{"id":7974,"date":"2022-08-07T09:58:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T08:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=7974"},"modified":"2022-09-04T12:14:47","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T11:14:47","slug":"the-incomplete-wolverine-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=7974","title":{"rendered":"The Incomplete Wolverine – 2003"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1: Origin to Origin II<\/a> | <\/a>Part 2: 1907 to 1914<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 3: 1914 to 1939<\/a> | <\/a>Part 4: World War II<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 5: The postwar era<\/a> | <\/a>Part 6: Team X<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 7: Post Team X<\/a> | <\/a>Part 8: Weapon X<\/a>
\n<\/a>Part 9: Department H<\/a> | <\/a>Part 10: The Silver Age<\/a>
\n1974-1975<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/a>1976<\/a> | <\/a>1977<\/a> | <\/a>1978<\/a> | <\/a>1979<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>
\n1980<\/a> | <\/a>1981<\/a> | 1982<\/a><\/em>\u00a0| 1983<\/em><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a01984<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a01985<\/a>
\n1986<\/a>\u00a0| 1987<\/a> | 1988<\/a><\/em>\u00a0| 1989<\/a> | 1990<\/a><\/em> | 1991<\/em><\/a>
\n1992<\/em><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a01993<\/em><\/a> | 1994<\/em><\/a> | 1995<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a01996<\/a> | 1997 <\/a><\/em>
\n1998<\/a> |<\/em>\u00a01999<\/a><\/em>\u00a0|\u00a02000<\/em><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a02001<\/a> | 2002<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When we left off, we were in the middle of a mob storyline, though we’d taken a diversion to deal with some guest appearances. And now, back to the main story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 2 #183-185<\/a><\/strong>
\n“…And Got Yourself a Gun” \/ “When in Rome…” \/ “Sleeping with the Fishes”<\/strong>
\nby Frank Tieri, Sean Chen, Tom Palmer & Edgar Tadeo<\/strong>
\nDecember 2002 to February 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

As per his deal with Freddo, Logan starts going after the operations of rival crimelord the Roman. The Roman turns out to be a gang leader who publicly feigns insanity, dressing as an ancient Roman. He does things like feed annoying henchmen to his pet lions. It works better than you’d think; he feels like a Silver Age Batman character who’s wandered into an otherwise straight crime story. Anyway, being a moron, Freddo is so delighted with Logan’s work that he tries to offer him a permanent job, despite sensible underboss Delcavvo trying to warn him off it. When Logan turns him down, Freddo starts scheming to force Logan into working for him. Meanwhile, the Roman and Delcavvo both try to have Logan killed, and get absolutely nowhere with it. In the end, Logan kills the Roman, but winds up striking a deal to hand over Freddo to Delcavvo, who has him killed.<\/p>\n

Issues #181-185 are the peak of the Tieri run; they have dry humour that actually lands, and they don’t have the repetitive sadism that plagues a lot of his run. This is a largely forgotten arc because it has no wider impact, but it’s really pretty good.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 2 #186<\/a><\/strong>
\n“See Ya Around, Frankie”<\/strong>
\nby Frank Tieri, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson & Edgar Tadeo<\/strong>
\nMarch 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Tieri’s final issue is this notorious misfire. Unhappy that Wolverine has been interfering in mob business, the Punisher attacks him and they fight for an issue. It’s meant to be the “answer” story to\u00a0Punisher<\/em> #16-17, where Garth Ennis battered Wolverine for two issues, but it’s just excruciating, mostly because of some gay jokes that didn’t work at the time, even on their own terms, and are even worse from the standpoint of 2022. In fact, Tieri’s main approach in this story isn’t so much to humiliate the Punisher as to have Logan dismiss him as a deranged idiot, but even if you ignore the dire attempts at comedy, it’s just not a story.<\/p>\n

There ends the Tieri run. For some reason, it’s followed by three fill-in issues before the book relaunches under its next regular writer. But first…<\/p>\n

UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #409<\/a> (part 2)
\nAugust 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

We had part 1 last time. Wolverine only appears briefly in the second part; at the end, he acknowledges that Warren’s methods worked after all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>PUNISHER vol 6 #33-37<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Confederacy of Dunces”<\/strong>
\nby Garth Ennis, John McCrea, Crimelab Studios & Avalon Studios<\/strong>
\nNovember 2003 to January 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daredevil enlists Spider-Man and Wolverine to help him capture the Punisher. Wolverine seems more interested in killing the guy (despite letting him go in Tieri’s story), but grudgingly agrees to Daredevil’s terms. The heroes get to meet supporting character Spacker Dave<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Of course, since this is his book, the Punisher outwits them, sets the Hulk on them, and escapes. Wolverine gets punched from New York to Boston at the start of the final issue and misses the ending. The payoff is the Punisher telling Daredevil that the only way to defeat him is to kill him, since if he goes to jail, he’ll just kill everyone he meets – and since Daredevil isn’t up to doing that, he should just back down. It’s the final arc of Ennis’s\u00a0Punisher<\/em> run, and the point is to tease that the Punisher might finally be brought down, and then not do it, because the Punisher is a static character.\u00a0It’s basically a parody arc as far as Wolverine and Spider-Man are concerned, though less so than in Wolverine’s previous appearance in the book. Daredevil, in contrast, is written more or less straight.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure quite why the MCP has this so wildly out of sequence, but presumably it’s to do with one of the other guest stars.<\/p>\n

