do not believe her scenes would have been nearly as effective without the little artistic touches.

In the end this is a cute issue with some good Shadowcat scenes but very little story to back them up. Hopefully we will get some more explanations next issue along with the Skrull smashing that is sure to ensue.

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, jrpbsp here… It is going to be a full week of reviews, I might even have to postpone one or two until next week. So starting with a bang, here’s the conclusion to ‘Old Man Logan’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Giant Size Wolverine: Old Man Logan
(preview | thread)
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciler: Steve McNiven
Inker: Dexter Vines & Mark Morales

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with two of the Hulk clan washing the blood of Logan’s family off them and discussing cannibalism and the movie they are going to watch that night. In a flash one of them is in pieces and as his kin looks around, he is taken down by Wolverine from the water.

Three more of the country behemoths are enjoying some booze and flesh in Stark’s bar. The lights go out suddenly and one of them is dead. By the time his family gets a light going, Logan is ready to take them down as well.

Another trio are out celebrating with prostitutes. When they emerge from the house Logan is standing there with claws popped ready for them.

At Banner’s lair the rest of the brood are gathered. Bruce himself waits confidently for Wolverine to arrive. One of the Hulk clan’s transports slams into the trailers outside of Banner’s cave and riding it is Beau, one of the Hulks from the whorehouse who is wired to a massive amount of explosive.

Before the rest of the family can recover from the explosion, Logan is among them killing with abandon. When they are all dead, Wolverine goes to the cave and calls out Banner who attacks in human form.

Treating it like sport, Bruce batters Logan around even swinging a cow at the mutant. But Logan is not there for games and slices up Bruce forcing him to change into his alter ego, the Hulk.

Hulk snatches up Wolverine and eats him. Hours later the last surviving member of the Hulk clan, Billy-Bob arrives home to find only Banner and baby Bruce left alive. The Hulk is convinced that they can start again but is soon overwhelmed by stomach cramps. Falling to his knees in pain, Logan explodes out of Bruce’s back.

A month later Logan has tended to his family and is preparing to leave. There is nothing left for him but memories but he now has a mission to free this land from villains. He says goodbye to the folks of his town and rides off into the sunset with baby Bruce on his back.

MY TAKE: This was a fun issue filled with blood and explosions and revenge, basically everything you need to make a big summer blockbuster. Unfortunately, it also contained plenty of the plot holes and inconsistencies that plague those same movies but so long as you do not want to think too much, you can really enjoy it.

This is not to say that I did not like the comic because I definitely did. The story is fast paced and exciting, and Millar has made the villains so loathsome and heinous that you root for them to die in horrible ways. And they do. It makes for a very quick read since you are constantly turning the pages to see how each batch of Hulks gets killed. The ending is satisfyingly vicious and you are glad that Logan gets his revenge and is back on the right path.

If you do not read it quickly, however, you start to notice some pretty serious plot holes. For example how does a poor farmer that cannot even pay his rent get his hands on what must have been a metric ton of plastic explosive? The scene is effective of course and I understand wanting to use an explosion but it does not make sense.

Another example is how Logan still has his adamantium skeleton after being eaten. Sure the Hulk could have swallowed it whole but I do not see why he would. After all he would then have to try and pass it later and that would be truly unpleasant.

The worse one to me was the inclusion of Banner Jr. as a child. While I certainly appreciate trying to tie the series to Fantastic Force’s Hooded Man, those heroes are from thousands of years beyond Old Man Logan. We see that the Hulk’s age so even if the child could survive that long he would not appear so young. It was this that pulled me out of the story the most, although people not familiar with Fantastic Force probably would not even notice.

But those are all minor quibbles. What the issue lacks in plot and characterization it more then makes up for in fun and excitement. It makes for a fitting and blood-soaked end to the plot line and it is what we have been waiting for more than a year to see. Logan finally getting mad. I, for one, was not disappointed.

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.

Marvel released their December solicitations today and we present the major Wolverine issues below…

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #8
Written by JASON AARON; Penciled by YANICK PAQUETTE
In the deepest darkest dungeons of the Dunwich Sanatorium, the true nature of this maddest of all madhouses is finally revealed, but will the answer come too late for Wolverine to salvage what’s left of his sanity? And just what is Dr. Rot building with all of those brains?

