12 Claws of Fury
Daken and X-23. Both are relatively new characters with family ties to Wolverine, with very similar struggles with inner strife. Both have risen to mainstream prominence in their own individual series penned by Marjorie Liu. Most importantly, both personalities collide in this crossover mini-series which comes to a close with Part 4. Did the series live up to the potential of having these two unstoppable forces clash and, more importantly, does the mini-series end in a satisfying manner?
Sibling Rivalry
Collision sees X-23 and Gambit travelling to Madripoor in search of one Malcolm Colcord. Followers of Wolverine and other Weapon X alumni will likely recognize Colcord as the man behind the project, and X-23 has a sneaking suspicion the mad scientist intends to start the project anew. This leads X-23 to seek out the help of Daken, the nation's new kingpin, who tentatively agrees to help after battling Laura to a standstill. Several double-crosses and brutal revelations lead to Part 4, where the duo of Wolverine spawn must join forces to finally expose the true nature behind Colcord's schemes.
The Beauty in Brutality
For the Daken portions of this mini-series, Liu is joined by Daniel Way, and the combined strength of their storytelling might makes the final issue of Collision absolute gold. It's brutal, while maintaining the human element that remains dormant inside these two characters through most of their adventures. It also really plays up the similarities between the two, but also their differences, with Laura being an engineered killer seeking a purpose beyond that which she was made for, and Daken using his god-given gifts to prove he has the strength to achieve just about anything. The dialog between the two, particularly towards issue's end, is inspired.
Speaking of inspired, the art by Marco Chechetto is fantastic here. He really captures the savagery and carnage that would result in getting in a fight between these two, as well as the grim and gritty feel of the seedy Madripoor underbelly. It can't be easy to make an image of a pair of people being incinerated by an explosion appear beautiful, but somehow Chechetto pulls it off.
In the end, the only problems I had with this mini were minor. I certainly would like to say, as an X-23 reader, I'm beginning to question the point of Gambit in this series. Certainly he provides a break to the tension and gives Laura someone relatively "normal" to talk to, but I find I'd rather have Laura's inner-monologue reveal to the reader what she's thinking. I feel it'd help the reader connect more to her. Also, and this is just a personal thing, this mini has shown the potential that these two have as a combination. I feel the X-23 and Daken series could be even stronger if they were combined into one.
Animal Magnetism
And that's what makes Collision such a good storyline. Fans of either character are sure to enjoy it, and it has enough good old knockdown drag out action that new readers can easily get into it. If you've been thinking about reading either X-23 or Daken: Dark Wolverine, you may want to give Collision a look to give you a feel for each character.
Daken: Dark Wolverine #9 (Part 4 of Collision) gets 4.5 stars out of 5. It's the comic equivalent of a crowd pleaser.
