**Spoilers Ahead For X Lives of Wolverine #1 and #2**
In the first issue of X Lives of Wolverine, we were thrust into a world of time travel and a potential multiverse of madness (I like that title… patent pending). Wolverine has been tasked with saving Charles Xavier over the course of many timelines while controlling the body of his younger self. Why does he have to save Xavier? We are yet to know. Also thrown into the mix are Omega Red, and a hidden Russian agenda, with the powers to possess people in the past. Beware that the recaps can be a bit jumpy as the comic is not written in a linear fashion.
We open in 1900, in northern Canada. A wiry-looking madman is facing up to battle against a polar bear chained to a pole. No sound effect is written on the page but I could hear the *snikt* as the man pops out his claws and attacks the beast. A shimmering X comes across his face providing us with the indication that Wolverine is in a simulation or Cerebro experiment.
While the fight is raging on (and we as readers are enthralled by the artwork in this fight), Logan is thinking about the way humans are a tiny speck amidst the raging circle of life: “And I’m going to put a good dent in the universe… or die trying.” A nice sentiment from Logan here, an odd reference to 50 Cent, but like I said from the first issue—the writers are doing a great job at getting into the more contemplative side of Wolverine.
After the battle, Logan runs out into the harsh snow. A Jean Grey apparition pops up and comments “You’re so skinny.” I laughed. Then Logan is off fifty miles in the body of his teenage self, one of which I haven’t seen much of so I’m looking forward to the issue from here on out. Then we’re transported to Japan where Logan is intertwined with Itsu but interrupted by Jean Grey’s visions.
Soon, Itsu is sprouting the same Omega Red bone tentacles from X Lives of Wolverine #1. And, my god, the page is enthralling. It exudes beauty and belonging where we connect with Logan’s want for love while also building this anxiousness and tension knowing something is about to happen.
Now, we’re back from the end of X Lives of Wolverine #1: Columbia. Wolverine is fighting alongside Sabretooth and Maverick to stop a cocaine ring. This is a very interesting twist on time travel. Wolverine is being transported back to his own body, the events are happening in the same way, but he is escaping them and leaving the original “players” to their own devices. Logan follows Jean to where Charles supposedly is located. Logan’s memory is activated: once upon a time he and Team X laid waste to villagers soon after beating the cartel. Jean warns him about biting off too much but Logan abandons the immediate quest for Xavier and goes to change his history. Very poetic.
After that, we see Wolverine, Domino, and Omega Red on a Russian mission in the “recent past”. Red goes off by himself to find Maxim Ivanov but is ambushed and we (along with Omega Red) find out he was killed, brought back to life, and used in An interruption here by Sage’s logbook that details some recent movements in the background. We find out that Omega Red and Mikhail Rasputin have stolen the “Cerebro Sword” (sounds intriguing) and weaponized its information. Shortly after there is another interruption and we find out that Cerebro has been working to check if there are any alterations to timelines (assassins and the like).
We skip over two pages of 1900, Northern Canada again, where it looks like potentially Xavier’s father is under attack from Omega possessees. Then we’re back in Columbia, which is honestly quite interesting, as Logan sabotages the mission by shooting both Maverick and Sabretooth. The flickers of blood and squelching sound effects pull the action out of the panels and into the readers’ ears, doing a great job of creating imagery. Wolverine doesn’t kill them but only wounds in order to stop the potential slaying of innocent villagers. Sabretooth then claims he will kill Logan.
The final two pages, which are brilliantly drawn and written, show a naked Wolverine (no BatDong here) pitted against a possessed Itsu. The inner monologue is quite profound, Wolverine knows he cannot change the past but he also cannot let his love be controlled like this. The birth of Daken is at risk but, he puts it simply to end the issue: “I can’t not.”
If you’ve been following along with my last two reviews (X Lives of Wolverine #1 and X Deaths of Wolverine #1), you would know that the structure of these issues is a bit jumpy. At first, it was off-putting—and when you’re writing a recap like above, it definitely is—but as I was thinking deeper about how these issues are structured, I have grown to enjoy it (lucky because I’m only three in!). Their other option was to go with one issue about 1900s Canada, one issue about Columbia, etc, but instead, they’re jumping around, which provides us an insight into the wild nature of Wolverine’s mind and the mission at hand.
To review this issue by itself, I would say it is on par, if not above, the X Lives of Wolverine #1. It is definitely better than X Deaths of Wolverine #1 but that is coming from a different angle so I won’t throw too much at them until the next issue. I liked this issue quite a lot. The art by Joshua Cassara was a little different than the last issue, especially when you see Logan as a teenager, but it definitely worked into its own as you turn the pages.
My favorites are the images of Itsu/Omega Red. The last page has a great close-up shot of Wolverine popping his claws. Benjamin Percy takes the writing wheel again with some great insights into the psyche of Logan, and really shows the differences between how he speaks and thinks. Another great issue of X Lives of Wolverine. I look forward to next week!
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