Marvel Knights is a line of Marvel comics that has produced some great stuff, that’s for sure. My favorite team in the entire genre just got their own Marvel Knights mini-series. What happens when more of Wolverine’s past comes back to haunt him? Is it good?
Marvel Knights: X-Men #2 (Marvel Comics)
Wolverine, Kitty and Rogue have traveled south to investigate a series of mutant killings. They have found two young mutants both with strange powers the likes of which the X-Men have never come across. They suspect that the killings have something to do with one or both of these mutants. In their investigations they come across Sabretooth, one of Wolverine’s most powerful and enduring enemies.
This issue starts of with a brawl of sorts. Sabretooth has brought friends: Blob and Pyro are also beating down on poor Logan and co. When everything already seems hectic enough, Hellfire guards show up and the battle gets real crazy.
What made this battle unenjoyable for me was the lack of clarity. At a point it hinted to Mystique being behind all of it but then dropped that thread altogether. The fact that Darla cut herself and suddenly all of the enemies disappeared would suggest that it was all just a hallucination made real. I’m honestly just kind of confused.
I guess a little more is explained when Darla explains her past by making living memories in front of the X-Men, revealing to them the extent of her power; things are still a little unclear though. The idea of being able to manifest memories is a cool one, and one that I wouldn’t mind seeing explored more in the future.
I also have problems accepting Wolverine’s little temper tantrum mid-issue; it seems incredibly uncharacteristic, especially given his constant involvement with all different kinds of kids. Another uncertainty about Wolverine’s presence in this story: how is he able to just leave the school without either headmaster indefinitely? Kitty’s with Logan so the school is without either heads. I’m not usually one to get caught up in continuity — it just seems unlikely.
The whole storyline about the drugs and the people who manage them is very interesting and something I hope this creative team explores in more depth. My biggest gripe with this story, however, was the inclusion of Sentinels at the end. More Sentinels? Honestly, I don’t think Marvel could go a month without putting mutant-killing-robots in one of their X-Men comics.
Brahm Revel was clearly destined to be an artist, not a writer, but still does an adequate job on the dialogue. I like the disclusion of inner monologue or narration, it gives the comic a more raw, unpredictable feel. I hate how we have to hear about how Wolverine has “so much blood on his hands” all the time; it is a cliche in almost every Wolverine comic out there. It’s just such lazy writing, Wolverine has so much more to his character than just: killer who kills people.
7.5
- Unique and sophisticated art
- Darla is nicely characterized
- The story is just not that intriguing
- A lot of uncertainties, might take a couple reads to fully understand it
Back to Revel’s art: it’s really fun. The charcoals and bright colors are all well placed and service the story, creating a beautiful backdrop for the action and nice looking characters. Not your typical X-Men look but still well produced.
Is it Good?
Depends how you spin it. It’s well made, the writing is solid and the artwork is great, it’s just not the most incredible of stories. The action and characters are all kind of forgettable and the reveal at the end was just disappointing. Could it turn out that this series is good? Yes. It’s just not doing much for me this far through.
