Unfortunately, the Wolverine prequel one-shot is a different - and less successful - matter.

This one has rather serious conceptual problems.  It picks up with Wolverine still searching for information about his past.  And what he's supposed to learn this time round is that he shares a history with Sabretooth, who's in the same position.  So far so good, but the problem is that this requires Sabretooth to turn up and be a basically reasonable character who's prepared to sit down and have a reasonable conversation with Wolverine.

Now, it's been a while since I watched the first film, but I could have sworn its version of Sabretooth was a growling wrestler who could barely string together a coherent sentence at all.  In its attempt to weld some mainstream continuity into the movie universe, this story ends up with a version of the character which is so radically different that it really doesn't work.  And since he's all over the comic, we have a serious problem.

This sort of story doesn't really play to the strengths of writer Brian Vaughan, either.  Tom Mandrake draws quite a good fight scene, but Vaughan's attempts to find cute set-pieces for the characters' healing powers results in some very contrived situaitons.  The characters covering one another in petrol for a stand-off is faintly silly at the best of times; downright daft if you've seen Zoolander.

The remit gives this issue some serious problems to start with, and the execution doesn't help.  Disappointing.

Rating: C

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