Logan, a.k.a Wolverine, a.k.a James Howlett, has many roles to play in the Marvel Universe. He is an X-Man; an Avenger; and a former member of X-Force, Weapon X and Alpha Flight. However, with Cyclops beginning his mutant revolution, Wolverine has added the roles of mentor and teacher to his repertoire; similar to the recently deceased Professor Xavier. Although he is the least likely candidate among his peers to be headmaster, Wolverine, with the help of his fellow X-Men, has made Jean Grey School a safe haven for mutants.
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #25
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ramon Perez
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Laura Martin
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Wolverine and the X-Men: With Utopia no longer in existence and the mutant population reborn after Avengers versus X-Men, Jean Grey School has gained many more students who are seeking refuge from the outside world. However, the school is not the only place recruiting. The Hellfire Club is taking in new mutants as well. When alien student Broo finds out, he is shot and left in a coma. Once Broo comes out of a coma, his renowned intelligence is gone with only the savage alien nature remaining. One good thing is that after 25 issues, the mansion has not been destroyed… yet. Please reword. It suggests someone awakened him from coma, rather than he coming out of a coma on his own.
SAVAGE LAND TRAINING
Jason Aaron begins a new arc with his Wolverine and the X-Men series. Wolverine takes a group of students to the Savage Lands for survival and teamwork training. Unfortunately, after Wolverine leaves the group to fend off dinosaurs, things do not go well for the team. They split apart—to Wolverine’s chagrin. There is a great deal of dialogue and arguing amongst the young team. It brings to light each mutant’s personality, but also limits each character’s involvement. Also, the bickering gets old after the initial encounter. Quentin Quire continues his usual anti-establishment sentiments in this issue. I find it interesting that Marvel is attempting to make him an anti-hero and a reluctant leader of young mutants after his treatments in Grant Morrison’s X-Men and Schism story arc. The character seems more suited for villainy. A surprising character who makes his mainstream comic debut in this issue is Dog Logan, Wolverine’s half-brother from the Origin mini series. Due to his appearance and savage nature, I assumed Dog Logan was a younger Sabretooth, but I guess they are two separate characters. It will be interesting how Jason Aaron approached the character. However, Dog Logan’s call to action by his future self seems a little far-fetched. Finally, the Jean Grey School lesson plan at the end is a funny tidbit. It reminds me of a similar lesson plan in a comic where I read that Wolverine submitted to Professor Xavier, which also required correcting.
DINOSAURS AND MUTANTS
New artist Ramon Perez does an admirable job with the art in this comic. He has a great understanding of the characters he is working with and their powers. It leaps off the page—every action and fight. Because most of the action occurs in the Savage Land, Ramon Perez depicts dinosaurs and other prehistoric scenery very well; sometimes better than the people themselves. However his character design of Beast is inconsistent with other comics. Although a comic book fan can easily recognize him, it is frustrating for Beast to appear ape-like in this comic and a feral cat in the other X-Men comics.
BOTTOM LINE: A SOLID START
Jason Aaron and Ramon Perez make a very good team to tackle Wolverine and his young team’s misadventures in the Savage Land. Dog Logan as the main antagonist in the arc seems odd considering the characters involved in this series, but after the first issue, it is difficult to tell how it will work out in the end. Overall a good start to what could be an interesting story arc.
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