Wolverine #89 and #90 - Marvel

Issue #89, I didn't like at all. Well . . except for the beautiful cover by Simone Bianchi and Simone Peruzzi. Of course, part of that was because I'm not following this whole Franken-Castle storyline. But even so, had I been reading it . . I don't think that I would've missed much without this issue. The entire issue is spent with Frank and Logan going back and forth. Frank is trying to get to Daken . . to kill him. Logan doesn't want to let him. So they spend the whole issue taking pieces off of each other. And really this issue just serves to set up the story-line for the conclusion in Franken-Castle #20. I used to follow the Punisher . . a long time ago. But to me . . this whole thing just seemed kind of silly. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not following it now. This issue was brought to us by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu. With Stephen Segovia and Paco Diaz on the art. And then, in issue #90 . . it seems like this issue kind of serves as the prelude to the new Wolverine title coming soon, and Daken's own book. Most of this issue is spent with Daken trying to decide what he wants to do with his life. He's going through and contemplating on how he compares to his father . . in motivation, action, and what he wants out of his life. 'The wolf is at the door. And I am hungry. But . . it's just to easy . . my father's life is so small. So caught up in it's own gravity. There's no scope. No vision. That's why I don't even want it. I want something else . . something more.' Which is apparently what he'll go after in his own title. I know Daken has pretty much been the main character of this title for a while now, but . . I still don't feel like we know him all that much. Sure he comes across as an ego-maniacal blow-hard . . who's elevated his own importance to an almost god-like level. But . . I think there's more to this character that we haven't seen or experienced . . yet. The question is, when we start digging in to him a little more . . seeing the human side of his facade, will we be just as interested? Which, I guess, is what Marvel is betting on with the new series. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. So overall . . I liked both issues . . I guess. But I don't feel like I really would've have missed anything important if I hadn't picked them up. Neither of them really moved the story-line along all that much. But . . they were what they were . . epilogue and prologue all wrapped in to one. Daniel and Marjorie again write #90. But it featured some beautiful art by Mirco Pierfederici.

Wolverine Weapon X #15 - Marvel

Unfortunately, unlike my previous few blogs, the 2 issues in this series were completely different story-lines. So . . issue #15 wraps up the Deathlok story-line. In it, Miranda thinks that she can kill this kid in the past . . the one who becomes the Deathlok that's hunting her down, and stop all of this from happening. Logan ends up talking her down. He tries to make her believe that they may be able to change him more out of compassion than necessarily termination. It ends up being true. This Deathlok is conflicted by the 2 minds inhabiting it. The human brain is that of the child's, grown up, after leading a life of neglect, abuse and violence. It's the psychopathic part of their personality. While the Cyborg part of his brain in trying to be logical, and . . apparently has evolved to want human experience, interaction and feelings. The emotion of the situation when they spare the child is enough for that part to claim dominance in thier situation. He goes on to help the heroes defeat the rest of the Deathloks. However, we find out in the future that the General is actually the future version of this Deathlok. He cements his position by instructing Miranda, in the past, to take the boy to the same orphanage where he was abused for all those years. It was an interesting story, and kind of touching. But the whole thing had a kind of 'Terminator' type feel to it. At least to me. But it was still cool. Jason Aaron wrote it, with Ron Garney doing the art. In issue #16, the last of this series, we see Logan dealing with the loss of his friend, Kurt. This one was actually very touching. In his will, Kurt has asked Logan to delivery a piano to a church that he's donated it to . . the Church of the Holy Ascension. It sits on top of a mountain in Venezuela. As he's performing this task, pushing himself to his physical limits, he's thinking back on the various conversations he and Kurt had. I think Kurt was always trying to save his soul. And although Logan was always acting like he wasn't listening, I think more got through than he'd care to admit. In the end Logan feels better for having done it, but . . the real kicker came with the present that Kurt had left there for him when he visited the previous year. It was something from one of the very first conversations that they had, and it really brought everything around full circle. In the end, he holds the item, looking up at the Venezuelan horizon, and says . .'Ok, elf. You win.' It was very touching. Jason also wrote this one, with Davide Gianfelice doing the art. I actually started to get teary eyed near the end of this one. But don't tell anybody I said that. Again, this is the final issue in this series so that we can get ready for the launch of the Wolverine-family of books next month.

