Written by Daniel Way
Pencils by Steve Dillon
Cover by Joe Quesada
Instead of drawing covers for this colossal disappointment, Quesada should first finish the last issue of ‘Daredevil: Father’ rather than continue his ‘lead-by-example’ approach to lateness.
This series isn’t good. Any ideas to that effect I had before were illusions created because it wasn’t as bad as the first story arc in ‘Wolverine’ proper. Way has two good ideas for where Logan’s past should go. They are genuinely good and probably explain why his pitch was accepted. Unfortunately, his execution is pitiful dross.
The first idea worth noting is Way’s attempt to flesh out Logan’s past concerning his black ops days. We always got hints that Logan was an evil guy but never got to really see any of it. Now we have, but along with all that is a lot of complex and overtly cryptic plotting that just seems to keep adding layers of ridiculous continuity complication. That is the last thing Logan needed, Way should have taken his good idea and used it to help make Logan’s past more, not less, accessible. I’m sure the reader who’s got a flow chart of all the past Logan flashbacks and continuity retcons love this, because that person gets to add more crap to his chart, but I am just getting bored with it.
The second good idea Way had was to try and make Logan vulnerable again. For too long, Logan had been used in other books as the plot device that got everyone out of trouble. Any and all tension in his fights had long since dried up. Way tried to instill that tension and thrill back into Wolverine comics. Great idea, really, so why was Steve Dillon cast to draw this book? His action scenes are generic at best, although banally simple is the more correct phrase, so when Way writes in a four issue fight scene, the book suffers from dull art.
Another problem with Way’s execution is the nostalgia rich way he went about making Logan vulnerable—Carbonadium (a made-up chemical that halts healing factors, how convenient). It was trite when it was first thought up and its incubation has done nothing for it. This is the material the Muramasa blade is made of. Rather than make Logan feel vulnerable through good writing and a slow process of building atmosphere and real tension, Way has settled for just toting out some goofy sword made of some goofy metal.
Logan has indestructible and super-sharp claws! Let’s make up a metal that is even more indestructible and super-sharp, and then we can make a sword out of it because a guy with built-in claws could always use a sword! Sigh.
The story for the issue is that Logan gets naked, steals a U.S. Coast Guard boat, and goes to see Jubilee and Maverick in NY at a de-powered mutant clinic. For some reason, Dugan (the SHIELD agent sidekick to Nick Fury) immediately knows that it was Logan who stole the Coast Guard boat simply by hearing that one was stolen. Pretentious and lifeless story…killing me…get…help…before…arggghhhh
Rating - 4
