Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Art by: Greg Capullo, Tim Townsend
Colors by: FCO Plascencia
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Greg Capullo, Tim Townsend. FCO Plascencia (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: August 21, 2024
Wolverine: Revenge #1, by Marvel Comics on 8/21/24, sends Wolverine on a mission after the Fatal Attractions arc to steal a cold fusion reactor from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Is Wolverine: Revenge #1 Good?
Wolverine: Revenge #1 is frustratingly disappointing. There are good moments in Jonathan Hickman’s turn on the great clawed one, but when this miniseries is touted as “one of the defining tales in Wolverine’s storied legend,” and places the events squarely within continuity, it’s hard not to be annoyed with whole chunks of plot points and motivations that don’t make a lick of sense. Read on, if you dare.
The issue begins by explaining this story takes place 10 days after the conclusion of the Fatal Attractions arc (1993) when Asteroid M fell to Earth, and Magneto’s death resulted in a massive EMP that knocked out all systems across the Northern Hemisphere. Wolverine is blissfully unaware of any of those outcomes because he’s busy enjoying big game hunting of the dinosaur variety in the Savage Land.
Okay. We know the timeframe, circumstances, and locations without too much setup, so Hickman makes efficient use of the preface page to get readers grounded, although the name ‘Fatal Attractions’ is never used. Chalk up the lack of Editor’s Notes to another failed opportunity to encourage readers to buy back issues.
The original Nick Fury interrupts Wolverine’s hunting fun to enlist the mutant for a mission. Aboard one of three surviving SHIELD helicarriers, Fury explains to Wolverine, Winter Soldier, and Captain America that the EMP that knocked out the West is causing an escalation in deaths and catastrophes, and they need all the help they can get to “steal” borrow” the only known working S.E.E.D. cold fusion reactor. That reactor happens to be in the hands of Mastermind and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in Tunguska, Russia.
Okay. We now know the stakes, the goal, and the challenges to overcome. It all works well so far by using a world-affecting scenario that threatens the lives of billions to play up the “cannot fail” atmosphere of this mission. Plus, Greg Capullo’s pencils are as good as they ever were.
Sadly, it all goes South very quickly. As soon as the helicarriers are within range, Mastermind mind-controls the pilots of the SHIELD ships and causes them to crash. Only a few personnel parachute to safety, including the core strike team and a handful of SHIELD agents.
Trudging on, the team splits up to work down the mountain unnoticed until they can meet near the Northern entrance. However, most of the team besides Cap, Bucky, and Logan are quickly killed by Deadpool (he’s a villain at this time), Sabretooth, and Omega Red on the snowy slopes. The main heroes are knocked out and carried back to base.
“Wait a minute. Hold the phone! This is an in-continuity book, but Maria Hill, Dum Dum Dugan, Nick Fury, and more are dead? How does that work?” you might ask. Truthfully, I have no idea, which is why this book quickly devolves into confusing frustration. But wait, there’s more!
Logan wakes up in the clutches of the Brotherhood with a stitched-up hole in his chest. The same goes for Cap and Bucky. Why? Mastermind explains he went to great lengths to stitch bombs into each of the remaining heroes, and the detonator is now in the hands of the ever-unreliable Deadpool.
What happens next? Heroes go boom!
What’s great about Wolverine: Revenge #1? There’s a certain charm about modern writers revisiting older timelines to find the story that takes place between canon event X and canon event Y. A mission that deals with the aftermath of the EMP explosion makes perfect sense, and assembling a ragtag bunch of military-leaning heroes to embark on a heist has gobs of potential. And again, Capullo’s pencils are fantastic.
What’s not great about Wolverine: Revenge #1? The premise sounds great and makes sense with respect to its place in the timeline, but the execution is bizarrely nonsensical. Follow along, children.
If this story isn’t some kind of “What If…?” scenario, how are Maria Hill, Cap, Bucky, Nick Fury, and all the rest besides Wolverine dead?
How was a mutant… any mutant… able to capture Wolverine so easily?
Why do Mastermind and the Brotherhood have the only working cold fusion generator when several of the smartest heroes on the planet (Tony Stark, Reed Richards, etc.) would be happy to build their own?
If Mastermind and the Brotherhood know Wolverine has an unstoppable healing factor, even explaining what steps they had to go through to put the bomb in his chest, why did they think a bomb would stop him? Why did they detonate the bombs to kill the heroes and simply walk away without checking? Why did they go through the trouble of operating on the heroes at all if they weren’t going to interrogate the heroes or use the bombs to threaten innocent lives?
The more you think about it, the more you realize that the timing and the setup almost make sense, but everything that happens after the mission starts does not. It’s hard to know if Hickman either created an alternate timeline where certain things don’t matter, or there’s some kind of reality- or time-altering bait-and-switch is happening, or Hickman just had an idea and ran with it without care or understanding of the specifics in continuity.
Regardless of how this story turns out, this beginning will be frustratingly disappointing for Marvel fans.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Wolverine: Revenge #1 takes a trip back in time for an untold tale about Wolverine joining a team to save the world from a devastating EMP blast. The timing is nostalgically cool, and the stakes are immense, but once Jonathan Hickman’s mission starts, you’re bombarded with deaths, actions, and character choices that don’t make a lick of sense. Well, at least Greg Capullo’s pencils look great.
5.5/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
Connect With Us Here: Weird Science DC Comics / Weird Science Marvel Comics
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.