Out this week is the paperback edition of X Lives & Deaths of Wolverine, collecting the ten issues that made up the X Lives/Deaths of Wolverine epic that launched in January 2022. This epic dual series promised to change the X-Men line forever while also offering the first respite from multiple series being released weekly. It felt big and important, and it featured nearly everyone’s favorite mutant at the center of it. In fact, it featured multiple Wolverines!
Launching first with X Lives of Wolverine #1, the story is heavily centered on Wolverine as he’s the only one who can go back in time to stop Omega Red from erasing him from existence. Writer Benjamin Percy makes it clear from the very start that killing Wolverine would mean destroying Krakoa and affecting many other mutant lives. The time-hopping allows for plenty of wild smash cuts, all beautifully drawn by Joshua Cassara. As the story unfolds, we see Logan embody past selves in Northern Canada in 1900 and his time fighting alongside Maverick and Sabretooth.
Percy smartly jumps around the time stream, disorientating the reader just as much as it must be disorientating Wolverine. In one moment, he might be freezing his skinny butt off in Canada, while in the very next scene, we see Wolverine naked and making love to his Itsu in Japan. It all builds toward as showdown with Omega Red, which will most definitely go down as one of the great fights Wolverine has ever been in visually and thematically.
What an incredible double-page spread! From X Lives of Wolverine #3.
Credit: Marvel
Juxtaposed with X Lives of Wolverine is X Deaths of Wolverine, which takes the opposite approach as a Wolverine from the far future is back in the normal timeline while Mystique attempts to kill Moira and save the Krakoa timeline. Much more connected to the larger fabric of HoX and PoX, this storyline allows Percy and artist Federico Vincentini to bring in Logan’s family while also heavily moving the narrative forward with Moira. Percy spoke a bit about the Wolverine family team-up in X-Men Monday back on February 7th, when he said, “hopefully, it will be as meaningful as it is fun and kinetic to have them all hacking and slashing and bickering together. Wolverine is not exactly the greatest dad in world history.” This angle gives the overall read another layer and an overall rounded feel.
X Deaths of Wolverine is compelling in surprising ways, opening with Moira as a victim. Still, over the course of the first four issues, we’ve seen her fleeing, and surviving has only made her angrier at Xavier’s dream and Krakoa’s. That’s evident from the start of this issue when Moira confronts Xavier on that angelic bench that kicked off the Krakoa era. While Wolverine connects with his kids, Moira grows into the villain she’ll be going forward in the X-line.
Stop. That. Man! From X Deaths of Wolverine #5.
Credit: Marvel
The art is exceptional and a big reason why Vincentini is one of AIPT’s best artists of 2022. The Omega Wolverine is unreal looking, and it’s quite clear you couldn’t get this effect in a non-digital way. It suits the character since he’s digital himself. The action is bloody, intense, and well-choreographed, especially considering the multiple fighters involved. The colors by Dijjo Lima make the yellow techno look pop. There’s also a lot of mayhem when it comes to casualties, and it’s great to see the level of detail Vicentini puts into every screaming face and onlooker as Wolverine dices up people.
X Lives & Deaths of Wolverine is a feast for the eyes of action aficionados and a wrap-up of a mega-Wolverine event amounts to a satisfying story. It may not hold a ton of answers or major developments for the X-Men comics line, but X Lives & Deaths of Wolverine is an enjoyable action-focused series.
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