A Quick Look at Wolverine Origins #39

This is the third part of the thus far highly entertaining "Romulus" storyline. Can Daniel Way continue to wow me with his writing? Let's find out! This issue is(obviously)written by Mr. Way, while Scot Eaton provides us with the pencils.

-We start this issue with Logan hanging from a chain over a vat of molten iron thanks to Wildchild. Wildchild explains to Logan that Romulus has been pitting his soldiers(Nuke, Daken, Sabretooth, Cyber, Omega Red, Wildchild and Wolverine)against each other, with the last one standing getting the "honor" of becoming the new Romulus. In other words, Romulus has been playing Wolvie like a fiddle(as usual!).

-While Wildchild is busy taunting Logan, Omega Red attacks Wildchild. However, Wildchild manages to activate the mechanism that is used to lower Logan into the molten iron prior to Red's attack.

-With his two foes busy battling each other, Wolvie manages to get himself to lower into the vat hands first, which allows him to break free of his bonds and get out of Wildchild's death trap. Wolvie then proceeds to run away, which infuriates Wildchild. Omega Red takes advantage of Wildchild's momentary distraction and tosses Wildchild into the vat of molten iron.

-2 days later, Wolverine heads to a warehouse in St. Petersburg and discovers that the Black Widow had sent him the Muramasa blade as he had requested. Omega Red tracks Wolvie down and announces to him that now that he finally has the C-Synthesizer he also wants to become the next Romulus. Wolvie tells Red he won't stand in his way, but Red then mentions that Daken probably won't be as meek. In order to protect Daken from the stronger-then-ever Omega Red, Wolvie buries the blade deep in Red's chest, killing him.

-This issue concludes with Wolverine(FINALLY)coming face-to-face with Romulus after killing Red.

As usual, this was a very good issue of Wolverine: Origins. Of course the important news to come from this issue is that after months and months of waiting, we finally get our first glimpse of Romulus. Right off the bat, one notices that Romulus bears a striking resemblance to Wolverine. Is Romulus a relative? Perhaps Wolverine's brother from "Wolverine: Origin"/"Wolverine: The End"? Could be, I guess we'll find out very soon.

So now what? Could all of this be leading up to the death of the ol' Canucklehead? Honestly, Wolverine dying at the hands of Romulus leads to the most interesting storyline possibilities. Daken could take up Wolverine's crusade against Romulus, solidifying Daken's position as the new Wolverine(much like Bucky/Cap as well as Nightwing/Batman). Or better yet, have Wolverine kill Romulus with the Muramasa blade, and then have Daken kill Wolvie in order to take Romulus' spot. Yeah, I know, it's unlikely Wolverine is going to die anytime soon, but if ever Marvel was ever going to pull the trigger on such a radical move, now would be the perfect time. For a score, I'll give this issue a 9 out of 10. I thoroughly enjoyed this comic and was extremely pleased to finally see Wolvie come face-to-face with the man who has been manipulating him for years. Next issue should be a blast!Why Romulus, what big claws you have...