On the Rack: Death of Wolverine 3 Review

It’s been a couple of weeks but Death of Wolverine is back from hiatus and yes, my little Wolverine-loving heart is breaking. In case you missed my review of issue one, you can find it here . When the series started I was terrified that it would lose the impact of the first issue. Charles Soule established the tone for the event on the first page; it is dark and morose, it is as much about Wolverine’s last days as it is his laments. The series could easily have taken a turn for the worse as it progressed, but Wolverine continues to question his life while fighting his imminent death and issue three is just as strong as issue one.

Fair warning, I will now discuss some of the events of issues one and two, so if you haven’t read them SPOILER ALERT! So far the series has brought back Nuke, Viper, Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Kitty Pride. Wolverine has revisited Canada and Madripoor. His life is not flashing before his eyes, he is forced to reexamine it. Soule has reached into the Marvel cannon, found Wolverine’s soul and laid it out as he retells his last days. The series has paid fitting tribute to Wolverine’s vast and complex life and this issue is no exception. As he hunts for the person who has put the contract out on him, Logan encounters even more old foes and faces even more of his past. The reveal at the end of the issue brings the entire story full circle, and also ties back to one of Wolverine’s defining moments.

What I really love about the series is it hasn’t pandered to the fans. The references to Wolverine’s past tie together his mythology without explaining or defining their relevance. If you haven’t read the relevant books, then you may not know certain characters or you may not understand the significance of their appearance, but that’s ok. The story is written in such a way that even the uninitiated can enjoy it. Without defining what makes them villains, each character is sufficiently threatening and plays a pivotal role in the mystery of who is hunting Wolverine.

On top of Soule’s story, Steve McNiven’s art is also consistent. While I have a couple of complaints; eye lines that don’t quite line up, some action panels that look a bit stiff, but overall McNiven convincingly delivers an emotive and distressed Wolverine. The book has some gore and some real beauty and visually carries the emotional weight of the story. The layouts became much more dynamic in this issue, using unique shapes and placing large figures amongst the panels to displace the action. In essence the story is about Wolverine coping with his mortality, and by literally centering him in the middle of the action, McNiven emphasizes that the story is as much about Logan’s journey as it is about his death.

Even though it’s been plagued with production issues and not rolling out the way it was intended, Death of Wolverine is still a hugely successful Marvel event. It’s reexamination of Wolverine’s life is fitting as it not only brings closure to the character, but also emphasizes his impact on the Marvel universe. Inevitably, that is what Marvel is trying to achieve; the very nature of The Death of Wolverine is to generate buzz by killing of a significant and pivotal character. The good news is that they have chosen a creative team that is creating an emotional connection through the story and paying fitting tribute to one of Marvel’s best loved characters.