Wolverine #49: Mind Over Matter

The end of an era is almost here with the penultimate issue of ‘Sabretooth War’ and Benjamin Percy’s run on Wolverine with Wolverine #49. The Sabretooth War has largely been a blast to read and it is clear that it has a lot of moving pieces both inside and outside of the pages. With alternating writers and artists, the series has had essentially two creative teams. On top of that, the ‘Sabretooth War’ features Wolverine and Sabretooth, along with X-Force, the Exiles, and various Sabreteeth. Earlier issues leaned into the different teams and characters but as the event progressed it was clear that they are background characters. By now readers should be used to the alternating focus of each issue depending on the writer. Wolverine #49 is primarily a Sabretooth issue, though Wolverine does show up at the end in his Adamantium Armor which was revealed in issue #48. Readers who were excited at the reveal of the last issue will have to wait for #50 to see it in action, which is a shame.

This issue takes readers through Sabretooth’s memories as he is imprisoned in a trap, much like his time in the Pit. The various memories are revealed to be a way for Sabretooth to experience what his victims experienced, but in the end, he rejects redemption. Geoff Shaw’s art handles these sequences well, especially Sabretooth escaping his imprisonment. Alex Sinclair’s colors have been a wonderful constant in this event, and his work with Shaw is excellent in this issue. Unfortunately, something that the art couldn’t make up for in this issue was the pacing. It seemed like there were big jumps so certain characters could end up where they needed to be, mainly Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Bad Seed. Ten issues seemed like more than enough issues to tell this story but some issues have felt rushed while others stretched out. In the end, we are heading into the final issue of ‘Sabretooth War’ and Benjamin Percy’s run on Wolverine with Wolverine in his armor facing Sabretooth and Bad Seed. That seems to be a pretty good place to start issue #50.