Marvel has taken a bold turn by revealing Wolverine’s mother is alive, but perhaps not for long. With the scent of Sabretooth in the air, Wolverine has returned to his childhood home and has already been met with extreme force. Now it’s time to enter, but will he find his mother in time?
The pressing urge to run, not walk, to find Wolverine’s mother pushes much of Wolverine #10 forward. His childhood home is now a relic, a kind of haunted house, lending the entire issue an ominous feel. That’s aided by new threats of a corporeal kind, as well as Wolverine’s internal monologue.
Truth be told, much of Wolverine #10 is driven by writer Saladin Ahmed’s captions, which drive every panel forward. They keep you in Wolverine’s headspace and keep you invested for the most part.
I say “for the most part” because when you step back and take in the events of this issue, not a lot happens. By my count, a whopping seven pages are devoted to Wolverine standing alone in the house, or just outside it. That leaves the reader with Wolverine’s internal musings and brooding, and not much else.
There are two confrontations, although one is with a subpar and distracting attack. It goes back to the first issue, but ultimately serves as filler. The main confrontation gets quite weird, which lends to the haunted house vibe, although it’s not explained. It connects to Wolverine’s youth, however, which is intriguing enough.
Sing it with me, “Memories!”
Credit: Marvel
Once the issue reaches the cliffhanger, you’ll probably wonder why it didn’t just start with Sabretooth in the first place. You’ll want more, a heck of a lot more, and will probably be back next issue, but it’s a dragged-out issue to say the least. The plotting could have used more impact, with the captions barely keeping things interesting. At $4.99, that just doesn’t cut it.
Art by Javier Pina keeps things interesting, with the moody atmospheric house fitting the haunted vibe. The last two pages are show stoppers, first with Wolverine’s eyes and blades being the only thing lit in shadow, and the cliffhanger page pulling off an impressive musclebound Sabretooth. The confrontation earlier on with the ghosts is also well done.
Wolverine #10 leans hard into brooding introspection and eerie atmosphere, using internal narration to carry much of the story. While the art delivers haunting visuals and a compelling final page, the issue itself drags, with little payoff until the very end. It’s a setup-heavy chapter that hints at bigger things to come, but asks readers for a lot of patience (and $4.99) to get there.
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