Series Round-Up—Predator versus Wolverine
Predator hunts Wolverine: a four-part limited series that ran during the final months of 2023 and delivered everything you could hope for in a clash of hunters.
What’s the story?
The title provides a totally transparent sense of the story: Predator versus Wolverine. Take two hunters and throw them into combat.
Benjamin Percy teamed up with a number of artists to provide a multi-layered story that is all action while providing snapshots of Wolverine’s past and the motivations of the Predator. The different artists are used to distinguish between the different time periods
In addition to the present day which acts an anchor for the other narratives, the story provides Wolverine as a young man, Wolverine in Team X, Wolverine as Weapon X, Wolverine in Japan and Wolverine as part of a classic X-Men team. It certainly is a lot of Wolverine.
Percy does a good job of blending the Wolverine stories and adding a sense of continuity to Wolverine as a character, while also letting the different artwork from different artists make the time periods distinctive.
The four issue run becomes a Wolverine anthology held together by the presence of an alien hunter tracking his prey (Wolverine) across different time periods.
Despite putting Predator first, this is more of a Wolverine story. The Predator character is really a race of aliens, the Yautja. Most Predator stories contain a different Predator from the Yautja. They rarely have names and it is unusual for them to be reoccurring characters.
As a character, any Predator is notorious for its limited use of language. And up against Wolverine, this story stays consistent with that aspect of the character. Wolverine provides some insight with a brief journal-style reflection. If he didn’t whole pages would be nothing but pictures, which actually seems like that would be good.
Across the four issues, we are provided with different versions of Wolverine from a young boy to present day. However, there is only one Predator. They joy of the story is the non-linear narrative that provides insights into Wolverine and the different stages of his life. The insights into the Yautja is more general.
The story is completely self-sufficient. Beyond an enjoyable story, there will be no impact on any Wolverine or Predator stories. Sure there is a possibility that the success of the story will pave the way for a second Predator versus Wolverine. What we’re not going to see is any repercussions in any other stories (Wolverine won’t be having a beer with Professor X and talking about the time that intergalactic hunter came to Earth and attacked the X-Men).
So what is the significance?
The entire story is full of callbacks for fans of Predator and Wolverine. The story contains a ton of Easter eggs and references that flatter anyone who knows anything about either Predator or Wolverine. However, it’s a good story even if you haven’t watched the original Predator movie or don’t know about Wolverine’s time in Japan.
Worth reading?
The four part limited series finished at the end of 2024 with a range of collectible covers. The trade paperback will be arriving April 10th 2024. The comic contains lots of action and is an enjoyable and self-contained story with lots of nods towards fans of the characters.
The series only exists because of the huge cultural significance of these two characters. However, don’t let that stop you from giving this a read. It is everything you could hope for in a comic, great visual with distinctive storytelling. There is even a reflective moment or two as Wolverine contemplates his existences in relation to being hunted by the Predator.