Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Wolverine Manifest Destiny #1 of 4
Marvel Comics
Aaron, Segovia & Rauch

I wasn’t going to pick this issue up. I leafed through it and the LCS guy recommended it so I bought it. I was pleasantly surprised with the story and may just stick it out for this arc. It’s got a story that seems to be rooted in the past. While it is a Wolverine ninja clan story, it has more mysterious elements to it that make it feel different then the previous ones. It has unique art that really fits Wolverine and this story very well. If you are curious I would commend this to you.

The issue opens with Wolverine unpacking his junk after the move to San Francisco. He has a little conversation with Nightcrawler and then he finds something amidst his stuff. He finds a spearhead. From there he is off to Chinatown with a score to settle.

From here I assumed he was going to find some ninja clan that he was planning to cut to pieces years ago but forgot. That’s not where this story is going though.

Wolverine confronts some old men and then shows them the spearhead. It appears Wolverine killed someone of great importance from this town some five decades ago. Some of the old timers remember the stories and recognize the spear and what happened with regard to it. Others figure out ole Wolverine is the man who committed the dead and hasn’t aged too much in all that time.

Wolverine is there for a specific reason and while he lets one of the main ninjas put a knife through his throat, it isn’t clear what he plans to do. Everything gets turned on its side when another clan shows up wanting something else from Wolverine. It’s a good twist and cliffhanger.

Now the obvious problem with this story and every Wolverine story is that he is threatened with death. We know he can’t die, he knows he can’t die and most others either know it or figure it out pretty quickly. There needs to be some other threat to him that is more tangible in the story. Usually involving the life of an innocent is a good tactic. But this story seems to be more about honor, but using the threat of death loses that edge and sort makes the story less dramatic.

The plot is interesting though. Something is calling Wolverine into the danger and keeping him there. We don’t have the information yet but it certainly is intriguing. Wolverine has a skeleton in his closet that seems to be more about him righting a wrong he himself committed. However, no one wants him around much less try to right the wrong.

One other aspect of this comic that left something to be desired was the nagging feeling I had that some of these characters really have importance from previous stories. I sat and stared at some of the faces in hopes of jarring something from my memory about them. I suppose they could all be new but I felt they looked too familiar, especially the kid he talks to. I guess we’ll see soon enough.

The art was awesome for this story. Wolverine looks as sleazy and brutal as ever. The angry mob has such excellent detail that it packs in extra drama. I enjoyed the use of color in this issue as well. It had such a gloomy tone to it I just felt this arc wasn’t going to have a happy ending.

With Wolverine in so many comics it’s hard to find an interesting or original story. This story had my attention. I’m glad I picked it up. If you like Wolverine getting punished and charging into something where his motives are unclear then this comic is for you.

4 out of 5 geek goggles