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Who's in this issue?
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Y'know, this storyline makes Mr. X now appear to be nothing more than a Johnny Cage spinoff from the video game / cartoon / movie Mortal Kombat. He's got the same hairdo (same color too), the same shades that he wears while he fights, the same cocky attitude, and the same type of brutal refined martial arts skills that characterized their fighting style. The only difference is Mr. X's got a heck lot more scars and the odd tattoos plastered all over his body. So, I wonder whether we'll find that his "secrets" that the book claims will be revealed next issue will result in this character being an exact copy of Johnny Cage.
This issue doesn't really do anything other than set up the stage for the impending rematch between Logan ... er ... Patch, as he reuses that identity now that he's in Madripoor ... against Mr. X in another fight for the title of "The Best There Is". This issue does supposedly "kills" some third-rated Marvel characters that really never made it big as supervillians: Oddball, Gamecock, Razorfist, Forearm, Headhunter, and Anaconda. Among these characters, the only one I recognized was Forearm (from X-Force), but finding the ease of his defeat at the hands of Anaconda ... by getting his neck snapped ... was just a bit too easy for me to take, considering how much problems he had always given the X-Force squad in the past.
Other than that, this issue can simply be summarized as the follows: Wolverine goes to Madripoor to participate in a Bloodsport match to find out who his mysterious "friend" is, only to discover that this "friend" was none other than the guy who has claim to the title of "The Best There Is": Mr. X. The artwork is decent in this issue, and the story does nothing but to set up the next two issues.
Rating (from 1 dot (not recommended) to 5 dot (highly recommended)
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"Bloodsport: Pt. 1 of 3"
IN THIS ISSUE:
Wolverine takes on the identity of Patch, the character that he
normally uses while on travel in Madripoor. Onboard the plane, he recounts what had
happened in the last few days: his encounter with the Weapon X project (which Nick Fury helps to clear Wolverine's name by making
it appear as if the video that was shown around the nation was a hoax), then his receipt
of a letter in the mail inviting him to enter a yearly "Bloodsport" contest in Madripoor
where his mysterious "friend" from the Weapon X episodes would finally be revealing
his identity as he is the reigning champion, and now Logan finds himself on a flight to
Madripoor. As they land into Madripoor, Wolverine sees the image of the devil in the
clouds ... an image he had saw plenty of times in the past during "The Best There Is"
episodes in Wolverine 159 - 162 ... and wonders what it means.
At the airport, Wolverine is met by his escort, Jae Lo, who takes him to the Foxy Den,
which used to be the Princess Bar (a popular place that Logan used to hang out with his
friends during his stay in Madripoor as Patch). There, he meets Viper, his wife, who
tells him that she, as Madripoor's leading crime-boss, is overseeing the Bloodsport
contest. She comments how she had already met all of the contestants, and tells Logan
that she "fears you'll make me a widow before long!".
The contest begins, as 14 contestants battle it out to make it to the next round.
Headhunter beats Oddball, Puma eats up Gamecock (literally), Taskmaster defeats Cat,
Zaran (remember him from Wolverine
158?) defeats Razorfist, Anaconda defeats Forearm, Toad (X-Men foe) defeats Eel, and
Patch defeats Speed Demon in Round One. In Round two, Puma defeats Anaconda, Taskmaster
defeats Zaran, and Patch beats Toad. Headhunter fights the champion in a cage masked by
a curtain. Headhunter enters, and quickly, a "chop" sound can be heard. Headhunter's head
had been chopped off, and the reigning champion reveals himself. Patch recognizes, with
dread, that the champion was none other than Mr. X!