Wolverine Origins #50 - Marvel

Next month not only does Wolverine restart his own book, but . . he's about to have his own family of books also. There's the solo book, plus Daken's title. Not to mention Laura, X-23's title. Plus the myriad mini-series and one shots that he'll be involved in. The first being Wolverine: Road to Hell. So, it seems that this issue was a way of Logan kind of clearing up his past before he moves on to all of that. We saw last issue that he went out to the woods to get away from everything, but when Nick Fury shows up, and mentions that it's his birthday . . all of his old programming seems to kick in. But as Logan's discovered lately, not only does he have the programming of Weapon X to worry about, but . . he's also got everything that Romulus has drilled into his head over the years. What he comes to realize this issue, thanks to the influence of all the various women that he's fallen in love with over the years . . the truly bright moments that he's had . . what he learns is that the future is forever changing. It's a blank canvas written to be drawn. And if he keeps looking to his past before making his decisions for the future, he's going to end up in the same place he's always been. Logan has decided that it's time to change his path. Maybe not a lot, but . . even a little bit counts. Past actions do not define future behavior. Unless you let it. And Logan has decided that he's tired of falling into that trap. The main thing I'm going to miss about this book is Daniel Way's thought provoking stories. I'm sure he'll end up someplace else, but . . it won't be here. That's kind of sad. I've really enjoyed his stories over the last couple of years. Will Conrad steps in for the art this issue. This has been a great series. And we've learned a lot about Logan through it. It's a shame it's reached it's end.

Wolverine #88 - Marvel

Again . . unfortunately, I didn't really like this book. First of all . . I think this whole Franken-Castle thing is a bit insane. I mean . . I can understand why Daken killed Frank . . I guess. But to think that someone went to the trouble of putting him back together? That part kind of stumps me. Anyways, for whatever reason . . they did. And now he's carrying on his mission looking like a reject from a Bela Lugosi movie. Or maybe a Terminator movie. And now, for some reason, he thinks he can hunt down and take on Daken. The guy who killed him and chopped him up. I don't see it happening. Daken and Frank duke it out for most of the issue, until their fight puts them in the way of a mother and child. Then we see a little bit of the old Frank shining through for a second. That's when he uses the distraction to disappear into the subway tunnels and lose Daken. Although I'm sure if he tried Daken could find him . . from his scent alone. The other problem I have with this one is that, obviously, I don't follow any of the Punisher books, so . . I won't be picking up parts 2 and 4 of this story-line. And . . I don't really care. But I do want to get the last few issues of this series. Anyways, this story is by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu, with art by Stephen Segovia and Paco Diaz. The did look pretty good. I just didn't get into the story all that much. Oh yeah, and the beautiful cover is by Simone Bianchi.

Wolverine Origins #49 - Marvel

This is it . . the next to the last issue of this book. And it appears that after everything that Logan went through, he's decided to go back to his beginnings and start all over again. And with this repeat of the cycle . . something that he's done over and over again, he's also decided to start anew . . forge a different path. There's only one problem . . his Weapon X programming. All the programming and deprogramming that's been done to him over the years . . as he's trying to change paths, it begins to fight back. He's been doing this . . repeating his cycle over, and over, and over again for almost a century now. So it would be trivializing it to say that it's ingrained. Actually . . it's who he is. Whether he wants to accept it or not isn't really the point. Whether he can change it or not is. And his old world isn't going to let go of him without a fight. He's haunted by many ghosts this issue including Nick Fury, Daken, Romulus, Sabretooth, Bando Saburo, Itsu . . and they all seem to be fighting against him . . antagonizing him . . ultimately, controlling him. At the end of the issue, he seems to come out of his haze to discover that he's been repeatedly stabbing the real Nick Fury. Or at least . . that's what it looks like. I guess we'll have to wait until the next issue . . the final issue, to see what's really going on. I thought this was a great story by Daniel Way, with some incredible art by Will Conrad. This has been my favorite Wolverine book for quite a while now. So I'm really sad to see it go. However, there's a whole lot of stuff on the horizon, so . . maybe I'll find a new favorite. Also . . this is a beautiful cover by Simone Bianchi.

