Wolverine: The Death of Wolverine

Wolverine (2003) (Collected Editions) #10

by Marc Guggenheim (Writer), Jason Aaron (Writer), Howard Chaykin (Artist)

Wendell Rayfield is a recently divorced, down-on-his-luck ex-cop who's looking down the business end of a 40 with no hope for the future and with demons from his past still haunting him at every turn. All he has going for him is his new job. A job that involves a very large machine gun, a hole in the ground, a certain hirsute mutant, and several thousand bullets. We all know what damage Wolverine can do with his claws, but how dangerous can he really be when all he's able to do is talk? Wendell Rayfield is about to find out! Written by up-and-comer Jason Aaron (The Other Side, Scalped), with art by comic book legend Howard Chaykin (Blade, American Flagg!)

Collecting: Wolverine 56-61

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

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 23, 2008

About the author

Marc Guggenheim grew up on Long Island, New York, and earned his law degree from Boston University. After over four years in practice, he left law to pursue a career in television.

Today, Guggenheim is an Emmy Award–winning writer who writes for multiple mediums including television, film, video games, comic books, and new media. His work includes projects for such popular franchises as Percy Jackson, Star Wars, Call of Duty, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes.

His next book, In Any Lifetime, coming from Lake Union Publishing on August 1st.

Guggenheim currently lives in Encino, California, with his wife, two daughters, and a handful of pets.

Keep up to date on his latest projects with LegalDispatch, a weekly newsletter where he shares news and notes about writing, comics, and the entertainment industry.

Reviews

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Updated Review For 2025 Reread:

I still absolutely hated the main story of this book but Jason Aaron's issue at the beginning, "The Man In The Pit" is a solid Wolverine one-shot. Just close the book when it's over and return it to the library instead of reading Guggenheim's story.

***

Original 2018 Reveiw:

I hate Howard Chaykin's art. I understand he was an important artist in comic book history. But I don't like the way he interprets anatomy, I cringe at the way he creates or ignores facial expressions on his characters, and I've seen too many of his fishnet clad ladies and square jawed "heroes" to be able to approach his work without thinking "what is that lonely, misogynist toolbag doing now". He's never killed one of my pets, said anything unflattering about my mother, or stiffed me on a drink, but his work, particularly his more recent "Hey Kids" and "Divided States Of Hysteria" just make me cringe whenever I see his art. I can't turn it off.

And since this is yet another yet another yet another story delving into Wolverine's past to tell the same stories that the last same stories told in the previous same stories, I can safely advise anyone to skip this book and invest your time doing virtually anything else. The story is rewritten by Marc Guggenheim and a moderatley green (as far as Marvel comics work) Jason Aaron. They've both done much better.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this volume is misleading. A casual reader might make the mistake of thinking this is a comic-book event, like the "death" of Captain America or Superman. It's not.

This volume collects the five-issue story arc, "Logan Dies." Written by Marc Guggenheim and drawn by Howard Chaykin (who has a weird, blocky style that I've always liked), "Logan Dies" creates a largely unnecessary and basically silly premise. Since he was "killed" in World War I, Logan/Wolverine has always gone to the same place every time his indestructible, fast-healing body has sustained so much destruction that he is technically dead; another plane of existence in which he does battle against the angel of death, who is called "Lazaer." They fight, Logan wins, Logan comes back to life, none the wiser. In this story, however, he loses the will to engage in yet another mystical battle against Lazaer, and he and Doctor Strange wander around in Purgatory, while the details of Logan's life and death cycle are filled in. The story gets a little meatier once Wolverine re-enters the real world. Apparently he was once killed ("for real," whatever that means in the world of comics) and brought back to life by The Hand, who are Marvel's all-purpose group of ninjas, and now they, or people involved with them, are behind the plot to kill him. Really kill him, that is.

Inconsequential, but relatively entertaining.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second read through.

One off by Jason Aaron to start, solid story.
Rest is Guggenheim again, Howard Chaykin art, that I don't love, but can respect.

