Writer: Benjamin Percy
Art: Federico Vicentini, Dijjo Lima, Frank Martin, VC’s Cory Petit, Tom Muller, and Adam Kubert
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price:$5.99
Release Date: March 9th, 2022
Recap: Moira MacTaggert is now hiding from Krakoa, the C.I.A., and a bizarre Phalanx-looking WOLVERINE from the future. For conspiracies against mutantkind, Destiny and Mystique wielded Forge’s neutralizer gun to take Moira’s mutant power to resurrect and reboot the time stream. To make matters worse, Moira has uncovered she has stage four cancer. So, in an attempt to save her last life, she asked renowned inventor Arnab Chakladar for a way to permanently cheat death and ultimately live forever.
However, while Moira’s discovering a way to survive, WOLVERINE’S own family has been tasked with chasing down this uncanny, time-traveling WOLVERINE from the future. This WOLVERINE reveals that despite all their efforts, it’s a cybernetic Moira MacTaggert that ultimately brings down the mutants in the end. Nevertheless, that’s only half the story. Let’s dive into X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #4 by Benjamin Percy and Federico Vicentini as we begin to uncover the full story behind the eventual demise of Krakoa and the world as we know.
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the X Deaths of Wolverine #4 Review.
THE DISPATCH
Readers are immediately thrown into a mix between a DAYS OF FUTURE PAST meets LORD OF THE RINGS flashback in an attempt to quickly explain how and why WOLVERINE is in the present. Additionally, the somewhat confusing beginning jumps to the distant future again where the pieces all connect, become a bit more clear, and weave the complicated tapestry together with some hardcore promises. For those readers into science fiction meets time-travel genres, you’ll love what’s cooking throughout this issue. And it’s pretty intense.
Now, to sidestep the story for a better explanation, I saw someone online comment as to why we even need X LIVES OF WOLVERINE. To summarize their comment, they said that X LIVES OF WOLVERINE is just basically the greatest hits from WOLVERINE’S past, which is true… yes. But Percy makes it clear this week as to why it’s needed and it ultimately involves clarity from Destiny. You see, why wouldn’t a precog be able to predict any of this future from happening? If this awful future was brought on by Moira, would Destiny be able to figure it out? Well, due to Omega Red’s time-traveling adventures, the future is uncertain throughout X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE. And because it’s all rocky, she doesn’t know what future will actually transpire making it clear to readers why both parts of Percy’s outstanding story are required.
However, $&@$ gets real quick as Percy turns the tables fast on the story and goes in a somewhat different direction than anticipated taking this story on a promising detour. Readers will not want to miss this supercharged issue of X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #4 as tensions heat up, emotions are crazed, and the action is practically nonstop. This week’s installment not only puts all the pieces together but also felt like the crescendo and penultimate issue all in one. I wouldn’t wait to get X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #4 this week friends, especially with the double-dose release alongside X LIVES OF WOLVERINE #4. Get to your local comic shop ASAP!
ART
Federico Vicentini and Dijjo Lima hit the emotional chords this week by amplifying the tension and brutality up to another level. The scenes that shine through the most this week are when the WOLVERINE clan basically confronts Arnab Chakladar as to Moira’s whereabouts. Vicentini and Lima elevate the raw emotion by simply mixing Percy’s words with the facial expressions from Chakladar, Laura, and the rest of WOLVERINE’s kids as he’s explaining the future to everyone. The characters eyes tell the story beautifully.
Furthermore, Vicentini and Lima make sure to pile on the action across the varying futures incorporating some intense coloring which electrified the issue. Yet fans shouldn’t overlook the panel layouts that theis creative team infused into the issue alongside the lettering by Cory Petit. X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #4 was extremely busy, however, cutting through this craziness was still a gentle flow that made the storytelling comprehensible. There was almost a calming within the chaos that was this issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #4 is the issue that finally puts all the pieces together. Yet instead of simply telling readers how they all fit, Percy does a masterful job incorporating mountains of action, suspense, and even more twisted narrative beats to keep fans wondering what will happen next. Once fans are done with X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE #4, I think they’ll finally see how intricate Percy’s story truly is. Readers, he’s developed attacks from the future alongside the past at the same time with an equilibrium that’s well polished.
Additionally, he’s taken the time to clarify how and why everything jives together while making sure to indirectly explain almost every plot thread. I can’t help but applaud him for this story and leave excited for the final two installments. Readers will get answers and action wrapped up in a science fiction blender with some outstanding artistry as the frozen yogurt to sweeten this delicious smoothie. There is no doubt it’s the best issue to date which should leave fans super excited for what’s to come. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!