Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Only one review this week so here we go with ‘X-Men: Legacy’.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Legacy #228 (preview)
Writer: Mike Carey
Penciler: Daniel Acuna

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

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Roxy in Emplate’s lighthouse. The young mutant attacks him and DOA with her diamond shards but does not hurt Marius. Emplate then chases her down and feeds on her marrow.

Back on Utopia, Cyclops confronts the others about Roxy’s whereabouts. They quickly ascertain that Emplate took her, but they do not have a way to follow Bling! through the dimensional breech. Hope comes forward and says she can see the door and would be able to travel through in her Trance form. Cyclops refuses to let her go since she does not have the training. Rogue volunteers to take Trance’s power and go instead.

Since it would take a couple of hours to be able to force open the dimensional barrier, Scott agrees as long as Rogue stays in contact with the Cuckoos. She takes Hope’s hand and drains off her powers.

Roxy awakes in Emplate’s dungeon alive but feeling awful. It appears to be the same room where Penance was long imprisoned. DOA asks for time off now that Emplate has a new food source and is nearly killed for the request. It is revealed that Marius once has other servants but ate them.

Back with the X-Men, Rogue has Trance’s power and separates herself. She is able to find the doorway and slip through to Emplate’s dimension. The place is chaotic and she is attacked quickly but the creatures cannot touch her. Although at first she gets disoriented, Rogue quickly sights Emplate’s home and heads for it.

Marius goes to Roxy’s cell and explains her situation. She is trapped there and the X-Men cannot reach her. He tells her that he was exiled to that place and is limited on his movements. Before Bling! can pry too deeply, Emplate feeds on her again. He then makes his way to another chamber where he is feasted on and tormented in turn.

Rogue makes it to Emplate’s home and loses contact with the Cuckoos. She quickly finds the twisted chamber that is his bedroom. Curiosity overwhelms her and she turns on an old movie projector which shows a current scene of Scott talking to Nemesis. They are not having much luck breaking through and Cyclops wants a plan B. DOA interrupts before she can see any more.

Rogue learns that Trance’s sting cannot harm the creature but neither can he touch her directly. Unfortunately, he summons a group of extra dimensional monsters that feed on ghosts. They quickly prove that they can hurt Rogue even in Trance form.

MY TAKE: This is another well-written issue that focuses on the characters as much as the plot. Continuing directly from the Annual, we are given more on the story about Emplate and Roxy. While I am not a fan of either of these characters, they are written well and you can actually feel sympathy for them. Even Marius, who has never been shown to have much in the way of an actual personality before.

Rogue takes center stage again which is to be expected. I do like the way she is being portrayed as a smart, courageous and capable young woman. Not sure if she is going to be interesting enough to effectively drive the series, but I am enjoying reading about her so far.

The plot is pretty straightforward but it does serve to move the story along. We are given a smart and simple reason for Rogue’s involvement, and one that allows Trance to remain in the picture as well. I also enjoyed getting to see Emplate’s dimension and some of his house. It is something that is long overdue.

I am still not completely sold on this new direction for the series, however. While I do think we need a title that is focused on the younger mutants, I am not sure this really qualifies. Although Rogue has certainly changed and matured in recent months I do not really see her being someone that kids will look up to. It seems like a stretch, but at least they are taking it slow and giving the idea some time to develop. I would just rather just have a title where the youngsters are the stars.

In the end this was a solid issue and fun to read despite my not really being a fan of any of the characters. That takes very good writing and a well-developed story. I always thought Bling! was too silly to be redeemable, based on the code name alone, but she is shown to be smart, tough and resourceful here. I only hope the trend will continue and see more characters being helped through the title.

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 January solicitations yesterday and we present the major Wolverine appearances below…

WOLVERINE WEAPON X #9
Written by JASON AARON; Penciled by YANICK PAQUETTE
In the crazed conclusion to “Insane In the Brain,” Logan’s stay in the whacked-out Dunwich Sanatorium finally comes to an end as his pals Psylocke and Nightcrawler show up to rescue him from the maniac clutches of Dr. Rot. But even if they can save his life, is it possible to recover what he’s lost of his sanity?

