Death of Wolverine #1 Comic Book Review: Is Wolverine Really Going to Die?

The death of a titular comic book character, such as Wolverine, is a major event in any of the various comic book universes.  But rarely have we seen a death this well advertised, teased, massaged, and strung out like this one.  With Logan losing his famed healing factor back in his solo book in 2013, he is now mortal.  That means he can age and die, just like other people.  But other people don’t have adamantium-coated skeletons, retractable claws, and a lot of enemies that want them dead.

That is the basic premise to the long-drawn out “Death of Wolverine” concept that Marvel Comics has been building toward since Logan lost his healing factor powers in Wolverine vol. 5, #6 and #7.  In Wolverine’s solo series, we recently concluded the “One Month To Die” story-arc, which served as a pretty good synopsis of where Logan is now at both in terms of his complicated relationships with the women in his life and his coming to terms with his new mortality.  At the end of that story arc, we are left with a Logan who has seemingly realized that being somewhat normal (for a mutant anyway), and having a finite amount of time on this Earth, may not be a bad thing.  Logan left the last issue of the “One Month To Die” story in a fairly happy state.

Death of Wolverine Part One

Fast forward a few weeks in (in real-life, comics publication time), and we see a very different, somewhat more traditional Logan at the start of  Death of Wolverine #1.

Below are some mild spoilers and images that show the artwork and general direction of this Wolverine comic.  Beware…and step carefully, or you may trip over a spoiler, and/or a dead body or two…

This comic opens with a very impressive image of an exhausted-looking Logan in a wooded setting in British Columbia.  He is spotted with blood, and he sits with his claws out.  As the story unfolds, the purpose for his claws still being out, even with the combat done, will become apparent.  As the book explains, this scene is in the NOW, and as we see Logan arise, he walks from the cabin steps we first found him at, and he then walks slowly into the woods, where we see his handiwork: the mortal remains of his fallen foes.  This is the classic Logan that captured the imagination of a legion of Wolverine fans.  The ultimate badass who is better at killing than anyone he comes up against!

Wolverine Claws

The book then shifts from NOW to THEN, and we see Wolverine and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four in a laboratory setting.  Richards has examined Logan and give him some bad news.  His bones are slightly radioactive from his war-time experience at Nagasaki.  He will introduce dangerous bacteria into his system every time he retracts his claws.  A serious concussion could kill him as his adamantium-infused skull cannot be operated upon.  In short, Richards says that Logan has some serious medical issues as a result of being a Wolverine without a healing factor.  While Richards says that with time, he believes he can restore Logan’s ability to heal (good thing the Thing was not in the room to hear that!) his recommendation is that Logan lay low and avoid dangerous situations.  Anyone familiar with the classic Wolverine stubbornness and ability to court trouble, knows that will not happen.

Wolverine and Reed Richards

As the story progresses back toward the NOW, we see Logan in his secluded piece of the Western Canadian wilderness and the attention that the world’s bad guys are about to give him. To limit spoilerific details, we will just say that there is plenty of fight left in old man Logan.

This is a pretty darn good start to the Death of Wolverine end-story.  Written by veteran writer Charles Soule, with pencils by Steve McNiven, this book is well-written and contains visuals that fit the mood of the story.  It almost feels as if we are in those bloody woods with Logan as he faces down his mortality and his mortal foes.

Death of Wolverine #1: Is Wolverine Really Going to Die?

Death of Wolverine In British Columbia

The only real issue with this book is the near-total shift from the overall feel and empathy we see in the recently concluded run in the regular Wolverine title by writer Paul Cornell.  Of course, two writers will have different styles and different takes on the character they share, but (and this may be explained away as Soule’s story unfolds), it seems as if there is a disconnect between the two story lines.  At the end of the Cornell stories, Logan seemed to be content and at peace with his new fate, even to the point of fantasizing about life-long love, and retirement.  Logan is a realist.  How he did not (in that series) anticipate what would happen in the Soule story (i.e. every bad guy in existence seemingly trying to whack him), and act accordingly in the Cornell books. Don’t misunderstand this critique:  Paul Cornell’s tales were good, and showed a lot of the natural mental and emotional changes that had to happen.  It is the seeming disconnect that is bothersome.  As this reviewer has commented before in relation to recent Marvel Comics events, where is the editorial control in all this?  For example, in Uncanny X-Men, we just saw Cyclops and Logan given orders to work together to track down a dangerous mutant.  While at the same time, in the regular Wolverine book, he is with Shang-Chi and Iron Fist in Asia and having intimate conversations with Lady Death.  Not to mention his appearances in the Original Sin books.

Grumpiness over Marvel continuity aside, this first Death of Wolverine comic book is a very interesting read and we are very curious as to what happens in the second book after the “big reveal” at the end of #1.  If you can pick it up (many stores sold out) it is worth reading.  And, in the back of the book you will find some interesting behind-the-scenes sketches and interviews that add some depth to the story.