Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends #1
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Review by Greg Brothers
Earlier this year it was revealed that the body of Wolverine was not where it was laid to rest. The reveal lead Kitty Pryde to bring in some of the X-Men allies to investigate several leads. While Kitty put together her team, a group of foes who would rather see Wolverine dead also started their own search. In each of the four series, the teams collected evidence and went through some changes and adversaries themselves. Although each of the teams had evidence of Wolverine, none of them were able to find the target of their investigations.
Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends #1 has Daredevil and Tony Stark arriving at the X-men mansion to report to Kitty of their teams’ findings. Throughout the issue we get an update of the status of several members of the makeshift teams that were put together. Just as the three team leaders think they may have found the answer behind the disappearance of Wolverine’s bod,y an attack on the mansion derails the conversation.
Dead Ends serves as the perfect bookend to the four limited series, and the perfect launching point for what is sure to be at least the first arc in the new Wolverine series that is starting soon. It is obvious that at least for awhile the events that happened within the four limited series will have a lasting impact as several characters have been effected. You can tell that Soule has had experience writing both X-Men and Daredevil as the dialogue hits the points that you would expect to see. Over the last couple of years, Kitty, as the leader of the Gold team and the X-Men in general, has come into her own. Soule continues to highlight how much she has grown and how powerful her abilities are when she tests herself. The interactions between Kitty and Tony Stark show these changes, in addition to highlighting the lighthearted personality she has.
While I do not want to give away who the villain is in Dead Ends, I will say that it is a nice change of pace. In a genre where the superhero or villain tends to win battles by sheer force, instead here Kitty is forced to make a choice based on an impossible decision.
The art within the book feels like an atypical Marvel book. It is not breathtaking, but at the same time nothing is too offensive to the eyes. There were times where the art felt a bit muddled and the lines not as sharp as I would typically like to see. There are several panels that grab your attention right away. The first being a two-page splash where each team’s findings are all connected by different colored lines and notes within it. The level of detail is something out of the most complicated conspiracy theory.
Verdict: Check it out.
If you have been following the limited series, then make sure that you grab Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends #1. If you want to catch up before the new Wolverine series hits, then check it out. If you do not care about Wolverine or the X-Men, then the series is skippable. However, I would recommend checking it out and at least seeing what you think!
