Wolverine Origins: Savior Review

Writer: Daniel Way

Artist: Steve Dillon

Recently I have been going through my Wolverine stories, re-reading and reviewing them in chronological order, fitting events in along the way. I have more recently started reviewing the Wolverine: Origins series, with this being my second review, as well as my ninth review of a Wolverine trade.

Plot

Wolverine is about to begin searching for his son, but before doing so he must find something to neutralise him in case he becomes violent, so he plans on finding the Carbonadium Synthesizer.

Review

This was a good story, but not as good as the first volume, and overall slightly mediocre. Daniel Way did a decent job of continuing his Wolverine story, as although it didn't have as much excitement, or energy as the first volume, it was still interesting, with some brilliant developments. I personally loved how he managed to tie up the loose ends following the Origin storyline, that changed Wolverine's origin to have him born with bone claws, with this story showing why all them pre-Weapon X stories show him without claws. The pacing of the story however was slightly slow, and when I expected something big to happen, it would fade out, making us wait longer. The story did however have some excitement, and I loved how Way showed the emotion in Wolverine throughout, as although I still wasn't completely happy with how Wolverine was depicted in the flashbacks, it was slightly better than last volume.

Although I always try my best to enjoy Steve Dillon's artwork, looking for the pro's rather than the con's, it's not easy, and once again he did an average job of the artwork. I've went into detail why I don't like Dillon's art in the past, and the main thing is how he draws faces, and women, as the way he draws mouths make characters look slightly awkward, and plain, whilst he makes women look way too plain, and not feminine enough. I did however once again enjoy how he drew Wolverine, and with him being out of suit for most of the story. I also really enjoyed how he drew the Team X flashback sequences, and Omega Red, with them both being very dynamic, and exciting. The layout of Dillon's art was also very good, adding a lot of depth to the story, as well as highlighting the important parts of the sequences, making them feel even more dramatic.

The first volume would reveal that Wolverine has a son, with this story being the beginning of his search for him. This in my opinion was the best thing that Daniel Way has ever done for comics, as although it wouldn't pay off in this story, the introduction of Wolverine's son was amazing. I was however slightly disappointed that we don't get a proper introduction of the character we'd all come to know as Daken in this story, but it was interesting to see that Wolverine had planned ahead, planning on getting the Carbonadium Synthesizer in case he was hostile, which he most likely would after what Emma Frost saw.

Due to the Carbonadium Synthesizer being involved this would open up the door for Omega Red to join the story, with the classic X-Men/Wolverine villain needing the Carbonadium Synthesizer to help remove the Carbonadium that's inside him, and ultimately killing him. Omega Red would be an interesting addition to this storyline, and the fighting between him, and Wolverine throughout was amazing, as although it wasn't quite as brilliant as I expected, it was still very exciting, and entertaining, adding a lot of drama, and suspense to the story.

Another X-Man in the form of Jubilee would also make an appearance in this story, with both her, and Wolverine's former Team X teammate Maverick loosing their powers following the House of M. Now I personally would have loved to have seem more of both these characters in this story, but it was nice to see them make an appearance, and they helped the story to flow smoother. I also loved how Way showed the connection that Wolverine has with Jubilee, and why he's so mad about what happens to her in this story.

This series has had a lot of cameo appearances so far, and Black Widow would be yet another addition. I was happy to see Black Widow in this story, and loved how it showed a origin to how her, and Wolverine first met. I did however feel that this slowed the story down a lot, as although it was interesting to see, it was rather dull, and boring, taking away from the main objective of the story. I did however also like how this showed more of how Wolverine has built allies over the years through his good deeds, and how it all comes back to help him when he needs it too.

Final Verdict

This was a decent story, but slightly mediocre, and nowhere near as good as the first volume. It would however continue the story brilliantly, as although it was slow at times, it has some brilliant development points. It also had more brilliant cameos, and some excitement, with the fighting between Wolverine, and Omega Red being amazing, even if not phenomenal. After all this I'd still recommend this story, but wouldn't recommend rushing to get it, unless you plan on getting the entire series.

Rating: 6/10

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine Origins: Swift and Terrible.

Wolverine Origins: Born in Blood Review

Writer: Daniel Way

Artist: Steve Dillon

Over the last few months I've been trying to get through as many of my graphic novels, and comics series as I can, reviewing them along the way, whilst also reading the Marvel events that fall in between. I also plan on reading the series at the same time, reading each story that falls in line (e.g. a Spider-Man story followed by an Avengers, followed by something else, then back to Spider-Man). I'm continuing with my Wolverine collection, starting my first review on Wolverine: Origins, which is my eighth Wolverine review overall.

Plot

Wolverine has all his memories back, and is looking for the person who caused him so much suffering, fighting Nuke along the way.

