Review by Win Wiacek
Marvel certainly can’t be accused of concealing they intended to kill Wolverine off, and this morbidly titled collection combines two volumes of Paul Cornell’s Wolverine series. In the USA they were also titled Three Months to Die Book 1 and Book 2, while the first was retitled Mortal in the UK.
The story continues from Cornell’s Killable in which the mayhem-making mutant Methuselah came to terms with the fact that his healing factor – and therefore his virtual immortality – were gone.
Ryan Stegman and David Baldeon share the art on the four parts of ‘Rogue Logan’, which finds Logan in high-tech armour, seemingly off the rails and running with a new – bad – crowd of young super-powered criminals working for an up-and-coming underworld boss.
It’s not a great spoiler to reveal Logan is undercover. He’s fully immersed in his role and unwisely starting an affair with new comrade Pinch for three chapters drawn by Gerardo Sandoval (sample art). As they’re in the pirate island of Madripoor he also revives his old identity of debonair rogue Patch – much to the astonished hilarity of his youthful posse. The story opens into a multinational deal involving Sabretooth, the Hand’s home base on Madripoor, and Faiza Hussain and Peter Wisdom of Britain’s paranormal spy agency MI-13.
Combining two books removes the cliffhanger ending concerning a reality altering device to move into an eerie and portentous two-part digression as ‘Games of Deceit and Death’ illustrated by Kris Anka, suddenly finds Wolverine offered a spiritual solution to his problems by Master of Kung Fu Shang-Chi and living weapon Iron Fist. It’s a meeting with the conceptual being who is the embodiment of Death. Wolverine learns a few startling truths from the creature he has for so long fed whilst himself avoiding.
Logan is spiritually reinvigorated and fortified for a final confrontation with Sabretooth, utterly oblivious to the fact he’s been played as part of a much deeper game. ‘The Last Wolverine Story’ drawn by Pete Woods has the villain intending to rewrite reality and he’s realigned himself with Machiavellian shapeshifting schemer Mystique to ensure his every dream comes bloodily true.
The confrontation becomes a massive and escalating running battle. As the good guys are increasingly tied up fighting wicked alternate universe versions of themselves, the pivotal contest becomes the one it always has been: Wolverine against Sabretooth. This time however it ends in a catastrophic, catagoric conclusion.
‘Wolf and Cub’ by Elliot Kalan and Jonathan Marks ends this iteration of the long-lived legendary hero. Logan, feeling his age at last, takes adoptive daughter/former mutant/friendly vampire Jubilation Lee and her own recently-adopted baby Shogo for a walk on the wild side to meet the wolves who adopted him when he was at his most feral and mindless.
Tense suspense, non-stop visceral action, compelling mystery and superbly surreal comedy moments carry this gripping yarn from high-octane start to fraught finish and this splendidly devious espionage extravaganza.