Wolverine Weapon X #14 - Marvel

Now this little time-travelling drama, I thought, was a bit more confusing that the last post. We find out that the main Deathlok that is causing so much problem in the past is this psychopath who was born and raised in Dunwich Sanatorium. Or . . so he's been led to believe. Anyways, Roxxon finds him and recruits him for their Deathlok program. I'm sorry, they call them Peaceloks. Yeah! Right! Anyways, for 20 year this guy was a killing machine, and now . . now he works for Roxxon. Of course they had to kill him and turn him into a cyborg, but . . his consciousness is still in there fighting with his computer controls. Anyways, long story short, he's in the past trying to kill his list of targets, while Wolverine is trying to stop him. Wolverine's got the help of some of his pals, plus . . there's a woman, Miranda, that seems to be getting visions of the future and knows where the Deathlok's are going to strike. But this time she gets a new vision of the future and finds this psychopath before he was turned into a Deathlok, and is still just a kid. She's threatening to kill him, which would stop this guys rampage. However, I have to ask, if he was born and raised in the Sanatorium, why does she find the kid a Youth Development Center? Anyways, this story bounces back and forth from the future to the present quite a bit. Which makes it all more than a little confusing. I know that the ultimate goal is for Roxxon to achieve their world-wide supremacy, but . . it seems like there's more that's going on than just that. Hopefully Jason Aaron and Ron Garney will wrap up this story-line next issue so that we can then head into the final issue unencumbered. I liked this title, but . . I'm glad that we're going down to just one Wolverine book. At least . . for now. We'll get a little respite before the entire line is unrolled. 'The future's so bright I gotta' wear shades.'

Wolverine #87 - Marvel

This was really just a story about a day in the life of Daken. Yes he's lamenting about Wolverine beating him at the game to acquire Romulus' kingdom, but . . I think he already know that Logan had him beat right from the very beginning. Plus . . Romulus wanted Logan to be the heir. Daken was really nothing more than a distraction. Something to make Logan work for it a little bit harder. To make his goal for the prize seem like it was more of his own decision. But we know otherwise. Anyways, this issue gives us a tale about Daken wandering the streets of Rome. And in a city such as this, he's targeted by the hunters . . both seen and unseen. First he's approached by a pick-pocket. One that Daken quickly dissuades from trying her craft. But he also gives her a little lecture on being the hunter and being the prey. By the end . . she wants to stay with him. But he doesn't have time for the pettiness of street urchins. He's then approached by a more accomplished hunter. Someone who's looking to drag him in with a little flirting and shyness. Of course Daken sniffs them both out . . and dismisses them both out of frustration. It was an interesting tale. A little boring, but . . interesting. Unfortunately I think it was just filling space before the Frankencastle cross-over in the next 2 issues. Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu wrote the story, with some nice looking art from Meirco Peirfederici. I assume this was some of his first work, but . . it was pretty nice looking.

Wolverine #86 - Marvel

This was an interesting book, but . . I should've read this issue before I read Wolverine Origins #48. When I read #48 I felt like I had missed something. But . . it didn't really matter because you knew what was happening anyways. But in this issue we see the big throw-down with Romulus and Daken on one side, and Wolverine and Skaar on the other. They go at it for a while until Cloak pulls Logan out. Romulus and Daken had taken off and if Wolverine would've stuck around he just would've had to explain to the authorities about all the damages. But when Romulus and Daken take off together, it isn't long before Daken turns on him. Daken knows that Romulus' empire was always destined to be Logan's. And for that . . he hates his father. No matter what Daken did, it was always going to be Logan's for that taking. So he decided that the least he could do was rob Logan of the opportunity to kill Romulus. And the best way to do that was to do it himself. He hurts him pretty bad, but of course Romulus has a healing factor. I think he just wanted to take him apart piece by piece. But before he could deliver the killing blow . . Logan and Cloak whisked him away. And to see what they did after that . . either read Wolverine Origins #48, or . . just peruse my entry just a few blogs back. It doesn't really matter which way I read it. This chapter isn't that pivotal to the next one. But . . it just would've been a little more cohesive for me. Oh well! This issue was written by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu, with art by Stephen Segovia. It was an ok issue. For what it was. You obviously bought it if you've been following this. But if you didn't . . you really didn't miss much. Not anything that was important enough to go out and look for.