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #44
Written by DANIEL WAY; Pencils by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
“7 THE HARD WAY,” Part 4 (of 5): Wolverine’s plans have hit a snag. With Romulus breathing down his neck, Wolverine struggles to get his last piece on the board. And the fact that she’s in prison doesn’t exactly make it any easier…

UNCANNY X-MEN #520
Written by MATT FRACTION; Pencils by GREG LAND
“NATION X”: There’s a rogue Predator X stalking mutants beneath New York City and it’s down to Wolverine and Fantomex to hunt it down. There’s an island in the San Francisco Bay that the mutants call home and it’s slowly sinking — and only King Namor can save the day. And meanwhile, in San Francisco, a supermob is making life hard in Chinatown…somebody call the X-Men! Part 6 (of 8)

X-FORCE #23
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST & CRAIG KYLE; Pencils by CLAYTON CRAIN
X-FORCE has a new mission: KILL SELENE. As Utopia burns, Wolverine and the team heads to take down the Black Queen and rescue one of their own, but they have no idea what they’re in for when they arrive on the shores of Necrosha. The biggest X-Force story yet continues as Selene’s Inner Circle begins to tear itself apart, and the truth about Wolfsbane is finally revealed. PART FOUR (of SIX)

WOLVERINE: WENDIGO!
Written by FRANK TIERI; Penciled by PAUL GULACY & PACO DIAZ
A camera crew torn limb from limb attempting to shoot footage of a mythical beast in the deepest forests of Canada. Two survivors spouting wildly diverging stories about a ferocious, white-furred monster and the mysterious stranger that came to their rescue. How are the police to make heads or tails of all of this? Let’s go to the videotape! Also featuring: “Wolverine Vs. Thor”: Want to see what happens when a jerky-chewing kanuckle-head steps up to the Asgardian God of Thunder? Let’s just say that it doesn’t involve tea and biscuits. Featuring Wolverine and Logan in their first encounter, which first debuted on MARVEL DIGITAL COMICS.

DARK WOLVERINE #82
Written by MARJORIE LIU & DANIEL WAY; Penciled by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
The end has come. While he is counted among the greatest gathering of villains the Marvel Universe has ever seen, one question remains: whose side is Daken really on? As part of the SIEGE on Asgard, what, or who, will he encounter in the land of the gods that will change him forever?

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

Probable and Possible (Dark) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 10/21/09…
–Dark Avengers #10 (preview): Norman Osborn tries to keep it together…
–Dark Wolverine #79 (preview): Down goes Daken…
–Incredible Hulk #603 (preview): Skaar vs. Wolverine vs. Daken…
–Wolverine: Origins #41 (preview): ‘Seven the Hard Way’ begins…
–X-Men Legacy #228 (preview): Wolverine apppearance questionable…

Wolverine appeared in only THREE TITLES last week (October 14, 2009), though we do play catch up on an appearance I missed from the previous week.

So first up, the full-blown recap and reviews by our very own jrpbsp…

• ‘Uncanny X-Men’ #516: The Dogs of War…
• ‘X-Men Forever’ #9: Family Ties (with Wolverine flashback cameo)…
• ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’ #4: Girls Night Out…

As usual, I share my curmudgeonly impressions for the rest of the Wolverine docket, in this case the lone appearance I missed from last week…

Deadpool #16 (preview)
Writer: Daniel Way
Pencils: Paco Medina
Inker: Juan Vlasco

Wolverine appears as more than a mere cameo, but less than a genuine guest-starring role.

I must admit that I haven’t read ‘Deadpool’ previous to this issue, but I did thoroughly enjoy Daniel Way’s Deadpool run in ‘Wolverine: Origins’.

That said, it seems the humor is no where near as funny here, reminiscent of an achingly unfunny episode of ‘Saturday Night Live.’

I will let others weigh in on the merits of this series since Deadpool has been gaining a lot of fans, but as for this issue, while mildly amusing, it had little of the inane fun that I was hoping for…

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 this week we have ‘Uncanny X-Men: First Class’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class #4 (preview)
Writer: Scott Gray
Penciler: David Williams

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Storm being shot at by a flying squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. She dives quickly and is able to knock them into the Hudson River and disable them without hurting anyone seriously.

We flash back to her arrival at Jean’s apartment two hours prior. She is met by her former teammate and her friends Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. They all go out to dinner and are having a good time until the drugged food kicks in and knocks them all unconscious.

They wake up as prisoners of a woman named Nightshade. They are wearing collars that will kill the mutants should they use their powers, and Nightshade has hacked into Misty’s bionic arm and taken control of it. She has Misty grab Colleen’s throat and uses her to compel Storm to run an errand for her.

