Review by CharleyX:
This is it! The return of the adamantium! I must admit that although at first I wasn't crazy about the story being mostly flashback, the segues between the memories and the present fight with The Hulk were excellent, and the two parts of the story really flowed into one. As I suspected (see Gambit issue) Sabretooth's adamantium was removed to be implanted in Logan's body. What I never expected was the fight between them, although that's just like Apocalypse. The scene where Logan wins and thereby willingly submits to Apocalypse's machinations was fantastic. That's a true hero - making a supreme sacrifice (his very identity) and becoming the antithesis of everything you stand for because you know that if you don't, the villain will get someone worse to do it. Amazing! The other great thing about this issue was the sequence in the beginning when the narration went over each step of the Skrull impostor's infiltration. Now that I look back I can see that it was "Logan" who was subtly pushing everyone to believe that Xavier was nuts. That, and the fact that the impostor was totally into his role, and couldn't even change back, and had Logan's real personality, even believing himslef to be Logan. I knew that's the way it had to be. Basically, I thought that the whole explanation was great, because it showed real planning by the writers for the better part of this past year, and it wasn't a giant retcon. Who'd have thought that they could actually plot? I guess I should have figured it, with Alan Davis as part of the team. As much as some people don't like what he's done here, you have to admit that he really knows how to set up complex intteresting plots. Just look at the way Excalibur #50 explained almost everything that had gone on previously in that title, making it all part of one giant scheme. That was great, and this story is also heading down that incredible path. As for the rest: I am now kicking myself for not seeing that "Fez-head" was Apocalypse when he showed up in Hulk #8. On the other hand, he talked about Apocalypse in third person there, so I guess I'm justified. Also, Death's "horse" was whacked! And finally, the adamantium. Thumbs up! Not only was it time for it to return, but it was done in a believable way, one in fact that is almost as painful, if not moreso, than the original impalntation. This should have massive repercussions for Logan in the coming months. I think it was good to see what Logan could do without the metal, but the truth is, his character was created with it, we all grew to love him with it, and it's good to see him complete once again. Now all he has to do is break the brainwashing, defeat Apocalypse, get the X-Men to trust him again (shouldn't be too hard) and get back to basics. Not too much to ask, is it?