Cover Art for Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #2 - Written by Chip Zdarsky, Art by Luca Maresca, Colors by Jesus Aburtov and Letters by VC’s Joe Sabino. Cover Art by Leinil Francis Yu and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
“Hell, one day they may aim you at me. Lord knows I’d deserve it.See ‘ya round Frank. ”
I’ll admit, after issue #1 of Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon, I wasn’t totally sold on the book's story or the cast of characters that the book was built around. I’ve always thought Wolverine was cool but the X-Men have never been my forte. I’m proud to say that with issue #2, I feel much more invested in this title and with the overarching story that is sure to spin out of it as Armageddon continues to get closer and closer to its June release. Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #2 is a great second issue and writer and Armageddon architect Chip Zdarsky is crafting a really intriguing story that features some great art from Luca Maresca and Jesus Aburtov.
My big issue with the first issue of this series was that it felt like Zdarsky was throwing a lot at the reader with a bunch of character reveals and a lot of lore dumps and exposition. Issue #2, while it features some lore dump moments for sure, feels like a much more cohesive story and much more engrossing story right from the jump. Now does part of why I’m enjoying this issue more have to do with the fact that I understand who all these characters are a little more after reading the last issue and doing some research? Absolutely but overall I felt like the plot of this book moves a lot quicker and I think the lore aspect of this issue was integrated a lot better than it was in issue #1. With all that being said, let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now in Effect for Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #2.
A Flashback and an “Unknown” Soldier
Zdarsky opens this issue with a flashback during Logan’s time acting as an agent for the CIA. Locked inside of some science test chamber is Frank Simpson, the man who will become Nuke, and it’s made clear that the reason he’s in the chamber is because Logan brought him there. A scientist, named Professor Ford, berates Logan for bringing Simpson into the facility with scars all over his face. Logan leaves but not before telling a still sleeping Simpson he hopes they “make him whole” and that “one day, they may aim you at me.” Simpson opens his eyes as Logan leaves and the flashback ends.
We jump to the present day as Nuke and his handler from the government reach the PRIMEWARRIOR facility that test subject and adamantium infused mutant Tyler Torrens has escaped from. Nuke, with the American Flag tattooed as brightly as can be on his face, begins his search for Tyler and the man who wants to keep him from the government and PRIMEWARRIOR’S hands: Wolverine. BAM, title card.
The flashback sequence to open this book was a great choice from Zdarsky. Like I mentioned in my last review and above, I don’t have the extensive knowledge of these characters like I do of others in the Marvel Universe. I’m sure others out there are in the same situation as me. Being able to see where the relationship between Nuke and Wolverine began tells me why Nuke seemingly feels all this animosity toward him. It helped give me the context that I desperately needed last issue and didn’t have. I almost wish this flashback scene of Logan delivering Simpson to the Weapon Plus project was written for last issue but I loved its inclusion here and it’s one of many reasons this issue clicked with me a lot more than the first.
Getting back to the issue, we pick up right where we left off at the end of issue #1: A man with a star on his chest, similar to the Captain America we all know, has Teri O’Barnes at his mercy with a gun pointed at the back of her head as Wolverine looks on. Despite seeing the glowing star and a version of the famous Captain America shield, Wolverine isn’t quite sure “who the F*** he’s dealing with.” He makes a choice: Since he sees the star and the shield, he thinks that this man won’t put a bullet in the back of a woman’s skull. He bets correctly as he charges Colton and the two begin to brawl inside his cabin in the woods. The brawl itself is one of the coolest parts of the issue but ultimately it ends when Wolverine realizes that this mysterious figure isn’t fighting to the best of his abilities: he refuses to pick up his shield even when he's pinned to the wall. O’Barnes finally makes the connection and tells Wolverine who this guy really is: David Colton, the Unknown Captain America.
I can’t talk about this section without bringing up the incredible job that Luca Maresca and Jesus Aburtov have done here. You can feel the movement in every single panel of this fight; Maresca’s art is extremely kinetic. Every shot from Colton’s gun, every swing of Wolverine’s claw and every impactful hit has weight behind it and the speed at which these two characters are moving is really well shown on the page. I also loved that in certain panels, the cabin and other elements in the background are blurred to show the speed at which these characters are moving. In some panels the cabin walls and furniture are completely gone with just the rudimentary colors representing them. Cool details like that take the art in this book to the next level. This fight scene was awesome.
