Wolverine #40: Webs and Claws

The current story arc of Wolverine has found Wolverine teaming up with The Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther, and now Spider-Man in Wolverine #40. Regarding the concept, pairing Wolverine with other fan favorites is a no-brainer. These past few team-up issues have felt like a victory lap for Benjamin Percy’s run on Wolverine. 40 issues with one writer is an incredible accomplishment in this current era of X-titles. While there is still a lot happening across X-titles, the remaining mutants are laying low, so Wolverine taking it upon himself to take down Orchis in his own way leaves room for a lot of fun ideas. With issue #40, Wolverine enlists the help of Peter Parker to help him gain access to an Orchis facility in orbit. Things don’t go as smoothly as they’d like, but that is to be expected. It isn’t until the end of the issue that we get what we really want: Wolverine and Spider-Man taking down a sentinel. Putting the two out of their element in space is a fun idea but if this team-up is only one issue, you want to get your money’s worth. 

The next issue isn’t until the new year and will kick off a new arc titled Sabertooth War, so in terms of story, nothing too drastic happens in Wolverine #40. Seeing where the next arc is going, it is a shame that we won’t get more of these team-ups. Each issue feels like just a taste of a great concept for larger arcs. An entire arc teaming Wolverine up with Spider-Man isn’t a new idea, but it will always be a fan favorite, yet this issue feels extremely rushed. The writing for the characters and general plot is great. Percy’s voice for Peter is clever and creates a great dynamic with Wolverine, but this still somehow feels like a missed opportunity. Ibrahim Moustafa takes over art duties from Juan José Ryp with Frank D’Armata continuing on colors. Moustafa captures some great emotion in faces and takes advantage of unmasked moments but his style might not be the best for these types of stories. With more time, Moustafa’s pencils and D’Armata might have been able to settle into something more polished, but it is hard to do that in one issue.