The mafia storyline concludes in Wolverine #185, an issue has the enormous boon of not featuring a twat dressed as Julius Caesar.  With that obstacle removed, we're back to the promise shown by the opening parts of this storyline.

It probably won't surprise you to know that the upstart mob boss is deposed, and Wolverine emerges victorious.  It's a little more interesting to note that there are no action sequences whatsoever in this final issue - Logan actually wins by doing a bit of backstage negotiating, which isn't even on camera, and we then get an explanation of what happened after the fact.  A very effective way of structuring it, but not the normal route for a Wolverine storyline.

Yes, the whole thing is basically a riff on mob cliches, and there's nothing desperately original.  Nonetheless, if you're prepared to ignore the ludicrous nonsense in earlier chapters about Roman-themed mobsters, this is well put together, and the twist at the end (with Wolverine revealing that in fact he didn't know the family of the girl who was abducted after all, he just overheard the father in a bar and thought it might kill some time to help out) is a cute touch.  It all plays to the strengths of Sean Chen, as well, who makes the most of a well-paced story.

It's impossible to avoid noticing that this entire storyline has been hugely uncharacteristic for writer Frank Tieri.  That bloody Roman aside, it's relatively low-key and understated.  It's simple, straightforward, and character-driven, with the characters actually making sense.  The whole way the story is told, down to the pacing and speed, is hugely dissimilar to Tieri's other Wolverine stories, or his current work in Weapon X.  It is, however, much more similar to some of the books previously edited by the title's new editor Axel Alonso.  It's difficult to avoid concluding that this storyline has been a testimony to the power of active editing.

Not too original, but done well enough to make it entertaining regardless.

Rating: B

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