Logan dies, and the struggles in Purgatory turn out to be since he once beat Azrael the Angel of Death in a fight during WWI...ya. Well this dude takes it personally, and some random chick found a loophole to suck Logan's power away and cheat death...yup...right. Only Logan is still dead...Doctor Strange helps him wake up again, where he must defeat someone...and all kinds of former dead people show up...apparently she's been fuckin with him since the Enemy of the State Hand brainwashing part...

Convoluted nonsense, but it's all about overcoming himself? Ugh. I liked the Dr. Strange cameo and the Star Wars joke.

Not terrible, but not essential. Logan is supposed to now die for reals the next time he does....but I think that's not until Charles Soule gets him..,lmao.

[Arturo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before the 5-part story there is 'The Man in the pit' a one shot by Jason Aaron, almost predictable but doesn't change that it was a great issue. So well written I ignored the art.
As for the 5parter, has some great covers but dreadful interior art, maybe good breakdowns, but the art just looks obnoxious. Overall the story is a good concept but in the end fails to deliver.
#57 ends great with a failed mission. And Logan Dies.
58 is an explanation issue with Dr. Strange talking to Iron Man and even to Wolverine About why his mind and soul are not returning to his body. (Lost the Will to duel the Angel of Death in he spiritual plane)
59 has wolverine facing himself, different parts of himself, from different times in his life. Which was a good issue.
60-61 because Wolverine died and was resurrected by the Hand in the 'Enemy of the State' story. And killed recently by an agent of Scimitar. Wolverine heads to Japan to find answers, because this all seemed planned.

[Max · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book contains the five part 'Wolverine dies' arc and a one-shot by Jason Aaron. The one-shot is at least four star, maybe five. The arc is the dumbest thing I've read recently. So dumb that a simple plot summary also serves as a damning review. Observe:

Every time Wolverine is mortally wounded. His soul. Goes to another plane. Where it fights Azrael, the angel of death. So that it can return to its proper place in his body. This has been going on since WWI. Because during WWI Wolverine met and pwned Azrael on the battlefield. Fast forward to the present. Azrael finally decides the thing to do is let Wolverine's enemies know about this soul/plane/fight thing. They theorize that if they kill Wolverine's love interest right before they 'kill' Wolverine, he'll lose the will to live and his soul won't defeat Azrael. They're right.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Não a morte de Wolverine, mas uma de muitas tentativas de morte. Desta vez, um grupo terrorista em ascendência escolhe o herói como alvo, e conta com um forte trunfo. Aparentemente, parte do segredo dos poderes do mutante tem um toque sobrenatural. Durante as aventuras de Logan nas trincheiras da I Guerra, terá enfrentado e vencido uma entidade mística que corresponde ao anjo da morte. Os terroristas aliam-se a esta entidade, tentando vencer o invencível Wolverine.

À parte do traço de Howard Chaykin, a série não é especialmente interessante. Mais uma variação sobre a história de origem do personagem, com as habituais sequências de luta violenta e a clássica introspecção de Wolverine sobre os seus instintos enquanto estraçalha os oponentes.

[Vincent Cheng · Rating 2 out of 5]

First story 4 stars. The 5 series story arc 1 star.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really? After all that hype?

