Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Review | Tagged: all-new wolverine, alternate future, gabby, laura kinney, Marvel Comics, ms marvel, nolan woodard, Ramon Rosanas, sci-fi, superheroes, Tom Taylor, wolverine, x-men

All-New Wolverine #33 Review: A Bright Future that Raises Some Questions

It's the somewhat near future, and the world is a utopia. The heroes have finally won, and Laura Kinney was made the queen of Madripoor. Gabby is Wolverine now and makes sure that the peace is kept. We join her busting up a gun-runner fresh from Latveria when she gets a call from Queen Laura that dampens her day.

'Old Woman Laura' earns points from the start for being an inversion of the apocalyptic Old Man Logan story. Instead of a scorched wasteland caused by the worst of the worst finally winning and wiping out Earth's heroes, we have a utopian society brought about by the heroes defeating the villains of Earth.

Let's get this out of the way: no, it in no way addresses the questions that come to mind immediately from a premise like that. Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme comes to mind immediately when reading this, and it doesn't address the fascism-adjacent implications of a world like this. It's a near-complete inverse of Christopher Priest's current Justice League plot.

No, I will not stop harping on about Priest's Justice League. It's amazing.

That said, there is something nice about this comic's approach to the near-future; most stories we're well on our way to Mad Max. Tom Taylor is content with giving us a bright future. It's incurious, but it doesn't wander into the realm of the dreaded "problematic." It's fun, and it already establishes a focused plot within the first issue.

All of this said, there is still time for 'Old Woman Laura' to address these questions and concerns in the issues to come. If it can make me forget these questions in future issues too, then that is a success in itself too. It doesn't technically need to be another superhero deconstruction, even if this issue almost invites it with this setup.

Gabby ascending to Wolverine is a logical decision (ignoring that Logan is on his way back this month). Kamala Khan is the president of the United States, which is amazing on its own.

Ramon Rosanas's artwork is appealing and fluid in this comic. His style is clean and focuses on the details we need, and that allows for the important parts to stand out. The design of Gabby's costume and her and Laura's current appearances are nice. Nolan Woodard's color art is especially bright and vibrant, giving the atmosphere of a bright future for which this comic strives.

All-New Wolverine #33 starts 'Old Woman Laura' on an intriguing note, giving us the image of a future where everything turns out alright, but Laura still has unfinished business. On the surface, it seems incurious about the premise it's established, but the door is open to address these things. Rosanas and Woodard's artwork is solidly good. I can recommend this one. Give it a read.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!