It's been three months to the day since I last reviewed an issue of Wolverine: The End.  Since then, issue #3 has been heavily delayed, and issue #4 has been resolicited altogether.  I have no clue why, but given that issue #2 was almost incomprehensible, I wouldn't be altogether surprised to learn that the book had been undergoing retooling.

Whatever the reason for the delay, issue #3 is certainly a quantum leap in the direction of comprehensibility.  I can't honestly say I care any more, but at least I have a vague understanding of the plot now.

Wolverine has been led to investigate an ancient Japanese cult, through plot devices I no longer recall and cannot be bothered re-reading to establish.  Sorry, but my time is finite, and since the series to date has not been particularly entertaining to me, I honestly cannot be bothered re-reading to understand this part of the plot.  You want diligence, try a reviewer who gets paid for wading through boring comics.  If anyone reading this does actually understand the plot, feel free to e-mail me and explain.

Anyhow, having investigated this cult, Wolverine ends up as a captive of a man who claims to have an interest in him, and spends most of the issue hinting at why, without ever actually explaining it until the last panel when he drops a hint.  Gosh, but it's thrilling.  How long is this series again?

The basic problem with the "End" stories is that they're off in alternate futures and, let's face it, don't matter at all.  To make them work, you have to come up with a clever angle that plays off the character and provides a resolution.  I've yet to see any sign of that here.  Instead, we have the villain promising to offer more exposition about Wolverine's history.  I suppose that's another way of making the series "matter", although the canonicity of any flashbacks in this series must surely be doubtful.  (I think these are meant to be alternate futures, in which case logically flashbacks to the past should be canonical - but Marvel have never made the point remotely clear, and therefore everything in these books is solidly ignorable.)

At least I understand the plot this time round, but I still don't care in the slightest.  Compare this book, which has spent three issues pissing around with cryptic plot points and arcane continuity, to this week's Punisher: The End one-shot, which nails the character in one issue and gets the hell out of there.  It's just no contest.

Tell me a story, for god's sake.  Don't bore me with trivia, lateral thinking problems and obscure references.  Tell me a damn story.  What the hell is the point of this book?  We're halfway through and I still haven't got a clue.  And I'm far from convinced anyone involved knows, either.

Rating: C

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