Wolverine Wednesday #90
Ultimate Wolverine #12
Writer: Chris Condon | Artist: Alessandro Cappuccio | Colourist: Bryan Valenza | Letters: Cory Petit
With this issue, Condon and Co serve up another stellar story. It is even more impressive when you consider that we are now in the countdown towards Endgame. It still very much feels like its own thing. What made the storytelling stand out at this point is that Condon is still world-building. What makes this significant is the face the tie-in is on the horizon, and remember this series was extended to sixteen issues. So is he adapting the story to match up with Endgame, or is he pushing the boundaries of stuff he wouldn’t have been able to do originally? Either way, the readers are being treated to a well-crafted story. As I always mention with Wolverine comics, it is so important to land a strong internal monologue. Here, Condon opens the issue with one. Yes, most comics open with one, but I always feel that with Wolverine, it sets the whole tone. It dates back to his very first mini-series, and Condon has always had a handle on it. Wolverine is a character who easily fits into solo adventures and a team story. To date in this series we have seen plenty of the latter in recent issues. Now, for the first time, we are getting Wolverine hunting solo on the side of the good guys. I feel this is like a reward for readers for sticking with the story from the jump. Looking back to the start of the series, it was very dark, intriguing, and driven by the mystery around our titular character. Over the last four or so issues, the action has definitely ramped up. And when Wolverine cuts loose, Cappuccio is there to serve up brilliant visuals to match! We open on a splash page, Wolverine having just taken a skydive off a Sentinel, a Delucca effect brings him face first right into the ‘camera.’ Next, he gives us two half-splash pages. These evoke the memory of Barry Windsor Smith’s original Weapon X story, complete with breaking glass and an impaled scientist! These visual call-backs to that classic series were a theme of the early issues, so it is good to see them back as we near the end. Bryan Valenza brings a subtle colouring choice which adds to the atmosphere of the story. We have the dark and gloomy corridors of the Directorate X HQ offset with flashes of orange when Wolverine pops the claws. These flashes of orange also build as we get to the climax of the story,y revealing a character’s power set. Colossus and Magik enter proceedings, and the action goes up another notch. I really like that in Cappuccio’s renditions, you can feel the difference in size and weight as Colossus and Wolverine square off. Another good touch is using the small panels to depict their fight, blow by blow. I feel that for some with Magik’s power set and the powers of the character that Wolverine is there to save (that’s one way of dancing around a spoiler) are better suited to larger images. The story closes out with another moment where I feel Condon is rewarding the reader. Wolverine is talking about Deja Vu in regards to his reprogramming and such. But to me, it has a second meaning. Throughout the series we have had little nods and winks to the characters and their 616 counterpoints. Condon is calling those moments out here, especially with the image of two characters the story closes out with. It is a poignant moment, a moment of light amongst the darkness. I have been onboard with this series from the launch, and it has really connected with me. I was a little concerned about how the events of the Endgame tie-in would affect things. But #12 came out the same time as Endgame #1, and there was next to no crossover. Maybe things will be different next time. But with only four issues left, I don’t think all involved can mess up the landing from here.
Wolverine #14
Writer: Saladin Ahmed | Artist: Martin Coccolo | Colourist: Jesus Aburtov | Letters: Cory Petit
From #1 to now, Ahmed has had a stronger and stronger hold on putting Wolverine’s voice on the page. When something is done well, I am going to point it out in each review of each issue. And Ahmed’s internal monologues deserve that accolade. This is without doubt his strongest one yet. Perhaps it is helped by the fact that the series has been gone a while or by the fact that this feels like a soft reboot of sorts. So to lock in a strong internal monologue from the first page is great for hardcore Wolverine fans like me, but it will bring new readers closer to the roots of the character. Quick question, is the ‘Shadows of Tomorrow’ banner across all X-titles upon their return? Don’t worry, there is no big over-reaching story tying the X-books together at this point. I just think it is a poetic way of saying the X-Books are back to normal. Most are picking up where they left off, and some are completely new ones. Ahmed wastes no time launching us into a story in a way that only Wolverine can. We are then spun into a story that feels all too familiar. Mutants are still hated and hunted, so in that regard, it feels very much like the start of this series, which picked up after the end of the Krakoan Era. It just feels like after three months of stories set in an alternate reality, upon returning to normal, nothing has changed. My instinct is to say this is an editorial choice and Ahmed is doing the best with what he can. With all that in mind, he is a stronger issue than you may think from this review so far. So while it does feel familiar, it does a lot of things well. It returns to the checklist of what makes a good Wolverine story. We open up with him walking alone in the wilderness. Check! Then we have him standing up for the little guy, protecting young mutants from Government thugs. Check! Along for the ride is 90’s darling Silver Sable. Her inclusion is another feather in the bow of everything 90’s being accepted now. It is the era of fan fiction being the professionals now. It’s cool to be retro. I, for one, am all for her inclusion; it will be fun to see her fleshed out in the modern era as a supporting character. The solicits hinted at a romance angle, but there is none of that here, so that is something to develop in future issues. As the big reveal from the final page cliffhanger. In terms of artwork, this is probably the strongest issue Coccolo has brought to the table. There just seems to be more going on than in previous issues. His locations are very good for setting the scene. His background characters actually have character! His depiction of powers is well thought out and choreographed on the page. The splash page reveal of Silver Sable is very good. I applaud how he reigns in her look, steering away from her 90’s roots. It is a very clean design, popping off the page against his moody settings. There is a brilliant 6-tier page, on the diagonal, which showcases the action as Wolverine and Silver Sable team up against the previously mentioned Government thugs. Aburtov takes over the colouring duties, and the overall tone is much more in line with what I would expect from a Wolverine story compared to previous issues. I really like the Dan Panosian cove,r and without putting one artist down to build another up, I would like to see this style on the interiors. This issue is a safe but strongish start to a new arc. With all the pieces put on the playing board so far, I am looking forward to seeing how things develop. The key to it will be the story arc length.
What does 2026 have in store for The Best There Is At What He Does? Early up in January, in fact, we have Logan: Black, White and Blood. The Wolverine series from a few years back was hot and miss, but mostly entertaining. I found that when the stories tried to tie to certain moments in continuity, they weren’t as good. I’m hoping we get a wide selection of creative talent, rather than the usual faces. I know Marc Bernardin is penning a story, and I always have time for his storytelling. In March, we have a Wolverine mini-series titled Weapons of Armageddon. It ties to a Captain America event. I really like when capes cross with espionage, so I am looking forward to seeing how this goes. If it goes well, I may even check out the Captain America issues too. Obviously, Ultimate Wolverine is ending, as is the entire Ultimate line, so I am not expecting a reboot. No doubt there will be some mini series, and oneshots sprinkled through the year. Lastly, will we see Hugh Jackman return in Doomsday or maybe even Dafne Keen as X-23?
