X Deaths of Wolverine #2 is written by Benjamin Percy with art by Federico Vicentini, colors by Dijjo Lima, and lettering by VC’s Cory Petit. It’s published by Marvel Comics. Continuing where the first issue left off, Moira MacTaggert is still on the run with Mystique hot on her heels. Moira soon learns that the cancer that’s invaded her body has a dark connection to Krakoa, which only fuels her desire to survive. Meanwhile, the mysterious Wolverine continues his hunt — and like Moira, he appears to have a connection to the techno-organic beings known as the Phalanx.
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If Percy is writing X Lives of Wolverine as an examination of Wolverine’s — and by extension, the X-Men’s history, then X Deaths is a mile-a-minute action thriller in the vein of The Fugitive, with Moira in Harrison Ford’s place and Mystique in Tommy Lee Jones’. Moira struggles to stay one step ahead by only utilizing burner phones, staying in rundown motels, and setting up a makeshift trap in case Mystique comes to kill her. What adds to the suspense is Mystique’s ability to shape-shift; she could literally be anyone and anything.
The other film Percy draws inspiration from is The Terminator, as the Phalanx Wolverine is able to hack into technology to locate his targets similar to Skynet’s killing machines. Data pages peppered throughout the issue feature lettering from Petit that resembles the string of code that you might find on a computer. And that same lettering is depicted in panels that take place from Phalanx Wolverine’s POV. Wolverine was already deadly enough with his Adamantium claws and healing factor, but now he’s become a literal killing machine. Fans who’ve been following the Krakoan era of X-Men titles know that a distant future reveals the Phalanx as a major threat to mutant-kind, to say nothing of their secret connection to the X-Man Cypher.
Keeping in line with the action-thriller elements, Vicentini’s hyper-kinetic artwork features some fairly bloody sequences. Phalanx Wolverine is impaled by a harpoon and walks through fire which burns him to the bone, and Moira performs some unorthodox surgery on herself. Whenever Phalanx Wolverine uses his claws to “hack” into technology, the claws become liquid and spread into their target. And Lima’s coloring has glowing golden circuitry spread throughout Phalanx Wolverine’s jet-black suit — providing a twisted take on the clawed Canadian’s X-Men uniform.
However, the link between the two series is still unclear at this point. What made House of X and Powers of X intriguing is how elements from both series weaved into each other, making for a great reading experience. That hasn’t been the case with X Lives and X Deaths; I don’t know how Wolverine’s quest in the past leads to him supposedly trying to end the X-Men’s existence. Then again there are still three issues left in each series, so maybe Percy, Vicentini, and Josh Cassara will reveal the series’ connection in time.
X Deaths of Wolverine #2 continues the series’ white-knuckle thrill ride, drawing on action classics like The Fugitive and The Terminator for inspiration. The new Wolverine saga is about to hit its halfway point, and the future — and past — of the X-Men is in jeopardy.
X Deaths of Wolverine #2 is available wherever comics are sold.
X Deaths of Wolverine #2
TL;DR
X Deaths of Wolverine #2 continues the series’ white-knuckle thrill ride, drawing on action classics like The Fugitive and The Terminator for inspiration. The new Wolverine saga is about to hit its halfway point, and the future, and past, of the X-Men is in jeopardy.
