The penultimate issue of Wolverine is here, which also happens to be the penultimate issue of the story arc of “Sabretooth War.” Wolverine has lost his healing factor, lost friends and family, and now he’s looking to give Sabretooth the last three popped claws of his life. Meanwhile, the Exiles continue to hope that Sabretooth will be wiped out if his son doesn’t beat them to it.
Wolverine #49 is an interesting issue heavily focused on Sabretooth’s inner thoughts. He’s trapped in a Krakoan device that allows it to probe his mind and test him. These moments connect back to when he was first imprisoned by the Quiet Council, giving the issue a meaningful place within continuity. For Sabretooth, it has all built up to this.
At its core, this story reaffirms that Sabretooth is truly bad to the bone and can’t be saved. Why would he want saving? It’s chilling at times, with unnerving renderings of Sabretooth by Geoff Shaw that’ll send a shiver down your spine.
The eyes of Sabretooth are quite chilling.
Credit: Marvel
The story, written by Victor LaValle and Benjamin Percy, cuts from Sabretooth’s inner thoughts to a few table-dressing moments in the real world that set the stage for the final battle. That includes Sabretooth’s son, who is manning a sentinel at the start of the story, and Wolverine getting his butt to Krakoa with adamantium armor. These moments don’t add much but get the characters in place for a showdown.
Thanks to Shaw and color artist Alex Sinclair, the inner nightmare Sabretooth goes through is maximized with weirdness. Scenes using first person help draw you into his experience, with dynamic panels of Sabretooth rushing in to kill someone. In another scene, Sabretooth slowly grows larger than his size, creating an Alice in Wonderland weirdness effect. Sabretooth’s son is briefly seen in a few scenes, but the true terror of this character is drawn out well with good use of shadow and light. He’s almost inhuman in his demeanor. Longtime fans will appreciate a great montage of past awful acts by Sabretooth conveyed through panels slashing across Sabretooth’s head. It’s like we’re inside his head now, which helps sell a quieter scene right after.
You might have noticed a lot of Sabretooth in this book but very little Wolverine. It’s a bit of an issue, given he’s the title character and on the cover, but as far as the story arc goes, Sabretooth certainly deserves more time. From a plotting perspective, it is a bit of a bummer that Logan doesn’t have much to do. He’s also in body armor that should be almost impossible to move, but this is comics, after all.
The psychosis of Sabretooth is on full display in a compelling issue about his inner thoughts and psychology. The question is asked if he can be saved, and by the end, there is an answer. Juggling this and the table setting for the finale ends up making this an intriguing issue that’s well worth checking out.
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