Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ultimate Wolverine #1!Wolverinewas introduced roughly 50 years ago when he made his debut as aHulkvillain before becoming a prominent member of the X-Men - which is still the case to this day. Throughout his entire Marvel Comics history, fans have been spoon-fed his backstory, which is rife with inconsistencies, retcons, and unreliable narration. But now,Wolverine is getting a total overhaul in the Ultimate Universe, offering fans the final form of this 50-year-old legend - and he’s totally terrifying.
InUltimate Wolverine#1 by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio, readers are finally introduced to the Wolverine of Earth-6160, but - in this continuity -Logan goes by a different codename: the Winter Soldier. Not only are readers given his full backstory right in the first issue (which is incredibly refreshing for a Wolverine comic), but they’re also shown one of his assassination missions. Wolverine infiltrates a mutant liberation organization called the Opposition, and murders two of its strongest members: Mystique and Nightcrawler.
Even before his mission, the troops riding in the aircraft with Wolverine fear him, worried that he’d kill them just for speaking. After readers see how Wolverine killed the members of the Opposition, it’s clear that these troops were right to fear him. However, upon seeing his backstory, fear isn’t the emotion that comes to mind, but profound sadness. Logan was actually a part of the Opposition before he was abducted by Directorate X (under the control of the Eurasian Republic leaders on the Maker’s Council), which torturously transformed him into a living weapon à la Earth-616’s Weapon X.
Ultimate Wolverine is Creating a New Definitive Story for the Character
The Ultimate Universe is Streamlining Wolverine’s Backstory in the Perfect Way
In just the first issue, Marvel Comics has given fansWolverine’s entire backstory, has shown how deadly he is by having him kill Nightcrawler and Mystique like it’s nothing, and doesn’t hold back on how truly tragic Wolverine’s life can be. Captured by an organization that wants to experiment on and control mutants - which itself is under the thumb of the Maker - where he’s tortured/mind-wiped into becoming a killing machine, and forced to assassinate his own friends and effectively make life worse for all mutantkind in the Ultimate Universe.
This comic truly lives up to its name, as it is the ultimate Wolverine story. In Earth-616, Wolverine’s backstory is seemingly always in flux. Sure, theWeapon X experimentationis consistent, but then there’s the matter of Romulus’ involvement in Wolverine’s life, the Angel of Death’s influence on Wolverine’s healing factor, and the unclear extent of the atrocities Wolverine committed as a Weapon X operative. Many comics have been committed to fleshing out Wolverine’s backstory, but there are still so many questions and no definitive answers. However, the Ultimate Universe is answering every question immediately, and that is beyond refreshing.
Ultimate Wolverine Makes Logan Deadlier (& Scarier) than He’s Ever Been
The Ultimate Universe Ups the Violence in Wolverine’s New Era
Wolverine has always been an extremely violent and brutal character, which is something that should be expected from someone who was literally introduced to fight the Hulk. However, for most of his Marvel Comics history, Wolverine has reserved his brutality for the villains of any given story. Now, in the Ultimate Universe, Wolverine is at his most violent, and he’s been weaponized against the heroic mutants fighting for mutant liberation. That means he’s not just the deadliest he’s ever been, but also the scariest, as he’s become a truly unstoppable villain.
Adamantium May Be Wolverine’s Secret Weapon But Guess What? 10 Marvel Villains Have It Too
Wolverine isn’t the only Marvel Comics character with adamantium, as a great number of deadly villains have it too. Here are the 10 most dangerous!
It might have taken 50 years, but Marvel Comics has finally delivered the final form of Wolverine by giving fans a comic series that tells his definitive backstory, while also going all-in onWolverine’s famously violent nature - and it’s as awesome to see as it is totally terrifying.
Ultimate Wolverine #1by Marvel Comics is available now.
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.
