Witchblade Reveals Deadpool & Wolverine-Inspired Variant Cover

Top Cow has announce a new, 1:25 variant cover for Witchblade #3, drawn by Marc Silvestri and inspired by Deadpool & Wolverine, which was in turn inspired by Marc Silvestri. Confused yet?…Well, Silvestri drew the iconic cover to Uncanny X-Men #251, which served to inspire a scene in Deadpool & Wolverine. Since the Easter egg-filled movie has gone on to make more than $1 billion and become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, that drew the attention of Silvestri, who decided to release an homage cover of his own in September, which you can see below.

The image appears to be a recolored version of Silvestri’s cover for Witchblade #170, which hit stores in October 2013. It features Sara Pezzini/Witchblade crucified on a giant, wooden “W” as opposed to the X that Wolverine was hanging on.

“Hugh Jackman did a great job recreating Marc Silvestri’s iconic Uncanny X-Men #251 cover in Deadpool & Wolverine, But, Silvestri’s Witchblade did it better,” Top Cow posted on social media, along with a winking emoji. They added, “Just joking! We love you [Hugh] – You are Wolverine.”

In Uncanny X-Men #251, Wolverine disassociates while being tortured by Donald Pierce and the anti-mutant terrorists The Reavers. In Witchblade #170, a murder victim was found, beheaded and crucified, and Sara had to find the killer. No word yet on whether there will be any literal connection to the plot of the new Witchblade issue, or if it’s just a great pinup cover.

In Witchblade #3, out on September 18th, “Sara Pezzini grapples with the deadly powers of the Witchblade while corrupt cops, human traffickers, and supernatural conspiracies tighten the noose around her neck. A terrifying new hunter emerges in the form of Ian Nottingham, but is he here to save her, sabotage her-or seduce her?”

Orders for the issue are due on August 26th, so to get your copy of this snazzy variant, you’ll have to act fast.

Below, you can see the order codes for each cover, which you can give your local comics retailer, along with a short history lesson on the cover from Top Cow:

Cover A: Giuseppe Cafaro & Arif Prianto – 0724IM431
Cover B: David Mack – 0724IM432
Cover C 1:25 Copy Incentive: Marc Silvestri – 0724IM896

Background: Marc Silvestri created the WITCHBLADE (2013) #170 “After Me” as he paid homage to his powerful cover of UNCANNY X-MEN #251 (1989). Since then it has been alluded to several times and inspired many of artists. With fans excited with the live action homage in the blockbuster film DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE, fans have been contacting us about the cover along with WITCHBLADE #170. With the incredible launch of WITCHBLADE (2024), we want to show our support of fans in bring this powerful image of Witchblade back for this collectible WITCHBLADE (2024) #3 cover, featuring intense, nostalgic colors of the original UNCANNY X-MEN. Thank you for your unwavering support!