Wolverine #50
Wolverine (Vol. 3) #50 is the opening chapter of the 'Evolution' arc — one of the most consequential Wolverine storylines of the 2000s — and its chief historical claim is the cameo debut of Romulus, a shadowy, centuries-old puppet master who would retrospectively be woven into nearly every major event of Wolverine's life, including the Weapon X Program itself. The issue also marks a genuine narrative milestone in the Wolverine-Sabretooth rivalry: rather than another inconclusive brawl, 'Evolution' was positioned from the start as the fight that would actually resolve their decades-long grudge, culminating six issues later in the death of Sabretooth at Wolverine's hands. As the debut of Italian artist Simone Bianchi's first ongoing Marvel run, it introduced a distinctive ink-wash visual language to the series that was distinctive enough to warrant a simultaneous black-and-white edition alongside every colored issue — an unusual publishing gesture that highlighted the art as an object of attention in its own right.
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Writer Jeph Loeb came aboard the series with this double-sized 50th issue, joining Italian illustrator Simone Bianchi, who had signed a two-year Marvel exclusive in February 2006 and was making his first ongoing American monthly debut here. By Bianchi's own account in contemporary interviews, Loeb wrote explicitly to the artist's strengths — favoring few panels per page and expansive double-page spreads to showcase Bianchi's painterly technique. Editors Axel Alonso and Michael O'Connor oversaw the issue, which was released on January 24, 2007 (cover-dated March 2007) and sold out quickly enough to prompt significant collector attention at the time of publication.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First (shadowed/behind-the-scenes) cameo appearance of Romulus — a character created by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi — who would not make his first full appearance until Wolverine: Origins #39 (August 2009).
- Launches the six-part 'Evolution' story arc (issues #50–55), written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Simone Bianchi, which concludes with Wolverine killing Sabretooth using the Muramasa Blade in issue #55.
- Double-sized 52-page anniversary issue featuring a 12-page backup story, 'Puny Little Man,' penciled by Ed McGuinness, which revisits Wolverine's first fight with the Hulk (originally in Incredible Hulk #181) as a framed memory narrative.
- Marks Simone Bianchi's debut as penciler on his first ongoing American monthly comic series; every issue of the 'Evolution' arc (#50–55) was released in both a standard color edition and a black-and-white ink-wash variant to highlight his distinctive style.
- Known variants of this issue include: standard direct edition, newsstand edition, a New York Comic Con 2007 exclusive edition (presented in black and white with a b&w cover), and a Dynamic Forces edition signed by Simone Bianchi with a certificate of authenticity.
- The full 'Evolution' arc (#50–55) was later adapted by Marvel Knights Animation into a six-episode motion comic series titled 'Wolverine versus Sabretooth,' released by Shout! Factory on DVD on January 14, 2014.
- The issue has been reprinted in multiple collected formats, including Wolverine: Evolution TPB, Wolverine: Sabretooth (2013 hardcover), Wolverine by Daniel Way: The Complete Collection Vol. 2 (2017), and True Believers: Wolverine — Evolution #1 (July 2018).
- Axel Alonso and Michael O'Connor served as editors; the wraparound cover is by Simone Bianchi with colors by Morry Hollowell.
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