Cover Art for Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #4
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Luca Maresca
Colors by Bryan Valenza
Letters by VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Well, well, well… It took four issues, but Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon finally struck a chord with me. If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that I haven’t had the greatest time reading this series, and I haven’t enjoyed it like I hoped I would. I’m very pleased to say that writer Chip Zdarsky and the art team of Luca Maresa and Bryan Valenza deliver the strongest issue in this limited series run, and because of this finale, I might just have to pick up Avengers Armageddon to see how this story continues to evolve. I couldn’t be more thrilled that this issue stuck the landing after an overall up-and-down series. Let’s get into it. Spoiler Warning Now in Effect for Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #4.
Recap of Issue #4
The majority of this issue takes place in and around the PRIMEWARRIOR main installation, with the assault on the installation taking center while Colton’s flashbacks and memories provide context for the man who doesn’t feel he deserves to hold the shield or be called Captain America. All the pieces finally come together as Wolverine and Colton take on all PRIMEWARRIOR can throw at them as they seek to find the Tyler Torrens inside the building. Nuke and his band of henchmen from PRIMEWARRIOR get involved with the fight as well. Colton and Wolverine cut their way through PRIMEWARRIOR’s forces, including newly created super-soldier variants with massive metal arms. One of them is even a clone of the original Nuke.
Wolverine finds Tyler confronting Pruet, PRIMEWARRIOR’s leader, in his office and talks him down from killing him only for him to be shot in the head by the original Nuke and taken out for good. Tyler finally joins forces with Wolverine and Colton, and the trio fights through waves of super soldiers before everything goes dark when Colton gets shot after refusing to pick up his Captain America shield. Nuke blows up his clone with a grenade and disappears.
What follows is my favorite sequence in the issue. With Colton unconscious and life beginning to slip away from him, he dreams of the time he came face to face with Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, outside his home. Rogers and Colton have an emotional conversation, and Rogers lets him know how much he empathizes with the position that the United States Government put him in. Rogers tells Colton he read his file and knows how many people he saved during his run as the new Captain America, and that he never had to live up to him, he only needed to be himself and his own man. Before leaving, Rogers leaves Colton a Captain America shield and tells him to take care of himself and enjoy his peace.
We shift back to the current day as Colton wakes briefly to see Tyler Torrens mopping up the remaining PRIMEWARRIOR soldiers while Wolverine talks to the dying man and against his initial wishes, opens up the Origin Box. Our issue closes with teases of what is going to happen next to our four main characters. After rejecting an offer to join the X-Men, Tyler Torrens decides to go home and see his family to begin his healing process. He wants to learn to control his primal impulses and his rage and re-connect with family, although he appreciates Logan’s offer.
Wolverine tells Colton he’ll be leaving shortly to deal with X-Men related issues and in one of the issues biggest reveals its shown that Colton now possesses an immense amount of power as he flies off into the woods to get more wood as he rebuilds his cabin. It’s not immediately known exactly what powers Colton has but he’s clearly augmented with some serious abilities. To close out, Nuke hunts down the evil Professor Ash, shoots him in the head and drives off into the sunset.
Thoughts on Issue #4
This issue features action-packed moments alongside great moments of characterization. There wasn’t a page or panel in this issue that I felt wasn’t being properly utilized, and the narrative flows really well between the assault on PRIMEWARRIORS’s facility and the flashbacks to an earlier part of David Colton’s life. This issue, more than anything, made me wish this four-issue limited series were either a one-shot or a two-issue series. I felt like a lot of the ideas introduced earlier in this story could’ve been told quicker and didn’t need a lot of the extra fat.
I think my entire perception of this narrative would be completely different if it had been a one-shot story. Believe me, I’m not naive. I understand any business has a bottom line, and they have target goals for their book sales throughout the weeks and months of the year. Was part of the reason this was four issues a way to drum up more sales for the big event? It easily could’ve been, but I think a massive 80-page one-shot could’ve accomplished the goal and told a more concise and cohesive story.
