Writer Charles Soule
Penciler Peter Nguyen
Inker Sandu Florea
Colors John Kalisz & Brett Smith
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Dated February 2015
I bought this with my Christmas money, as Hastings didn’t have a copy. Then I went to buy some current comics and there was a copy there. What a waste of certificate money!
I haven’t gotten an issue of this series since the second one but really, all you needed was the first issue and this one – the bookend issues. This leads into The Wolverines.
Croatia. A Few Minutes Back. Daken and Sabretooth are still fighting. Some creature outside is in need, of something.
Right Now. Shogun introduces himself to the group of characters that will become known as, The Wolverines. He knows their names. Elixir is there as well, haven’t seen that guy in a while.
Lady Deathstrike references the trigger words that can completely control this group. The issues in-between the two bookends show what the characters were up to before the first issue.
The four trigger words command – sleep, control, kill and a mysterious fourth option.
Shogun instructs Elixir to wake Mystique. Elixir tells Shogun (and reminds us) that when his skin is black, his touch kills. His skin hasn’t been gold, his healing touch is active. Sabretooth offers to wake her via stepping on her – so this is prior to AXIS. Mystique grabs his foot and throws him into the electrified wall.
Neuro comes out, he looks great under Nguyen’s pencil, maybe it is Kalisz/Smith’s coloring?
I am reminded that Skel was the guy who was leading these characters into the room slash cage. Neuro recaps the Weapon X Program miniseries. The escapees are living on borrowed time. The escapees are hoping that one of the villains’ healing factors will be able to help them.
The fourth command word is, Erase, all of Professor Cornelius’ programming will disappear.
Shogun is about to reveal what they want when that demon thing from the cover crashes through the roof. The demon is another escapee named, Siphon. Exilir decides to take charge and is killed. Siphon does just that, it sucks energy. Shogun opens the cell that the villains can get out. Sabreooth runs towards Shogun, he says “Ovipositor” and now Sabretooth has to do whatever Shogun wants for 30 minutes or so.
Siphon doesn’t want his fellow escapees, he wants to kill the villains. X23 is running away, she doesn’t care about avenging her fallen teammate. She must not have graduated from Avengers Academy.
Siphon is absorbing Daken. X23 wants to keep running but decides to head back. She slashes Siphon, he jumps out of a window and we learn that Daken doesn’t have his healing factor anymore. So that explains his concern from Wolverines 1. That’s good to know.
Once everybody is outside, Neuro mentions how the number of people who know the command words could be numerous, that’s why they have to stick together.
Issue ends with Shogun revealing what the task is, he wants to get Statue Wolverine. Which they won’t be able to do without some sinister problems.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 