Title Page
Synopsis: As Wolverine stands on the Helicarrier, he begins to recount aspects of his original life, including childhood, fighting next to Captain America, the Weapon X tank, fighting the Hulk, Dark Phoenix, Mariko leaving him at the altar and the X-Men and Avengers looking for the missing Xavier in Genosha. As Mystique approaches, he asks her what happened in Genosha, to which she questions the well-being off Lord Magnus. Wolverine recounts seeing three figures standing and a fourth in a chair in a wrecked church. Mystique again offers help, but Wolverine instead leaps off the Helicarrier. He smashes into the side of a building and pulls himself up, heavily injured, wondering what’s happened to the world.
On the street, Wolverine checks out newspaper headlines until someone pulls up on a motorcycle, which he quickly swipes. He reaches 1407 Graymalkin Lane at night and enters the mansion looking for Charles Xavier. The occupant says he doesn’t know who that is, and that he’s lived there for fifteen years. Wolverine takes off, stopping at a road house to use the phone, trying to find Xavier’s number to no avail. He drops the phone as he sees a group of mutants picking on a normal human. The next morning, Wolverine returns to New York and enters Stark Tower looking for Tony Stark, but learns that Tony doesn’t live in the city. His inquiry is cut short when SHIELD agents Jessica Drew, Rogue, Toad, Nightcrawler and Mystique arrive to bring him in.
Asking how they found him, they tell him that he has a tracker, commenting that he’s ‘popped a stitch.’ He elbows Drew in the face and takes off, tossing the teleporting Nightcrawler into Rogue in the process. Wolverine bolts through a window and into the street. Just as Nightcrawler catches up, he’s dropped by three arrows. Wolverine again escapes on his bike, but runs right into Cloak and vanishes into the darkness. He emerges before Luke Cage who says they can talk as soon as he crashes the tracker in the base of his neck. A voice agrees with Cage, and as Wolverine turns around, he sees Hawkeye, arrow drawn, emerging from Cloak.
Review: When I first read this issue, I disliked that they would use Wolverine as the central character for this story, as he seems to be in so much already. Re-reading it, I find myself disagreeing with my initial judgment, as Wolverine seems to be the perfect character for the situation. His powers make the realization of the real world justified, and his presence and importance makes him a character that will be noticed upon leaving his given role in the new world. His entire character fits this role, and makes the story another good chapter in the House of M.
House of M is the book where the real world is restored. That seems to be the point of this mini-series. If you want to see what your favorite characters are up to during this time, check their own books, or their House of M spin-off title. This is not a book trying to jam everyone in (go read Zero Hour or Secret Wars if you want that), but trying to get the main story across. It’s not a common way for most big crossovers, but it’s what I prefer. The story doesn’t get bogged down in too much goings-on and we can keep focus on the important parts.
I’m enjoying Bendis’ usage of characters in this book. Characters that were once important but have lost their gusto over the years (Cloak being the big example) are being returned to the spotlight, and smaller characters get their spot as well (like Toad being a SHIELD agent). Of course the big spot is the return of Hawkeye, which I’m smacking my forehead because I didn’t see it coming. Whether he stays or goes afterwards…we’ll just see, huh? He would make a good addition to the New Avengers…