Imagine if Wolverine was infused with a devil--kind of like Ghost Rider (occasional retcons with angels aside). It would make him have a flaming metal noggin and look pretty crazy. It sounds like a 90's concept but it happened in the recent, "Ghost Rider," run with the character having a really 90's name in the form of, "Hellverine." It sounds stupid and shouldn't have worked, but writer Benjamin Percy made it so that it did! Still, taking such a concept and treating it as anything else than a fun and slightly silly one-off would be foolish, right? I mean, how could a, "Hellverine," mini-series work? I guess with the first issue of, "Hellverine," we are finding out.
Wolverine is not the new Hellverine. It is revealed at the end of the first issue (and on a spoiler variant cover that has been selling well) it is Wolverine's son, Daken, who recently died but has somehow been stitched back together like a bit of a Frankenstein's Monster and infused with some Hellfire. It all sounds silly, but the comic has enough self-awareness at the zany elements to be a good read! The Hellverine is out finding guilty folks and making them pay, now the government needs its help to fight other Hell-powered monstrosities (that our Government actually made but that part is being kept a secret from heroes). It helps that Julius Ohta is a skilled artist, making all the Hellfire look gorgeous as the Hellverine/Daken slices and dices those deserving of his vengeance.
A Ghost-Rider-styled Wolverine should be silly and read more like the idea of a sugared-up child yelling out various superhero concepts they think are edgy and cool than a competent comic. Benjamin Percy is a great writer, however, and with his skilled collaborators I guess it goes to show a fiery Wolverine with a flaming metallic head can also give us some solid stories!
5 out of 5 stars.
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