Wolverine Origins #48 - Marvel

Even though this issue really brings about the end of this story-line . . you just know that this isn't the last we've seen of Romulus or Daken. Logan takes Romulus up to the Howlett estate, in Canada, because this is where it all started. Where James/Logan was born. And where his destructive path was created. He makes an attempt to kill him, with the Muramasa blade, but instead banishes him into the Darkforce dimension. But you have to ask yourself, this is a pretty strong-willed and resourceful guy. So . . how long do you really think that Cloak is going to be able to keep him here? But . . that's a battle for future issues. Anyways, Logan has decided that in order to change things . . the future, his destiny, whatever . . he has to get off this path where he thirsts for revenge. If he's learned nothing else from Romulus it's that that path never ends. And it causes a whole lot of heartache along the way. Which is something he's learned from the Silver Samurai also. 'When you allow your rage to take over . . your balance is destroyed. The balance in your mind. The balance in your heart. Fight for what you love, Wolverine . . not for what you hate.' Anyways, once he puts Romulus in the cabinet, he then goes after Daken. It looks like he's going to kill him, but . . in the end we find out that he's simply removed his claws . . his connection to his father, and Romulus. I know this isn't the end of the story, but . . it does wrap it up for now. And I think Daniel Way and Will Conrad did a great job with it. Now this series, as well as the other Wolverine books will be wrapping up in the next month or 2 . . #50 is the end of this series, #90 of Dark Wolverine and #16 of Weapon X. It appears that there's going to be a Wolverine family of comics out in September. They'll be starting with Wolverine: Road to Hell, and then followed with the relaunch of his own book, as well as Daken: Dark Wolverine and X-23. So, apparently, when they say Wolverine family of books . . they mean the family part literally. And I'm sure, somewhere down the line, we're going to have another Romulus story-line, or mini-series. It's inevitable.

Wolverine Weapon X #13 - Marvel

To me . . this story has a type of Terminator feel to it. Basically we've got these Deathloks that have come back from the future and they have a list of people that they've been sent to kill. 20 some years in the future. We don't know why, or how these deaths will affect things. From our limited views of the future, all we really know is that this has something to do with Roxxon. Anyways, there's some 'heroes' on the list, like Cap, Bucky and Logan, but for the most part they're all just normal people. Except for the one woman that's pregnant. But there's also a woman, Miranda Bayer, that is somehow connected to these events. In the future she's one of the soldiers that is actively fighting the Deathloks. But in the present she's been getting visions of the people in that time that are important to her. Or important to the chain of events. So she's been helping the 'heroes' get the people the Deathloks are targeting to safety. Also there's one more guy in this mix. A Dr Heimerdinger. Apparently he was commissioned by Norman Osborn, when he was in charge, to try to figure out ways to animate the corpses of dead soldiers. He had some limited success, but his trials weren't moving fast enough for Osborn. So he was let go. Now he's been relegated to a waste facility for road-kill, and he's been doing his experiments on animals. Anyways, Logan takes out one of the Deathloks by removing it's head and brings it to the Dr to try to figure out how to disarm it, or at least turn it off. But, while the Dr recognizes his work, he's amazed at how much more advanced this system is than what he's so far designed. But it's all moot as the Deathlok's corpse reanimates and then kills the Dr. When they all regroup, they decide that Miranda is now their key target. But the Deathlok that comes after her seems to be a synthesis of some sort. It now has Tony's repulsor technology, and . . it's also got laser claws like the Weapon X soldiers that Logan fought. So now I'm thinking, is this connected to those Blackguard soldiers from the first story-arc? They were created by Roxxon with stolen Weapon X plans. Maybe these guys are like the next evolution of that. Well . . 20 years evolved. I like what Jason Aaron is doing with this story here. But it really does feel like a Terminator episode to me. Ron Garney and Morry Hollowell do the art. I thought there were a lot of Wolverine books out there, but . . with Wolverine Origins coming to an end . . this one should be more in the spotlight.

