The hits keep on coming in Marvel’s Wolverine #6

Two Wolverines and a Nightcrawler face off against Constrictor, Cyber and Deathstrike in a clash of the adamantium titans. If Logan can’t beat them, will he join them? Wolverine #6 is written by Saladin Ahmed, drawn by Martin Coccolo, colored by Bryan Valenza and lettered by Cory Petit.

What does it take to build a typical Wolverine comic? It’s a pretty simple, constantly used recipe really:

• A dash of adamantium claws
• A pinch of bubs and snikts
• A sprinkle of Weapon X mentions
• A liberal dollop of blood and death
• A cup of teenage sidekick (recommended but optional)
• And last, but not least, a heaping pile of nostalgia

It’s that last one that seems to be the ingredient so many creators get hung up on. Rather than trying out some variations, maybe spice things up a bit, they pour it on like a baked potato that is now more sour cream than spud.

This current run is covered in nostalgia. So much so there isn’t much flavor beyond that.

Six issues in, and there is still nothing but scant information about this new, ancient Adamantine threat, just more old faces and old foes coming out of the woodwork. What was an interesting story in the second issue about the Wendigo just feels tacked on now, just an accessory to the other drawn out and sagging story.

Cyber. Deathstrike. Constrictor. Donald Pierce. Now freaking Romulus. A whole smattering of foes both interesting and “Oh come on, we didn’t need to ever see them again.” If it wasn’t clear, Romulus was the never-see-again candidate. Luckily, Sabretooth just recently died or else there is no doubt he’d be shoehorned into this story as well.

Add in the Wendigo stuff, and it’s like they took every Wolverine story ever, shoved it in a blender and served what came out. It’s messy, it’s got chunks, it tastes weird, but it has familiar hints of something that could have been pleasant at one point.

Look, every Wolverine story is rich with nostalgia. Most runs on the character, big or small, are about capturing a particular feeling born in the ’80s and ’90s. Little has been done with him to stray from the path. When they do, it’s usually short lived and quickly swept under the rug.

The difference with some runs is that they find a way to work with the nostalgia, do some new or fun things even with the heaping helping of familiar tropes and beats. Others just seem to wallow in the nostalgia and keep on trucking. This run fits that second option more so than the first by far.

At least the presence of Laura Kinney means we get some father-daughter time. Although when this is happening within the context of the other X-books is becoming more bonkers by the day. The fully uniformed “hermit” Wolverine of this book most assuredly is now operating within the same realm of time of his being back with the X-Men, since Kurt is in uniform here also and Laura is doing her thing again, too.

Who knows, though. The line sure doesn’t seem to, nor care. Guess that happens when you have like 50 books out with more still to come, including another with Wolverine in it. Ah, it’s the 2000s and Wolverine is everywhere despite the logistical nightmare.

It’s a slick book with some dynamic work that still feels a bit glossy and static at times, but it does what it’s meant to do. There are only so many ways to depict the same types of battles with the same figures we’ve seen a million times. At least it’s mostly working, I’m at least engaged on a visual level (for the most part), which is a good quality for a visual medium, so there’s that.

Sorry, I’m still over here sighing at Romulus, another symptom of the late 2000s trying to open the mystery box that is Logan, which generally went nowhere. Maybe they should have dug up Sabretooth instead. That’s a “greatest foes, been there done that” boat, but it’s one I’d be more willing to sail on.

Buy Wolverine #6 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)

Scott Redmond

Scott Redmond is a freelance writer and educator fueled by coffee, sarcasm, his love for comic books and more "geeky" things than you can shake a lightsaber at. Probably seen around social media and remembered as "Oh yeah, that guy." An avid gamer, reader, photographer, amateur cook and solid human being.