Hold Me Closer, Tiny Danger in Wolverine #22

Wolverine and Deadpool go together like chocolate and peanut butter in Wolverine #22, written by Benjamin Percy, drawn by Adam Kubert, colored by Frank Martin and lettered by Cory Petit.

Tony Thornley: Here we are, back again! This storyline just keeps getting more interesting, doesn’t it, special guest Handsome Dan!

Dan Grote: HEY, KIDS, IT’S ME, DANPOOL! America’s favorite fourth-wall-breaking crasher of comics criticism. Cassie’s a little tied up at the moment (read that as literally as you want), so I’m here to help break down the continuing story of Wolverine and his best friend Wade Wilson.

Tony: Well, if you’re THAT excited to join us, then I guess we could…

Dan: Please? Please can I join your X-Men coverage? I mean I’m practically a mutant expert already!

Tony: Bring it on!

A Little Danger (As a Treat)

Tony: I was really struck by how this arc has opened up each issue in similar ways. We’re dropped in en media res, Deadpool is extremely obnoxious right up to the breaking point, then Percy dials it back, we even get an extremely similar panel layout for the first three pages. I think this arc has rapidly become my favorite story Percy’s done at Marvel.

Coming out of last issue, Logan and Wade are in a cage, while Weasel and Maverick are trying to figure out what they have in a briefcase. And who is it? A mini Danger. 

Dan: The X-Men’s former Danger Room turned sentient being is literally the “Don’t talk to me or my son ever again” meme.

I can’t get over how sharp the comedy is in this arc. Part of what helps is that Adam Kubert — known primarily for being one of the classic Wolverine artists — is selling the comedic parts of the book. 

Kubert’s drawn Deadpool before — I’m thinking of 1994’s Wolverine #88, in which Wade tracks down Garrison Kane and his ex Vanessa in San Francisco — but that was very early days for the character, and non-Fabian Nicieza creators were still figuring him out. Here, Kubert knows Deadpool’s deal and leans into it with unique panel layouts and room for excess word balloons, because he understands he’s drawing an action comedy.

I mean, look at tiny Danger with that giant gun. Hilarious! The two-page spread where the cast is chasing each other across a Vegas stage, that’s Looney Tunes. It’s wacky hijinks with violent stakes. I love it!

Tony: I think Kubert and Percy both get the comedy just right. It’s pushing the limit of over the top, without going TOO far for a Wolverine book.

In general, I think I would like Deadpool a LOT more if more of his stories were these sorts of spy stories. We get shadowy ops, weird tech, intel gathering and double crosses. Then Logan gets pulled in and it’s fun, full-blown action. What did you think?

Dan: This arc is what finally separates Wolverine in tone and voice from X-Force, Percy’s other X-book. There’s no reason stuff like the Flower Cartel and the Vampire Nation couldn’t have been X-Force arcs running between the Terra Verde stuff and the Xeno stuff. It’s been a book I’ve read out of duty more than anything else. But this? I love this.

Tony: Yeah, definitely. Bringing in Maverick as an antagonist helped the series get an identity of its own quite a bit, and now this arc is continuing to push that forward.

Dan: You could make the argument that bringing in Weasel and Blind Al is Joe Kelly-run nostalgia, but the thing is Percy GETS these characters, which is integral to him getting Deadpool. He understands that Weasel hates being in Deadpool’s orbit but can’t escape so he’s turned to just trying to get vengeance on Wade every few months. He understands that Wade and Blind Al have a relationship and a level of trust that defies logic but exists nonetheless. And he understands that Al is ex-black ops so she’s got all the sweet hookups and can handle herself in a firefight. 

These are the types of stories you can tell when Deadpool-mania has waned and you can really focus on the character instead of the mass-marketed idea of the character. Does that make sense?

Tony: Yeah, definitely. It’s not unlike the Duggan run on Wade. Even though it’s over-the-top Looney Tunes action, the craziness has a grounding in the characters. I’d be willing to read a Percy-Pool series.

Dan: Same.

