Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Happy Thanksgiving for those that celebrate it. Here is my first review for the week ‘Wolverine: First Class’. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: First Class #21 (preview)
Writer: Peter David
Art: Scott Koblish

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Kitty, in the woods, running from a murderous Wolverine. He catches up to her and tackles her down a hill into the water. As he prepares for the killing blow, Shadowcat flashes back to the events of an hour previous. She was in the Danger Room training while Xavier, Logan and Piotr look on.

The Professor gives her a test to go through the whole room and all manner of objects to reach the door. Wolverine bets Colossus that she will do it in under thirty seconds and she succeeds beautifully. Logan then offers double or nothing and the bet is accepted. Kitty leaves the room and gets congratulations from Siryn before being knocked out by a flash of light.

Kitty wakes up to a mental message from Magneto who asks her to leave the X-Men to their fate. Her last word is defiance and then she is attacked by a mentally controlled Wolverine. Knowing she can not win the fight, Shadowcat flees only to realize that her  powers no longer work. She makes it to the elevator downstairs but Logan pursues closely. She manages to trick him briefly by leaving her boots in the hall and fleeing back upstairs. Kitty finds the rest of the X-Men still unconscious and runs from the mansion.

That is when we get back to her being knocked down into the water. She pulls herself out of the river only to be confronted by Wolverine again. Shadowcat fights back but soon figures out he is talking strangely. Putting the pieces together, Kitty figures out that she is still in the Danger Room and the whole situation was a trick. Kitty storms off as Wolverine collects tells Piotr he owes him forty dollars.

MY TAKE: This is a good issue and a very well done story in general. Kitty is the central character, which is not unusual for the title, and does an outstanding job of holding my interest. Her initial confidence is highly appropriate and leads into a a very nice little tale of both her physical and mental toughness. Although, in the end, it turns out to be nothing more then a training exercise, I really enjoyed her struggle to survive Wolverine’s assault.

The plot is extremely simple and the entire comic basically takes place in one room. And yet it still allows for some very interesting internal dialogue and smart actions. Kitty is definitely better when she uses her brain rather then her power and I was glad to see her not be able to rely on it in this issue. I would have preferred to see more of Wolverine in the comic, of course, since it is nominally his title. The bets with Piotr were pretty amusing but other then that he is not really given anything do to besides looking scary and clawing things.

The biggest problem I had with the whole comic was relevance and that is pretty minor. Having the story simply be a training exercise removed a lot of the weight of the issue. It is like having a tale that is a dream or a fantasy, hard to take seriously. But in this case Kitty’s actions were valid even though the threat was not real. Still it would have been nice for Kitty to have prevailed over a real threat rather then another training exercise.

In the end though, this was a strong and entertaining issue, one of the better ones we have seen from Peter David. The lack of a major guest star was nice but the greatest strength was the depiction of Shadowcat. She carried the story single-handed and does so with ease. If this is indeed the final issue of the series. as it seems to be, then I will greatly miss getting to read about Kitty’s adventures as a young X-Man. But if it is the end, the series went out on a high note and hopefully there will be enough interest to see a relaunch some day.

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.

‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ has returned with new episodes, airing episode 22, “Shades of Grey”, this past Friday. The three-part season finale. “Foresight”, airs Sunday night on Nicktoons and introduces the Hellfire Club…

As for probable (and possible) Wolverine appearances this week (11/25/09), we have previews of…

–Dark Wolverine #80 (preview): Daken screws up live on television…
–Hulk #17 (preview): Wolverine vs. Red Hulk finally concludes…
–Incredible Hercules #138 (preview): Wolverine does cameo…
–Uncanny X-Men #517 (preview): Nation X continues…
–Wolverine: First Class #21 (preview): Wolverine vs. Kitty Pryde?

We have two major Wolverine appearances from last week, as well as a brief cameo and a Dark Wolverine sighting.

Let’s start with the jrpbsp reviews…

• ‘‘Wolverine: Weapon X’ #7 (review): Head Games…
• ‘Wolverine: Origins’ #42 (review): Out of Character on Purpose…
• ‘X-Men Legacy’ #229 (review): Stinging Attack…

As for the Dark Wolverine sighting…

Dark Avengers #11 (preview)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Mike Deodato
Painted Pages: Greg Horn

A genuinely fascinating issue surrounding the infinite powers of Molecule Man, but it certainly feels like a detour from the Dark Reign storyline.

