Wolverine: Civil War #1

I read the crossover story Civil War, and planned on reading, and reviewing the tie-in novels that I had, and although I read them I never got round to reviewing them. I am however hoping to do that now, and am continuing with the this Wolverine tie-in volume, with this being my seventh review on Wolverine.

Plot

After the deaths of innocent people in Stamford, CT causes the start of the superhero Civil War Wolverine decides to track down the man responsible, Nitro.

Review

This was yet another brilliant tie-in story to Civil War, also being a great Wolverine story. Marc Guggenheim did a great job of putting Wolverine into this event, as with the X-Men staying out of the Civil War, I was wondering how Wolverine could have a tie-in story, and this story showed perfectly how there could, and should have been one. The drama, and excitement in this story was simply outstanding, as it had a great atmosphere, with brilliant tone. It also had some amazing action that was fitting of a Wolverine story, being explosive, and exciting, whilst also being gritty, and slightly graphic. The emotion in this story was also great, as although Wolverine doesn't produce your normal sad, or happy emotion often, there's a lot that he cares about, and this is shown through his rage, which Guggenheim handled perfectly, adding depth to his character throughout this story.

I was in two minds whether I liked the art in this story, as although I usually love Humberto Ramos' art, I wasn't entirely sure whether it suits Wolverine. Now I loved how he drew Wolverine in costume, as he looked amazing, but the problem I had was that outside of costume Ramos went a little over the top, as the hair was a little too jarring, and the distinguishing features of Wolverine were enhanced too much. The action however was handled perfectly, being very graphic, and explosive, and if Ramos either kept Wolverine in costume all the time, or improved his look outside of the costume he'd be perfect for this series. Ramos' layouts were also brilliant, adding depth, and tone to the story, also giving a brilliant atmosphere to the story. The colours from Edgar Delgado was also brilliant, making Ramos' art more vibrant, also adding more texture, and tone to the finished artwork.

With the X-Men staying out of the Civil War, Wolverine would have a dilemma, as although he sided with his team, he wanted to do what he felt was right, and that was track down Nitro. I loved the interaction that Wolverine had with both Cyclops, and Emma Frost, as although he was friends with them at the time, he didn't always see eye to eye with them, and this is obvious during this interaction. I also enjoyed seeing how he interacted with members from his other team, the New Avengers, who were mainly involved in Civil War, and I especially enjoyed his interaction with Iron Man, and Luke Cage.

What I liked most about this story was that it actually showed something getting done about Nitro, as although he was only the catalyst to start the Civil War nothing happened about him in that story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am however happy that there is a series that is dealing with it, and what better series than this one. Besides Wolverine's personality the fact that he isn't on either side of this war makes him the perfect candidate to track down this killer. I also loved seeing Nitro himself, and the fights he had with Wolverine throughout this story was amazing.

This story would also see the involvement of Atlanteans, and with the Atlanteans come their ruler, Namor, who wants justice for his cousin, Namorita, who was killed by Nitro. The inclusion of Namor usually adds excitement, and this time was no different. I found his appearance to be very interesting, and the interaction between him, and Wolverine was brilliant, only being beaten by the small fight that they had, which was simply outstanding. I also loved how this would develop from another part of Civil War that got forgotten, and it was very appropriate that it was developed in this story..

Following the main story there was an issue that would showed what happened to Wolverine during his healing process. Now you may say that this was a cheap additional issue, as a fair chunk of it was the reprint of events from the main story, with new thought boxes added, as well as some additional sequences in between the events. I did however like it, and felt it was a very unique addition, and a nice extra. I also loved how there was thought put into it, and although it wasn't a necessary addition, it was a nice addition.

Final Verdict

This was a great tie-in story, and it was great to see some development from the actual Stamford incident. The story itself was also very gritty, and dramatic, having the perfect tone for a Wolverine story, also having great action sequences, as well as a great addition cast. Due to all this I'd easily recommend this story, as it's a great accompaniment to the Civil War event itself, and although it's not necessary to get Civil War as well to enjoy this I'd highly recommend doing so, as that is a tremendous story itself.

Rating: 4/5

The next Wolverine book I'll be reviewing will be Wolverine Origins: Born in Blood.