What Happens In Vegas

Tony: You alluded to it a minute ago, but I ADORE the “all hell breaks loose” chase scene between Logan, Maverick, Danger and Weasel through Las Vegas. Starting with Logan dismembering Wade to throw him at the lock, and progressing through a casino inferno, a magic show, a chorus line, a car chase through the Strip, and Logan creating his own Fastball Special with Wade’s dismembered body, his convertible and a concrete wall.

I loved it.

Dan: Anytime you can work the Bellagio fountains into an action sequence is a good time.

Another thing about having Kubert around is he reminds me of the warm blanket that is the Larry Hama era of Wolverine. Granted, Kubert drew the post-adamantium part of that run, but still, it was a steady era full of reliable action. I say that because I feel like Percy’s channeling a bit of Hama here, especially with Wolvie leaning into Vegas-pun dialogue like “I’m done getting treated like a shuffled card in somebody else’s gamble. Time to flip the table and claim all the chips.” All that’s missing is him referring to himself as “the ol’ Canucklehead.”

The thing about Hama is he never really took himself seriously. He wrote popcorn action, which was the style at the time. If that era’s Wolverine were a real person, he’d have been a part owner of Planet Hollywood. A lot of Percy’s Wolverine and X-Force up to now has been these meditations on mutant masculinity that can be a little too self-serious at times. Cutting loose has done Percy good, and while I think this arc will start to drag if it goes on too much longer, I hope he carries the spirit of it forward.

Tony: Agreed. This little bit of lunacy has been gradually escalating since Wolverine #300. Logan works so well in crazy situations, since he can bounce back so easily. I love that this story is also honoring his past without dwelling on it. This is about an old friend betraying him while another just wants to reconnect. Then it just dials up the violence and comedy and takes it from there. Even if the plot is pretty simple, the execution is just so much fun.

Dan: Love that we’re drawing a line FORWARD from Wolverine #300 to #22. Comics numbering is great and not at all confusing!

This Old House

Tony: So after Logan gets his hands on mini-Danger, and Blind Al swoops in to rescue our dynamic duo (are we allowed to say that about anyone but Batman and Robin?), we find out where Danger Prime is holed up — the Xavier Mansion!

Dan: I’d argue that after 80-plus years of superhero comics, there are plenty of duos engaged in dynamism, and for the purposes of this arc, this is one of them.

Now here’s a question: Last we saw of the X-mansion, it had been overridden with Sidri in Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler (which you covered, Tony!). When did Danger move in, and did she have to deal with the previous tenants?

Tony: I could see it going a couple ways, so I’m curious which it’ll end up being. Seems like the options are Danger striking up an alliance with the Sidri to act as an alarm system, eliminating them entirely or Percy just ignores it. I hope it’s not option #2 or #3, because the Sidri setup is so interesting. Percy is also not one to just throw away toys put in the box. … What do you think?

Dan: I like the idea of a recurring bit where every few months someone goes back to Salem Center and there’s a different sentient creature or creatures inhabiting the Xavier mansion. One month it’s Sidri, the next it’s Danger, the next it’s some member of the Shi’ar royal family who needs a vacation, the next it’s Chris Claremont just walking around touching all the walls and singing Madonna’s “This Used to Be My Playground.” Then all the plots come together in a one-shot called “Giant-Sized, Vine-Covered Shithole.”

Tony: I like it! Let’s make it happen, Jordan!

X-Traneous Thoughts

• The only part that doesn’t work for me, artwise, is the page where Wade’s upper half punches in the code to spring Wolvie from their cell. I can’t tell what his severed head, chest and arm are holding onto to allow him to climb up the wall and manipulate a keypad.
• By the end of the issue, Wade looked more like something out of Marvel Zombies than Deadpool, and I appreciate that.
• Has Danger even said a word yet? Wonder what’s up there.
• Heh. What’s up, Danger?

Tony Thornley

Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble. Follow him @brawl2099.bsky.social.

Dan Grote

Dan Grote is the editor and publisher of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Paul Winston Wisdom. Follow him @danielpgrote.bsky.social.