Contains Spoilers for Ultimate Wolverine #1!Marvel’s new Ultimate version ofWolverineputs a major spin on the character’s traditional origin story, subverting the familiar trajectory of his character arc from a living weapon to a mutant hero. TheUltimate Wolverineseries reverses that, leading readers to question how much they truly know aboutthis incarnation of Logan.
Ultimate Wolverine#1 – written by Chris Condon, with art by Alessandro Cappuccio – hints that there is more to be revealed about Logan’s mysterious past, with what is shown emphasizing how it’s almost the exact opposite of his classic counterpart’s origin.
The issue reveals that in this reality, Wolverine was part of an X-Men-like group beforethis world’s Weapon Xturned him into an amnesiac killer. This is theopposite of Logan’s classic journey, which saw his joining the X-Men as the first step in many towards reclaiming his lost past.
Ultimate Wolverine’s Backstory Twists What Readers Know About The Character, With Chilling Results
Ultimate Wolverine#1 – Written By Chris Condon; Art By Alessandro Cappuccio; Color By Bryan Valenza; Lettering By Corey Petit
This world’s version of Weapon X is Directorate X, a body of evil Russian mutants set upby the despotic Makerto control the world’s larger mutant population. Like classic Weapon X, Directorate X’s mandate includes inhumane experimentation on mutants and some classic brainwashing. This provides an explanation for whythis world’s mutants are so unknown, and why so many classic heroes haven’t popped up yet. Logan was part of the Opposition, a group of escaped rebel mutants fighting this order before he was captured and brainwashed; now, he serves those he fought against as this world’s Winter Soldier.
If Ultimate Logan is going to discover his past, he’s going to have to stop killing anyone who knows it.
If classic Logan and the Winter Soldier are any indicators, then Logan’s not going to remain mind-controlled forever. However, if Ultimate Logan is going to discover his past, he’s going to have to stop killing anyone who knows it. That includes his first victims inUltimate Wolverine#1, Mystique and Nightcrawler. Otherwise, he might wake up to a world where the answers about who he was are just as opaque as his classic counterpart found them, andhe’ll have to build another entirely new identity for himself, not an X-Man, not an assassin, but something in-between.
Ultimate Wolverine Must Have Some Ties To His Classic Counterpart, But Fans Are Still Trying To Figure Them Out
The More Things Change…
What remains unclear is how much Ultimte Logan’s past mirrors his mainstream continuity. Nightcrawler’s sermon, as printed inUltimate Wolverine#1, indicates that he and Logan were close friends like in classic comics, andLogan was found by Directorate X in the equivalent of the Canadian wilderness, but those might only be minor similarities. There are already some differences. Logan didn’t have his adamantium when working for the Opposition, andfor all the classic members involved, the Opposition never called themselves X-Men. It’s not just UltimateWolverinewho’s missing parts of the backstory then, but also readers.
Ultimate Wolverine’s Name Immortalizes the Moment He Became an Irredeemable Man
With the devastating events of Ultimate Wolverine #1, Marvel has introduced a version of Winter Soldier AND Wolverine who can never be redeemed.
Ultimate Wolverine#1is available now from Marvel Comics.
Wolverine
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men’s wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He’s played in Fox and Marvel’s movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
