Reviewer: James Hatton
Story Title: Enemy Of The State (Part 4)
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Klaus Janson
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Jennifer Lee
Cover Art: John Romita Jr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Let’s play the imagination game. Let’s imagine that you are the badass of the Marvel Universe. You have taken down every single thing that has been thrown at you and the only thing that’s kept you from being perfect is the fact that your past is a mystery to you. You are a lone wolf. You have never been stopped without getting your revenge in the end… would you work for the good guys? I hope so.
So what happens when the most vicious man in the Marvel Universe is no longer in control of his faculties? People die.
STORY!
Wolverine has been taken down by the Hand and zombified. He’s now on a mission that we finally get some explanation on in this issue. First, Elektra tried and failed. Then, the Fantastic Four couldn’t stop him. Now, with the entire legion of Marvel heroes on red alert, Wolverine makes his move to try and bring another hero to the Hand. Who? I’m not telling.
How does the story read? Excellently. Simply put, Wolverine is about as hard to write as Superman, but for very different reasons. Superman is a ball of morals and truth – Wolverine’s life has been a lie, and he’s as dirty as a player gets. It doesn’t seem that writing a Wolverine story should be that difficult, but it is. He’s overexposed and that whole ‘gruff good guy’ bit just doesn’t lend itself to any great stories when you can’t alter his status quo in any way.
Mark Millar has found a way around that by not writing a story about Wolverine – but writing a story about how the Marvel Universe handles him. That is where this story’s perfection lies.
Art!
Romita Romita Romita… I just don’t know what to say about him. His run on Amazing Spiderman was perfect for the book, and his work on Wolverine hasn’t been bad either, but it’s spotty. Sometimes his faces look very weird, especially when dealing with older characters. I will say, though, he draws a helluva action sequence – I would even say that his action is some of the best in the industry right now.
So, can I accept that his faces are a bit off for a book that’s supposed to be based in a lot of action? Completely. It doesn’t change the fact that Wolverine has never ever been a book I looked forward to, and this storyline alone has made it a book that I await with open arms.
Overall!
Rucka is a man that Danielle swears to. His run on Wolvie left me dry. Mark Millar on the other hand, has given this book something that a writer hasn’t in a long time – make me enjoy Wolverine. I recommend you check this story out, anything they do that alters status quo is going to be reverted back in a few months, and you don’t want to miss Wolvie like you know you want him. Mean. Angry. And willing to kill.
