Predator vs Wolverine #2 - Comic Review

 

Wolverine vs Predator is only two issues in, but is already one of the highest selling books at Marvel; and is it really any surprise? When Disney bought Fox, and began making both Alien and Predator books it felt like only a matter of time until one or the other crossed over with a recognised Marvel hero, and picking these two feels like a no brainer. And thankfully, the quality has been fantastic, and the reception has been better than anyone could have hoped for, which could hopefully lead to more crossovers in the future.

Thanks to Wolverine's long life and healing abilities it means that we're not just confined to one place and time, and can create one of the biggest Predator grudge matches that has ever existed. Each issue is framed with the present, where Logan is being hunted through the Canadian wilderness by an old, battle-hardened Yautja that's been after him for more than a century. The first issue took us back to Logan's early life, where he fought the creature in 1900's Alaska. This issue brings things closer to the present, where Wolverine and Team X are on a mission in South America in the 1980's, when they come under attack from a group of the alien hunters.

This issue will feel kind of familiar to those who've watched the original Predator movie, as it takes some inspiration from that story. A team of special forces soldiers, including a guy with a minigun, travel into the jungle to take out a group of rebel fighters. It's very 80's action movie, and it's a formula that not only works for this kind of story, but was the origin of it.

Logan and his team are barely into their mission when they come under attack from a group of Yautja, who quickly kill one of their members. From here the book becomes a fight for survival, as even these mutant killing machines who can shrug off most things find themselves fighting for their lives. There's a moment when Sabertooth tries to take out one of the creatures, only to end up skewered on one of their weapons and taken out of the fight that shows that even the characters that we know make it though this aren't going to do so without taking some serious damage, and suffering wounds that would kill most other people.

Despite taking inspiration from the first movie, the story does do things differently, and throws some nice surprises and twists to the formula in to keep things interesting and original. It ends up being an issue that could very easily fit into any number of other Predator stories with a few slight changes, and considering that this is a series that gave us something very different in the first issue it's a smart move to do this now, especially as those who heard the hype of issue one and may be jumping on here will be eased in with something that fits what they know for the franchise. 

However, as with the previous issue, this one ends with a set-up for the next stage of the fight; and it's one that if you'd have asked me to pick times and places for this showdown I'd have never have put on the list. I won't spoil what happens in the final pages, but it's something that could very well alter a very significant part of Wolverine's history forever. This comic is in continuity, and where the final page takes us is something truly mind-blowing. Benjamin Percy is really pulling out all the stops on this one, and the result is a series that I think people are going to be talking about in the same way Batman vs Predator is decades after it came out. 

The art on this issue is also an improvement over the previous one, chiefly thanks to Greg Land involvement. The Team X segments feature Andrea Di Vito, with Jaun Fernandez on colours, and it's a big improvement over Lands style, and better fits the story being told here. There are some really great moments in the issue, and the art for them is fantastic, with the group of Predators hunting our mutant protagonists through the jungle never looking better. The present day segments are once again drawn by Ken Lashley, with the final segment of the book drawn by Hayden Sherman, with colours by Alex Guimaraes, which looks very different from what we've had in the series so far. 

Predator vs Wolverine has been thoroughly entertaining so far, and the first two times we've been taken to have led to some enjoyable action scenes and an interesting rivalry that has gone on for most of Logan's life. But it looks like the next issue is going to be messing with larger continuity in much bigger ways, and that the Predator might perhaps somehow become an integral part of Wolverine's story. Which, if that's the case, is a bold move that I'm looking forward to seeing. 

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