Wolverine—the greatest X-Men ever—is dead! With this mutant powerhouse now permanently out of the picture, various factions of both good and evil are scrambling to fill the void left by Logan’s death! Will Wolverine’s Legacy be shaped by heroes who valiantly fought alongside him …or by those villains treacherous enough to have challenged him over the many years of his long life? The answers will be revealed in this special 7-issue limited series that spins directly out of the Death of Wolverine!

Wolverine might be “dead,” but that’s not stopping Marvel from cashing in, much like when he was alive, with the character appearing (or at least his name), on as many comics as the market can bear. The first, of many to come, cash-ins brings together many of the characters most important to the now in limbo Logan.

This first issue is little more than set-up, taking on the rather disheartening move by Marvel lately to pitch further books instead of focusing on delivering a fleshed out story. Like it or loathe it (I lean latter), the issue teases what’s to come for the characters introduced within Daken, Sabretooth, Mystique, X-23, and Lady Deathstrike. I can maybe ignore the continuity issues (Isn’t Daken a Horseman now? Isn’t X-23 in the Ultimate Universe? Isn’t Mystique and Sabretooth fighting as part of AXIS?), but this first issue is set up for the rotating cast of characters to come. It feels more like a zero issue, or even one of those free books to handed out to get you interested in what’s to come. Writer Charles Soule, whose talent shines in numerous other series, gives us a solid take on the characters and their personalities, setting up what might be an interesting mystery, but overall the issue feels more like Marvel wanting to do a wake and in memoriam, and not sure exactly how to accomplish that.

The first issue isn’t helped at all by Oliver Nome‘s art which is passable at best, and atrocious most of the issue. Faces at times don’t match the emotion. Many don’t even match the perspective or general shape of “round.” It’s a mess not helped by the fact Steve McNiven had art duty for the Death of Wolverine. The quality of the art made me generally think “cash in” while reading the issue.

The mini-series lasts seven issues with the next five being handled by a rotating creative team and Soule coming back to wrap it all up. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of it all, but this first issue doesn’t provide me with much hope of what’s to come in the many months to come.

Story: Charles Soule Art: Oliver Nome
Story: 5 Art: 4 Overall: 4.5 Recommendation: Pass