Wolverine #42-48 (2006-2007): Civil War

The Civil War tie-in issues.

I’ll just say for full disclosure that I am not a fan of Humberto Ramos’ cartoonish art, or Marc Guggenheim’s cartoonish writing, for that matter.

“What if the sentinel on the front lawn was a burning cross?” That’s so dumb. The Sentinel team led by Valerie Cooper is nothing like the KKK. They’re there to observe a proven threat to the security of the country and the world. Yes, the X-Men save the world a lot, but they also imperil it. (Let’s not forget Dark Phoenix and the fact that Magneto has led numerous X-teams but has also explicitly and publicly tried to take over the world.). Melodramatic oversimplifications lead to stupid arguments.

Anyway, Wolverine hunts down Nitro, who went missing after murdering a full school bus at the start of the Civil War because, apparently, both Captain America and Iron Man are complete narcissists who are unconcerned that this psycho killer is at large.

There’s the usual “corporation bad!” storyline about a company making money off the War. (The conspiracy involves Damage Control, of all things!) Wolverine takes a lot of punishment along the way, including getting his throat cut by some mandroids.

Before finally and literally stabbing out the eyes of the Damage Control CEO bad guy, Walter Declun.

And he’s not even dead.

After all that, Wolverine finally reaches Nitro and we get a sort of “coda” issue with #48 where Wolverine is obliterated and contemplates the meaning of life while he heals.

Nothing terrible here if you can get past the art. I can’t.