One of the main things I really enjoyed about this issue was, just like the last one, the flashbacks into David Colton’s life. Colton is not a one-dimensional character. He’s conflicted about the world and his role in it moving forward. He is a person who genuinely wanted to be the best he could be for his country, and his mistakes weigh heavily on him. He feels he has an impossible standard to live up to in Steve Rogers, and after the deaths he caused in Latveria years ago, he’s very much having a crisis of conscience.
He doesn't feel he deserves to hold the shield, but ultimately, that’s why I’ve really come around on him and his story. People who crave power are usually the ones who are destructive with it and don’t belong anywhere near it; giving Colton the power of an Origin Box and what he's going to do with that power going forward is something I’m really looking forward to as Armageddon takes hold. Out of every character in this mini-series, I’m most intrigued by where the story of David Colton is going to go.
There are two other moments in this issue that I want to bring special attention to, not any of the battle scenes, but two more character-driven conversations that give us more of an insight into who these people are. There’s a moment in between all the fighting at the PRIMEWARRIOR facility where Colton and Nuke come face to face. As they hold each other at gunpoint, Colton tells Nuke that he understands what it's like to go through the super-soldier program; they’ve been through “hell and back,” and all he wants to do is save Tyler from going through everything that people like them did.
Tyler doesn’t deserve to be poked and prodded and have his entire life destroyed by the government forces conspiring against them. Colton tells Nuke he can help him save the boy or not, and Nuke, for all his faults, begins to understand that his rage needs to be directed at the right people. Colton is going through plenty mentally himself, but the fact that he was able to calm down and get through to Nuke speaks to his character and his potential to become a great hero.
The second moment is when Wolverine is talking to a now in-control Tyler towards the end of the issue. Wolverine, a man who has more reasons than almost anyone to be angry, is able to help Tyler begin to control his ferocity by showing him there is a path forward. He doesn’t need to follow anyone’s orders; he just needs to find peace so he can move forward and become the best person he can be. There’s something that really clicked with me in this small scene. Logan has gone through some terrible moments in his life, and to have him now be able to help those who have gone through similarly tough times is very meaningful.
I think comic fans will really enjoy where some of the story arcs are going after this story. David Colton is all set up to be one of the biggest players as Armageddon kicks off next month, with what unfolds for him at the end of this issue. Wolverine is, of course, going to play a massive role in things going forward. Even the two characters who didn’t hit for me at all over the course of the first three issues, Tyler Torrens and Nuke, get much-needed character developments in this issue that make me excited to see how their roles evolve as Armageddon takes hold. I know what you’re thinking: “Is this really the same guy who wrote the first three reviews of this series?” I couldn’t be happier that this issue changed my perception of this series and what it is setting up for the Marvel Universe. I always try to approach any piece of media I interact with with an open mind, and I’m glad I stuck with this one until its final issue because it made me appreciate where this story is going.
The Art, Concluding Thoughts and Rating
The art in this issue was really well done. Luca Maresca has been killing it during this entire run, and everything looks great, from the action-packed battle scenes to the deep emotional scenes between the characters. I love the work Maresca does on the faces and facial expressions of the characters he draws; it’s not tough to figure out how someone is feeling. From the rage on everyone's faces while they are in the midst of battle to the thoughtful and more muted moments of reflection and conversation, Maresca nails it. To have a successful comic run, the art needs to be just as powerful as the story, and Maresca’s art was great to see not just in this issue but throughout this run. The colorist for this issue, Bryan Valenza, does a nice job on the main story as well as the flashback sequences for Colton. The sepia tone of the flashbacks gives them a warm feel as we look upon earlier times in Colton’s life, and the bright colors used at the end of the issue, as Colton, Wolverine, and Torrens depart gives the reader a sense of hope moving forward for these characters.
After an up-and-down first three issues, Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #4 is an impactful finale to the limited series. Powerful character moments and intense action highlight Chip Zdarsky and the creative team's strongest issue. As the Marvel Universe descends into Armageddon, I’m excited to see what's in store for David Colton, Wolverine, and their allies. It's intriguing to wonder what will come of Tyler Torrens and Nuke. While this series would’ve worked a lot better as a massive one-shot in my opinion, this ending will make me look upon it fondly, and I’m glad I stuck around until its conclusion. Next up, it's time for Armageddon.
RATING: 9/10