Cover Art for Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #3 - Written by Chip Zdarsky, Art by Luca Maresca, Colors by Jesus Aburtov, Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham. Cover Art by Leinil Francis Yu and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
“Yeah, well... they ain’t fortified against me.”
Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #3 is the penultimate issue of Chip Zdarksy’s limited series. I’ve been up and down on this book and this issue continues that roller coaster. It's very clear that this was a set up issue for, what's been promised will be, an explosive and game-changing finale for the Marvel Universe as they enter their big Armageddon event. I’ll be the first to admit, this story hasn’t really grabbed me from the onset but this issue has, at the very least, gotten me much more interested in where all this Armageddon stuff is going. David Colton is the featured flashback character in this issue and the main story has some intriguing developments as well. With just one issue left, does Zdarksy do a good job of setting up the finale? Let's get into it. Spoiler Warning for Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #3 now in effect.
Main Story Recap and Thoughts
For this review I’m going to go over the main plot first followed by the flashbacks. This issue picks up right where we left off with Wolverine, Teri O’Barnes and David Colton under attack by the insane Frank Simpson, a.k.a Nuke, at Colton’s remote cabin. Wolverine and Colton aren’t in the mood for a big, prolonged fight; they need to get O’Barnes to safety as she’s been badly hurt in the explosion from the end of issue #2. Wolverine picks up Colton’s shield and O’Barnes as Colton sets off some rigged explosives. Nuke, and the PRIMEWARRIOR soldiers they have joined him in conflict, are left empty handed as the trio make their way to Colton’s ace-in-the-hole: A sea plane situated on a river.
Colton tells Wolverine and O’Barnes that he knows where Tyler Torrens is headed: South Dakota’s PRIMEWARRIOR facility where the head of the project, Nick Pruet, is. We get a quick switch to Tyler for a page and see that he’s hitched a ride with a long haul trucker and is indeed headed to the PRIMEWARRIOR facility, with that strange box from the now destroyed facility in tow. Back at the now destroyed cabin, Nuke is reprimanded by his superiors for losing their one lead at finding Tyler but the group makes a discovery that reveals to them that David Colton is alive and working against them. Professor Ash calls Pruet and tells him David Colton is the person who has been bombing their facilities. Pruet tells Ash to get their forces to the main hub in South Dakota to prepare for their arrival.
Back on the plane, Wolverine chastises Colton for basically sending Tyler in what he thinks is going to be a Death Trap when he told him about the South Dakota facility. In the saddest moment of the series so far, O’Barnes passes away from her injuries on the flight as a dejected Wolverine comments on how she went from someone who was hated by mutants to one who found a path to helping them. We cut back to Tyler who has arrived at the PRIMEWARRIOR facility and threatens to destroy this mysterious box if Pruet doesn’t let him in. Finally, Wolverine and Colton arrive at the facility, discover a trail of bodies leading inside and come face to face with a terrifying sight: a Prime Soldier holding Tyler’s limp body…
Well I have to admit, and this is coming from someone who has liked Wolverine for a lot of my life too, that this main story just isn’t grabbing me like I hoped it would. Issue #1 wasn’t a great start and while I did enjoy issue #2 a lot more I just feel like issue #3 didn’t take off as much as I’d hoped. I think part of the problem with this issue and this series overall with me is that this doesn’t feel like a huge opening to a massive comic event. It almost feels like a niche Wolverine/David Colton story.
I think this upcoming Armageddon event really would have benefitted from having more recognizable characters and a plot that didn’t rely so much on lore that many new comic fans hoping to jump on during an event don’t have knowledge of. I feel like this particular series would’ve been much more suited to an event tie-in rather while the massive event is going on than the introduction or the lead-up to the new massive event. Basically this series doesn’t work for me as an introduction because introductions are designed to draw the reader in and I just haven’t felt that massive pull to check out the full Armageddon event. Could issue four change my mind a bit? Sure, but as of now I’m not as excited for Armageddon as I’d hope.