Wolverine #900 - Marvel

This was an ok book . . for what it was. It had some bright spots, and some boring ones. I just take exception to this whole issue #900 gimmick. I haven't bought in to any of the other ones, and I don't really understand why they can't just call it a Giant-Sized, or Annual or something. It's a gimmick and I don't like gimmicks. It serves no purpose, and has no affect on the book. Other than having the #900 icon splashed across the top corner. Oh yeah . . whoop-de-frickin-hoo . . they want to be the first ones to publish an issue #900. And yes, I know this isn't the first one. Ok . . I'm done with my rant. Sorry! Anyways, the first issue of this story was great. It was by CB Cebulski and David Finch. It gave us a little insight into Wolverine's character. The second story was . . ok. I liked the story, but wasn't thrilled with the art. Dean Motter gives us a story about Logan's role as the Black Dragon in Chinatown. That was determined in that whole Manifest Destiny mini-series . . in case you missed it. Logan's kind of a god-father. Greg Scott did the art. In the next story, by Todd DeZago and Jason Craig, we go back to the days of the Morlocks. It was a decent visit. It was nice to see Marrow again. And I thought Jason did a pretty decent job with the art. He's definitely got potential. Next we get a little down time with Logan and his buddy, Chet. He's the friend we never heard of. Turns out he's a mutant, but his powers are only to dampen others within a 10 foot radius. Logan likes to use him to actually get drunk. Marc Bernardin writes it, with Pow Rodrix doing the art. This is another artist that shows a lot of potential. In the next story, Logan helps out a kid and a mother in an abusive relationship. It was touching. Predictable, but cute. It's by Matt Yocum and Jake Bilbao. And then . . we start into the reprints. First we're given a Wolverine / Spider-man story from Amazing Spider-man Extra #2. It's called Birthday Boy, and it's by Zeb Wells and Paolo Rivera. And then we're given a Jeph Loeb / Ed McGuinness story from Wolverine #50. Wolverine has a dream about the Hulk. Which was kind of a let down. And finally we're given a quick, no dialogue story about Logan when he first got out of the Weapon X compound. We're talking immediately after he broke out. He has no clothes on, and there's tubes sticking out of him. The reason there's no dialogue is because he's in that 'primal-rage' mode. Anyways, he comes across a family, that he could've easily taken out, but instead he goes for the bigger threat . . a wolf-pack descending upon them. At the end he still considers the family . . but then he turns and walks away. It's by Karl Bollers and Stephen Segovia. I think Stephen's work is amazing. He also did that Manifest Destiny series. Like I said, overall . . I thought the book was ok. It had some highs and lows. And it was $4.99. But, for having 104 pages of art . . I guess I can't complain all that much.

Wolverine Origins #47 - Marvel

Well . . Logan's plan involving Romulus is starting to gain momentum and is coming together. At the end of last issue Logan stabbed Daken with the Muramasa blade. Or . . so it looked. It was really all just a ruse to draw Romulus out into the open. Romulus wants a battle between the 3 of them, to see who has the right to lead what he's built over the years. But with Logan taking Daken out of the picture, that changes Romulus' plans. So anyways, when Romulus shows himself then Skaar is supposed to grab him. However, suspecting who Logan has involved in his schemes, Romulus had already gone to Skaar to try to appeal to his Oedipus nature. It appears to have worked, but . . he also underestimated Skaar's intelligence and resolve. I don't know that Skaar necessarily who comes out on top of this conflict, but . . I think in the end, he trusts Logan more than he does Romulus. Which is saying alot because he doesn't really trust either of them. But the surprise comes when we find out that Daken's death was all just part of Logan's plan. That really wasn't a surprise, but then Daken tells Romulus most of Logan's plan and that he's decided to help Romulus. Which, I guess, really isn't that much of a surprise. Logan had to have expected some kind of betrayal from Daken like this. But, I think again, Daken doesn't really care who comes out on top. He just wants to be on the winning side . . the side left standing. So as he's betrayed Logan, I fully expect him to betray Romulus in the near future. It's just his nature. He's like a cockroach . . doing whatever it takes to survive. Even as homicidal and psychopathic as Daken's character is . . I've kind of liked him. I thought he was a nice change. But right now . . after this, I really don't care for his character anymore. There's 3 issues to go until this storyline is wrapped up. A lot could happen between now and then, and I'm sure it will. I don't even want to guess what will happen because I'm sure there's some twists and turns in store for us that we haven't expected. I think Daniel Way has done a great job with this series, all the way from issue #1. I really like the approach that he's taken to this book. This issue's art was done by Will Conrad. With an amazing cover by Simone Bianchi.