[J.M. Giovine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The newest arc from returning Wolverine-writer, Marc Guggenheim- alongside Jason Aaron writing issue #56-, and with the collaboration of artist Howard Chaykin, ‘The Death of Wolverine’ works as a sort of sequel to the events proposed in “Wolverine: Civil War”, which comes as no surprise since Guggenheim also wrote, finally revealing Wolverine’s greatest confrontation against an immortal being during World War I. Apparently, Logan fought an incarnation of the Angel of Death, Lazaer, the very first time he was at the verge of death. In present day, Logan joins forces with his current lover, the Atlantian Amir, who’ll help in track down and fight against an organization called “scimitar”, lead by an assassin named “Shogun”, who seems connected to Wolverine’s assassination by the Gorgon, and his resurrection by the Hand. But things will turn sideways when he’s defeated by “Shogun”, and for some reason, unable to regain consciousness, ending up trapped in a kind of limbo, haunted by Lazaer itself. Most likely, this is Wolverine’s end, now that the angel of death has defeated him for the very first time.
I enjoyed “Vendetta” (Guggenheim’s arc in the “Civil War” storyline of Logan), but I was eager to discover about the identity of the individual with the giant sword that Logan must fight every time he is at the edge of death. Suffice to say, after the disappointing “Evolution”, to bring back Guggenheim to continue his premise regarding Logan’s immortality roots was a wise choice. You can almost ignore Loeb’s arc and directly continue with this after “Civil War” and it’ll feel more satisfying, and coherent. While I’m not a huge fan of unraveling more about Logan’s past, I’m curious to explore more about the symbolic aspects of his immortal nature. I like that it isn’t as simple as to say, “his healing factor keeps him from getting killed”, and adding this eternal confrontation against the physical form of the angel of death was a risky move that, I think, paid off. Regarding the story, it didn’t feel as fleshed out as “Vendetta”, with Wolverine motivated by a clear sense of raging revenge, but this one went all the way back to “Enemy of the State”, when Wolverine was brought back to life thanks to a mutant named Phaedra, who not only revived him, but she also unleashed his wildest instincts, and the entirety of his memories.
Perhaps the biggest let-down was Chaykin’s art. His style is quite mediocre at times, and it shows that the guy wasn’t comfortable drawing a consecutive 6-issue volume. It’s something about his poses, his character-stiffness, and the lack of dynamism throughout his panels. While Guggenheim’s script is nothing out of the ordinary, it was an engaging enough story that, unfortunately, suffered from a deficient artwork. I really though that somebody else might’ve draw the rest of the arc after issue #56- which ironically is one of the best single issues I’ve read about Wolverine, being a stand-alone chapter more than a part of the rest of the issues-, but the pencils only got worse after that. Maybe bringing back Ramos who, at the very least, made the experience quite enjoyable, and seemed to be on point with Guggenheim’s story. It would’ve felt even a stronger follow-up to “Vendetta” having him be the artist once again.
While not being an outstanding chapter in Wolverine’s history, it does bring some interesting plot-points to the table, interconnecting the story with elements suggested in previous arcs, going full-circle in the series, even if the title “The Death of Wolverine” feels a little exaggerated and inconsequential, since that’s not the character’s demise, and even the final pages had the luxury of presenting us to a tempting cliffhanger, after Phaedra brought back a former Wolverine rival that connects to his Japanese roots. In the end, it is a nice and entertaining reading that ties some big loose ends, but it fails to be the event its own title promised it’ll be. New and ancient enemies are in here, but it seems that this will only be another part of Wolverine’s continuous journey. A fine story that, sadly, doesn’t manage to shine as it should because of its narrative deficiencies, and it’s disappointing use of art.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library as I'd just finished the book I was reading and needed something for the ride home. I finished it on the train ride home and it was actually rather interesting. To see the supernatural side of Wolverine was awesome, especially the Angel of Death scenes, which I'd never heard of before. It was also great to see Doctor Strange working with him; as someone who's accustomed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I know they'll never be on screen together. I rated it lower stars because I should have picked up the first comic in the series to know what was happening but overall it was a pretty decent read.

[Pierre pinkett · Rating 5 out of 5]

lets just start off by saying that this book is very sad with the way it seem like Logan's going to be fine with out his healing factor and then try's his best and still fails.If i had one issue it would be the healing serum because if this exists then why wouldn't every one had healing factor at least the heroes.

[Arturo Romero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este es el primer comic que leo de Wolverine, la historia no es demasiado interesante pero disfrute ver su interaccion con Dr. Strange y algunos otros pasajes.


This is the first comic I read about Wolverine, the story is not too interesting but enjoy watching his interaction with Dr. Strange and some other passages.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baaaaarely three stars. I was actually pretty on board with this until Lord Shingen showed up for pretty much now reason than old-tymey fan shock value.

[TK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine your job is just to keep shooting Wolverine with a giant machine gun. Coffee break, shoot Wolverine. Bathroom break, shoot Wolverine. I probably shouldn't enjoy this but I did.