Nightshade sends Storm to the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and Ororo uses her rogue skills and mutant powers to get inside. Storm is forced to disable a couple of guards as she makes her way to the Cybernetics Lab. She retrieves the item but sets off an alarm triggering the pursuit from the opening scene. She returns to Nightshade’s lair with the item.

Jean then uses it to transfer Misty and Colleen’s fighting skills to a new batch of  Nightshade’s Cybernauts. The villain releases control of Misty’s arm to give her creations a trial run. Unfortunately, Storm had created a thunder storm over the warehouse when she returned and it blasts through the ceiling. Knowing it will lead S.H.I.E.L.D. to them, Nightshade bolts with Ororo in hot pursuit. The others engage her robots.

Jean also got the other ladies’ fighting skills and the trio give a good accounting of themselves. Storm, meanwhile, confronts Nightshade on the docks and is able to defeat her without using her powers due to the training she had received from the Black Panther as a young woman.

Inside, the girls are losing the fight. Colleen is knocked for a loop, and Misty and Jean prepare for the final attack. Jean decides she will sacrifice herself to destroy the Cybernauts just as Storm returns with her full powers having picked the lock on her collar. She quickly ends the fight. Storm decides it would risk the X-Men and Jean’s identity to explain why she invaded the helicarrier and allows herself to take the blame.

On the Starcore One satellite, Peter Corbeau is trying to send a desperate message to Xavier using a modified Cerebro. The station has been invaded and conquered by aliens from the sun calling themselves the Knights of Hykon. The rest of the X-Men are in the Danger Room training when Charles gets the message and tells them there is a crisis.

MY TAKE: This was a fairly weak entry into the ‘First Class’ series in my opinion. While the base plot is not bad, it is simplistic and the situation is overdone. I like Storm and using her as a focus for the issue was a good idea but she definitely needed a stronger story and situation to back her up.

My biggest problem with the issue was the dated and stilted dialogue and the one note 70s-era villain. While I never really read much with the Sisters of the Dragon, this read like a bad rip off of the stereotypical ‘sister’ speech patterns. I know this is meant to be set in the past but making a comic so obviously dated is just painful to read.

They had some real problems with the keeping the script and the art together as well. There were several scenes where Colleen’s dialogue was given to Jean and vice-versa. You can figure out what was going on through the speech balloons but it is distracting and confusing on a first read through. I kept wondering if the ladies mysteriously changed clothes and hair colors somewhere halfway through the issue.

It also did not sit well with me to see Ororo referencing her time with the Black Panther as a child. I know it was retconned to have happened but it was never referenced during the time when the comic was set. It felt like pandering a bit. Plus Jean was never shown to have much in the way of hand-to-hand skills and yet here she becomes a powerful fighter. You have to be careful in these comics not to alter the established history of the comics. I do not remember S.H.I.E.L.D. having any particular problem with Storm during this time either.

In the end this was an issue plagued with dated speech and characters and filled with mistakes both in continuity and with the actual plot and art. Luckily the next story, that has been running through all of the issues to date, looks promising. The Knights of Hykon have definite potential and I have been waiting for an issue with the full team since the beginning. Hopefully it will avoid the miss steps from this story.

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… For my second review this week we have ‘X-Men Forever’.  Hope you enjoy it.

X-Men Forever#9 (preview)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Steve Scott and Peter Vale
Inker: Al Vey and Gary Martin

NOTE: Wolverine appears only in a one-panel flashback in this issue

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with ten Sentinels attacking a village in South America. They quickly detect the X-Men and change to their primary targets. Being out numbered ten to five, the X-Men pull out all the stops. Rogue quickly destroys one as do Jean and Kitty. Kurt teleports to help those on the ground and Beast goes to join him.

Meanwhile back at the factory, Zigfried Trask is confronting Fury at gun point over her grandfather’s death. Nick tries to talk her down but she shoots him instead.

The X-Men’s fight has taken a bad turn with both Beast and Kitty nearly being killed. Jean decides to end it and takes out the rest of the Sentinels with a Phoenix-like telekinetic attack. The rest of the team is either impressed or scared, or both.

Ziggy Trask starts to tell a wounded Fury about what happened to her family after he and Logan killed her grandfather. How they tried to regain honor to their family name.

Back with the X-Men, they are cleaning up after the battle. Kitty has phased inside one of the robots and seen that they were mostly hollow with construction capabilities. But whatever they were making is long gone.

