Wolverine: Madripoor Knights

by Chris Claremont

WOLVERINE, CAPITAN AMERICA E LA VEDOVA NERA
TORNANO IN MISSIONE A MADRIPOOR! Molti anni fa, le strade di Logan, Cap e Natasha si sono incrociate nell’isola-nazione più pericolosa dell’Universo Marvel. Ma i ninja della Mano hanno ancora loschi piani per la Vedova Nera… mentre i leader criminali di Madripoor si contengono un oggetto misterioso! Ma Wolverine farà di tutto per fermarli, al fianco dei suoi vecchi e fidati alleati! Chris Claremont torna a scrivere Wolverine per celebrare il cinquantenario del personaggio e ci riporta nel passato, con il sequel di Cavalieri di Madripoor. Ai disegni, Edgar Salazar (X-Force, X-23). E in appendice, riproponiamo l’indimenticabile avventura originale scritta da X-Chris per i disegni di Jim Lee. [CONTIENE MADRIPOOR KNIGHTS (2024) 1-5, UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) 268]

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2025

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed. This story was based on one of my favorite X-Men comics of all time, but this just didn't seem to live up to that story. Of course, I shouldn't really have expected it to, so maybe the issue was my expectations were just too high going in.

That being said, it wasn't bad and was still a cool read. Just not quite as good as I'd have liked.

[Jasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really fun! It reminds me a lot of a James Bond movie, where the plot really isn’t as important as the style, the action, and the vibes. It doesn’t leave you with a lot, but it’s a really fun experience while you’re reading it.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Claremont tem se saído bem em retomar partes do passado dos X-Men que ele mesmo escreveu e que, talvez, tenha deixado em hiato por tanto tempo. Ele se saiu muito bem escrevendo a minissérie do Gambit e agora está cotado para as minis Wolverine: Deep Cut, Wolverine & Kitty Pryde e uma revisita aos Dias de Um Futuro Esquecido. Na minissérie em questão aqui, Claremont retoma a parceria que nunca aconteceu entre Wolverine, Capitão América e Viúva Negra. Mas aqui ela acontece. Embarcamos numa história às antigas, em que nos enfurnávamos mais fácil dentro do universo da trama, em que os personagens eram delicadamente trabalhados, e a história parecia que durava horas e horas - diferente dos minutos atuais de muitas delas. Claremont faz um bom trabalho com personagens novos e antigos entregando uma aventura com A maiúsculo. Os desenhos da minissérie é que poderiam ser melhores, mas tudo bem, não se pode querer tudo. Foi uma ótima experiência, já que cheguei sem esperar muito.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A safe but ultimately dull mini series that gives us more adventures with Wolverine, Black Widow and Captain America. It’s an interesting idea but isn’t all that interesting. I liked seeing Widow/ Logan’s friendship expanded on a bit but that’s about it.

[XMCU · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read the issues on the Marvel unlimited app. there's a lot of good writing and surprisingly this story explains Black Widow out of nowhere appearance in Wolverine #125-126. Sadly, there's not enough Psylocke and Jubilee. It's kind of a missed opportunity. i definitely would like to own this volume.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok Goodreads, time to admit something. Though I grew up in the 90s, I’m not sure I ever seriously read any comics by Chris Claremont or illustrated by Jim Lee. Honestly, if you showed me them, I would have sworn they were from the 70s and probably called them the peak of Silver Age comics (which, tbh, I wouldn’t have known that term either!). There’s something about that period that feels so similar to the Golden Age comics I explored in my mid20s when I was first expanding from Star Wars/Alien Dark Horse comics into other brands (among the DC and Marvel universes, mostly), so they might be partially to blame. Anyways, I don’t have any particularly strong affinity for the Claremont era of Marvel and I’d like to dip into it more just to get my head wrapped around it better.

All that being said, Madripoor Knights is fine. I’m a little confused why the volume includes the original source issue in the back — I simply went ahead and read it first for context, which I think is the best way to approach this. Having read a lot more of Logan’s comics than anything with Captain America (and even less with Black Widow), it helped to have Logan as the anchor character. The art is fine, action is communicated clearly, and there are some fun moments like Jubilee having facial reactions to the boring adult conversations around her. So points to Salazar. The story itself is a bit convoluted — I don’t know a ton about The Hand or Hightown/Lowtown, so I initially confused Tyger for Madame Masque. Most times, when Marvel dredges up supernatural elements and leans into the horror/fantasy trappings, I’m typically at arm’s length, and that felt true here too. And that’s maybe my summaries takeaway — this takes place well outside the current canon, is just a fun throwback to Claremont/Lee’s era of storytelling with a new standalone arc, and ultimately feels immensely skippable unless you’re in the camp of being a completionist or nostalgia-driven Claremont superfan.