[mxd · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Man in the Pit' was awesome and a very dark concept and I loved it, however, the rest of the volume was dull, dull, dull. I really didn't enjoy it :/

[George Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine dies and the story is moved ahead through it.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any comic book reader can spot that this book's title is a lie. Wolverine does not die in these pages, nor will he ever as long as he's profitable. In fact, the main story in this book is called "The Death of Logan," which is only slightly different (using another of Wolverine's alter egos), but is much more accurate for the story. Wolverine faces off against agents of Scimitar (yet another multinational terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe). They hurt Wolvy badly enough to leave him brain dead. Some of the Avengers help him get back on his feet, and figure out why it is that he never seems to die.
This story is slathered in Wolverine continuity, which is fun for a longtime reader, especially because artist Howard Chaykin nails all the different periods/costumes of Wolverine's life with brutal, muscular flair. Still, it tries to add a bit to Wolverine's mythos that seems as unnecessary as Spider-Man's "totems." This book is a big step up from Civil War: Wolverine for Marc Guggenheim, and a pretty enjoyable self-contained solo adventure.
The stongest story in the book, though, is at the start. Jason Aaron's "The Man in the Pit" is an awesome story about a wayward guy that gets a job as Wolverine's prison guard. It was such a great story that now I'm going to check out Aaron's other comics like The Other Side.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mistakenly thought this was going to be a tie-in to the 2015 "Death of Wolverine" (I very clearly did not look at the date, or really very much about this volume from checking it out at the library). I was disappointed at first and wasn't going to read it, but I flipped through and thought "Hey, it's short, it was my mistake. Maybe I should give it a try anyway!".

I'm glad I did.

This is kind-of a whirlwind, going back and forth in Logan/Wolverine's different death experiences. At one point his soul does not come back to his healing-factor saved body, and Doctor Strange has to investigate how to get Logan's soul back into his body.

There was a lot of references I didn't understand (I don't know who Rose is) or only had brief background on (Logan's long dead love, Draken's mother, I knew about but didn't know the whole thing about her dad being a crime boss, getting married to someone else, etc) but this was still pretty interesting and I didn't have problems following.

One item I didn't like - the art. Not really very much at all, but especially the drawing of Doctor Strange.

[Michael Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate Wolverine. However, this trade was included in a grab bag, so I decided to dip my foot into the swirling cesspool that is this character and see if anything had changed.

It hasn't.

HOWEVER. There is a story here that has caused many folks to rate this collection as 1-star. This alone makes it worth it, and not in some cynical way that supports my white hot burning hate for this character.

Anything that fandom hates is a good thing. It means you're not catering to their whims. Whether a story has merit on its own can be argued on an individual basis, but when such vitriol is hurled at one like this one has had, it automatically gets high praise from me.

Keep doing unexpected things with characters. Don't listen to the fanboys. Do wacked out crazy stuff. Ignore continuity. I'm not being sardonic, REALLY DO THOSE THINGS.

Make them hate you. It means you're not being boring.

This collection was ok; standard Wolverine nonsense. Chaykin art is always great to look at.

[taeli · Rating 3 out of 5]

read 2/7/17

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I like that Guggenheim takes Wolverine's complicated history seriously, and even tries to simplify it, but I think he shoots too far: the introduction of Wolverine's fights with the angel of death just makes the whole thing seem too mythological, and ultimately weakens the impact of the story. But it's not terrible, and it does *try* to have long-term implications (which I'm sure will be completely ignored, when convenient.) Chaykin's style is one of those that works really well occasionally, but leaves a lot of panels looking weird and anatomically awkward, so that also really detracts from the storyline. Overall, an unusual Wolverine story, but not one that I particularly enjoyed.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contained six issues from the Wolverine series, the first of which was really good. Unfortunately it was a one-shot, and the latter five issues were a different and lesser storyline. The first issue is a four star comic, but the rest varies between two and three stars.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for the first issue (guy with the machine gun), the rest of it is so-so. The art wasn't even that great (again, not counting the first issue).

[Zunaid · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the dumbest Wolverine tpb ever!!!!!!

[Janette · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT AND IT WASN'T.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if I'm happy with the whole supernatural side of Wolverine "dying", but the writing is all smart and the story interesting.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Individual issues on marvel unlimited

[Zachary Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed Chaykin's art and the story was fun.

[Sanjay Rao · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been done so much better. But overall, it is a dull story.

I would given this negative stars if possible