S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives in the nick of time to save Fury. Daisy repels down from a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport and disarms the doctor. Before they can question her, the transport is blown up and she uses the distraction to escape. Fury prevents Daisy from going after her. The X-Men return triumphant even though they do not have a prisoner. But they have stopped the immediate threat and are prepared for the next round.

Zigfried Trask has made it to the jungle where she is being chased. She falls and flashes back to her childhood. She was mostly raised by her mother while her father worked. She remembers a trip to see him in the factory where they made the Sentinels. Of course it was the X-Men that ruined her happy childhood and she never forgave them. She gets back to her feet in time to hear a robotic voice.

We get a brief glimpse into the Consortium as they lament their loss. The two men want to take action but the woman is urging caution. She stands and we see it is Mrs. Trask, Zigfried’s mother.

Back in the jungle the doctor is surrounded by robots but they turn out to be the end result of her Sentinel project and loyal to her. She now has a army to present to her mother and use against the X-Men.

MY TAKE: This issue read like it was two separate and unrelated comics. One was an issue of the classic X-Men complete with Claremont dialogue and giant Sentinels and the other was an issue of Fury and the Howling Commandos. I have been somewhat leery of the idea of putting Nick on the squad and this issue points out, pretty plainly, that he does not really fit.

Do not get me wrong, I like Nick Fury as a character and I think he can be very interesting, but he just sticks out here too much. I can not think of a single X-Men that would need to be rescued from, or even be threatened by, a scientist with a revolver. He is also saved by some of his troops most of whom immediately die. It is almost like having X-Men’s version of the Red Shirts.

The mutant band did not have a whole lot to do in this issue. They defeated the Sentinels but that whole scene seemed to run out of steam. It read like Claremont got lazy and did not want to have to figure out how to beat the rest of the robots and just had Jean do it all at once. While the implications on her power are interesting, we have already seen the Phoenix enough that it is overdone.

I did not really see a need for all the back story on Zigfried either. I do like to have a well-rounded villain but most of her information was merely a recap for those not familiar with the Trasks. Since the audience for the book is people that want to revisit X-Men history it seemed extraneous. The revelation that Mrs. Trask is a member of the Consortium is the most interesting bit of information we get.

Once again, while this is not a bad issue, it just does not feel like a complete or well-put-together story. What screen time the X-Men get is handled well, although I am still not sold on Kitty. However, if Claremont wanted to write a Nick Fury series I am sure he could have. Since this is a X-title the mutants should be the focus and driving force of the stories with everyone and everything else taking a back seat. Hopefully, Fury has learned his lesson on field work and will be back at base in the next issue.

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… Things are hectic this week and will be next week too, leading up to my wedding and honeymoon. But I am going to try to get through the three reviews for the week starting with ‘Uncanny X-Men’.  Hope you enjoy.

Uncanny X-Men #516 (preview)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Greg Land
Inker: Jay Leisten

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Scalphunter waking up in the dark as a captive. He is suspended over a pit filled with Predator Xs. His captors offer Greycrow a choice; do a job for them or be eaten. His answer is obvious.

On Utopia, Magneto’s appearance has caused quite a stir. He is confronted by Xavier but he addresses Scott. Magneto takes off his helmet as a show of faith. Xavier takes him up  on the lack of mental protection and attacks his mind. Magneto begins to fight back but is quickly overwhelmed. Scott steps in and orders Charles to stand down and the Professor backs off.

Back with Scalphunter we learn that his task is to deliver the Predator X creatures. Magneto reacts to the confrontation by falling to his knees and offering praise to Scott.

We then see Scalphunter is given a C-17 plane that has the monsters loaded on board. He is ordered to deliver the Predator Xs to Utopia and he is told that he was chosen because he is a mutant. The leader says that they do not want to kill mutants but rather save mutantkind.

Scott orders Betsy to keep a watch on Magneto’s thoughts and gives the man a chance to talk. He relates his events with the High Evolutionary and getting his powers back due to a machine built from the Sleeping Celestrial. But the process was a dead end and the equipment was destroyed in the process.

Magneto returned to Earth since Scott had united the remaining mutants and Magneto wanted to make sure they can go out with dignity. Scott relates the story of the first mutant birth, Hope. They are interrupted by Wolverine reporting a problem.

