WOLVERINE #22: Wade, Take the Wheel

Something I love about Wolverine stories is the ones where he’s separated from the X-Men or just off doing something alone for them. The last few issues of Wolverine have been just that, except he isn’t alone. Deadpool is hanging around. I’m not a huge Deadpool fan, but Benjamin Percy shows his talent as a writer by taking on a character with such a distinct voice, capturing that voice, and avoiding being too meta or trying to emulate the movie version of Deadpool too much. Long story short: Percy writes a great Deadpool and I’m enjoying how well he plays off of Wolverine in this issue. Like I wrote earlier, I’m always a fan of stories where Wolverine is distanced from the rest of the X-Men. The weight of the future was on Logan’s shoulders a few months ago with the X Lives and X Deaths event, so it is nice to see a simpler and more lighthearted (for Deadpool and Wolverine) adventure he is currently having with Deadpool. Sometimes Wolverine just needs to cut up robots and stuff and hang with a buddy.

Regarding the mysterious machine, whatever it is, Krakoa and the C.I.A both want it. It is obviously a weapon of some sort and it appears to be able to do a lot of damage. What immediately came to mind was TOM from Toonami in a Cerebro helmet. A highlight for me was Maverick, Weasel, and Wolverine chasing X-TOM (that’s what I’m calling him) around in a Vegas show like he’s a child that doesn’t want to get into the bath. Adam Kubert and Frank Martin have been giving readers amazing action in this series with their art and coloring respectively, so it is great to see some fun moments like this. Cory Petit’s lettering is excellent as always. I appreciate how he letters Deadpool’s dialogue. He retains the energy of the character without feeling too out of place. With this being a Wolverine and Deadpool book, you know there are going to be some great sound effects, including all of the “snikts” that Petit and Kubert provide.