Which would be fine if this weren’t the primary title for the aforementioned storyline.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Due to my lack of free time, I am only going to do a review of ‘Wolverine: Origins’ and no recap. I will probably be doing more of these going forward.

Wolverine: Origins #42 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Doug Braithwaite

SPOILERS BELOW…

REVIEW: If I had to pick only one word to describe this issue it would be, pointless. If I added a second it would be, forgettable. That is not to say it is a bad comic, for Origins it is actually a good read, I just do not see the purpose of any of the story. Even if Logan kills Romulus, which he already proved he could, someone else would move into the role with just as big of a grudge against Logan, probably his son. So why bother? If you just want revenge then hunt him down again and finish him. All of this seems to be wasted time and effort.

Wolverine is acting like this is some unbeatable opponent, which we know he is not. And even if that is what Logan believes, then why go out of your way to recruit enemies/occasional, grudging allies to your cause? Wolverine is on four different teams and has more friends and trusted associates then pretty much anyone in Marvel. Many of those are master tacticians in their own right, it would be easy to come up with a plan and eliminate Romulus once and for all. It just makes no sense to go about it this way.

Of course if you can forget or forgive the plot then this is not a badly written issue. The scenes with Banner are decent if you can ignore the rather sudden change of heart. I was glad to see Cloak here although he seems to talk like William Shatner for some reason; all pauses. Even the Silver Samurai is well handled and an interesting addition to the group. Though why Logan needs help learning to use his own sword is a mystery.

In the end this is another issue that could have just as well been left unwritten. I had completely forgotten it two days later and had to scan through the issue just to remember the basics. It just seems so unneeded that I can not really process it well. Which is a shame because in other circumstances and with a different writer, this could be a very interesting and engaging story.

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Next up is ‘X-Men: Legacy’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men: Legacy #229 (preview)
Writer: Mike Carey
Art: Daniel Acuna

NOTE: Wolverine only appears in the background in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Rogue trying to contact the Cuckoos to give them a report. She is trying to hide from the ghost consuming creatures but the room has a device that keeps asking for coordinates. It does not take the monsters long to find her and the chase is on again. By pure chance Rogue flies through the room where Roxy is being held but she has very little time to reassure the girl before the creatures catch up. Rogue still can not use Trance’s sting and is not sure how she will survive to free the girl.

Back on the Utopia, Gambit confronts Scott about his decision to let Rogue go alone. Remy is furious and has to walk away because his Death persona had come to the fore. Gambit charges a card and it kills all the plant life in the area. In another area or the island, Nemesis and the X-Club are finishing up a machine that prevents teleporting and dimensional travel. They ask Ariel to test it by trying to teleport to the mainland. She only goes across the room in the opposite direction.

Back in Emplate space, Rogue has fled the lighthouse and is leading the monsters to the unsafe area outside. One by one her pursuers are caught and destroyed by the bigger and nastier creatures there. Rogue heads back to the house knowing that time is running out.

Emplate is interrupted by D.O.A. and told that Rogue was there. Marius is sure that the rest of the X-Men will not be far behind so he decides to kill Bling! and move his house to a safer location. Rogue goes back to the same room she was hiding in before and starts working with the machine to get a suitable destination. Back on Utopia, Nemesis is reporting his progress to Scott when the Cuckoos interrupt and tell Cyclops that Hope is waking up.

In Roxy’s cell, Emplate has come to finish her off. Even though he explains it, she does not seem scared. When he approaches, Bling! fires off a nasty energy attack and we see that Rogue was hiding inside her and can now use the sting attack. Rogue blasts D.O.A. as well which gives Marius time to recover. Rogue tries to attack him again but he has changed his density to match hers and the sting goes right through him. He punches Rogue and then moves to feed on her while D.O.A. blocks Roxy from helping.

