Hello Enthusiasts,
Today I will be reviewing the graphic novel Wolverine: Enemy of the State. This review, as many do now, may contain some Spoilers Below.
The story, written by comic all-star Mark Miller, opens up with a trap, where one of Logan's old friends in Japan has his child stolen to draw Wolverine out. When Wolverine arrives though, he is captured by The Hand and is brainwashed to kill just about every superhero on Earth, and we all know that he is the best at what he does. This, of course, causes a significant amount of chaos in the Marvel Universe, as one of their more durable heroes is now their enemy, which is something nobody was hoping for. Luckily, he is then captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and returned to his normal, heroic self, free to get his bloody, hate-filled revenge.
This is the example for a Wolverine comic to meet. The art is fantastic and consistent all the way through, thanks to the brilliant work of industry icon (and son of an industry legend) John Romita Jr. The story is engaging and interesting, with some amazing scenes, like when Logan is being deprogrammed by S.H.I.E.L.D. This scene shows Wolverine breaking out of his restraints and slaughtering every agent on board, until he stops before killing one woman because he can tell she is pregnant. It is revealed that this is all happening in his mind, induced as a mean of overcoming his programming, and this one only the most recent of thousands of simulations (but the first one where he spared anyone). This scene along was great and I loved the idea that shows that it is no easy task to remove such programming from Logan's mind. Also, even though he isn't doing what we might want him to be doing when he's working for The Hand, it shows him at the pinnacle of his awesomeness, taking down characters that are out of a lot of other heroes leagues. At the same time though, Logan will still help people when he is being controlled, with the example being shown of him stopping a mugging of a woman between his super-powered assassinations.
So yes, the book is memorable and enjoyable. It's also a pretty long book, coming in at well over 100 pages, with very few one-panel pages thrown in there. a lot happens, and it's mostly action. There are a few pages where only a line or two of dialogue are said, letting the action speak for itself. I think I saw more SNIKT than I did conversation. Still, the dialogue is clever and informative, which is impressive since it's a pretty straightforward plot for such a long graphic novel. It''s nice that, throughout everything, Wolverine's reputation overcomes his current actions with most of the other Marvel heroes, with characters like Captain America and Nick Fury giving him the benefit of the doubt right away for his actions. It also helps that Electra knows The Hand's methods when she sees them, and she does have a moderate role in part of this story.
The only possible downside to this comic for me is the final part of it. The story ends with another issue remaining in the series, and it's a look back at a WWII concentration camp where Wolverine was prisoner. He could have broken out at any time of course, but he instead liked to make the wardens go insane trying to kill him, to the point that it's implied that they had all been committing suicide. This is all done without Logan's normal rude remarks either, he would just stand there as a constant presense. It's not a bad story, and I would actually like to read a whole graphic novel about it, but it does not fit in here at all. It's a random jump back that was put in to pad a little bit more space in the book, and I really could have done without it.
If it wasn't for the last, disconnected issue, this could have been a real 10/10. However, I cannot ignore that someone made the decision to include that in this otherwise perfect story of Wolverine becoming a villain and having to redeem himself. If you are a fan of Wolverine, Marvel, or just comics in general, this is a good read. I definitely suggest picking up a copy, because you'll be reading it more than once if you're anything like me.
I give Wolverine: Enemy of the State a 9.5 out of 10.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
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