Death of Wolverine – Review

It has been a little over a month since the first issue of Death of Wolverine hit shelves. This week I picked up the fourth and final issue of the saga. I’ll admit when I first heard they were killing off Wolverine back in April, I was skeptical. Here Marvel is, announcing that they are going are “killing off” one of their most popular and ubiquitous characters of the franchise, just to bring him back again in a few months. Who knows if that is their plan. It doesn’t matter. I say it doesn’t matter because at this point I’ll trust just about any decision Marvel makes, that’s how much of a Fanboy I am.

Spoilers Ahead

Wolverine has lost his healing factor and has discovered the man responsible for putting the hit out on him, Dr. Cornelius, who is one of the masterminds behind the Weapon X program.

The biggest problem I had with the ending was how anticlimactic it was. Logan has confronted Dr. Cornelius, the man responsible for the bounty on his head. They are in a large Weapon X facility surrounded by rejected Weapon X participants. Dr. Cornelius, is aware of his shortcomings, which is why he seeks out Wolverine’s blood in the first place. His blood is necessary in order to replicate the perfect specimen.

I expected Logan’s final battle to be between a much greater foe such as Sabretooth, Omega Red or Magneto. In the past, we have seen Magneto ripped the adamantium out of Wolverine’s body, and or The Hulk ripping Wolverine in half. I guess I was expecting a much more gruesome death for the rabid warrior.

That’s not to say the current ending was terrible, It wasn’t. I actually enjoyed it.

Wolverine strikes down the tubes that are pumping Adamantium into the participants bodies and liquidized adamantium begins to covers Logan’s body as he pursues Dr. Cornelius outside, like a T-1000. Cornelius is wounded by stray glass during a battle between Wolverine and a warped Colonel ordered to kill Logan by the doctor himself. Cornelius falls and is dying, before he takes his last breathe he curses Wolverine and asks, “What did you ever do but kill people?”. Wolvie falls on his knees overlooking the sunrise one last time, as there are flash backs of everything Logan has contributed during his lifetime. The liquified adamantium cools and Wolverine is no more.

Overall, I did enjoy this arc. Wolverine deserved an honorable death and he got one. Although Wolverine is dead, this won’t be the last time you hear his name. The Logan Legacy which further dive deeper into the lives of those affected by Wolverine’s death. One interesting factor I’d like to point out is that Dr. Cornelius very briefly mentions that he has figured out how to smelt adamantium. Perhaps, later down the road someone discovers his research. Perhaps, this isn’t the last time we have seen Logan after all.