Writer: Jason AaronPencils: Renato Guedes
Cover by: Jae Lee with June Chung
Wolverine Goes to Hell Part 5 (of 5)
Wolverine’s in Hell. There’s nothing new here, so let’s just get to the important details. We learned last month that Thomas Logan was pulling the strings to get Wolverine down there and this issue we learn why. Now this whole conversation is awkward to begin with, since Thomas Logan was Wolverine’s first victim, but things get even more awkward when Thomas declares that he is proud of his son, and declares that he has brought honor to the Logan family. Now Logan feels very uncomfortable here, and doesn’t really know how to respond. I’m sure he’s thinking, “Is it true? Am I really just like my scumbag father?” Their conversation is interrupted when Sabretooth claims the Soulcutter, and whoever holds this sword rules the kingdom of Hell. Well Logan is having none of that, and fights him for it and is able to take it from his grasp (thanks to his bone claws). It is here that Creed loses his head (once again).
Nobody is happier to see Logan become the king of Hell than his own father. This was the plan all along. Once Wolvie realizes this, he decides that he is NOT like him and proves it by throwing the sword back and escaping with Puck. Wolverine meets his father with a claw to the face and is off, but not before making an important stop. Wolverine finds Mariko and tries to save her, but she refuses and tells him to leave her be. I’m sure this breaks Logan’s heart, but there’s no time to waste so he and Puck begin climbing out of the seemingly endless pit of Hell. Unfortunately, Puck does not make it out with Logan, but I’m sure this is not the last we’ll see of him. A bright light appears and it seems that the demon possessing Wolverine’s body has been exorcised and he is able to return, but it is apparent things are not entirely back to normal just yet.
Now there was plenty of action going on above the surface with Mystique and everyone else, but it really takes a back seat to the events in Hell. And what ABOUT the occurrences down below? For one, I was very disappointed that Sabretooth did not make it out, but not in a bad way. I really want to see him back as a major player, but this works too. There are too many loose ends to leave this story alone, and I’m confident we’ll get some closure later on. I do think that Creed coming back here would have been too predictable and I was happy with his fate. I do feel bad about Puck, but that’s only a personal preference there. I liked the fact that he becomes the new ruler in Hell as consolation.
This issue did its job as the concluding chapter. There weren’t any plot holes that stuck out and everything seemed to come into place at the end, but still left some unsolved problems to continue the story on a broader level. I wish they would have brought up Yukio and the others who were killed, but I guess there’s only so much you can fit into one story. I felt this was a solid ending to a decent to mediocre first arc, though I do believe we will get some final closure in Wolverine #5.1 next month.
…and don’t ask me about the backup story, I never read those!
i thought it was meh. expecting a little more than this. hopefully the x-men story coming up is a little better. keep up your reviews they're good.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there's SO much more they could have done with this story. I didn't think that the devil was really that much of a threat. Here's to a better story next month (not that this one was terrible, just not up to snuff imo).
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy this issue though (hence the 4/5)
Overall the entire thing became quite tedious. I mean Jason Aaron is generally a pretty decent writer with his Scalped series unfolding in an intricate style. But here the writing got sloppier and sloppier, as it went along. The backup stories went on to become the holding bin for all the characters and plot threads introduced and then abandoned such as the ridiculous band of henchmen called "The Mongrels" with ridiculous names and talents such as Cannonfoot (who kicks cannon balls with his foot) and Fire Knives (do we really need a description), introduced in the first issue and then sent off to Madripoor to Destroy a closet full of Logan's memorabilia.
ReplyDeleteThe worse offender however was the art. I have seen Guedes do some stunning stuff in the past, his run on OMAC was spectacular and was one of the reasons I picked up this series, but as the series progressed majority of the pages and panels, aside from a few splash pages looked like work more suited to an photocopied amateur indie comic.
The more I think about this issue, the more problems I see. First off, I'm not a fan of how Wolverine is drawn here. The other thing is that the story just didn't mesh well in my opinion. I think this really dragged on for too long and the story became watered down as a result. I'll admit that I did enjoy this issue at first, but questions started to arise and I didn't particularly think this was a good book after a second look.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input. I hope Scalped is good (I've heard it is), since I plan on reading it. I've had the first four trades sitting on my shelf waiting to be read for the longest time.