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #43
Written by DANIEL WAY; Pencils by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
“7 The Hard Way,” Part 3
With Bruce Banner and his fearsome son Skaar onboard, and with the enigmatic X-Man Cloak apparently on his side, Wolverine’s mysterious plan to finally defeat Romulus seems to be going well…but that was before coming face to face—and blade to blade—with Kenuichio Harada, the Silver Samurai! Is he part of the plan, or the one who will completely derail it?

WOLVERINE: UNDER THE BOARDWALK
Written by STUART MOORE; Pencils by TOMM COKER
Forty years ago, Logan spent one amazing night with a cocktail waitress — and witnessed a murder. Now an anonymous tip summons him to Atlantic City, promising answers to a gangland mystery spanning the decades. But as Logan slashes and claws his way toward the truth, he finds himself caught between an old flame and a fiery young woman — at least one of whom hides a deadly secret.

DARK WOLVERINE #81
Written by MARJORIE LIU & DANIEL WAY; Penciled by GUISSEPPE CAMMUNCOLI
“A CAUTIONARY TALE”
In this standalone story, everything you thought you knew about the enigmatic Dark Avenger Daken gets turned upside-down. Moonstone lets her curiosity—and her training as a doctor of psychology—get the better of her as she attempts to uncover what lies beneath Daken’s surface. But when she finally gets him alone, what she finds just might kill her. A perfect place to jump on board to find out why critics are calling this series 
“a must read”!

For the full list of comics, see ComicBookResources.com (details)…

Probable and Possible (Dark) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 9/23/09…
–Dark Reign: The List – X-Men (preview): Fallout from ‘Exodus’…
–Dark X-Men: The Confession (preview): Secrets revealed…
–Fantastic Force #4 (preview): Series finale…
–Uncanny X-Men #515 (preview): ‘Nation X’ begins…
–Wolverine: First Class #19 (preview): Preview looks brilliant!
–Wolverine: Origins #40 (preview): ‘Romulus’ conclusion…
–Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size (preview): Mark Millar epic finally wraps up…

(Dark) Wolverine appeared in FIVE TITLES last week (September 16, 2009), plus we catch up on the review of ‘Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus’ from the week before. So without further ado, let’s get to the trio of reviews by our very own jrpbsp…

• Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus (from previous week): A Nation Rises
• X-Men Legacy Annual #1: Two Beginnings
• Uncanny X-Men: First Class #3: Irish Ghosts

And as usual, I share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket…

Marvel Zombies Return #3 (details)
Writer: Jonathan Maberry
Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander

Let me start by giving props to Jason Shawn Alexander and his terrific zombie art.

And while not a bad story, I find Jonathan Maberry mining the same old ground that ruined this franchise in the first place, that zombies are somehow redeemable.

Sorry, they are not.

That’s why killing zombies is morally approved by everyone, including the Pope.

From my perspective, either produce a fun, bloody series about Marvel superheroes turned zombie or create a genuinely scary book around the same concept.

But rehashing that some zombies can be “saved” brings along a ton of questions that makes me uneasy.

Does that mean we should forgive the irresistible zombie impulse of killing whole galaxies full of sentient beings? Are some heroes genuinely more heroic than others, able to stave off the uncontrollable zombie hunger? Does it follow, then, that some heroes are less heroic or perhaps, not really heroes at all?

As I have said in weeks past, Marvel Zombies should return to its roots or be allowed to stay dead.

Or undead.

Well, you know what I mean…

Dark Wolverine #78 (preview)
Writers: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu
Art: Stephen Segovia

To my surprise, I found that I really enjoyed Dark Wolverine, giving credit to Marjorie Liu for a subtle touch that I found lacking in Daniel Way’s usual writing.

Well, the heavy handedness has returned with this issue as does an equally heavy dose of huge American breasts.

The machinations of Daken and Norman Osborn are absurd, risking career-ending exposure for minor gains, and invariably involving scantily-clad women wearing miniskirts.