MY TAKE: This is a pretty good issue despite having mostly second and third-tier characters and a silly ’90s villain in Emplate. I have talked about Marius before so I will not revisit him, other than to say that he works surprisingly well in this story. Rogue really comes through as well, showing that she has a lot of strength to carry a title if she is done well. With her current power set, she is not some unstoppable force, and there is actually an element of risk for her. It makes a massive difference.

The plot continues the rescue mission and does manage to advance the story even though about half of the issue was one major chase scene. The Gambit side plot has potential although it is a story we have seen before. I just hope that it is handled differently than Warren’s transformations otherwise it will become redundant.

The Nemesis story seems a little pat though. He was supposed to be finding a way to breach to the other dimension and instead invents a warning system to alert the X-Men of a new incursion, and to prevent Emplate from escaping. It ties well into Rogue’s plan but there is no reason that Nemesis would know what she was doing.

There are a few other points that seemed a bit too convenient and took away from the story. The biggest was the unlikely timing of Rogue learning to use Trance’s sting. She spent nearly two issues trying to figure it out and then suddenly just has it? It read like lazy storytelling. So did her just randomly flying through Roxy’s cell. The other problem was that none of the big monsters even tried to attack Rogue when she flew through their area.  Other prey aside, she should have gotten some attention from the creatures.

In the end though, I still found myself enjoying the story. Rogue is really being put through a wringer here and is still managing to prevail. She is becoming a very strong character and much more interesting. I am sure that most of the story shortcuts are being taken in an effort to shorten the tale for Necrosha. Still I would have preferred that the story have the time to develop naturally rather then use luck and chance as plot devices. But that is not enough to really hurt the issue and I am looking forward to seeing the conclusion next month.

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… Trying to get what I can finish done this week, the rest will be done with pellet reviews. First up is  ‘Wolverine: Weapon X’. Hope you enjoy it.

Wolverine: Weapon X #7 (preview)
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciller: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Michel Lacombe

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Wolverine being blasted with fire hoses. Dr. Rottwell is trying to get Wolverine to pick up a weapon and defend himself but he refuses. The Doctor orders his helpers to beat Logan with electric cattle prods for his disobedience. The next day, in the cafeteria, Logan sees one patient abusing another but does nothing to help.

That night the abusive patient is seen with his hands cut off, being chased by some of the employees. Wolverine goes back to sleep and dreams about his past. He wakes up wondering about the claws in his nightmare. He starts to question why he is there since it does not appear they are trying to help him get well.

Three mobsters show up giving a password and wanting to use one of patients for an assassination. Rottwell shows him to the abusive patient who now has chainsaws for hands. The mobsters wanted something a lot more discreet and call to their boss to check things out. The doctor releases the killer who slays two of the men. Rottwell drugs the other then straps him down and then messes with his brain.

Another day in the cafeteria and the same victim is being hurt, this time by the guards. Logan starts to pop his claws but pulls back and does not interfere. The patient kills himself later. We see more scenes of Logan being abused and humiliated before he taken back to the shower room and hosed again. He is told he will be killed if he refuses to fight back and Wolverine finally snaps. Popping his claws and saying his name is Logan, Wolverine kills both of the guards to the delight of the doctor.

MY TAKE: This is a very interesting story although it does take a bit too long for Wolverine to remember who he is. I am definitely enjoying the tale though, since it is something new and different. We are finally being given a bigger picture of what the hospital is for and it is actually pretty logical. Tormenting and breaking people with mental problems to forge them into insane killers is a nice little twist.

Although Logan does not really work as a meek mouse, some of his introspection is very insightful. The rest of the characterizations are pretty strong. Rottwell is definitely coming into his own as a truly sick and twisted individual. The hospital itself is almost taking on a kind of personality and it will be fun to watch what the chainsaw handed inmate does.

I am still waiting for some sort of explanation on how they were able to capture and hold Wolverine so long or even affect his mind to this extent. The ending made it look like the doctor was surprised by the claws which only makes the whole thing more confusing. Wolverine has always been shown to be difficult to mentally manipulate and even harder to keep altered. It is hard to believe he could be so easily controlled unwittingly.

I was also starting to grow impatient by the slow pace throughout the issue. I certainly do not mind seeing less action-oriented and more-character focused stories. Many times they are the best ones. But this did not read like Wolverine’s personality and it was obviously a waiting game until he finally popped his claws and went to town. It just took nearly two full issues and that felt like overkill.

