Wolverine Wednesday #46

Wolverine #14-#15

Writer: Benjamin Percy | Artist: Adam Kubert | Colourist: Frank Martin | Letters: Cory Petit

In these two issues we were promised the resumption in rivalry between Wolverine and Solem. Instead we get Wolverine facing off against a new character with some ties to Solem which all need to be explained before we get to the showdown. Wolverine has been so action packed in recent months that the events of X of Swords seems so distant now that having Solem return was met with trepidation by me. Most annoying of all is the fact he stars on the cover to #14 and proceeds to have very little screen time in the two issues. That said it is an eye catching cover, worthy of a potentially deadly nemesis. On the subject of covers #15 is amazing. Battle damaged Wolverine renditions are always fun. The blue neon like title font and the green hues really make this pop. What makes it stand out to other battle damaged Wolverine covers is the exposed adamantium spine! It really is Kubert rolling back the years to this earlier Wolverine days. In fact one of the first ever back issues I brought had a Kubert cover with Wolverine and an adamantium exposed forearm. With the interiors Kubert brings his A game as he has done throughout this series. The inter cutting between larger pages and lots of small panels per page continues to help the story flow between exposition and action sequences. The visuals for Sevyr Blackmore (great name by the way) are very appealing. Throughout the two issues there are some pretty heavy, heavy metal themed visuals. Just look at Blackmore’s pirateship! There is a beautiful double page spread in #14 that has an almost watercolour painting feel to it. With the story as I said I would have liked a greater focus on Wolverine facing off with Solem. Adding a third character into the mix no matter how entertaining he is feels like it is ust trying to stretch the story out into more issues. With the way the series has shaped up so far there is the potential Wolvie and Solem meet next issue but with no real consequences before Percy puts a pin in things and picks them up later on down the line. Some drawbacks of the story include like I previously mentioned the ties to X of Swords. It took a bit of memory refreshing, but I got there. I think the problem was it wasn’t just calling back to what happened in Wolverine’s issues of X of Swords but the whole story arc. Also in recent months the story has been crossing over with events in X-Force. I don’t feel like this is something I can strongly complain about as it is a element I have been expecting since the launch of the series. I feel some more editors may be in order as opposed to the text pages. Quick update I didn’t read the text pages! The flashback to the origins of Solem and Blackmore’s rivalry is interesting enough. It throws you right back into that Game of Thrones feel Percy set up with his X of Swords work. the writing made you as the reader immediately slip back into this vibe. I found it odd that this story returned to Madripoor under very different circumstances to the previous visit and a lot less fanfare.  Within the two issues there is a lot of back and fourth in the story with no real answers. I am looking to at least getting some satisfactory answers next month. I can understand the need to bring in new villains. Solem and Wolverine may prove to have some kick ass confrontations in the years to come. But personally I can never see him being in the same league of the likes of Sabretooth and Omega Red for example. There most be hundreds of less than memorable villains Wolverine has faced in the last 5-10 years. Whether Solem falls into the former or the later category remains to be seen. Of course this is not a problem ust restricted to Wolverine or even X-Men comics. But the classics are the classics for a reason. As long as the stories coming up involving him are entertaining, well told and impactful, with appealing art work then the creative team are doing something right.

My Brief History With Wolverine Video Games

I have never been a massive gamer. I had a Mega Drive II, the OG Playstation and dabbled a bit in PC gaming. Oh later we had a family Nintendo Wii, but serious gamers don’t consider the a console do they? I saw the news last week of Wolverine making a return to the gaming world via the PS5 and had to touch on it.  Obviously having made the confession of not ever being a massive gamer, some titles have completely passed me by. One of my earliest memories is from ’97/98 when I went to a football tournament with my local team in Cornwall. The arcade on the campsite had either Marvel vs Capcom or X-Men vs Street Fighter. I threw a few coins in most evenings. Whilst my friends were selecting the street fighter characters I was going with Wolverine with my knowledge of the animated series. My next exposure then wouldn’t have been till I had my Playstation. When I had and enjoyed X-Men Mutant Academy and the sequel. I was just in my early days of collecting comics when these two games came out, so seeing certain issues on the loading screens was an early education of things to look out for. On the PC side of things I had X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse. It was late on in my limited gaming days but I really enjoyed what I played of it, but never really devoted much time to it. For me the high standard in Wolverine gaming is Wolverine’s Revenge. The story is written by Larry Hama, Logan is voiced by Mark Hamill and I am a mark for anything Weapon X related. So this ticked a lot of boxes for me. Add in the elements again of collecting famous covers and unlocking an array of Wolverine costumes and it was a solid 10/10 from me. I played Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on the Wii. Again a game with a good story and a similar style of play to X-Men Legends 2. The cool factor came from selecting your roster of 4 and seeing what combos you can come up with. Last but by know means least is X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A game that is far superior than the movie, even on the Wii. I have read it was a popular game on better consoles and the hidden level in a Sentinel factory sounds amazing. What I little I played of it was fun. There is a certain child like glee in thrusting the dual Wii remotes to extend Wolverine’s claws. So not being a massive gamer I do feel like I am missing out with this upcoming release. I read all the positive reviews that last Spider-Man game got so if it comes anything close to that gaming Wolverine fans are in for a blast. Perhaps I will have to research some good streamers and review it that way! Potentially though that could make me feel really old!