Wolverine #43 - Civil War

Wolverine #43
I figured out whose idea it was to have Nitro blow up the school. It was Congressman Sykes. That's who he was talking to in the car. That's whose cabin he was using. Congressman Sykes was using Nitro to push his registration act agenda, and it worked. Now that I have figured out how the Civil War event will end: by everybody ganging up on Sykes and forgetting the whole thing, we can get on with this issue's critique.
A very good issue. I can't give it excellent, because the scene with Tony Stark drags too much - pretty boy does too much preaching - and the scene with the surfer dude and his cohorts makes no sense yet - I know, that's the point, but still.
The art is beautiful and very detailed down to Medalert bracelet on the truck driver's wrist. And the colors are amazing.
This issue has three very odd/interesting scenes (presented here in reverse story order):
Wolverine is apparently so powerful now that what would once have killed him, doesn't anymore. Remember in "Days of Future Past", how Wolverine was left as a shiny metal skeleton by a Sentinel blast? Well, apparently, that's not enough to do him in anymore, as Nitro sears all the flesh from his bones, and Wolvie eventually regenerates and brings it to him, more than a little bit pissed off. (Why don't Nitro's clothes get burned too when he does his thing? Just wondering. )
I also wonder why Wolverine needs to sharpen his claws on a whetstone. As adamantium is unbreakable, wouldn't that also mean that it doesn't lose its edge? A minor detail, but one that should be paid attention to. Still, it makes for a great sequence.
Besides that, Wolverine smells Iron Man coming into town (ozone, I guess), and jumps on top of him from atop a building. A bit unbelievable, but it makes for a very amusing couple of panels.
The dialogue is clunky at parts - take this quote for example:
Wolvie is being screamed at angrily by the head of the commando unit sent to take Nitro down...this is what the guy says: "T.F.G. Tactical Fear Generation. S.O.P. for dealing with guys like this. Standard Operating Procedure." I don't think that anybody has ever heard the term TFG used before, but everybody is familiar with the term SOP. Therefore, why use the abbreviation TFG in the first place, especially if you're going to translate it immediately? And why translate SOP at all? People don't actually talk like that. It's important when scripting to make characters talk like real people. Just a thought.
Anyways, I'm enjoying this arc immensely. It's the only book lately asking the real question, as to why people aren't more focused on the maniac who perpetrated CW#1's atrocity, than they are with registering costumes. And it's doing so with flair. A very high GOOD. It loses points for the above inconsistencies and such, but remains a very solid issue.
[Edit: After mulling this issue over a bit, I'm forced to lower my rating for it. Why? Take a look at page 14. Wolverine jumps out of a chopper at least 40 feet above the ground...without a zipline! Sorry, but the last I checked, Wolverine can't fly. He then proceeds to land perfectly on his feet without rolling or anything. Okay, whatever, I get that his bones are unbreakable, but he still can't fly! Then apparently the commandos are firing wildly, firing blindly, and firing directly at Wolverine! And the commandos are staged in a completely different location than the one in which they landed. And Nitro just happens to avoid every single bullet as he runs through the forest. And why run through the forest anyways? Why not just incinerate everyone from inside the cabin, if he was going to do so at the end anyhow? Sorry, but I am unable to suspend my disbelief any further, and can't overlook these inconsistencies and ridiculousnesses any longer. The issue now rates no higher than OKAY. Another thing...when Wolverine appears after regenerating, he is on fire!!! Um, I'm sorry, NO.]
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