Predator Vs Wolverine is the culmination of a fictitious fight we’ve always dreamed of. Comics have the knack for being able to create these dream-scenarios of which we couldn’t even fathom experiencing in nearly any other medium. In each of their respective franchises, they are the hunters. So, what happens when the two are pitted against one another? Predator Vs Wolverine by Marvel and imprinted by 20th Century Studios answers that question.
The first page sets the dark and brutal tone…fast. Dark panels splash across the page with a severely beaten Wolverine in the present day. The yellowed speech bubbles express how he is now the hunted. The following pages express the climax of a battle that spans centuries of which we will follow in the four-issue series.
As is common in comics, the issue travels across different periods in time. These periods are brought to life by different artists.
- Present Day – Ken Lashley (Artist), Juan Fernandez (color artists)
- Young Wolverine – Greg Land (Artist), Frank d’Armata (color artists)
- Team X – Andrea Di Vito (Artist), Juan Fernandez (color artists)
All pages are written by Benjamin Percy and lettered by VC’s Cort Petit.
Having three artists means that there are clear distinctions between each storyline. What you’d think would be jarring, is actually the perfect way to both tie together and differentiate the timeframes. Time skips can be a nightmare if done incorrectly, but it has been done seamlessly.
Each artist did a fantastic job in conveying the ferocity of two of the most brutal characters in media. You might have noticed the parental advisory tag on the cover, and it is most certainly warranted. There were no punches pulled. The issue is gruesome and bloody. Skinned humans upside down bloody. The perfect encapsulation of both characters was rendered throughout the book with little regard to the often-subdued Marvel imprint.
One aspect I was interested in was how the two characters would fare communicating to one another and/or other side characters. Wolverine has a few lines of dialogue, but we get a ton of internal monologues expressing his thoughts in the scenes. It’s a great way to embody the character and forces him into the role of protagonist. It can’t be more different than Preadtor’s “dialogue.” It has to be in quotes as he just grunts and makes other guttural noises. No actual dialogue and yet…it works.
Predator Vs Wolverine #1 is a wonderful start to this 4-issue series. It’s bloody, brutal and the perfect way to kick off such an epic battle. The book is more about Wolverine’s story than that of the Predator, so it is important knowing that, at least thus far, Wolverine steals the spotlight.