Nuke’s Hunt Continues and Colton Tells a Tale
With that big reveal in the cabin, the story shifts into another flashback. We rejoin Nuke during his early days as a part of the Weapon Plus program as he tracks down and fights a Grizzly Bear. It doesn’t go well for him and Professor Ford again humiliates his partner Ash by screaming at him and slapping him in front of other scientists and workers due to Nuke’s inability to defeat the bear in combat. It’s clear there’s massive tension between the two scientists and it seems to be foreshadowing a confrontation between the two soon… I liked this flashback scene as well. This continued context given to Nuke’s journey to the point he’s currently at in his life is appreciated because it's clear he’s going to be a big part of this story going forward and possibly even into the massive Armageddon event in June. Zdarsky’s narrative choices in this issue have hit a home run with me.
Back in the present, Nuke and members of the PRIMEWARRIOR organization are on the hunt for Tyler, Wolverine and O’Barnes. Deep in the woods, Ash tells the squad that the “suppression” treatment he used on Tyler is going to wear off soon and that if they find O’Barnes she can lead them to Tyler. Everything seems to be going to plan until the group notices that Nuke is gone; seemingly off to chase Wolverine on his own. Meanwhile, Wolverine and O’Barnes talk with David Colton and basically have a conversation that informs the reader about who Colton is and where he comes from. Colton says he doesn't use the shield anymore and that his heart has been replaced by a Stark Tech replacement after the super slider serum “tore through [his original heart].”
O’Barnes asks Colton about what PRIMEWARRIOR did to Tyler and we learn that when it was discovered he had “regenerative abilities,” PRIMEWARRIOR went “all in” and developed a form of “fluid, indestructible” adamantium that he can control from even across a room. As if normal adamantium was enough of a problem! Wolverine says that they really need to find Tyler and get to him before PRIMEWARRIOR does and with his suppression treatment now wearing off, O’Barnes can now sense his location with her powers…
I liked the conversation between O’Barnes, Wolverine and Colton as we start to get a little insight into who this “Unknown” Captain America really is. He seems like someone who is completely disenfranchised by the world he’s living in and hates that he just became another weapon for a system that couldn’t care less about him but only what he can do for others. Colton’s thoughts seem to mimic others around his age group, millennials, in the world today. Many feel disenfranchised by their countries or governments and how we are sometimes only seen as numbers on a spreadsheet or by how much money we can make someone else. Colton is an intriguing look at the type of Captain America that the 21st century could produce and I just might start picking up more books that feature him. Colton’s Captain American fits this particular story really well and I like that Zdarsky chose him or the more well-known Steve Rogers.
Next, we get our first glimpse of Tyler in this issue. He’s very clearly on the run and in need of a helping hand. He is discovered by an employee of a second hand goods store digging through their garbage to try to find some clothing. He tells the man to leave him alone and nearly kills him in cold blood but when the man begs Tyler to spare his life because he has a family and a child, Tyler says he’s sorry and runs off. Even with all the horrible things done to him by PRIMEWARRIOR, there is still a good person inside. Tyler is a character we still don’t know much about beyond his abilities so it was nice to see a little bit of the person behind the powers, even if it was just for a passing minute.
We bounce around again and this time we rejoin Nuke in his hunt. Nuke runs into a bear once again, just like he did years earlier, and pops a white pill to slow his heart rate and focus. We get a beautiful splash panel from the art team of Nuke kneeling down in the snow covered woods with the moon in the sky and the imposing grizzly bear looking ready to strike. We don’t see what happens to the bear but it's safe to say that the results for Nuke are much different this time around. This scene gives way to our final flashback of issue #2 where we see Nuke, Professor Ford and the scientist Ash explaining how three different kinds of pills will work for him when he needs them: white to bring a sense of calm, blue for maintaining his normal state and red for increasing his adrenaline. We finally find out why Professor Ford is only in the flashback scenes as the red pill is missing and with Ash, who has now locked the door behind him and is watching from a separate room, looking on we are left to wonder just how badly Nuke killed Ford as his eyes open in a wild rage. These flashbacks give a real weight to Nuke’s story. We can see the parallels between him and Wolverine. Both men had their lives upended and altered by sick people who only wanted to create weapons out of them. You can understand why Nuke is just a bit crazy.
We head back to to the present for issue #2’s concluding scene and boy, is it a doozy. Nuke has finally located Wolverine, O’Barnes and Colton in the cabin. As Wolverine and O’Barnes attempt to convince Colton to join their little group and help them find Tyler, Nuke lights up the house with machine gun fire and nearly kills O’Barnes. Colton and Wolverine head outside to confront Nuke but instead of Nuke giving the duo time to flank him and get close he shoots an RPG rocket at the cabin and blows it up with O’Barnes inside.
Final Thoughts and Rating
Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #2 has great narrative choices, killer art and resonated with me a lot more than the first issue did. The characters are fleshed out with some great writing and the art team gets to flex with some great action scenes. With two issues down and two to go, it's safe to say that the mystery that's unfolding within these pages has me very excited for June’s Armageddon event. This issue knocked it out of the park.
Rating: 8.5/10