In our review of Supernatural Special: Wayward #1, Sam begins receiving mysterious calls telling him to disappear. But is there something to it? And what’s with the cursed vase?
SUPERNATURAL SPECIAL: WAYWARD #1
Writer: Paulina Ganucheau
Artist: Kendall Goode
Main Cover: John Amor
Variant Cover: John Amor
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: September 2, 2026
This review contains spoilers
After a cold open with Sam pulling Dean out of a burning building, and Dean calling him out on it, we go back to 48 hours earlier.
The Winchesters, back to traveling together once more, have gained a new loaner vehicle. They go about their business, crashing at a motel for the night, and while Dean sleeps, Sam gets a call from an unknown number. Either he, in two days’ time, takes off on his own or Dean’s going to die.
The next day, Sam tells his brother about the phone call, but Dean dismisses it as a prank. Instead, they have more pressing matters to attend to. There are reports of a vase, whose owners have a tendency to die. Since curses are very much in the Winchester wheelhouse, they go to investigate, complete with aliases.
Sam pokes around the scene of the newest death while Dean flirts with Delilah,the sister of the archaeologist that was sent to receive it. But then Sam receives another of those mysterious calls. He’s got 12 hours, now. And to show that this rando isn’t messing around, they send a photo of Dean and Delilah. When Sam tries to find the caller outside, he’s instead met with something else on his phone: a timer.
Once again, the brothers brush this off, and eventually realize they’re likely dealing with a vengeful spirit. They gear up to face this spirit, and in the middle of that confrontation, Sam gets another call and a 20 minute warning, but again, he blows that off.
And then a shadowy entity prepares to stab Dean. That brings us back to where the issue began, before Sam tells his brother he’s leaving. He heads off, opening the door for the two upcoming solo titles.
So, this story is still in the continuity of the prior Supernatural comic, with the events of the ghost car and Windler being brought up, but at the same time, it’s definitely its own thing, setting up a reason for the separation beyond Sam figuring out just what he is.
Speaking of Sam, though, I notice that his design seems to change a bit in certain scenes. Dean’s fairly consistent, but with Sam, sometimes his hair is a bit shorter. It’s not enough to take me out of the story, but it is noticeable.
But that said, this has the classic Monster of the Week format going on, as well. The mysterious phone calls are definitely leading to a full-blown arc, but the cursed vase plot is definitely the kind of thing they’d find themselves involved in.
And the characterization for both of the Winchesters, here, was spot-on, with Sam being more research oriented, and Dean’s affinity for Led Zeppelin and pie. Plus, him flirting with Delilah…classic Dean.
Now, as to the phone calls Sam’s been getting, I look forward to seeing that mystery unfold. In their line of work, the Winchesters have almost certainly made enemies of a supernatural nature. And at this point in the timeline, Sam’s true nature is still a mystery to him.
There’s a heartbreaking air to the premise of both this special and the two solo series that are coming up: seeing the Winchester brothers split from each other for any reason. It makes sense that one brother wants to protect the other, but the bond between them is strong. I fully anticipate that absence of one another in each one’s lives being a thread in those two series. With Sam, it’s likely to be a subplot with the identity of the caller being the A plot, whereas with Dean…
Dean’s whole life has been about being a dutiful son to John, up to and including doing everything possible to keep his little brother safe. So how is he going to go on without him there for as long as the story requires?
Final Thoughts
The Wayward special serves as an excellent jumping-on point for the Supernatural comics, and sets up two halves of what’s sure to be an interesting story. And I look forward to following both.
