Stryfe needs Wolverine under his control. Logan’s repeated resurrections during his time on the mutant island paradise of Krakoa have purged Stryfe’s mind-controlling substance, Legacy 2.0, from his body, but Cable’s evil clone isn’t finished with Wolverine. In fact, Stryfe is going so far as to send a horde of zombies imbued with Legacy 2.0 to attack Logan in the hopes of re-infecting him. Also, Deadpool is here!
You gotta love a good superhero comic for not being afraid to get truly bonkers. There’s a place for grounded, gritty realism and introspective character pieces in superhero comics, of course, but that place is not Deadpool/Wolverine. Nor should it be! Writer Benjamin Percy and artist Joshua Cassara are pushing the limits of insane comic book action that sounds ridiculous on paper but is a great time when read.
One of the best things about this book is Cassara’s artwork. Hyper-violent and hyper-detailed when it needs to be, Deadpool/Wolverine #4 is a joy to look at page after page. The way he portrays these characters beaten and bloody does so much to convey that just because these characters have pretty over-powered healing factors doesn’t mean that this kind of work is easy.
Marvel
The bulk of the action centers around Logan and Wade trapped in an abandoned bar as they attempt to hold their position against hundreds of encroaching zombies (a la Resident Evil 4. If you know, you know). There’s some fun, bloody moments here, but the sequence is brief and somewhat lacking in tension. What might’ve been an epic set piece is almost over before its begun.
Then the narrative diverges to update us on Maverick’s status. Mav occupies a unique niche in this larger story as the rogue agent that is ostensibly working both for the organization that is hunting him and for his “friends”, Wolverine and Deadpool. There’s a lot going on in this series, though, and Maverick feels a little lost here.
He’s a great character, but his beats feel more like plot-necessary moments than character-driven. I just want more from him. What’s his long-term plan with going rogue? How does he really feel about working for O*N*E? It’s maybe a bit too much to ask for such detailed characterization for a supporting character in a Deadpool/Wolverine series, but Percy has laid the groundwork for this character so effectively that I can’t help but want more.
Marvel
Deadpool/Wolverine #4 finally gives us some answers re: Stryfe, too. He’s a time-traveller, so there’s not really any point in trying to reconcile where this version of Stryfe fits in with where you might’ve seen him before, but this has the added bonus of making this story slightly more new-reader friendly. I liked his somewhat noble motivation here. Yeah, he’s the baddie, but I do hope we see Logan and Wade attempt to reconcile Stryfe’s ends with his means later in the series. Something like that has the potential to force a disagreement between the two anti-heroes, which brings us to the final small problem with the issue.
Much like last issue, Deadpool/Wolverine #4 doesn’t make tremendous use of the dynamic between the two titular characters. Percy is great at capturing both of their voices, and Wade especially has a few chuckle-inducing lines of dialogue, but there isn’t much beyond that. There’s enough good stuff here to recommend the book, but I do hope that things get a little more personal for Deadpool and Wolverine in later issues. It doesn’t need to be anything too profound, but there’s a great dynamic here that’s feeling a little underutilized right now.
Deadpool/Wolverine #4 is wild comic book action at its finest. No, you won’t find any deep revelations about either of these characters here, but you will find fun action, fantastic artwork, and a supervillain with a plan that gets an “A” for sheer brazenness. Things feel a little rushed, but the writing is good enough to leave you wanting more.
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