Wolverine #85 - Marvel

To me, with Daken, it seems like the one thing he hates more than anything is to be manipulated and used. I think that's why he wants to kill Norman Osborn. But he hasn't, because . . like a cat, he wants to play with his prey a little bit first. But, he keeps falling back into the same patterns. This issue Logan manipulates him masterfully, and then . . stabs him in the heart. Personally, I think Daken's problem is that he doesn't think broad enough. Sure he's got his own plans, but . . they're all pretty petty and self serving. So when someone like Logan comes along and says that he needs his help, his thought process isn't grand enough and he ends up a pawn in someone else's agenda. I know we don't know a lot about Daken, but from what we've seen so far . . he seems to fall into this scenario . . over and over. Anyways, at the end of last issue, Logan had gone to Daken and told him that he needed his help in taking down Romulus. Daken, listening but thinking of how this would all work into his plans to kill Logan, does what he does best and betrays Logan by telling Romulus everything. He thinks he's trying to manipulate the events to his advantage, but . . he's so predictable, that's what Logan expected . . and hoped for. Logan knew that when Ruby Thursday was approached by Romulus, that she gave up everything. Well . . everything that she knew. But she was feed false information. Logan also knew that in order for Romulus to buy into his manipulation he was going to have to provide him with a second source. That's where Daken comes in. Which is why, in the end, Logan has to stab Daken. First of all . . he doesn't want Daken going back to Romulus again to tell him that he's being played. And secondly . . from the outside, it looks like Logan is simply mad about his betrayal and is lashing out . . feeding into the myth that Romulus' information is correct. Leaving Logan free to follow his real plans. But we don't know what those are . . yet. This story continues next over into Wolverine Origins #47. I thought Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu did a masterful job with this story. I liked the manipulation by Logan. I expected it from Daken, but was thrilled to see Logan apply it so deftly. I also think that Stephen Segovia is turning into a very fine artist. I also think he definitely has a Mike Deodato influence to his stuff. Look at that cover an tell me you don't see it. Anyways, I thought this was a great issue and I can't wait to see how this whole storyline gets wrapped up.

Wolverine Weapon X #12 - Marvel

This one appears to be a little bit confusing, but . . I think that's the way it's supposed to be. For right now. Last issue we saw that the Deathloks had come back from the future. No one really know that they're here except for a waitress who's been having dreams, Miranda Bayer. She knows what they're up to. In the future . . 25 years in the future, where Roxxon controls pretty much everything, there's a war. A war between the resistance, led by a mysterious General, and the Deathloks. Nobody knows who the General actually is. Not even the resistance. So the Deathloks have come back into the past with a list. It's a list of all of the likely candidates for the General's identity. And they've been instructed to kill them all. However, there's a point in the past . . our present, where a Deathlok has Miranda in his sights and he's trying to determine if he has the authorization to kill her. Even though they're on a killing spree, they still have a strict rule about messing to much with the time stream. Anyways, while the Deathlok is trying to access command for authorization, there's a part of him, deep inside, that becomes really emotional. 'Kill the bitch. Gut her and cut her and drink her blood . . kill, kill, kill. Kill her! Kill her now!' But . . the voice is unheard. It to deep beneath the bio-mechanics strewn throughout it's body. But I'm thinking this Deathlok may be the weak point in the operation. It's to emotionally involved. So, in this issue, the story bounces back and forth between the present and the future . . 25 years in the futures. Kind of like a Terminator story. In fact, this story reminds me an awful lot of that franchise. But maybe that's just me. The story ends with Logan being killed in the future . . the last of the 'heroes'. And in the present . . it appears that the General is already in position and monitoring things . . from the shadows. I enjoyed Jason Aaron's story. Although it didn't seem completely original, it did have some interesting twists and turns. And I thought that Ron Garney did a great job with the art. My only concern is . . with the Origins book being cancelled with issue #50, I have to wonder just how much life this book has left in it? But for now . . I'll enjoy what I can get.

Wolverine #84 - Marvel

Last issue Daken turned down a request by the Fates of Asgard. They wanted him to bring in Ragnarok. But he refused. So this issue . . they show him what his life if really like, should he stay the course he's currently on. They present him with the opportunity to be the leader of men. To be someone that is respected and looked up to. But he soon finds out that no matter what he does . . anyone who knows him will always be suspect of his motives and desires. After he tries to lead a group that's fought their way through legion, but are now kind of stranded, Bullseye gives him the 'real' scoop. 'You talk big. You act big. But it's all an act. And everyone knows it. Everyone but you. You're a joke, Daken. You're nothing. No one will ever follow you. Or respect you. They will not follow you because they do not know what you are.' But in the end . . it was all just a dream . . a possibility brought on by the Fates. But, I don't think Daken sees it that way. I think he's really been affected by this little scenario. But we'll have to wait until next issue to see how this changes the course of his participation in this 'Siege'. And . . I'm wondering what this will do the to schemes and machinations that he's been throwing at the rest of Norman's Avengers. I thought it was an interesting issue. Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu wrote it, with Giuseppe Camuncoli doing the art. I like the book, and I love the character. I'm just not so thrilled with this whole Siege thing. I'm bored with it already. Sorry!