Flashback Recap and Thoughts
I’m very pleased to say I enjoyed the flashback sequences in this issue far more than the main story. Last issue’s flashbacks focused on Nuke and his origins but this one gives us a look at some of the early days in David Colton’s career. David Colton, the “unknown” Captain America, is a character who I wasn’t familiar with when I began reviewing this series but he has become my favorite part of it overall, even more so than Wolverine. Colton’s origins go back to the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Colton wants to fight for his country and stand up for what’s right. We join Colton as he is receiving his final “super-soldier” treatment before he gets ready to be in the field. I actually really like the conversation Colton and his doctor, Dr. Saraf regarding patriotism and what that word actually means. It was a good character moment to get a little more insight into Colton as a character. Colton isn't the only super-soldier though as it's revealed he has a friend who is also going through the same treatments.
The duo are sent on their first mission as super-soldiers, but they aren’t sent overseas quite yet. General Ross has a job for the men to take down a man named Khalid Al-Omar. Al-Omar was supposed to be one of the hijackers during the 9/11 attacks but broke his arm and didn’t participate in the horrifying event. Colton, his friend and fellow super-soldier, Chuck, and a group of men go after Al-Omar at a motel he is hiding out in and he unfortunately gets the jump on them when he escapes his room and sets off a bomb severely injuring members of the team. Colton and Chuck give chase to the fleeing Al-Omar but Chuck’s heart gives out from the super-soldier serum. With some of his last breaths he begs Colton to stop Al-Omar’s escape and Colton does just that. He sprints to the nearby airfield and using his shield, stops Al-Omar’s plane from taking off and stops him from getting away. Colton returns to Chuck but finds him already passed on.
Finally, Colton returns to the lab and is infuriated with Dr. Saraf due to being told about the serum’s effect on his heart. He learns he only has about ten years left to live (which obviously he has figured out how to move past) and is horrified that this wasn’t explained to him beforehand. Dr. Saraf tells him it’s not a death sentence but rather… he’s given him a life that is now filled with purpose. He then gives him a new Captain America suit as the flashback ends.
I honestly really liked the flashback sequences in this book. They were more engaging to me than the main story was and I liked seeing how Colton became this new age Captain America. One positive thing I can say about this series is that it's encouraged me to check out more books related to David Colton and his adventures as Captain America. There’s something very compelling about a Captain America who grew up around the same time as I did and wasn’t raised with ideals from the mid 20th century. The early 21st century is a much different world than the 1940’s. Colton’s role in the main story has been my favorite part of this book and as someone who never likes to be entirely negative, I’m happy this series has introduced me to another Marvel character that has piqued my interest. I think I need to check out Colton’s Captain America series for sure
Art Thoughts, Concluding Thoughts and Rating
The art team of Luca Maresca and Jesus Aburtov delivered another solid issue that was great to look at visually overall and had some moments that I want to highlight. The parts of Colton’s flashback story that took place during his mission had this sepia tone that really worked for me. It reminded me of some of those early 2000’s and 2010’s war movies where you’d see them have this sepia tone during battle scenes, especially if the movie took place in a desert. Its a cool detail because Colton’s flashback story does take place around that era so it liked the stylistic choice.
Specifically getting into Maresca’s art style, I wanted to highlight the emotion he brings to each character he writes. It’s never hard to tell how a character is feeling or what emotions they’re going through with his art style. His facial drawings are always very expressive and there are a few moments in the book that highlight this. The conversations between David Colton and Dr. Saraf, Wolverine’s expressions throughout most of his scenes, the moment Professor Ash finds out Colton is going after PRIMEWARRIOR and the scene where Teri O’Barnes succumbs to her injuries are all great examples of Maresca’s expressive art style.
Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #3 does a good job of setting up the series finale. Luca Maresca and Jesus Aburtov provide some great art once again but Chip Zdarsky’s narrative is falling a bit flat for me. The flashback sub-plot, featuring David Colton during his early days as Captain America, was a personal highlight of the issue for me. Next issue certainly has a lot riding on it as Armageddon quickly approaches.
RATING: 7/10