The last thing Wolverine needs is a more complicated back-story, and that's precisely what Sabretooth Reborn has saddled him with. Wolverine #312 dropped the revelation that the Weapon X program was actually Wolverine's idea all along. Issue #313 wraps up Jeph Loeb's return to the franchise, and it's every bit as underwhelming as the three issues that preceded it.
For one thing, it's a bit startling how little a story called Sabretooth Reborn has actually featured Sabretooth. Even in the finale, the character has little relevance other than as a sidekick to Romulus. The notion that he spent his time in hiding training and becoming a tactical genius is never reflected in his behavior or characterization. This issue merely offers a handful of fight scenes between the three characters and a flashback or two to the Weapon X days. The same cliched fight dialogue continues to run rampant. In the flashbacks, Loeb never elaborates enough on why Wolverine was motivated to transform himself or why he was perfectly happy to commit casual murder in the lead-up to that transformation. Nor does this issue offer much resolution to any of the plot threads or character conflicts.
At least Simone Bianchi's art has its appeal. As mentioned in past reviews, his work really benefits from the shift towards more traditional page layouts. His character designs are sometimes overly androgynous, but there's a nice fluidity to the action sequences.
We've already seen other Wolverine-centric stories pick up where Loeb is now leaving off in terms of Sabretooth's return. Loeb leaves plenty more open for either himself or another writer to continue with. But considering that Romulus and his conspiracies have done nothing but dilute and complicate Wolverine's mythology so far, that prospect is not at all enticing.
Source : ign[dot]com
