Wolverine #65 is the concluding chapter of "Get Mystique."  This arc has been billed as a "Divided We Stand" story, and it's only just occurred to me that there's no particular reason why.  The fact that the X-Men have split up is completely irrelevant to this story, which is all about Wolverine hunting down Mystique.  Oh well.

This has been an unusually focussed story.  Although there are a few other characters floating around, Jason Aaron has focussed overwhelmingly on Wolverine and Mystique.  The basic idea is to compare and contrast them - both in the present and in an extended flashback showing them together in the 1920s - and then ask to what extent they're opposite sides of the same coin.  Obviously, that's a conclusion Wolverine's rather keen to refute.

Well, I say that's the basic idea.  Perhaps that's a slight exaggeration.  Really, the basic idea is to do four issues of Wolverine hunting down Mystique in the Middle East, with plenty of fighting.  And that's what Aaron and Garney delivered.  But Aaron understands that even a basic chase story needs a bit of context to make it work, and he's managed to add that without detracting from the all-important fighting.

Then again, this issue pushes its luck a little bit.  This is the final climactic fight.  The idea seems to be that all Mystique's tricks and disguises have been stripped away, so that we're left with the real woman.  Presumably in order to symbolise that, Aaron has her choosing to fight naked.  Now, remarkably enough, this somehow manages to avoid seeming completely gratuitous.  He gets away with that, in a Tarantino-esque way where the sheer senselessness of it almost becomes the point.

But it can't avoid seeming a little bit stupid, as poor Ron Garney has to choreograph the fight scene to stay within the book's designated age range.  The result can only leave you wondering why, if Mystique is so keen to cover her breasts, she doesn't just put some clothes on.

Still, Aaron pulls off an interesting comparison of the characters, leaving readers to decide for themselves how much they have in common.  For all the over the top silliness, this has been a well-paced story with clever use of misdirection, and generally excellent art throughout.  A good arc.

Rating: A-

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