It’s the beginning of the end in Dead Man Logan #1, by writer Ed Brisson, artist Mike Henderson, colorist Nolan Woodard, and letterer Cory Petit. Brisson has helmed 25 issues starring everyone’s favorite cantankerous Canucklehead doppelganger, and has cooked up a great set-up for what very well could be the character’s last stand.

Members of the X-Men find Logan and the Maestro’s dead body outside of Fort Wells, Canada, and take Logan to the mansion. After learning exactly how much time he has before he dies, he sets to take care of one final piece of business--making sure Mysterio can never cause the massacre he did in Logan’s world. He goes to he villain hang out, The Bar With No Name, cracking villain skulls until he gets a lead, then has a confrontation with Miss Sinister. He goes to the warehouse he was told about and meets up with Hawkeye, who offers him Mysterio’s actual location. They set out, but Miss Sinister gets there first, having read Logan’s mind and seen what Mysterio is really capable of, and convinces him to help her and a familiar evil group to destroy the heroes. Back at the X-Mansion, Forge goes through an old portal of his and ends up in the Wasteland.

This issue is partly a greatest hits line-up from Brisson’s run of Old Man Logan, reuniting Logan with Glob and Hawkeye, and partly a killer beginning to a story that is packing a lot of surprises. Adding Miss Sinister to the mix makes the whole thing work better; she’s a catalyst for Mysterio, who is quite happy staying in a mental institution and not getting beat up by heroes. With her telepathy, it’s hard to even know if any of this is Mysterio’s idea, and that makes things even more interesting. The reveal at the end is also something that has potential to be very big in the Marvel Universe, and makes perfect sense both in the context of who would want to kill all the heroes and Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s original Old Man Logan story.

As usual, Brisson’s characterization is stellar. Whether it be Glob Herman’s sadness for his friend or Hawkeye getting treated like dirt by everyone, it all fits the characters. Logan is driven and focused, ready to do whatever is necessary. Mysterio is beat down by recent events, but ready to permanently solve his problem with getting beaten by the heroes. Miss Sinister is an agent of chaos, only on her own side. Mix all of this together and you get a potent brew of characters attached to a killer plot.

Mike Henderson’s art is clean and detailed. He doesn’t have a perfect feel for how long Logan’s claws should be, but that’s a tiny nitpick. The fight scene he draws of Logan trashing a bar of C-list villains is kinetic and exciting. He’s even able to get a lot of emoting out of Glob, a skeleton surrounded by gelatinous matter. His art is a treat, and seals the deal on what is already a great comic. Nolan Woodard’s colors give the art the right kind of pop it needs.

Dead Man Logan delivers in a lot of surprising ways. There were a few directions this one could go, but Brisson throws in a few twists and turns that will surprise readers and provide a great hook to keep them with this book til the bloody end. Henderson’s art is the icing on the cake. This is a must read for any fans of Logan.

Grade: A