WOLVERINE: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST #1 - December 1997

Ill Winds

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Joe Bennett (penciler), Jon Holdredge (inker), Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne (letters), Mike Thomas & Monica Megerdoomian (colors)

Summary: In the future, Jubilee is in hiding with Synch and Leech. They’re saved from a Sentinel attack by Magneto, who’s searching for Wolverine. Jubilee promises to lead Magneto to Wolverine, if he agrees to free the X-Men kept prisoner in an internment camp. In Moscow, Wolverine unsuccessfully searches for Amiko. He’s psi-blasted by a mystery telepath called the Red Queen. Later, a dazed Wolverine attacks Jubilee, but is stopped by Magneto. At Shinobi Shaw’s secret headquarters, Red Queen reveals herself as Psylocke.

Continuity Notes: Red Queen has a female who appears to be her servant named Midnight. Magneto needs Wolverine’s help to stop a group of suspected eco-terrorists. Apparently, Shinobi Shaw is behind the environmental attacks. Wolverine believed Amiko dead until a mystery figure began mailing him photos of her. Jubilee references an earlier “incident” that happened on Genosha, which Magneto refuses to speak about (it’s possible the X-office already had plans for Magneto to take over Genosha at this point). Synch and Jubilee are a couple now, which pays off their romantic subplot in Generation X. Baron Zemo, in a brief cameo, is ordered by Sentinels to find Magneto.

Review: Combining the X-Men’s most overused concept with the team’s most overexposed star, we’re blessed with another gratuitous ‘90s miniseries -- Wolverine: Days of Future Past (hmmm…perhaps the Phoenix has been used more than dystopian futures, but it’s a close call). This was edited by the “main” X-editor, Mark Powers, so maybe this was viewed as a slightly higher priority than most of the other limited series of the era. John Francis Moore was doing quite well on X-Force during this time, so I’m glad to see his name show up on another X-project. Maybe he only got the job because there are just so many titles Ben Raab can write in a month, but I’d like to think someone at Marvel recognized the work he was doing and thought he deserved the shot. Joe Bennett was a regular fill-in penciler on the X-books and Spider-titles during these days, and while Marvel never got around to giving him a regular high-profile assignment, he’s capable of solid work. Some of these pages look a little rushed, but they’re definitely an improvement over his earlier jobs.

Given the long gap between the original “Days of Future Past” storyline and the dates the “future” events were supposed to start happening (the late ‘90s), it’s inevitable that more mutants would’ve debuted in the ensuing years. Chris Claremont and John Byrne had no way of knowing this, but the numbers of mutants actually exploded in less than twenty years, and since there’s no explanation for what happened to the Morlocks, Acolytes, Externals, Genoshan Mutates, or new students of Xavier in the original story, there’s a gap to be filled in the timeline. Perhaps Moore will go with the obvious copout, all of these characters died, but I am curious to see what he does with the various mutants (mostly from the ‘90s) that weren’t mentioned in the original storyline. I initially wondered if Jubilee was given such a large role because she’s the most prominent X-Man to debut since “Days,” but then I considered that Gambit is probably more popular. Then, I remembered that Rogue hadn’t appeared, or at least wasn’t a hero, when “Days” was written. Now, I wonder if Jubilee is a main cast member simply because of her connection to Wolverine. And, really, is there a reason outside of marketing purposes for Wolverine to get top billing? This doesn’t keep me from enjoying the first issue, which is tightly plotted and does a good job of setting up the story, but specifically making this a Wolverine series does feel odd. Did anyone ever think of “Days” as a Wolverine-specific storyline?