Review

This was a very interesting start to the series, and although it wasn't perfect, having a lot of questionable moments, it was overall very enjoyable. Daniel Way did a brilliant job of not just starting this series, making it easy to understand, but also managing to continue from his Origins & Endings storyline perfectly. Way also did a good job of showing Wolverine's lust for revenge, as now that he has all his memories he's bound to want payback. I was however in two minds about the flashback memories, as although I felt Way did a good job in making them fit in with the story, I didn't like this merciless Wolverine, as although he was being controlled, I don't think he'd act like the villain that he was portrayed as, more just a savage killer. I did however like how Way managed to keep this very exciting, and entertaining, as although it's nothing spectacular, it was still a very good story.

The art on the other hand I wasn't overly fond of. To be honest I've never really been a fan of Steve Dillon's work, as although I didn't mind his art on The Punisher, I've never really rated it much. I especially dislike how Dillon draws faces, and especially around the mouth area, as they make the characters look very awkward, with their emotions seeming rather stiff, and unrealistic. I also am not a fan of how he draws women, and never have been, as I don't think he makes them feminine enough. I did however like how he drew Wolverine himself, as well as Nuke, and especially liked how he drew Wolverine out of costume, as he looked much more natural, with his face inside the costume looking slightly awkward in places. Dillon did however also manage to show some great emotion when the characters faces filled the page more, as although they weren't perfect, they didn't look quite as awkward as they did before.

S.H.I.E.L.D. would also once again feature in this story, as they would through a fair few Wolverine stories at the time. It's always interesting to see S.H.I.E.L.D., and although I sometimes feel that they are over used, this was one of their better additions, as they really helped give another dimension to the story, as well as give another person to hunt Wolverine down. I also enjoyed that Dum Dum Dugan was the main S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent in this story, and ultimately the series as I've always liked him as a character, and feel that he's not used as much as he should.

This story would also have a great villain for Wolverine to go up against in the form of Nuke, a failed attempt to recreate Captain America. Now I've enjoyed Nuke has a character in the past, and look forward to seeing him return in the next Captain America story. I did however feel that he wasn't used to his best advantage in this story, as although it added a classic character for Wolverine to fight, as well as feel regret about his prior actions, it just felt like it was missing something. The fighting between the two was however very exciting, and entertaining.

Nuke wasn't the only character to go up against Wolverine in this story, as Captain America himself would get involved, feeling partially responsible for Nuke. It's always a pleasure to see Captain America make an appearance in any story, and this was no different, adding yet more variety to the story, helping to make it more dynamic. The interaction between Wolverine, and Cap in this story was outstanding, with the fight sequence between them been even more so. I also found this even more interesting considering they were both at the time fellow New Avengers members, making the fight even more personal.

Now you may think that with S.H.I.E.L.D., Nuke, and Captain America in this story that it couldn't get any more big name cameos, but it would, as the X-Men would have a presence with Emma Frost, Cyclops, and Hellion turning up following a vision that Emma Frost had. I really enjoyed seeing the X-Men in this story, as it would add more of Wolverine's life to the story, showing the variety of people that he has affiliated himself with. I also liked how this was a shortened down version of the X-Men, with Emma, and Cyclops being the necessities, and Hellion being there for realism, as well as to try and contain Wolverine.

Final Verdict

A brilliant start to the Wolverine: Origins series, and although it wasn't perfect, it was extremely enjoyable, being exciting, as well as dramatic, and suspenseful, also having plenty of mystery about it. It also had some interesting cameo appearances, as well as a very interesting storyline, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 7/10

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine Origins: Savior.

Thunderbolts #1

Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Steve Dillon

I decided to go into this series with an open mind as prior to reading this issue there were things that I was looking forward to, like the characters and seeing Punisher and Deadpool two of my favourite underrated characters team up, whereas I wasn't too sure if I'd like Steve Dillon's art as I usually don't like it.

Plot

This issue sees Thunderbolt Ross A.K.A the Red Hulk putting the Thunderbolts together. He goes all around the world from Somalia, France and Afghanistan to recruit his Thunderbolts, Punisher, Deadpool, Venom, and Elektra.

Review

This was a good start and the issue wasn't as bad as I was dreading. It still wasn't as good as I hoped but considering what I feared it could be I'm happy enough with the outcome. Daniel Way has done a good job introducing the characters in this issue and I love how he's made Thunderbolt Ross the leader of this group. Due to this issue focusing on Ross assembling his group of killers it didn't give any time to explain what his overall goal is or show much action. Although this issue was slow Way has instilled more faith in me that this series can be good and I hope he delivers to that. I also liked how he handled all the different character and although besides Ross and the Punisher, they didn't get a lot of time you could notice they're unique characteristics. I'm also interested in seeing how Way writes Deadpool in this series as he had plenty of time writing him in the previous Deadpool series. The current Deadpool series is however a lot different and the unique inner voices style Way added whilst writing Deadpool has gone. This leaves the question if Way will write him with or without the voices, for continuity's sake I hope he writes him without.

