The previous issue of Predator vs Wolverine ended with a pretty dramatic moment, one that had the potential to set up a big retcon for Wolverine and his history. We saw the Predator standing over Logan as he lay in the Weapon X facility, having recently gone through the adamantium process. Was the story going to reveal that Wolverine escaping and killing everyone was actually a big fight with the Predator? After all, the Predator has big blades too, so maybe they both killed anyone who got in the way and it all just got blamed on Logan. Well, it looks like Benjamin Percy chose not to take the most obvious route, but did integrate the Predator into Logan's history in a pretty interesting way.
I have to also congratulate the restraint of not having a Xenomorph skull on the trophy wall. Not only would this have been a callback to Predator 2, but would have confirmed that the Xenos exist in the Marvel Universe. Perhaps there are subtler plans for the Aliens appearing alongside Marvel, but maybe they've just decided that that might be one cross-over too far. With a universe that already has a Xenomorph knock-off in the Brood is there a place for the Xenomorphs? And are they too destructive to use well in a cross-over? Any that come to Earth would be a much more dangerous threat than a Predator on Earth.
Whilst the Predator tries to get his ship into space the Canadian government send out a couple of fighter jets to stop it; piloted by Schwrtz and Weathers. These two aptly named pilots fail to slow the ship down, but luckily Wolverine regrows his head, and ends up breaking his way out of the ship, falling from orbit back down to Earth. The government are able to reacquire him, and continue their experiments. Though, this time they use the tech salvaged from the Predator's mask that they find with Wolverine, using it to create the iconic control helmet that Logan wears during the Weapon X procedure.
This is the kind of retcon that I like. It adds to the story, it gives a small amount of extra detail and depth to something that has always been there, without really changing anything. And the fun thing is now whenever that helmet pops up you can point at it and go 'do you know where that came from?!' to those who are sure to be nowhere near as excited about it as you are.
As with previous issues, these flashbacks are happening as Logan dealing with the Predator in the modern day, the two of them fighting through the Canadian wilderness. Logan is on the back-foot in these moments, but the approach this issue takes, with the Predator being too reliant on its tech and Logan being a more primal hunter makes for an interesting approach, and it looks like the tables may have begun to turn in this encounter.
Each part of the story has its own artist, Ken Lashley and Jaun Fernandz continue on the present day segments, with they're joined this issue by Hayden Sherman and Alex Guimarães on the Weapon X segment, and Kei Zama and Alex Guimarães on the Muramasa parts. Each part works well with their styles, and the art in the issue looks great. The Muramasa parts look distinct and different from the other flashbacks we've had, and the style suits the setting well.
With just one more issue left, this feels like a series that's coming to a close way too soon. Each of the flashbacks we get could be their own four issue mini-series, and whilst these small glimpses into these stories means that we're not getting any filler or fluff it also leaves you really wanting more each time they come to a close. Percy is doing a fantastic job at blending these two worlds together, and this might be one of the best Predator crossovers that we've ever had.
No comments:
Post a Comment