Thoughts

One of the all-time great covers sets the tone for an issue that switches between dynamic fun action and the most melodramatic of soap operatics – culminating in that trusty of daytime emotional shockers – a ruined wedding.

Arguably the main storyline in Wolverine’s. He goes back out into the Japanese criminal underworld because he has to. And this sets up the two secondary storylines that arguably are more important in the long term.

Firstly Rogue gets to fight and prove herself alongside Wolverine. The way Wolverine has been written for a while now, and especially in relation to the recent mini-series, makes it clear that to win Wolverine’s respect is a Big Deal. This issue succinctly gives enough to make that happen without it seeming pat and easy. It’s a nice stepping stone to her being at home in the team.

That said, however, having recently gone back and read the issues of Dazzler and the unpublished original Ms Marvel that all feature Rogue before she turns up to join the X-men, she does seem a bit too nice. I miss the angry, vengeful hothead of those issues. From the outset, she seems worthy and too eager to please. This is Mystique’s daughter after all! It’d be nice to have seen a more striking transition.

The other secondary storyline sees Storm emerge from her recent existential crisis with a new look and attitude. Having defined herself for so long by her obligations to others, it’s a great moment to find her liberated from the angst and pain. And to redefine herself.

Fun Panel

Smith has a genuine gift for small displays of human emotion. And comedy.

It was a Product of its Time

Storm’s reinvention in this issue is peak Eighties. But also a genius redesign. It’s normal for super heroes to go through revamped looks. But it’s pretty unique for them to be on this scale and – crucially – to serve also as character development. A perfectly realised emergence from an emotional crisis, reinvented.