They have detected Scalphunter’s plane and he is requesting an emergency landing and sanctuary. Scott does not trust the former Marauder and orders the Kurt to check out the plane while the others get the noncombatants to safety. Kurt sees the Predators and immediately returns telling Scott to shoot the plane down. The issue ends with Cyclops ordering everyone to battle stations.

MY TAKE: This was a decent if underwhelming issue that dealt with two interlocking, but separate, stories. Magneto’s return is interesting but not a very engaging plot. The character development is logical but  a little bit surprising. He has always been a proud and arrogant man and seeing him on his knees and surrendering so easily just did not work very well.

The plot was basic and a kind of boring in fact. We have Scalphunter being given his mission and Magneto returning and seemingly joining the fold. But that is very little action for an entire issue. Most of the space was taken up by dialogue but not much was said that was important. Several pages were simply recaps of recent developments and many others had few panels.

I am also not sure about the sudden change in Xavier’s personality. He has always been a voice of reason and friendship and yet here he attacks first and without any true provocation. I understand that the bullet to his head changed him, but he and Magneto have always been able to talk. To see Charles refuse to believe anything but the worse of his old friend was jarring.

I am glad that Magneto has returned however. He is a very complex and original character and there are some great stories that can come from his involvement in the new status quo. If nothing else it gives the X-Men another power player and someone that can compel loyalty and obedience from some of the more radical remaining mutants. Still I would have preferred his return be a bit more in tune with his established personality.

The side plot with the new group and the Predator Xs has potential although I am not sure how much a threat five creatures will be to an island of mutants. Still it will likely lead to a more action-oriented issue next month and hopefully an bit more information on team that captured Scalphunter and set the plot into motion.

In the end this was a pretty well-written issue but one where not much happened. After I finished reading it my reaction was more in the line of ‘Is that all?’ then anything else. While it is nice to give Magneto’s return proper respect, more needed to occur in the story for it to be good. Hopefully with this setup out of the way we can get back into some more complex stories.

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.

I first noticed Jerry Lando through the Penciljack Forums while trying to recruit artists for a webcomic project I’ve been trying to launch (dpk431.com).

But it was a series of Wolverine pages he was posting on the forums that really made me sit up and take notice.

At first I thought them pages for an upcoming Wolverine one shot, but soon discovered that, like me, Jerry was hoping to break into comics.

Unlike me, Jerry is an artist and unbelievably talented.

I quickly offered to highlight some of his artwork on the Wolverine Files so I could claim a brush with greatness once the whole world sees how good he is.

Of course, that was several weeks ago before I got bogged down with work and a weekly commute from Maryland to New York City.

So to avoid any more lengthy delays, let me present a page of Jerry Lando’s terrific work.

As for Jerry, he is a Kubert School grad, and has now completed five pages of the ‘Wolverine: Black Rain‘ script. And you can see all of those pages in order on the Penciljack Forums and Photobucket.

So please make Jerry feel welcomed.

Now if only I can get Jerry to work on my Wolverine script and webcomic!

DiG…

UPDATE: Additional discussion of Jerry Lando’s art style and excellence can be found at the Wolverine Files Forum.

News from the Baltimore Comic-con and a sneak preview…

• CBR: Mondo Marvel Panel with Aaron, Claremont, Bendis, Fraction (details)
• CBR: ‘X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas’ #2 Sneak Preview (details)

Probable and Possible (Dark) Wolverine Appearances in stores on 10/14/09…
–Uncanny X-Men #516 (preview): Magneto Return!!!
–Uncanny X-Men: First Class #4 (preview): Storm takes center stage…
–X-Men Forever #9 (preview): Secret History of the Sentinels…

Wolverine appeared in THREE TITLES last week (October 7, 2009), the first reviewed by our very own jrpbsp, ‘Astonishing X-Men’ #31…

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

X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas #3 (preview)
Writer: Jeff Parker
Pencils: Carlo Pagulayan
Inker: Jason Paz

Nothing special in this Agents of Atlas-driven crossover.

I can’t seem to get excited about this supergroup from the 1950s and the X-Men characterizations by Jeff Parker seem to fall flat. And as usually happens in these crossovers, the X-Men are shown to be fighting like amateurs instead of the precision military team that I prefer from Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run.

Not bad, all in all, but as I say, nothing special either…

X-Babies #1 (preview)
Writer: Greg Schigiel
Illustrator: Jacob Chabot

I am done, officially done, with Wolverine crap like this. I used to take pride in collecting every single Wolverine appearance known to mankind, no matter how peripheral, but this issue is the epitome of why I can’t keep doing it anymore. And, it seems, the story takes place in continuity.

