By Benjamin Percy, Andrea Di Vito, Greg Land & Jay Leisten, Ken Lashley, Hayden Sherman, Kei Zama, Gavin Guidry, Frank D’Armata, Juan Fernandez, Alex Guimarães, Matthew Wilson & various (20th Century Studios/MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-302955045 (TPB/Digital edition)
Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Irresistibly Purely Primal Pandering Nonsense… 8/10
Although I’ve striven long and hard(ish) to validate and popularise comics as a true art form here and elsewhere, it’s quite hard to escape one’s roots, and every so often the urge to revel in well-made, all-out mindless violence and crass commercialism masquerading as what the reader wants just takes me over. If there’s a similar little kid inside you, this unchallenging, arty no-brainer team-up property might just clear the palate for the next worthy treat I’ll be boosting…
Predator was first seen in the eponymous 1987 movie and started appearing in comic book extensions and continuations published by Dark Horse with the 4-issue miniseries Predator: Concrete Jungle spanning June 1989 to March 1990. It was followed by 39 further self-contained outings and (by my count thus far) 14 crossover clashes ranging from Batman and Superman to Judge Dredd, Archie Andrews and Tarzan, keeping the franchise alive and kicking whilst movie iterations waxed and waned. Two of the most recent involve stalwart movie sensations the Black Panther and Wolverine.
That latter has been remarkable restrained in intercompany outreach projects thus far.
Wolverine is all things to most people and in his long life has worn many hats: Comrade, Ally, Avenger, Father Figure, Teacher, Protector, Punisher. He first saw print in a tantalising teaser-glimpse at the end of Incredible Hulk #180 (cover-dated October 1974 – So Happy 50th, Eyy?). That peek devolved into a full-on if inconclusive scrap with the Green Goliath and accursed cannibal critter Wendigo in the next issue. Canada’s super-agent was just one more throwaway foe for Marvel’s mightiest monster-star and subsequently vanished until All-New, All Different X-Men launched the following year.
The semi/occasionally feral mutant with fearsome claws and killer attitude rode – or perhaps fuelled – the meteoric rise of those rebooted outcast heroes. He inevitably won a miniseries try-out and his own series: two in fact, in fortnightly anthology Marvel Comics Presents and an eponymous monthly book (of which more later and elsewhere). In guest shots across the MU plus myriad cartoons (beginning with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends in 1982) and movies (from X-Men in 2000) – he has carved out a unique slice of superstar status and never looked back.
Over those years many untold tales of the aged agent explored his erased exploits in ever-increasing intensity and detail. Gradually, many secret origins and revelatory disclosures regarding his extended, self-obscured life slowly seeped out. Afflicted with periodic bouts of amnesia, mind-wiped ad nauseum by sinister foes or well-meaning associates, the lethal lost boy clocked up a lot of adventurous living – but didn’t remember much of it. This permanently unploughed field conveniently resulted in a crop of dramatically mysterious, undisclosed back-histories. Over the course of his X-Men outings, many clues to his early years manifested, such as an inexplicable familiarity with Japanese culture and history, but these turned out to be only steps back, not the true story…
In this co-production those lost days neatly plug into a saga of vengeance and vendetta spanning more than a century, but which, I strongly suspect, will not play a large part in mainstream Marvel continuity for all the guest stars involved…
The teeth-tightly-clenched tale by Bejamin Percy sees the embattled mutant fleeing across contemporary frozen Canada pursued by an invisible killer with death rays and sharp projectiles and definitely on the losing end of this tussle. As he flees, lashes out and howls at bay his much-abused mind flicks back to previous encounters with this particular hunter, who has seemingly stalked its prey for over a century…
Brutal and uncompromising, the savage close calls are revisited in flashbacks by a tag team of artists – Ken Lashley handling the present day; Greg Land & Jay Leisten depicting young James Howlett circa 1900 in Alaska, and Andrea Di Vito limning a covert South American mission beside Sabretooth, Maverick, Jackson and Kruel when Codename Wolverine was a memory-edited spy with Team X. Every incident ended with an alien attack and the mutant barely escaping…
Other key moments are included, as when the relentless monster invaded the Weapon X facility in Alberta, just as the burned-out secret agent is being forcibly infused with Adamantium (illustrated by Hayden Sherman), Kei Zama’s lyrical rendition of Logan and swordsmaster Muramasa battling Hand ninjas and the remorseless invisible hunter, and Gavin Guidry depicting the early Westchester Mansion era where even a full X-Men team are helpless against the single-minded space invader. In case you were wondering, each section is collaboratively coloured by Juan Fernandez, Frank D’Armata, Alex Guimarães & Matthew Wilson and lettered by VC’s Cory Petit. Ultimately by returning to today the chase comes to a cataclysmic close…
Like the films, what’s on offer is a thinly disguised excuse for mindless, cathartic violence and rollercoaster thrills and chills, and it’s all accomplished with compelling style and dedication.
Wildly implausible, edgily daft and thoroughly entertaining, the original 2023 4-part miniseries came with a variety of cover choices. Capping the furious fun is an extended gallery included here courtesy of Peach Momoko, Mike McKone & Rachelle Rosenberg, Alex Maleev, Skottie Young, Inhyuk Lee, Stephen Segovia & Romulo Fajardo Jr., Steven McNiven & D’Amarta, Gary Frank & Brad Anderson, Javi Fernández & Wilson, Sam De La Rosa & Chris Sotomayor, Cory Smith & Federico Blee, Whilce Portacio & Alex Sinclair, Adam Kubert & Wilson, Dan Jurgen, Breet Breeding & Sinclair, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Joshua Cassara & Dean White.
Track this down for simple fun and pure escapist shocks and shudders.
© 20th Century Studios. Marvel, its characters and its logos are ™ Marvel Characters, Inc.
