Wolverine in the ’10s is a pretty short story. The Logan we had followed since 1974 died in 2014 in the basic The Death of Wolverine, and readers spent years getting their Wolverine fix from either Laura Kinney as Wolverine or Old Man Logan. Wolverine returned in the terrible Return of Wolverine (you know it’s true Wolverine fans; excellent art with the worst scripts imaginable), the blah Wolverine and the Infinity Watch, and Rosenberg’s Uncanny X-Men. Wolverine would play a big role in House of X and returned to X-Force, but wouldn’t get his own series until 2020, when X-Force writer Benjamin Percy was joined by Adam Kubert and multiple fill-in artists. Wolverine in the ’20s was in a very interesting place (well, until “From the Ashes”; you’re not going to see the current Wolverine (Vol. 8) on this list at all).
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Wolverine in the ’20s hasn’t always had the best time, although he’s become more popular after Deadpool/Wolverine and gotten closer to his ’90s height of amount of stories. We’ve gotten some very interesting Wolverine stories over the first half of the ’20s, and some of them have been very, very good. These ten ’20s Wolverine stories are the best of the decade so far, stories from across Wolverine’s history.
10) Wolverine (Vol. 7) #24-25
I’m a big fan of Percy’s Wolverine. He wrote the book like the ’90s Wolverine — short stories with longterm storyarcs building in the background — and there are a lot of cool short stories. One of those is Wolverine (Vol. 7) #24-25, which is also the Wolverine crossover issues for AXE: Judgment Day. The Arrakoan Solem is forced to call on Wolverine for help against the Hellbride, something that stems from the first time they met (we’ll get there). Percy works with Federico Vicentini on the book, and there’s a great energy to the art. Percy knows how to write a great Wolverine story and this is a perfect example of what he does best — paying off longterm storytelling with tremendous action and character work.
9) Wolverine (Vol. 7) #14-16
Percy created Solem early in the series, and he became one of the coolest parts of the book. Solem comes to Wolverine on Krakoa, and asks for a favor, just as Wolverine is sent after Sevyr Blackmore, a Arakkoan pirate who has been unleashed on the seas. Solem worked with the pirate on Arakko, and Wolverine needs Solem as much as Solem needs him. Percy and Adam Kubert give readers an amazing three issue story, as the two very different killers clash and work together. However, who’s using who? I really want Solem to come back as a character, and this is one of the coolest examples of what makes him such a great Wolverine villain. There’s a charm to the character, as well as a heartlessness that makes him so interesting. Kubert’s art is fantastic, and if this story doesn’t make you Percy’s Wolverine, nothing will.
8) Wolverine: Deep Cut
Chris Claremont is an X-Men legend, and he wrote some amazing Wolverine tales, both in Uncanny X-Men and in Wolverine, writing the ol’Canucklehead’s first miniseries and the first ten issues of his ongoing. Claremont’s Wolverine is always a joy to read, and he came back to the character in time for Wolverine’s 50th anniversary for two miniseries set in Wolverine’s past. Both of them are on this list and the first we’re looking at is Wolverine: Deep Cut, by Chris Claremont and Edgar Salazar. This story sees Wolverine battling the Sabretooth and the Marauders, with Mister Sinister waiting in the wings. This is peak Claremont Wolverine, and Salazar’s art is perfect for it. This is an action-packed story that is perfect for new and old Wolverine fans.
7) Wolverine (Vol. 7) #6-7
I am not at all a fan of “X of Swords”, the first major event of the Krakoa Era. I find a lot of it boring, and I don’t like the bait and switch of the second half. However, the two Wolverine issues, by Benjamin Percy, Gerry Duggan, Viktor Bogdanovic, and Joshua Cassara are the best of the story for me. Wolverine is forced to go to Japan to get a new Murasama blade, which sends him to Hell and having to deal with the Beast of the Hand to get Murasama to make one. Meanwhile, the Arakkoans send Solem, and the two of them are forced to work together. The second issue sees Wolverine and Storm get drunk before Wolverine is called to battle against Solem and Summoner. These are two action-packed, fun issues. It uses the ideas of “X of Swords” very well, and has some killer art.