To which some of you may ask, what’s the problem?

Dark Avengers #9 (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Mike Deodato

Not much Dark Wolverine, but an astounding issue nonetheless.

This is quickly becoming the core Dark Reign title.

Kudos to the exquisite team of Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato who seem to feed off of each other quite effectively…

Shifting gears to animation, we had another new episode of ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ this past Friday, Rover, a well-done episode focusing on the future, Marrow and an injured Sentinel. For full details, see the Marvel.com preview…

As always, share your opinion in the comments below OR or simply join in on the fun at the Wolverine Files Forums…

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… For my final review of the week I am doing ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class #3 (preview)
Writer: Scott Gray
Art: Roger Cruz

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with the X-Men doing a training exercise with everyone against Banshee. They are trying to prevent the Irish mutant from capturing the flag but despite their best efforts they fail to stop him. Cyclops is very impressed with Sean’s performance.

We cut to Sean and Moira out on a date. Sean is ready to commit to her but Moira thinks things are moving too fast. They leave and she refuses to be flown back to the mansion. On the way out of the restaurant, Banshee’s pocket is picked.

When he gets back to Xavier’s, his ex-father-in-law Patrick is there ranting about his daughter. Sean relates to Moira the story of meeting his wife Maeve and their relationship up to her death in a bombing while Banshee was away deep under cover.

After the story, Sean finally notices his wallet is gone and we see the pick-pocket conducting a voodoo ritual to raise his deceased wife. That night Sean sees Maeve who tells him to go to Belfast. He awakens Patrick and he relays that he had seen the same thing.

The next day Sean, Patrick and Moira head to Belfast, Maine where Sean originally proposed to Maeve.  We then see a brief interlude with Peter Corbeau and his scientists studying the strange people that are standing on the sun.

Upon arriving in Belfast, Sean leaves the others to go and fly around looking for Maeve. Not long after he leaves, Patrick drugs Moira. Banshee does find his departed wife but she turns into a monster and attacks him claiming he owes her a blood debt. Refusing to fight back, she tears him up and he falls into the sea.

Meanwhile Patrick explains to a captive Moira that he planned the whole thing and hired Julius Dupree, the Voodoo man, when he found out he was dying. He blames Sean for Moira’s death and did not want to see him happy with another woman. Moira figures out that Julius is actually a mutant and is psionically creating Maeve.

Maeve delivers Sean soon after and Patrick reveals that the whole place is wired to explode. Sean fights back but it is Maeve who saves him in the end, freeing him from his bonds. Dupree escapes as do Sean and Moira but Maeve keeps Patrick in the building as it explodes. In the end Sean makes his peace with his wife and Moira lets him fly her.

MY TAKE: While Banshee is not one of my favorite characters, you can not help but like him in this issue. It is definitely the strongest of the series so far and is filled with a decent amount of plot and a lot of very good character moments. In fact the entire thing is an exploration of love both past and present and it shows how love might die it never truly stays buried.

Thankfully, the character moments are well done since there is little else in the issue. But you can definitely feel for Sean and even Moira here. Starting a new relationship is always difficult and it is worse when you have to deal with the ghosts of an old love, in this case quite literally. Although Patrick is little more then a two-dimensional villain, I am glad they at least made an attempt to provide him a believable motivation for his actions.

There were definite flaws with the issue though. The training sequence was unneeded, it just allowed the rest of the X-Men to have a cameo and show Banshee is an experienced fighter. But since there was no real combat in the issue it was just wasted pages that could have gone to the main story. I also disagreed with how easily Banshee humiliated the rest of the team. Many of them are just as experienced as he is and yet they are all made to look foolish.

I also do not see the purpose of inventing yet another mutant for the story. It seems obvious that we are meant to see the character of Julius again but he was an uninteresting stereotype to me and I would have preferred to see established X-villains being used for the stories.

In the end though, this was a strong, character based story that really explored the relationships of Banshee and gave you a look inside his mind and heart. It made for a nice little one off and it was  good to see the First Class format being put to use. I just hope we get the spotlight aimed at some of the other characters soon, like Wolverine, Jean or Storm.

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.