[Subham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This feels like one of those old school comics writing stories and parts of it is good but the other part is so boring and it can get confusing, like the relation between Widow and Logan especially, how she calls him her little uncle and how he saved her in the 40s umm? Yeah that was dumb and I am so glad its not in the main continuity.

Its got a good start with the trio looking to stop people from getting some alien artefact in Madripoor and then the thing with Widow going on a spy mission and all and how Logan and Steve sort of lose their power due to Bloodscream and Roughhouse but later gain it which was confusing and never really addressed and then it goes from stopping the evil item from being sold in the auction to Widow being kidnapped by hand and demons there who take over her or something and also they become bad in the last issue and yeah confusing lmao.

Now that I think about it, the first 3 issues are pretty cool and have some cool action and art and premise and Tyger Tiger is there who sort of becomes the victim and her area of Madripoor will be seized and all and that plot is basically not resolved lol even by the end but rather it becomes another story altogether with a demon taking over their bodies or something.. Umm yeah and Steve has a nervous breakdown? Umm yeah totally out of characterization.

I won't recommend it tbh. Maybe the first 3 issues. If you are just reading the modern continuity stuff this feels so outdated in the way their characterization is done. No plot cohesiveness. Art is good. But whatever.

[Joel Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently read the original Madripoor Nights series by Claremont and Buscema, I was primed to read this follow-up, which utilizes some of the same characters included in the earlier books.

I didn't recognize all of them by sight, however, because of the different artist on this book. This isn't quite up to the standard Buscema set, but who is? There's a nice call-back to the original books, where Wolverine was masquerading under the identity of Patch, who, naturally, wore an eyepatch.

By the end of this book, Wolverine has had most of his flesh melted away and lost one of his eyes. While his healing factor goes to work, he has to wear an eye patch.

There's also a reprint of an earlier Claremont story in Madripoor, which features Captain America and the Black Widow, Psylocke, and Jubilee. This story is relayed to great advantage because of the Jim Lee artwork.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book. It was years in the making, and I will say it was worth the weight. Adding the original Uncanny X-MEN #268 as a bonus was a great touch.

The gang is all here again. Wolverine is back in Madripoor licking his wounds as his healing factor has been pushed beyond its limit. However, what has brought two Avengers and the Hand back here as well? Looks like some unfinished business. The read the first time these three met in 1941 in the original story.

A good action-packed story that fits into the continuity. The usual cast of criminals and outcasts in Madripoor as well. Some things don't change.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as single issues.
Somehow all these shoehorned-into-past-continuity miniseries leave me cold. This one wasn't even bad per se. The art could have been better, but Edgar Salazar shows promise. He's just not there, yet.
The story just didn't do anything for me.
And in the end I wasn't even sure what exactly the story's McGuffin actually does (it was used in the final issue!) or what happened to Matsu'o Tsurayaba (who was spelled without his apostrophe here).
Also, we get characters corrupted "body, mind, and soul" who never knew how good that could feel - a trope I really just could do without for a while.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one I have a hard time keeping up with between issues and just in general didn’t understand at all. This takes place a long time ago between a bunch of comics I’ve never read with villains I don’t know or care about. They very well could be a good read, just unfortunately nothing that means anything to me. The art is good and the action is done really well so I enjoyed those aspects of it all.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Comics are hard for me to rate and review. This one is action-packed which is great but compared to Ben Percy's Wolverine 2020 volumes (which are the only one so far that I've read and can compare it to), I think this story doesn't engage me beyond the team-up and seeing these characters in the same panels. Lacking a bit of story substance and risk, I'd say.

[Daniel Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma trama menor, um fiapo de motivação e decisões questionaveis por parte do roteiro de Claremont que aqui me pareceu pouco inspirado.
3 do maiores heróis da marvel serem surrados por dois deliquentes como Saguinário e Baderna ? isso me tirou totalmente da história ... nostalgia tem limites
Essa onda de revival da marvel legends se salva pouca coisa e essa não é uma delas

[Mouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s just not very good unfortunately. It’s the lost story we didn’t really need. Although I will say that it does absolutely feel like a story from the 90’s, so there’s that. Black Widow was there in 1941??!!?? Man, she’s really old!! 🤨

[Josef Ploski · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action packed story, but read the X-Men #268 comic in the back first as it occurs before the main story and sets it up.

[Brenton Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun. Maybe too much crammed in. Loved the inclusion of X-Men 268.

[Bryan Shepard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was decent but a little bit more cliche. It kind of gave off vibes of mid to late '90s X-Men comics. I'd say a solid 3 and 1/2 stars but I'm going to round down just for the last page.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little nothing story

[iamjacsmusings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claremont's story is Madripar.

Salazar's art is sniktastic.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool team-up with Captain America, Black Widow, and Wolverine, with a few other cameos.

[Alessandro Pensi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Riportare i grandi autori non fa si che ritornino anche le grandi storie. Questo fumetto ne è l'esempio.