Writer: Benjamin Percy

Art: Adam Kubert, Frank Martin, VC’s Cory Petit, and Tom Muller

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 22nd, 2020

How is it that the Flower Cartel and the Pale Girl continue to come across as one step ahead of Wolverine? Well, in this week’s WOLVERINE #3 by Benjamin Percy, we find out that Logan’s got a plan. It’s a dangerous endeavor that will bring him into the core of a massive criminal conspiracy even if it jeopardizes many mutant lives. Come on Bub! Let’s claw our way through this installment and see if this issue was worth the wait.

After a rather silly opening involving Magneto that seemed drastically out of character, this issue really picked up. From the incredible illustrations of Adam Kubert showcasing Wolverine’s intense history to the captivating backstory surrounding Russia and the Pale Girl, this series really opened up and delivered a wildly entertaining melee that incorporated many X-guests. If readers can take the time to suspend a bit of belief, Percy’s tale will work. However, he may have used this one-trick pony too soon.

Sometimes writers “accidentally” corner themselves within the narrative making it difficult to evade their own traps within the story. Percy ended WOLVERINE #1 in one of those very corners in which the Krakoan Five fixed for him. Ok, no big deal. Nonetheless, Percy painted himself in another corner at the end of issue 2, which he again finds a way of escaping this week. However, my point is that we’ve now exhausted two large avenues of narrative trickery in a short amount of time. If Percy heads down either of these paths again, it will become tiring fast. For this week, his escape plan worked. But, he can’t use it every issue or it will get very old very fast.

Now, not only was the story action-packed while quickly summarizing some key characteristics of Wolverine in the process, but new readers to the X-books will also enjoy Percy’s flow and continuity with the other X-titles. From the Marauders to X-Force and even the newly acquired Cable, Percy connects the entire landscape of the Dawn of X titles making each series feel important and meaningful. It proves how well he works with the entire writing team within the Head of X’s world of X-books. As someone who reads them all and genuinely appreciates continuity, I applaud Percy for taking the time to weave the books together wonderfully. And if that’s not enough, I left the issue fascinated by the Pale Girl, Professor Xavier’s lack of “cerebral” insight, and the intriguing mutant Russian angle. Percy has created multiple threads to pull after only three issues in and I simply can’t wait to see where this series is going.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Even though the Magneto cold open felt a bit out of character, the rest of the issue drove nicely. The story was thrilling and ultimately made sense while leaving some amazing unanswered questions to uncover throughout Percy’s run. However, I again just forewarn the creative team to shelf a certain angle of trickery for the foreseeable future. It’s just too easy of an out that will become stale if overused. Furthermore, this reviewer feels like it’s been two out of three issues now where some crazy mojo had to happen to connect the dots and make the story flow. I’m excited for what’s to come and looking forward to WOLVERINE becoming a solo book again. To date, this is a tremendously entertaining and action-packed series that should be on everyone’s pull list. Grab it and let me know what you think.

8.4/10

If you’re interested in WOLVERINE #3, click HERE to get a copy! If Percy’s WOLVERINE run is something you can really sink your claws into, click HERE to get related trades and comics. Additionally, if you’ve been really digging Hickman’s X-MEN, click HERE to get your hands on related Dawn of X trades, volumes, and issues. And finally, if you’re looking for something else to read, check out my Amazon Online Comic Shop by clicking HERE. Thank you all for the read and continued support. Stay safe and stay healthy.