The Hunt For Wolverine leads a team of X-Men, all with strong past ties to him back to his former stomping ground, the mysterious and dangerous island of Madripoor where they will face not only memories but a deadly group of enemies too!
Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery In Madripoor #1
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Thony Silas
Color Artists: Felipe Sobreiro
Cover Artist: Greg Land
Publisher: Marvel Comics
?WARNING: This review contains major spoilers!!?
What You Need to Know:
Wolverine’s body is missing from its hidden resting place and Kitty Pryde fearing what knowledge could be gained by the X-men’s many foes should they gain access to the former Weapon X’s corpse has dispatched various teams to try and track down their fallen comrade’s remains. Kitty and a team made up of Psylocke, Storm, Rogue and Jubilee are headed on a jet flown by Domino to the island a Madripoor, a place where Logan has a significant history, is a haven for many international criminals but also the current home of one Erik Lehnsherr the mutant known as Magneto!
What You’ll Find Out:
Memories… all of the woman on the jet have them of the man they called Logan. As the Jet heads toward Madripoor Psylocke reflects on the connection that they all have to the former mutant stalwart who has had an impact on all of their lives in one way or another.
Kitty’s concern that Magneto may somehow be involved in the disappearance of Wolverine’s body has had those suspicions allayed when her attempts to contact him have failed. There is a verbal exchange between Domino and Kitty when Kitty is not prepared to explain why they are headed to Madripoor which ends with Domino upset and Kitty giving the mental order to Psylocke to be prepared to wipe Neena’s memory of the mission should it be required. Elizabeth agrees somewhat reluctantly…as the plane prepares to hit the tarmac… Welcome to Madripoor!
They emerge from the jet only to find the master of magnetism awaiting them on the tarmac. Psylocke reaches out with her mind but is unable to probe due to what she assumes is the psionic shielding of his helmet…Kitty wasted no time broaching the subject of Wolverine but Magento insists they meet for dinner at the famous King’s Impressario restaurant that evening to discuss it claiming he has nothing to hide and before anyone can object he appears to leave…but as the team departs the airport we learn at that moment that it is in fact not Magneto but a powerful mentally disguised psi called Mindblast and that the X-ladies are headed straight for trouble…
The ladies arrive at the Princess Bar and while looking around are greeted by Mr. Halliday, bartender and former associate of Logan’s. A password from Kitty and the woman are let into a secret room in the establishment which is filled with memorabilia that Logan has collected over the years related to his travels and to the people he has met. Cue flashback dissolve…
Storm recalls an encounter with Wolverine in their very first days at the mansion where she gifted Logan a peace offering gift which she finds he still has here in the memory room. Rogue’s discovery is the most heart wrenching as she finds a letter that a very (at the time) hurt Carol Danvers wrote Logan after Rogue had subsumed her powers demanding justice. For me, this is a deeply poignant moment given that Logan’s relationship with Carol stretches further back than his relationship with Rogue and despite Carol’s demands he continued his association with Rogue and never acted on Carol’s wishes. Psylocke recalls a time after she and Logan had sparred where they debated belief and Logan surprised her with how he viewed life and death and what comes after.
The woman are pulled from their reverie by the indomitable Kitty who brings them all back into the present with a rather clever statement about nostalgia ( and a picture of THAT outfit she wore) and the woman make use of the ample evening wear wardrobe available to them and step out into the night (hello fashion moment, we have not had one in a while!) for their meeting with ‘Magneto’
They meet as arranged but while Kitty and ‘Magneto’ fence verbally (and Jubilee stuff’s her face…thanks Jim Zub that was a genuine Jubilee moment) Psylocke alerts Kitty that something is wrong but it is too late the trap is sprung! Mindblast is discovered. She takes out Storm with a mental blast first as the X-Men and Domino are confronted by Viper and an unknown group of female assailants!
A melee ensues which see’s Rogue attacked by a bruiser of a woman called Knockout, Domino is set upon by Bloodlust and Jubilee is captured by Snake Whip all under the direction of Viper as Psylocke faces off against Mindblast but before Elizabeth can bring her psychic knife to bear against Midblast she is felled from behind by another member of the sinister group of woman and falls defeated ass Saphire Star drains her of her lifeforce. Kitty works to help the team and manages to free extricate Domino and Jubilee before phasing all three of them through the floor to evade the attack, unfortunately, abandoning a downed Storm, Rogue, and Psylocke to the not so tender mercies of the Femme Fatales…
What Just Happened?
All in all a solid character-driven start to the series from Jim Zub, Thony Silas, and the creative team. I do think that the expectation placed upon the book has been much higher than on the other series’ in the arc very simply because of the high profile cast of mutants put together for this chapter. I think the writing from Zub is good and in places quite inspired (Carol Danvers’ letter is a standout moment for me) and I enjoyed that there is a genuine edge of tension between the allies which comes off the pages from the beginning. Thony Silas’s art is a beautiful balance of angles and sharp edges (appropriate for a Wolverine related book in its way in my opinion). Zub’s bringing in the Femme Fatales is a nice touch and I think that the book, while maybe not living up to the (fan made) hype leading up to it, was another worthy piece in the puzzle that is The Hunt For Wolverine…
Rating: 8/10
Final Thoughts:
The hunt is on and it will be interesting to see where Zub and the team take it next. I am looking forward to seeing more glimpses into the past and previously unseen moments between the lead characters and Logan as well as more of the Femme Fatales. Bring on issue #2!
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