Hellverine #4

History

The Hellverine ongoing series — of which this issue is the fourth installment — grew directly from fan and retail enthusiasm for the 2023 'Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance' crossover, which Percy wrote concurrently while helming both the Wolverine and Ghost Rider ongoing titles; that story introduced the demon Bagra-ghul and the original Hellverine concept. A four-issue limited series (with art by Julius Ohta) followed in early 2024, and when that mini-series sold well enough to justify expansion, Marvel greenlit the ongoing series launched in December 2024 with artist Raffaele Ienco replacing Ohta; Percy described the trajectory as feeling like 'a Cosmic Ghost Rider moment.' The ongoing is part of Marvel's post-Krakoa X-Men: From the Ashes publishing initiative, editorially overseen under a Parental Advisory rating, with Mark Basso as editor and C.B. Cebulski as editor-in-chief.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Released March 12, 2025; written by Benjamin Percy, art by Raffaele Ienco, colors by Bryan Valenza, letters by VC's Travis Lanham, cover by Kendrick Lim.
• Issue is the fourth chapter of the Hellverine ongoing series (vol. 2), which launched December 2024 as part of the X-Men: From the Ashes initiative — Akihiro's first-ever solo ongoing series.
• Central plot: Mephisto has resurrected Akihiro's murdered mother, Itsu, as a demonic entity called 'Mother' at Jasmine Falls, Japan — the site of her original death — who enslaves local children; Hellverine is forced to fight and ultimately kill her to free the village.
• The issue is structured in two narrative halves: the Jasmine Falls/Itsu resolution and then Akihiro's journey to Genosha — the site where Wolverine previously drowned him — where Mephisto confronts him directly, revealing his plan to corrupt mutantkind into a personal army.
• Akihiro's internal monologue, used heavily throughout in place of dialogue, ties the issue thematically to his lifelong cycle of parental abandonment, trauma, and violent death — Percy explicitly frames Hellverine as a character-study series as much as an action book.
• The ongoing was announced on the same day the prior limited series concluded; at announcement, Percy confirmed Aurora and supporting cast from the mini-series would carry over, with Mephisto established as the primary antagonist.
• The issue carries a Parental Advisory (15+) rating, consistent with the series' adult-oriented horror-superhero tone that drew comparisons from reviewers to Howard Mackie's Ghost Rider run of the 1990s.
• The four-issue limited series that preceded this ongoing was later collected as Hellverine: Resurrection (trade paperback, January 2025); the ongoing's first arc was collected as Hellverine Vol. 1: Lost Highways (August 2025).

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