All right, time to get some more reviews posted. I took Saturday off. There were just too many great games on TV. I watched plenty of good Premiership games including Arsenal continuing their winning ways. Maybe they aren’t as horrid as I first thought. But, the college football games were insane. Auburn knocking off undefeated #2 Florida, unranked Vanderbilt beating #16 Georgia and unranked Indiana taking out #15 Iowa. And then the insane 5 minute bench clearing brawl down in my old hometown of Miami. That is simply how we do it in the 305.
There are two reasons why I still get Wolverine: Origins. First, I’m a Wolverine complete-ist. I have all of his comic books and I don’t want to break that streak. Second, I’m a total and complete idiot. Way continues to put on a writing clinic of how NOT to write a comic book with each issue of Wolverine: Origins. I’m sure that Wolverine: Origins #7 will be another unimpressive read. However, we do get to play the “Can you spot the obligatory Daniel Way ‘shocking’ scene” with this issue. Let’s hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Steve Dillon
Art Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 2 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 3 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: This issue begins with a showdown between Wolverine and Omega Red. They engage in a bit of trash talking. We then flash back 40 years ago to a government facility in Dallas, Texas. There are two scientists studying the effect of the carbonadium on Wolverine’s healing factor. Wolverine is strapped to a table and full of bullet holes. Wolverine’s healing factor has worked three times slower than normal due to the carbonadium pill he took.
The head scientist goes to remove the carbonadium from Wolverine’s abdomen. The other scientist asks if he should anesthetize Wolverine first. The head scientist says that won’t be necessary and proceeds to remove the carbonadium from Wolverine without any anesthesia. Wolverine screams in pain. (Ah yes, there it is. Only five pages into the comic book and we have already been spotted the requisite Way “shocking” scene for this issue.)
The scientists then drag Wolverine to a room with a chair that has a cranial device that destroying Logan’s short term memory cells. As they regenerate, the head scientist is able to put memory implants into Logan’s mind. When he is near full recovery, the head scientist pretends to be his attending physician and he “reluctantly” clears Logan for active duty and supplies him with a sealed dossier for his next mission.
Suddenly, Wolverine wakes up and takes out the assistant scientist. Wolverine then “pops” his claws and is stunned that he has them. Of course, they are just bone. No admantium added to them just yet. Logan begins to remember everything. He remembers that he is a mutant. Logan then questions the head scientist about who he is working for. The scientists says that he doesn’t know. Logan’s keen sense of smell can tell that the scientist is telling the truth.
The scientist tells Logan that he is a part of a mercenary operation. The scientist is contact via telephone and rendezvous with a team; they are never the same people twice. He just takes the money and does what he is told. Usually, Logan is delivered unconscious and having suffered sever trauma. The scientist’s orders are to alter Logan’s memories. He then sends Logan out on his next mission. Logan takes the dossier for his next mission and leaves. He looks at his dossier and his next mission is to steal the carbonadium synthesizer that is in Berlin.
We cut back to present day. Wolverine thinks how he stole the carbonadium synthesizer a long time ago and that he gave it to Maverick, his old teammate from the CIA. That Wolverine stole the carbonadium synthesizer from Omega Red. Now, both Wolverine and Omega Red are here to get the carbonadium synthesizer back. Omega Red and Wolverine then start brawling. They both smash through the exterior wall of the building and their fight spills out onto a rooftop of a neighboring building. Wolverine looses consciousness.
When Wolverine regains consciousness, Omega Red is gone. We then here Jubilee scream for Wolverine from within the building. Wolverine knows that Omega Red will kill anyone who comes in between him and the carbonadium synthesizer. Wolverine then starts running toward the building. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Wolverine: Origins #7 continues Way’s proud tradition of delivering rather pedestrian and unimpressive issues on this title. The Revolution’s Rule of Positivity is going to be very tough to follow with this issue.
Ok, what did I enjoy about this issue? Hmmm, that is a tough one. I did find it refreshing that carbondadium, while it doesn’t kill Wolverine, at least weakens him and slows down his healing factor. With the recent power upgrades that Wolverine has experienced he has reached near god-like status. I mean, being able to regenerate from a skeleton after a nuclear blast pretty much makes Wolverine the most unstoppable force in the entire Marvel Universe. I dig that Wolverine can take a lot of punishment, but I have no desire for him to become as invincible as Superman. When characters become that unstoppable, they begin to get rather boring.
The Bad: Either Way is overrated and over hyped and lacks any real writing skills or I’m simply not compatible with his writing style. However, I’m usually good at recognizing writing talent even if I don’t enjoy the story. This isn’t the case with Way’s writing. Way continually reminds me of nothing more than a poor man’s Garth Ennis.
I found Wolverine: Origins #7 to be a terribly average read. The pace of this issue is terribly slow. We learn more about the affects of carbonadium on Wolverine in the flashback scene. Then we get a short and rather lame fight between Omega Red and Wolverine. That is about it. This is very close to being a wasted issue. The story got slammed into neutral with this issue.
Way has failed to craft a plotline that has grabbed my attention. This story feels like your standard “paint by numbers” feel to it. To be fair, I have never been a fan of Maverick or Jubilee. And Omega Red is a villain that never captivated my interest. So, I’m sure that if you enjoy these three characters, then you will probably find this plotline more interesting than me. Regardless, the story itself just feels lifeless. This issue is bland and devoid of anything that would be considered fascinating.
As usual, Way’s dialogue is painfully stiff, generic and full of tough talk. Way’s Logan is devoid of anything that would be confused with an interesting or well developed personality. Way’s Logan is simply a walking cliché of what Wolverine represents. Way depends more on tough talk and violence than actual quality character development when writing Wolverine. Way’s Logan is by far the least compelling or interesting version that I have read.
And of course, we got “treated” to the obligatory Way “shocking” scene that he feels unnaturally compelled to force into ever single issue that he writes. In Wolverine: Origins #7, the “shocking” scene comes when the doctor performs surgery on Wolverine without anesthesia. Ooooh, Way, you are so hardcore. You really shocked me. I mean, if you didn’t overplay the violence by doing this in every single issue. It totally de-values the effect of these scenes. Instead of being shocking, these scenes come across as heavy handed and make the reader bust out laughing at how goofy they are. Way’s mandatory “shocking” scenes have rapidly turned into a running joke.
Dillon is a good artist. However, Dillon’s style simply does not fit this title at all. Dillon’s style is not dynamic enough to carry a super hero title like Wolverine. This is a boring looking comic and Dillon still draws one of the worst Wolverines that I have ever seen.
Overall: The fact that Wolverine: Origins sells well is a testament to the marketing power of Wolverine. It also shows that there are plenty of other Wolverine fans like myself who are willing to buy a Wolverine title no matter how poorly it is written. Wolverine Origins #7 is a very average read and I just don’t think that there is much hope of improvement with this title. If you enjoy Way’s writing then you will probably like this title. However, I can’t recommend this title to anyone other than hardcore Wolverine fans.