Comic Report Card: Wolverine Get Mystique!

With Wolverine: Weapon X on the shelves and just about everyone loving it I figured I’d point out Jason Aaron’s big Wolverine story prior to getting his own series. Though he did do one issue of Wolverine before Get Mystique and also did the Wolverine: Manifest Destiny mini-series. But for me this was the best story he’s done so far. Also, before this I had never read a Jason Aaron comic. I’d heard a few things about him and he seemed like a cool writer but I was only picking this up because I was worried about Mystique. What I got was a 4 issue insane game of cat and mouse that I loved every page of.

So this is Comic Report Card, been quite a few months since I last did this. For those who are new to the New Age, it’s simply me reviewing the comics of a storyline and then grading them all together.

Wolverine: Get Mystique

Written: Jason Aaron

Art: Ron Garney

Chapter 1: Wolverine #62

This issue opens with Wolverine and Mystique’s first ever meeting way back in1921, both of them captured and about to be put to death in front of a firing squad. The banter between these two is great and it ends with Wolverine saving the day. It was a great opener for the comic and a nice way to show us the start of their relationship.

From there Wolverine gets into a small village in Afghanistan looking for Mystique. He kills an innocent woman thinking it’s her and riles up the locals. An all right moment but where it leads to is what’s great.

We transition to a few days prior where we pick up after the Messiah Complex event and Mystique escaping after her betrayal of the X-men. Logan goes after her alone after Cyclops says he wants her dead.

We then see Logan 8 and a half hours later finding Mystique in Iran only for her to run and blow up the building they where in. A great moment and a great way to start off their game of cat and mouse. And really that’s where the brilliance of this story comes in, Aaron takes a fairly simple concept that could be b land and boringly done and twists and turns it beautifully.

Back to the present Wolverine comes back to the village, this time we find out the Wolverine who killed the woman was not really Wolverine but Mystique trying to get the locals riled up so that when he got there they would attack the real Wolverine. Which is exactly what happens. A great twist at the end to mark an incredible opening issue.

Art Comments: Just going to say this now, the art comments will be saved for after the final chapter is reviewed.

Score: 9 out of 10

A

Chapter 2: Wolverine #63

This issue picks up with Mystique and Logan back in the 1920’s. Mystique basically introduces Logan to her little family of thieves and from there gets him to join them. An all right opening that plays more into the full story really.

Picking up where last issue left off the village people are dragging off Logan’s shot up corpse to a pit and they dump him. Though here is where I really have to stop and praise Aaron more for the great narration Logan has here. More then often with characters like Logan or Batman inner monologue just doesn’t work and can get very annoying very fast. Here Aaron does a perfect job and really makes every dialogue box worth reading. He adds some great touches like Wolverine not being mad at the people for shooting him up, taking his lumps, and counting the bullets. Really superb stuff here.

Logan soon finds Mystique disguised as a nun in a soldier’s bar, they have a great back and forth again. We get a joke thrown in about how Logan is on a thousand team books. It’s all great and it ends with Logan getting into a mess with the soldiers and Mystique escaping him once again.

Going back to 1921 Mystique tries to get Logan to join their family of thieves again and this time we find out they had a romance between each other. Again, nice fleshing out of the relationship between the two.

The issue ends with Mystique killing a politician and taking his place along with Wolverine going to…a terrorist? I’m not even sure. But he goes to this guy’s aid at the end of the issue and claims to be a friend.

Overall another great exciting chapter, Aaron packed tons of greatness in this one.

Score: 9 out of 10

A

Chapter 3: Wolverine #64

Continuing more the plot from 1921 Wolverine and Mystique plan a bank robbery that goes awry. Mystique at the last minute betrays him and the other thieves and it was a continuous and exciting way to explain an already building animosity between the two and why Logan doesn’t trust her.

After talking to his friend, Wolverine has a car full of bombs. Now rather then doing the sensible thing and try to get a new car with the insurance policy, he stays in and blows himself to kingdom come.

He does this of course so that they can take his charred remains to the military base where Mystique is hiding as the politician guy. This was an awesome twist and idea from Aaron on how Wolverine can use his healing factor to get to Mystique and not hurt any soldiers

Though even when he reaches Mystique it’s a short fight before she escapes. She gets a vehicle in a hilarious way and just as the issue ends she admits she’s ready to take him head on in what is probably the coolest shot of Mystique in ages. Hell, let the image show you for itself.

Score: 10 out of 10

A+

So yeah, another awesome issue with a brilliant twist at getting Wolverine to Mystique.

Chapter 4: Wolverine #65

Finishing the 1921 plot finally we see that it was more like Wolverine had to sell the thieves out after Mystique escaped and…it was an odd turn of events. When the two meet up again they have a chat that ends with Mystique kicking Wolverine off a moving train. Overall this sub-plot was a nice plot but not as good compared to the main one.

The final confrontation between Wolverine and Mystique is bloody as all hell, there’s some great dialogue between the two. A great exchange of words that really just gets insane with how over the top it is. The best line came from Mystique about how Wolverine had become “a reservation Indian” where she always spat that back in their faces and how that always drove him nuts and that he wanted to find out way. That’s just a sample of some of the great dialogue these two constantly exchange in ever scene of this storyline. It eventually ends with…well I don’t want to spoil the very ending. All I will say is that the ending was very satisfying.

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Art Comments: Ron Garney isn’t as big of a name as some of the guys at Marvel but after a book like this he should be. The artwork though this storyline is constant greatness and it never loses a stop. Sure his close ups of Wolverine’s face is a tad odd but everything else is nearly perfection on the page. Maybe it’s just how he works with Aaron’s scripts judging by other work but I cant’ deny this is some of the most impressive work I’ve seen on Wolverine.

Score: 10 out 10

A+

Overall the plot to Get Mystique was a simple one, Wolverine going after Mystique, that had brilliant moment and twist one after the other. It was pure adrenaline filled high octane insane ride between two vicious powers colliding. It’s easily been boosted into one of my all time favorite Wolverine stories.

Overall Score: 10 out of 10

Overall Grade: A+