Wolverine: Get Mystique (Comics) | Review

Revenge missions in superhero comics usually involve elaborate schemes, moral dilemmas stretched across multiple issues and teams of heroes debating whether killing is ever justified. Jason Aaron (Avengers Vs. X-Men, The Unworthy Thor) and artist Ron Garney (Hulk: Dogs of War, Hulk: Gathering Storm) skip all that noise.

Get Mystique is Wolverine hunting someone who betrayed him, moving fast, hitting hard and dealing with baggage through violence. This 2008 storyline spanning issues #62-65 launches Aaron's run with stripped-down focus that feels refreshing after years of convoluted mythology.

The setup is pure simplicity. Cyclops sends Logan after Mystique following her actions during Messiah CompleX and tells him to handle it permanently. What could have been a direct hit becomes complicated when decades of shared history between hunter and target resurface through flashbacks to 1921 Mexico and Kansas City.

Their brief partnership as criminals and lovers ended with betrayal, establishing patterns that repeat across nearly a century. Aaron uses this two-timeline structure to explore what happens when immortal characters never learn from their mistakes, just keep making them.

The story opens with Wolverine tracking Mystique through Baghdad with singular focus and intensity, cutting through chaos. Cyclops ordered him to eliminate Raven for her actions during Messiah CompleX, where she murdered Mister Sinister, manipulated Hope Summers and even tried to use the child to cure Rogue at one point.

Logan's hunt isn't just about following orders from Cyclops and X-Men leadership though. The intensity suggests something deeper drives him forward, though he won't admit it initially. Mystique stays ahead through cunning rather than power, using shape-shifting to blend in.

Flashbacks reveal their 1921 meeting in Mexico. Both face execution by firing squad for separate crimes when they engineer a joint escape together. Mystique brings Logan to Kansas City, introducing him to her gang of small-time criminals planning a bank robbery.

Despite his reluctance to join anything resembling family or stability in his long life, Logan gets drawn into the shady operation and into Raven's bed despite all his better instincts and past experiences. Yet trust issues simmer beneath their brief partnership, setting up inevitable betrayal from one or both sides in the near future.

The heist goes sideways when police arrive with perfect timing and preparation. Logan sold them out, convinced Mystique would eventually betray him first. He's proven right but not expected. Raven survives, having anticipated his move and escapes with the money.

When they reunite on a moving train, she offers reconciliation before kicking him off into the countryside with brutal efficiency. The pattern establishes itself: neither trusts the other, both prove correct in their suspicions and violence becomes their language.

Present-day Mystique uses every trick available to stay ahead of Wolverine's relentless tracking abilities and savage determination. She blows up a mosque in Tehran to create chaos and cover her escape to Afghanistan. Logan follows through the destruction, his healing factor absorbing lethal damage repeatedly without slowing down.

Their confrontation when it finally arrives is vicious and deeply personal in ways neither expected. Mystique engages Logan in straight combat, matching his ferocity blow for blow. The fight leaves both critically injured: Logan with a bullet lodged in his brain.

Logan's healing factor brings him back first from near death despite the severe brain trauma. He tracks Mystique to her final hiding spot in the wasteland, finding her barely conscious and bleeding out in the desert from multiple wounds. She expects him to finish the job and complete his mission for Cyclops without hesitation.

Instead, Logan tosses her a pistol and walks away with final words of truth. He learned from his mistakes and built connections with the X-Men despite knowing those bonds bring pain. She isolated herself through constant betrayal, ensuring she'll die alone and forgotten.

Get Mystique connects directly to Messiah CompleX, providing character-focused aftermath to that event's massive destruction. The arc sets up Manifest Destiny where Mystique targets Iceman. Aaron later brings her back during Wolverine Goes to Hell, where she plays a role in sending Logan to damnation before he kills her.

Ron Garney delivers kinetic artwork that prioritizes clarity and impact over stylistic flourishes. His storytelling flows smoothly, guiding readers through action scenes. Character expressions convey emotion effectively, particularly during quieter moments between Logan and Mystique.

The 1921 sequences get differentiated through color choices rather than dramatic style shifts in the art itself. Jason Keith's palette shifts to sepia tones for flashbacks while present-day scenes use harsh desert sunlight and shadowy night operations throughout the entire storyline.

Jason Aaron's script operates with impressive economy and tight focus throughout the entire storyline. Dialogue stays sharp and minimal, letting action and visual storytelling carry much of the narrative weight. Internal narration from Logan provides context without over-explaining, trusting readers to understand motivations clearly.

Mystique's characterization benefits from Aaron's approach. Rather than relying on manipulative schemes, he presents her as equally capable of direct confrontation when cornered. The vulnerability she shows adds depth without undermining her ruthlessness.

Get Mystique succeeds as a stripped-down character study disguised as action thriller without unnecessary complications or excess baggage. Aaron and Garney establish their collaborative chemistry immediately, creating a Wolverine story that feels modern and grounded despite featuring characters who've lived for over a century.

The storyline works best for readers who prefer character-driven narratives over plot complexity. There's no world-ending threat, no elaborate conspiracy. Just two people with valid grudges working through violence because they've never learned healthier alternatives.

As an entry point to Jason Aaron's Wolverine run, Get Mystique demonstrates his strengths and establishes the template he follows for years ahead. Grounded locations instead of sci-fi excess. Personal stakes over cosmic threats. Violence that carries weight and lasting consequences.

This is essential reading for anyone following Jason Aaron's Wolverine work or interested in Mystique's character development through the years and across decades of Marvel continuity. It's accessible to new readers despite being a Messiah CompleX epilogue, as Aaron provides context to understand the stakes and motivations.

Wolverine: Get Mystique is collected in Wolverine Vol. 1: Get Mystique, available as trade paperback at comic shops, major bookstores and online retailers. Digital versions are also available via Amazon Kindle, ComiXology and Marvel Unlimited.