Wolverine: Get Mystique

The Comicologist — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:29:53 +0000

Wolverine and Mystique are two of the X-Men universe characters that I find most interesting, although much of Wolverine's mystery is quickly being eroded (see Origins). The Wolverine: Get Mystique trade paper back collects Wolverine issues #62-65, and follows on from the events seen in the X-Men event, Messiah Complex.

The story begins with a flash back. Wolverine is beaten, dragged outside and tied to a post to be shot by a firing squad, a voice next to him asks if he's a murderer. The voice turns out to be Mystique.

In the present, and following the events of Messiah Complex, Cyclops asks Wolverine to go after Mystique, as she managed to slip away. Angry at her betrayal, Cyclops makes sure that Wolverine understands he is not being asked to bring Mystique back alive.

Mystiques trail leads Wolverine to Afghanistan. However Mystique is able to elude him, using all the tricks she has at her disposal.

In a flash back we learn that, having survived the firing squad, Mystique and Wolverine have travelled together to Kansas City, where Mystique runs a small group of scammers and con artists. It's sometime in the early 1920's. There's some sexual tension between Mystique and Wolverine, and it's implied that they are 'intimate'. Mystique is planning a bank robbery, and she wants Wolverine to be a part of it.

Back in the present, Wolverine is going through all sorts of hell in order to track down his prey. Mystique, now impersonating a high ranking army official, now has an army watching her back. Wolverine calls in a favour. Wolverines plan to get close to Mystique involves blowing himself up, so things get messy.

In a flash back we learn that the bank robbery didn't go quite to plan, and that Mystique cut and ran, leaving her crew to take the fall.

In the final chapter, Wolverine and Mystique square up for the fight of her life. Saying too much more will just spoil the ending, so I'll stop here.

Wolverine: Get Mystique was written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Ron Garney. I really enjoyed this collection. It was fast paced, well written, and the flash backs were excellent. This story did something that would have taken ten issues had it been done in the Wolverine: Origins series. In short, it's the best Wolverine story I've read in recent times. I'd recommend picking this up. It's cheap (just over $8US on Amazon at the moment) and a cracking good read.

Overall I'd give it 8 out of 10.