Wolverine 20 - Acts of Vengeance

This issue continues Wolverine's adventures in the Latin American cliché of Terra Verde with the continued interference of Tiger Shark the only element from the wider event. Otherwise this is a middle parter of the story and very much an action driven one as La Bandera and her rebels try to free political prisoners from a medical centre with a side-line in experiments, whilst Wolverine and Tiger Shark each keep on coming back.

Wolverine #20

Writer: Archie Goodwin
Breakdown artist: John Byrne
Finishing artist: Klaus Janson
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colourist: Mike Rockwitz
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The issue opens with a strong sequence as Tiger Shark forces Wolverine into the depths of the sea and shoves his claws into a coral reef, leaving him unable to extract himself in the time before his air runs out. It's such a strong sequence that it really should have been the cliffhanger to the last issue instead of just Tiger Shark intercepting Wolverine as the latter fled the medical centre through the sea. It also confronts Wolverine's cockiness well as he initially thinks how he hasn't got a chance against Tiger Shark in the water and these are the sort of odds he likes. A pattern recurs through the issue as each fight makes it appear that the loser is doomed, only he comes back at an unexpected moment later on. Only at the end of the issue do we get a permanent conclusion to the conflict though Wolverine doubts his foe will be killed in the process.

The rest of the issue focuses on a battle with the military dictator who is using a special variant of cocaine combined with his ex-wife's mysterious healing powers to produce a super soldier for the country. Meanwhile La Bandera tries to free political prisoners and confront the dictator but enthusiasm for a rebellion is in somewhat short supply. There's also an indication that the real power is the president's adviser Geist, an aged Nazi who survived the war and went on to help various governments with secrets, acquiring cybernetic elements to his body in the process. However this element of the story is still mired in cliché and doesn't yet overcome it to provide an original spin.

Being the conclusion of the title's involvement in "Acts of Vengeance" but only a middle part on its own storyline means that this is an unsatisfactory issue for the crossover reader even though it confirms that excellent matches of heroes and villains can be made out of the basic premise. But otherwise it has too many cliched elements and leaves the event before sorting them out without being sufficiently gripping to stay around for the local storyline's conclusion.

Wolverine #20 has been reprinted in:

• Essential Wolverine volume 1 (1996)
• Wolverine Classic volume 4 (2006)
• Acts of Vengeance Crossover Omnibus (2011)
• Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus volume 1 (2016)