The thing that put me off this series was Steve Dillon as artist. I've never really liked his art in the past and especially the way he draws women. In saying that I actually liked his art in this issue. It still wasn't as good as most other artists but it's a lot better than I've seen in the past. I particularly like how he draws Thunderbolt Ross and Venom, and how he showed of Venom's symbiote powers. I've never minded how Dillon's drawn Punisher in the past, and he's one of the better Marvel characters I've seen him draw. I would however have liked him to have drawn Punisher similar to the way he was drawn in the most recent The Punisher series as the newer skull shirt was better. I still wasn't to keen on how he draws women. When I first saw Elektra I thought this isn't that bad, and that it's better than he's done in the past, but when he drew a closer up version of her face or her face from the side she looked more like a man than a woman, which wasn't nice.

Seems not a lot happened besides the team coming together I will talk about each of the five character involved individually and say what I think they will bring to the team and what I expect from them. I will start with the leader of the group Thunderbolt Ross. He's a natural leader having served in the army, and has always shown a bad side. Another reason he's a good choice for this team besides his pedigree, and the fact he's a Hulk is that he's got Thunderbolt as his nickname so it makes sense him leading a team named Thunderbolts giving the name a dual meaning. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Thunderbolt Ross in this series as most other series have him in his Hulk form. I still however want to see him Hulked out a lot at the same time as it would be daft having this team of killers lead by a Hulk and not have him Hulked out. What I'm basically saying is that I'm hoping to see a more balanced view of Ross as both Red Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross.

I've always been Punisher fan and him being a part of this team is what mainly drew me towards buying this series. I was so disappointed when I heard that Punisher would no longer have a solo series once Punisher: War Zone finishes. I do however question the timing of this series in conjunction with the Punisher: War Zone series. I would have thought that Marvel would have waited until the end of the War Zone series till putting this series out, as it would have helped the continuity of both series'. I am however looking forward to seeing how Way handles Frank and what he will bring to the team. He's never really been a team player but with a team full of killers I think he'll fit in, it will just be a matter of whether the others keep to only killing those who deserve it. It will also be interesting to see how Punisher and Ross get along as they're both ex-army with the highest military training in Marvel apart from Captain America.

Deadpool's part in this team will also be interesting as the Merc with a Mouth has worked with various people in the past including Weapon X, Cable and most recently the X-Force. The way Ross went about recruiting Deapool was interesting asking for him to volunteer like he did with Weapon X. As I said earlier I'm mainly looking forward to seeing Deadpool fight alongside Punisher as both have been in my top 10 favourite characters for a few years, and I've felt that despite their loyal fan base they've been very underrated for to long. I'm looking forward to seeing Deadpool work in a team again as he was brilliant in Uncanny X-Force. It will also be interesting to see how Deadpool will react alongside the other members and if he will try and prove he's better with a blade than Elektra, or better with a gun than Punisher or Venom. I also hope that Deapool brings his funny banter to the series, and his jokes and I know that Way can do that if he wants to.

Venom is also an interesting addition to this team and seems to be in demand after joining the Secret Avengers. Since Flash Thompson has been Venom he has really brought some life back to the character and has made Venom into a more serious character as well as a decent hero. The way he reacted to Ross' visit was very good and I loved how he kept his proper army sense of respect, and how he considered Ross a legend. It will also be interesting to see three characters who have been army trained feature in this group as well as their different characteristics. I'm looking forward to seeing if Venom will be the cooler head in the group, if there is one, and how he will react in certain situations that he's less experienced than the others are.

Finally Elektra. She is probably the most unique addition to this group. Apart from being the only female member she is also the most mysterious usually working in the shadows. Although she's worked for and lead The Hand, and worked alongside Daredevil in the past, she hasn't been the best team player especially whilst working with people she's not ordering around. It will also be interesting to see how she reacts to all the different personalities throughout the group as she is usually a very serious character. I will however be looking forward to seeing her bring her ninja style to the group, and see her kicking but, which I haven't seen in a while.

Final Verdict

A good introduction to a brand new team. Although this issue wasn't brilliant, and a bit slow at times, it does show great promise that the series will be good in the next few issues, and I hope it is. I would recommend this series to people who are fans of any of the characters involved as it's too early in the series to determine if they are a good addition, or if the series does them justice. It's also a great issue to introduce newer readers to these characters as you don't need any prior knowledge of the characters to enjoy this issue.

Rating: 3.5/5