Still the story is engaging enough to give it some slack and the rest of the issues look to be both action packed and hopefully full of strange revelations. Wolverine fighting the chainsaw guy alone will probably be worth the combined cover price.

In the end this was a strong issue but it suffered a bit from the slow pacing. While I understand wanting to end the issue with Logan coming into his own and getting ready to take down the hospital, I think it would have been better have had it happen sooner. Still it does not hurt the story too much and I am really looking forward to the rest of the issues.

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… Last but not least for this week is ‘X-Men Forever’. Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever #11 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Art: Tom Grummett

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with a mission in Russia. An agent is dropped from a transport plane without a chute but when he strikes the ground, we see it is Colossus. He is looking for two suits of stolen Crimson Dynamo armor. He knocks the first one down quickly, but the second blasts him. He is saved by an kinetic charge from Gambit. The first suit gets back up but is disrupted by Kitty.

Colossus greets his friends but the reunion is cut short by his contact, the Black Widow. It is quickly clear that Piotr and Natasha are more than friends. Gambit, Kitty and ‘Ro explain that they came to check on Colossus when he did not show for Logan’s funeral. They decide to stay for a bit and help the Winter Guard.

Back at the Mansion, Rogue and Sabretooth get into a fight over his not bothering to do his dishes. Jean lets them blow off steam. She goes to talk to Beast about finding a cure for mutants burning out at a young age. Fury and Xavier have a long talk about facing up to mistakes and doing what you can to get past them. Fury is harsh in order to shake Charles from his self-doubt.

Back in Russia, the rest of the X-Men have dinner with Piotr and Natasha in the Winter Guard’s secret base. Remy flirts with the Widow but it becomes obvious that the two Russians only have eyes for each other. We then see Piotr’s sister, Illyana, walking house from class. She is picked up by a stranger in a black car who says it is time for Magik to return.

MY TAKE: This is a decent story and I am glad to see both Colossus and Illyana enter into the series. Magik is one of my favorites and Piotr is a very strong character in his own right. Unfortunately, not much happens of any note. We have several pages dedicated to a fight over the dinner dishes after all. Hopefully, the plot will pick up speed next issue.

Claremont’s strength is his dialogue and the characters do read well, although it is not always the way we would expect them to behave. Still, there are plenty of good scenes of interaction, a highlight being Xavier and Fury’s conversation. I was glad to see how well Jean was handling her sudden promotion too. Not sure if Scott is meant to be gone for good but it is nice to see Phoenix having a larger role on the team.

I think that I have finally accepted that this series has absolutely nothing to do with canon or the main Marvel Universe. I did not bat an eye at Piotr’s sudden change to being part of the Winter Guard (something he never showed interest in) or having a relationship with the Black Widow. Not sure why she would be back in Russia either but then it does not really need to make sense. This is clearly Claremont’s world so he can do what he wants with it. It would be nice to have a bit more explanation on the changes though.

I did, however, have a bit of a problem with Colossus’  handling of Kitty. While their relationship has been in flux a lot over the years, you would think he would have made some effort to let her know he was involved with someone. It also seemed out of character for Colossus to not even call for Logan’s funeral. They were friends and teammates for a long time and ignoring that seems very out of character for Piotr.

In the end this was an entertaining comic where very little actually happened. It was focused on minor points and dialogue rather than on really advancing the plot. I do enjoy character interactions but not at the expense of the story. There was no need to spend any real time with the X-Men at the mansion either since the main story did not involve them. Hopefully the focus can be tightened in order to advance the plot in the future.