Perhaps I need to seriously consider the extremes of my Wolverine fanaticism.

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… My store did not get X-Men vs Agents of Atlas so only one review this week. Without further adieu, here’s ‘Astonishing X-Men’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Astonishing X-Men #31 (preview | thread)
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciler: Phil Jimenez
Inker: Andy Lanning

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Agent Brand and a S.W.O.R.D. team infiltrating one of the Brood’s living ships. Unfortunately, they were expected and the aliens had already destroyed their lab and immediately attack the invaders. The S.W.O.R.D. agents are forced to make a retreat back to their ships. Brand is the last one to leave and her vehicle gets blasted as she flies away.

Brand attempts to repair the damage but cannot get the ship to slow down and eventually has to eject. The escape pod is still going extremely fast as it hits the atmosphere. U.S. Space Command attempts to shoot it down but cannot get a lock due to the speed and erratic flight pattern. They are forced to call the X-Men since the projected landing is in San Francisco.

Cyclops takes the message and pulls the team together including Beast, Wolverine, Storm and Armor. They take a brand-new rescue plane that is untested. They do not have time to put a plan together but Emma is able to reach Abby and see that she is unhurt. Once they are close enough, Storm hops out and does what she can to slow and straighten the pod but the thin air limits her.

Beast mans a grapple gun and manages to snag the vehicle on the second try. Wolverine jumps out but gets thrown by a broken piece of the pod. Armor catches him and tosses him back and this time he successfully opens the cockpit and grabs Brand. Beast detaches the line and reels them in with Armor, Logan and Abby matching a human chain.

Storm is then able to redirect the crashing vehicle to a safe landing site. On the ground Emma spots one of the dead students from Xavier’s, Laurie. But when she goes to confront the girl, ‘Laurie’ turns into a huge, organic Sentinel.

MY TAKE: This was a good and fast-paced issue with some strong action and tense situations. There is little enough plot but that is to be expected considering the compressed time frame for the story. While Agent Brand is not a personal favorite, she is strong here with some good dialogue and smart characterization. Unfortunately, it was also filled with some very convenient happenings and several very unlikely or impossible scenarios.

I think this is a strong beginning to the next arc with the dual enemies of the Brood and some sort of bio-Sentinel. Although ironically we have seen both of these recently, it is a nice blending of different science fiction genres. I do hope we get some explanation about how the new Sentinel is formed though.

I also enjoyed the general tension of the issue. Giving such a small time to react makes actually conveys a sense of urgency to the reader. I know I was flipping pages quickly, something only helped by the generally fast-paced dialogue. But pretty much every character still gets a moment to shine and a line of very witty dialogue. Wolverine’s comment to Brand was one of the best.

I am glad this is taking place prior to Utopia and is not being set on the island. It is unlikely that in the current settings that the U.S. Government would ever be willing to work with the mutant team. Of course that brings up an interesting point about how the new status quo actually limits stories, which is supposed to be against Marvel’s direction, but no need to go into that.

However, there are a number of other problems with the issue as well. The odds of a random object falling to the West Coast of America has to be a million to one and to hit San Francisco? That is so coincidental as to boggle the mind. There has to be a better way to bring Agent Brand into the issue. Not to mention the arrival of a vehicle that can save her just a couple of days prior. A jet that we have not seen before.

The rescue itself is more or less impossible. At the speeds they are supposedly traveling you can not simply open a door on a jet and step outside. The wind would be like hitting a brick wall at a hundred miles an hour. Storm and Armor might be able to protect themselves but Wolverine would be blown away. He would not be able to hold himself in place let alone grab Abby. Not to mention the suction when the cabin was breached in the first place.

There is also no way you can get six people from different locations into a jet and take off  securely in six minutes and still have time to in act a rescue operation. It took a full minute to make the initial phone call after all. It would have made more sense to say sixteen but even that would be pushing it. I understand and even applaud the use for short time for tension but it should be done realistically.

In the end this was an entertaining and fast-paced set up for the next story arc. It looks to be fun and action-packed run. I just hope a little more effort is put into making it believable. If you have to invent or shoe horn the situation for a story then the plot should be changed or at least reworked a bit. Still the next issue looks to be good and I hope that Wallflower might actually return in some form.

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.