As the Weapons of X continue their war, Wolverine and Maverick team up as the X-Desk gets serious while Wolverine teams up with Sister Dagger in France in the back-up in Wolverine #33, by writers Benjamin Percy and Gene Luen Yang, artists Juan Jose Ryp and Peter Nguyen, colorists Frank D’Armata and Jay David Ramos, and letterer Cory Petit. Both stories are great, giving Wolverine fans everything they could want.

Beast sends a party of a Beast and Wolverine to Maverick’s wrecked sub, but the mercenary has other plans, attacking the boarding party and killing them before setting the sub’s reactor to explode. At Krakoa, Bannister wakes up and has a conservation with his daughter and Black Tom, vowing to get revenge on Beast. Maverick takes his dead Wolverine to a safe house and is ambushed by the real deal, where the two decide to work together. Bannister returns to the CIA’s X-Desk and vows to bring the Beast in. A team of Wolverines attacks a medical shipment to England, which Beast narrates to his fellows. The other Beasts begin planning against him, but he’s a step ahead of them and has them killed. Bannister and the X-Desk prepare to attack Beast’s base as Wolverine and Maverick make their way to the same location. In the back-up, Shang-Chi’s sister Deadly Dagger fights a flower monster in France. Wolverine shows up to help, and the two take him down, revealing a Japanese man trapped inside. The two hang around, then Sage calls them and tells them that he was dosed with the Man-Slaughter formula made by XENO. The two decide to team up against XENO’s garden, going into battle as friends.

Things are heating up in this issue. Percy has crafted an amazing story with this one, and this issue keeps it up. There are so many fantastic little things in the book. Percy’s long-term plotting can anger some fans, but looking at this issue shows just how great of an approach this is. So much of the book builds off the past. This style of writing used to be the way things always were in X-Men books, so to see it done again and done so well is wonderful.

The best part of the issue is the Beast stuff. There’s an info page that reveals the Prime Beast doesn’t trust his clones and listens to them at all times. This is pretty prudent, as the Beasts are out to get him. He deals with the situation, but it just shows how tenuous his position is. Beast has created a hell for himself, in that he’s constantly having to look over his shoulder. It’s such a perfect twist and really shows the reader where his head is at. The back-up story is pretty good, but it just feels superfluous. It’s more of a Sister Dagger story than a Wolverine one. However, anything Yang writes is worth reading.

Ryp had some big shoes to fill, and he’s knocked it out of the park. This issue is especially good. The beginning sequences are beautiful, with exquisite detail and incredible action penciling. From there, there’s some expert character acting, amazing linework, and just so much detail. Every page he draws is a delight. D’Armata’s colors continue to bring out the best in Ryp’s work. Nguyen and Ramos give the back-up story some superb manga-style art. The action scenes are kinetic and easy to read, and the character acting is great.

Wolverine #33 continues this book’s run of excellence. Percy, Ryp, D’Armata, and Petit are putting out the best X-Men story around right now, and more people need to notice that. Yang, Nguyen, and Ramos turn in an enjoyable back-up story as well. All in all, this is an excellent Wolverine comic.

Grade: A