6) Wolverine (Vol. 7) #1-3
Wolverine (Vol. 70 #1-3, by Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert, and Viktor Bogdanovic, is a story called “The Flower Cartel”. On an X-Force mission against a group stealing Krakoan flowers, Wolverine ends up under mind control and murders his team. This leads to him trying to figure out what’s going on and teaming with CIA agent Jeff Bannister, with whom he learns about a group stealing Krakoan flowers for a secret enemy. The first issue also includes the beginning of a story that’s picked up after this one, as Wolverine hunts vampires in Paris and gets a new ally. This three issue story is readers’ first taste of Percy writing Wolverine on his own, and it was awesome. Cool story, fun mystery that would tie into X-Force, and the best Wolverine we’d seen in years.
5) Wolverine: Patch
Wolverine’s time as Patch is beloved by fans, and fans in the ’20s got to see him again, from another favorite of Wolverine readers. Wolverine: Patch takes readers back to Madripoor, as Wolverine is asked by Nick Fury to go to the outlaw island and fight off a group of Soviets. The miniseries was written by Larry Hama, a writer who is one of the best Wolverine writers of all time, full stop. This book shows why, as he drops readers back into lawless Madripoor like it hadn’t been three decades since he had wrote Wolverine. Hama is joined by artist by Andrea Di Vito, and his pencils are fantastic, bringing Hama’s action-packed script to life. Hama is a legend and it would be nice if he wrote even more Wolverine in the future.
4) Wolverine: Madripoor Knights
Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s Uncanny X-Men #268 is a classic. It dug into Wolverine’s past in WWII, and established his relationships with Black Widow and Captain America, taking place in Madripoor in the past and present. The issue ends with Wolverine sending Psylocke and Jubilee away to work with Black Widow and Cap, but readers never got that story. Well, until the 2020s. Wolverine: Madripoor Knights, by the Wolverine: Deep Cut team of Claremont and Salazar, sees Wolverine, Widow, and Cap go after the Hand in Madripoor, working with and against the personalities of the island. This book is great throwback Wolverine; Claremont writes the character like he never left, and throws some awesome threats at Wolvie and his companions.
3) Wolverine (Vol. 7) #27-35
Wolverine and X-Force under Benjamin Percy put Wolverine and Beast on a collision course. Wolverine didn’t mind killing for Krakoa, but Beast was becoming a monster in the shadows. All of that would come to head in Wolverine (Vol. 7) #26-35, by Benjamin Percy and Juan Jose Ryp. Wolverine is sent on a mission to the auction house known as Legacy House, where he is captured and his death is sold to the highest bidder. The highest bidder? Beast. What follows next is Beast transforming Wolverine into a weapon, using him to push his agenda. These ten issues are just as violent as you imagine, and do what Percy does best — pay off plots with exciting stories. Ryp’s art perfectly fits the gritty, violent feel of the story, and these two stories — “The Beast Agenda” and “Weapons of X” — are amazing Wolverine.
2) Ultimate Wolverine #1-6
Wolverine (Vol. 8) is dead in the water, its initial success falling to mediocre storytelling and uneven art. However, Ultimate Wolverine is going strong and the first six issues, by Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, and Alex Lins, are the kind of Wolverine comics that fans aren’t getting from the mainline book. In this new Ultimate Universe, Wolverine is the Winter Soldier of the Eurasian Republic, a mutant weapon against the Opposition. In this Weapon X meets Winter Soldier tale, readers get awesome bloody action, and awesome stroytelling, as we learn more about Logan’s history and see him break through his programming. Throw in Gambit, Sabretooth, Legion, Kitty Pryde, Black Widow, and Beast, and this is exactly what a Wolverine reboot should. If you can only buy one Wolverine solo title, this should be the one.
1) “Sabretooth War”
Wolverine (Vol. 20 #41-50, by Benjamin Percy, Victor LaValle, Geoff Shaw, and Cory Smith, is the culmination of Wolverine and Sabretooth’s Krakoan era story, and one of the best Wolverine stories ever. Sabretooth, using multiversal transit technology he got in Sabretooth and the Exiles, brings an army of alternate universe Sabretooths to attack Wolverine and X-Force on Wolverine’s birthday. What follows is a ten-part blood soaked epic, as Wolverine and Sabretooth and his army clash. Sabretooth has a plan, and there’s only one thing he wants — the death of Wolverine. This is an amazing Wolverine/Sabretooth story, and it’s one that I’ll never stop singing the praises of.
What are your favorite Wolverine stories of the ’10s? Sound off in the comment below.
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Image Courtesy of DC Comics -
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
