Laura Kinney: Wolverine #2: You Can’t Slash Your Way Through Every Problem

It’s a study in contrast for this issue. Wolverine faces off but then teams up with the Woman Without Fear as Erica Schultz delivers an explosive chapter in the series that shows how Laura’s emotional investment and impulsivity can actually be a liability in her mission. Where as Elektra is very committed to her mission, she keeps emotion out of it and this leads to her bumping heads with Laura even though they are on the same side. There’s good back and forth between the characters as they pursue their quarry ( in this case trafficked mutants being used as weapons to further rift in human mutant relations). Shout out to the X-Office and in this case Schultz for bringing back a deep cut character like Anthony aka BOMB (see series First X-Men 2012) and using him to devastating effect.

Schultz uses the issue to actually show that Laura isn’t perfect at her mission, she lacks information but barrels in (claws in this case) blazing whereas Elektra is calm, wants to follow the leads, has information, knows what’s going on. This difference in styles feels like the center of this issue and while Schultz is careful to highlight misconceptions about Laura, it also paints Laura as a bit less capable than in some other stories in the past which works in context of the story being told but in a larger context of her history, could feel a little off to some. It’s easy to explain it if you consider Laura’s past emotional trauma and where mutantkind finds itself in the moment but I think a lot of writers often make her a better more capable Wolverine than Logan and not much more and I appreciate what Schultz is trying to do here by showing Laura being impulsive. Along the way we get a bit of Luke Cage, some good banter,  a really great fight scene and a tragic cliffhanger ending.

Fun dynamic art from Giada Belviso and Rosenberg means action scenes are fantastic and there are several superb action panels. I particularly like the first panel below which is a reverse contrast image of Wolverine chasing a vehicle. Wolverine is all emotional grimaces and bared teeth this issue with Belviso contrasting that by hiding Elektra’s face as she reasons with the angry and emotional Laura. We also get the two working together in civilian outfits too. Petit is gets to play with sound effects in the fight scene with a big bada boom later on.