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 Comics just released solicitations for their February comics. Below are the major Wolverine appearances…

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #10
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by C.P. SMITH
The perfect jumping on point! Wolverine has never had luck with women. They usually die or try to kill him. So what happens when a new woman enters his life? You think you know how this one goes, but this one issue will stop even Wolverine dead in his tracks! This is the place to start reading if you’re not already — with stunning art by C.P. Smith, Jason Aaron is better than ever at what he does.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #45
Written by DANIEL WAY
Pencils DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Wolverine’s plan to take down Romulus is revealed, and the endgame to what it’s all been building to begins! But who is the mastermind behind it all? And more importantly, will it even work? With the treacherous Ruby Thursday set to tell all to Romulus, it seems doubtful…

X-FORCE #24
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST & CRAIG KYLE
Pencils & Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
NECROSHA PART FIVE (of SIX): Death comes to X-Force! The final battle begins as X-Force storms Necrosha to find and kill the Black Queen…but there are 16 million of her slaves between them and her. As the team’s least likely member goes on a suicide mission to save Warpath, Selene achieves her heart’s desire…and someone doesn’t walk away from this fight.

UNCANNY X-MEN #521
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND
“NATION X”: What on Earth is Magneto doing on top of Mt. Tamalpais, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco? He’s not telling and the X-Men Psychics can’t get it out of his brain. But he’s been up there for days plotting something that will rock the X-Verse to its core. All this while Wolverine, Psylocke, Colossus and Fantomex take on the foes that have been plaguing the X-Men since the start of “Nation X”. Part 7 (of 8).

ASTONISHING X-MEN #34
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Pencils and Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
“eXogenetic” Part 4: Gruesome Bio-Sentinels. Genetically-augmented Brood. Someone is taking the X-Men’s biggest threats and making them nightmares. As Cyclops and his team struggle to survive long enough to confront the one responsible, their tormentor has something even more horrible awaiting them!

SIEGE #2 (of 4)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
The blockbuster Marvel event of the year goes full-blown carnage and madness as the biggest and most brutal battle in Marvel’s history brings together heroes from all sides. Lines have been drawn, and an unlikely hero will save one Avenger, but they can’t save them all. The Siege has begun and it claims its first victim as AN AVENGER WILL DIE!!

DARK WOLVERINE #83
Written by MARJORIE LIU & DANIEL WAY
Penciled by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Part 2 of 3: A choice must be made, but what is real in the realm of gods? Mystery, illusion, and games of fate–all of these await Daken in the heart of Asgard as the Siege continues all around him. But when he is forced to confront himself — who he is, who he wants to be, who he could be — who will Daken choose to become? A man…or a monster?

WOLVERINE: SAVAGE
Written by RYAN DUNLAVEY
Penciled by RICHARD ELSON
Monsters on the high seas means TWO-FISTED CHOPPING ACTION! Wolverine takes the action to new levels as he slices and dices his way through a bevy of foes you’ll never expect!

ULTIMATE COMICS X #1
Written by JEPH LOEB
Pencils & Cover by ART ADAMS
Who—or what—is Ultimate X? The answers and even more secrets arrive in the all new ULTIMATE X ongoing bi-monthly series from the superstar dream team of JEPH LOEB and ART ADAMS. Wolverine is dead. Captain America is a fugitive. The Fantastic Four disbanded. Lives have been destroyed and nothing can ever be the same—is there any hope left? It all begins with a search for a brand new character whose identity will leave jaws on the floor and change the Ultimate Universe forever.

For the complete list of Marvel’s solicitations, visit ComicBookResources.com (details)…

As for probable (and possible) Wolverine appearances this week (11/18/09), we have previews of…

–Dark Avengers #11 (preview): Molecule Man…
–Wolverine: Origins #42 (preview): Ruby Thursday?
–Wolverine: Weapon X #7 (preview): Wolverine continues his stay at the Dunwich Sanitorium
–X-Men Legacy #229 (preview): Wolverine cameos in the preview…

With jrpbsp back from his honeymoon, we return to our usual custom of full reviews for major Wolverine appearances and mini-reviews by yours truly for secondary Wolverine appearances.

And, as I noted last week, I will no longer be covering non-chronological appearances such as those in ‘X-Babies’ or ‘Marvel Super Hero Squad’.

So on with the jrpbsp reviews!

• ‘X-Force’ #21 (review): Population Explosion
• ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’ #5 (review): The Knights Strike

As for the secondary Wolverine stories…

Deadpool #17 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Penciler: Paco Medina
Inker: Juan Vlasco

Wolverine makes a substantial appearance here as a straight man, but as with the previous issue, this story doesn’t work for me.