Wolverine Origins #46 - Marvel

Next issue we start the final story-arc of this series . . where Logan's plans to take down Romulus all come together. So for this issue . . we get a little bit of a breather, and a flash-back story that kind of clears up the whole thing about Mariko. I'm guessing, before Logan starts implementing the final parts of his plan, he wants to remember the past. He wants to remember what he lost. So he starts rereading his letters to Mariko. And he calls up Kurt, because he decides that it may be time for a bit of a confession. He's been feeling guilty this whole time because he had actually killed Mariko. While she was trying to clear up the Clan Yoshida's family name, she made a deal with Matsuo. For his effort for her family, he asked for one of her fingers in return. Logan had removed one of his hands in a fight, so apparently he wanted to return the favor. Anyways, the sword that he gave her to do it with was cover with blow-fish toxin. So she was going to die anyways. But she didn't want to go out like that. So she asked Logan to kill her. Which he did, but . . he's regretted it ever since. He's always felt that there had to have been something he could've done to save her. Plus . . he feels like he was being selfish. He feels that he really did it for himself. So that he could preserve their love forever. But, as Kurt points out to him . . she was probably doing it for the same reason. 'She was going to die anyways. Be it from poison, old age, or any number of reasons. All of which you are immune to. She died on her terms rather than yours. And you cannot handle that.' It was rather a touching issue. But on the final page Logan meets up with the final person essential to his plan against Romulus . . someone Romulus, I'm sure, would never think that he'd team-up with . . Daken. I thought it was a great issue by Daniel Way and Scot Eaton. And, yes . . issue #50 is scheduled to be the final issue of this series. So get ready for a thrill ride because I'm sure Daniel is going to take us out with a bang. I can't wait.

Wolverine Origins #45 - Marvel

In this issue Logan is still trying to work his plan to take down Romulus. It's either that, or be taken down himself. Essentially . . Romulus wants Logan and Daken to fight to the death. To the victor goes the empire . . the perceived empire that Romulus has built up over the years. He knows that his time is limited, and he wants to pick his own successor. So, in order to spoil Romulus' plans, Logan has decided to ask for help. Since Romulus has been manipulating him his whole life, anything that he could think of, Romulus would anticipate. It seemed as though Bruce Banner and Skaar were going to be the orchestrators of that plan, but . . apparently Logan has decided put wheels within wheels. Logan, with his new partners in crime . . the Silver Samurai, Bruce and Skaar, and Cloak . . have recently broken Ruby Thursday out of jail. Only to find out that she was almost immediately captured and questioned by Romulus. So their plan thus far is pointless. But Logan anticipated that. Which is why this part of the plan has been put together by someone called the Answer. It was his idea to break out Ruby. Even though he knew that she would most likely betray them. But he had to include her as he's secretly in love with her. Anyways, all of this was just a feint also as Logan's real plan rest in the mind of Deadpool. I like the way that Daniel Way is orchestrating these events. I can appreciate that, facing a superior opponent, Logan has deferred to other peoples plans. He wants to 'win', to take Romulus down, so bad that he's willing to put ego and pride aside. I think that really shows the true strength of Logan's character. It's amazing to me that after all of this time we can still be surprised by his actions. And I still think that we're going to find out that Romulus and Logan are somehow related. I'm thinking his father, but . . I could be wrong. But somehow they're related. Doug Braithwaite provides the pencils on this issue. I really like this book. And I think that Daniel has done an amazing job these last 4 years.