Comedy, especially in an established, serious environment, is quite hard. And aside from one very funny page near the end of the book, the humor simply falls flat for me.

Deadpool is, without a doubt, a very funny character. I just fear that his countless monthly appearances and titles will bring his resurgent popularity to a quick end.

Now that the Wolverine fan has had his say, what do you Deadpool fans out there think?

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Next up from this week is ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’. Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class #5 (preview)
Writer: Scott Gray
Art: Nelson Decastro & Scott Koblish

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Xavier flying to the Starcore One space station in Astral Form. The place has been demolished and Xavier finds Peter Corbeau and the rest of the surviving personnel being tortured by the Knights of Hykon. The Knights are arguing, one wants to invade Earth immediately but the leader, Burning Moon, wants more knowledge about it first. He then senses Xavier and is able to catch and hold his astral form. The alien pillages Charles’ mind before sending his companions to Earth. One, Sky Song, is to scout and the other, Cloud Runner, to mark the Earth as theirs.

At Xavier’s, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Banshee are sitting in the kitchen waiting for the call to action. Logan gets restless and goes for a walk as Sean decides to check on the others’ progress. Scott, Moira and Lilandra are monitoring Xavier who has yet to return to his body from his mental scouting trip.

Back in the kitchen, neither Kurt or Piotr notice Sky Song’s arrival. But when Wolverine returns he is able to sniff her out and attack. Colossus tries to talk to the alien but she easily knocks him through the wall. Wolverine presses his attack but is unable to hurt Sky Song and is soon disabled. Nightcrawler’s attack fares no better.

Cyclops and Banshee enter the fray and are still not able to breach Sky Song’s defenses. Colossus hurls the diving board at her but she easily knocks it aside with a conjured sword. Scott laments not having Jean and Storm there to help keep her contained.

The two X-ladies are having problems of their own in New York. Jean hears Charles’ psychic scream and then they see Cloud Runner’s marking. He has made the whole sky burn and spew fiery rain. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury discover the origin but unfortunately neither the Avengers or the Fantastic Four are available to help.

The X-Men are still not having any luck with Sky Song. Kurt teleports in and grabs her sword but when he goes to bamf out something goes horribly wrong with his ‘port. Fury orders the Helicarrier to attack Cloud Runner who fights through the barrage then grabs and throws the helicarrier like a toy.

Sky Song stops playing with the remaining X-Men and takes Scott, Piotr and Sean down quickly. Moira shows up in time to see Banshee fall. As she cradles him, another figure steps out, it is an unknown Knight of Hykun. Another new Knight has appeared in Central Park. Jean and Storm intercept and Jean is taken out quickly. Storm attacks with a wind storm which is interrupted when she sees the helicarrier falling towards her.

MY TAKE: This is a very good start to the new story arc. The character pieces, of the past four issues, were a mixed bag but this feels a lot more like a classic X-Men tale. There was a lot more action here as well as more actual interaction amongst the team. They have a strong adversary in the Knights and it should be interesting to see how the villains are dealt with.

There is not a lot of motivation for the Knights but then they seem to be a warrior race so they do not really need a reason to invade. The plot is simple but well done and explained. Using Corbeau is a nice tie in to get the X-Men involved early and I was glad to see a mention of both the Avengers and Fantastic Four. It made this seem to be a global event and really gave the story a broad scope.

Of course that ties into my biggest problem with the story. It is so huge that it is hard to fit it in regular continuity. A world wide fire storm and a massive alien attack should have made some sort of impact in history. Also, the Knights are so unbelievably powerful that it seems nearly impossible for the X-Men to prevail. The entire team could not manage to even scratch one member of the Knights and there are at least five of them. Hopefully the story does not end up feeling forced because of that.

I am also a bit confused at where the other two Knights came from. We had only ever seen three throughout the series and suddenly others appear without any explanation. Maybe it will be addressed but the X-Men certainly did not need to have more of a threat to deal with.

In the end this is still one of my favorite issues of the series so far. There is good conflict and a fun and original villain to fight. We finally get to see the whole team in action which is something I have been eagerly awaiting. I just hope there is a smart and logical conclusion to the story arc and we get some indication as to why there has been no mention of the Knights in the present.

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.