Wolverine Weapon X #11 - Marvel

I really enjoyed this issue of this book. I've thought about, more than once, dropping this title. I mean, honestly, how many Wolverine stories do we need every month? But . . this title seems to get better with every story-arc. The first one with the covert Weapon-X team was . . ok. The second with the insane asylum was different, which made it a little more intriguing. This one looks to step it up once again. Most of this issue, from Wolverine's point of view, is spent with him welcoming Steve back into the world and doing a little pub-crawling to show his appreciation. It's not often that he actually gets to go out drinking with someone that can keep up with him. Plus . . there's a certain kind of bond, or trust, between Logan and Steve that Logan was missing while Steve was gone. I think he's probably the only person in the world that gives Logan hope. With Logan being involved with his new relationship, he doesn't necessarily see that as a bad thing. Anyways, while all of this was going on, it appears that Deathlok has come back into our time. Apparently they've got a list of people that they were sent here to assassinate. They start out with would be killers and murderer. Or . . their parents. But they quickly seem to move on to specific mutants. I don't know if they become mutant terrorists, or they just pose some kind of threat. Anyways, they work their way through their list . . 'All low level targets effectively neutralized. Generating list of prime targets.' Their last one appears to be number 304. So now they've decided to go after target #1 . . Captain America. I didn't see that coming. I thought the target was going to be Logan. With all the blood on his hands, and his involvement with X-Force . . I could see him being a threat to the future. But Captain America? This should be an interesting chapter. It's brought to us by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney. It looks like I'll be continuing with this book for a while longer. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Wolverine #83 - Marvel

It turns out . . those Asgardians that were messing with Daken last issue, were actually the Fates. Somehow they been cut off from Asgard, so . . they've also been cut off from Ragnarok. Which means that the cycle of Ragnarok has been broken. However, without it . . Asgard will cease to exist. And since Asgard is now grounded on Earth, they need an agent of Earth to trigger the rebirth of their world. That's where Daken comes in. At the end of last issue, where we saw Daken kill Norman, that was actually just a vision. A vision created by the Fates to show Daken what he wanted most. It was kind of a gift from them to him. So now that they have his attention, they show him, and explain the nature of . . Ragnarok. However, Daken doesn't like to be used. By anyone! He's willing to help the Fates achieve this, but . . he'll only do it on 'his' terms . . no one else's. But as are the habits of the Fates, they aren't done messing around with Daken . . yet. 'We went to far. Overstepped our bounds. Underestimated him. All is not lost sisters. We have shown him his greatest desire . . now, let us show him his greatest fear.' I have a feeling that Daken is going to be put through the ringer on this one. Overall I thought it was an interesting chapter in this Siege saga by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu. I thought it was ironic the way the Fates are messing with Daken, considering the way that he's been manipulating everyone else. And I'm really enjoying Giuseppe Camuncoli's pencils here. I already knew that he was talented, but it seems like he's stepped it up a bit for this book. All in all, I've really been enjoying this title. Much more than I expected to.

Wolverine Weapon X #10 - Marvel

This issue was a nice change of pace. We've just finished the Asylum story-line, and now Wolverine has decided to take a little bit of a breather. He does keep a rather hectic schedule. Anyways, over the course of the last few months Logan has begun working with a reporter, Melita Garner. And, apparently . . he's falling in love with here. The problem is . . most of the women that he's ever been involved with have ended up dead, or psychotic. Some are both. But I think he really wants this one to be different. It seems like he's actually going to make an effort here. He's already begun telling her about most of his past . . the things he can remember, and . . omitting the things that would give her nightmares. But . . she already knows most of that. She's a reporter . . remember? And I don't really think he has any unrealistic expectations. He tells her up front . .'You could get killed with me. We can't grow old together, even if we wanted to. You'll get old, but I'll stay pretty much the same. I keep crazy hours. Sometimes I even go into space. And don't ever ask me to introduce you to Spider-man.' She knows or meets almost every woman in his life . . even Emma. Whom she doesn't like. But the issue ends with her meeting the one person that could cause the most trouble, and that Logan probably least expects . . Mystique. It looks like we're going to be getting into another story-line next issue. So I don't think we'll be focusing to much attention on this. But . . I'm sure this'll be an underlying theme over the course of time. It should be an interesting foot-note to this plethora of Wolverine books that are out right now. I thought Jason Aaron did a great job with handling this part of Logan's life. And I loved CP Smith's art. I was thinking about dropping this book, but . . now I think I may stick around for a while. There's a whole lot of Wolverine stories out there right now, but . . I thought this issue was interesting . . and unique.