X-TREME X-MEN vol 1 #19<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Passages”<\/strong>
\nby Chris Claremont, Salvaador Larroca and Liquid! Color<\/strong>
\nNovember 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine is among the X-Men who visit the X-Treme team in New Orleans for Thanksgiving. He decides to stick around for a while and help Storm out with her rehabilitation (she’s in a wheelchair at this point). For timeline reasons, though, a\u00a0lot\u00a0<\/em>of other junk will happen before we get back to that.<\/p>\n

X-FACTOR vol 2 #3<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Weeds”<\/strong>
\nby Jeff Jensen, Arthur Ranson & Paul Mounts<\/strong>
\nAugust 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the title, this miniseries was about FBI agents\u00a0Aaron Kearse<\/strong> and\u00a0Catherine Gray<\/strong> of the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force. When a mutant-friendly “Sanctuary” church is blown up by a terrorist, Wolverine shows up to lean on Kearse and demand action. In fact, even though Kearse has conflicted feelings about mutants, he’s trying his best already. Later, the X-Men show up to help deal with bomber\u00a0Kyle Nakamura<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-TREME X-MEN: X-POS\u00c9 #1<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Chasing Smoke”<\/strong>
\nby Chris Claremont, Arthur Ranson & Liquid!<\/strong>
\nNovember 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Assigned to make a muckraking expos\u00e9 about the X-Men, journalist Neal Conan and Manoli Wetherlell try to do it properly and set up an interview with Storm. Logan kind of looms in the background, and chips in to say that vigilanteism is good, because governments are useless. Generally, he plays the patient supporter to Ororo and encourages her to take her rehab slowly . Remarkably, the series logo has an apostrophe instead of an accent.<\/p>\n

NEW X-MEN vol 1 #131<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Some Angels Falling”<\/strong>
\nby Grant Morrison, John Paul Leon, Bill Sienkiewicz & Chris Chuckry<\/strong>
\nOctober 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan is among the mourners at Darkstar’s funeral. Later, he encourages Scott to talk to Jean more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW X-MEN vol 1 #133<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Dust”<\/strong>
\nby Grant Morrison, Ethan van Sciver, Norm Rapmund & Chris Chuckry<\/strong>
\nNovember 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Afghanistan, Wolverine rescues mutant Sooraya Qadir<\/strong> (later Dust<\/strong>), from a group of slave traders – despite, in his words, “trying my best to honour the strict pacifist principles of the Xavier Institute”. Fantomex <\/strong>is\u00a0also trying to collect Sooraya for his own reasons. Wolverine is unimpressed by Fantomex’s mercenary attitude, but gets much more interested when Fantomex calls him “James” and offers information about Weapon Plus. Wolverine quickly figures out that Fantomex is the last iteration of the Weapon X project, Weapon XIII.<\/p>\n

Later, Wolverine takes Sooraya to the X-Corp offices in Mumbai, where he presumably meets local staffers including Feral’s sister\u00a0Thornn<\/strong> (Lucia Callasantos).<\/p>\n

WOLVERINE vol 2 #183 (backup strip)<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Restraining Order”<\/strong>
\nby Matt Nixon, Ryan Bodenheim, Mark Morales & Avalon<\/strong>
\nDecember 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obsessed with revenge yet again, Lady Deathstrike kidnaps Amiko. When Wolverine fights her, she wins, but can’t bring herself to kill him. He tells her that she needs to come to terms with the fact that he gives her life meaning, and that she will never let herself succeed. Advising her to get help, he leaves her to face the forces of crimelord Nicopetti (who she had tried to drag into her scheme) without his involvement.<\/p>\n

This story is missing from the Marvel Unlimited version of the issue. It was Bodenheim’s prize for winning a talent contest in\u00a0Wizard<\/em>, and in the circumstances it’s surprisingly non-throwaway.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE: NETSUKE<\/a><\/strong>
\n4-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby George Pratt<\/strong>
\nSeptember to December 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prompted by dreams, Logan returns to the Shingen estate in Japan, where an antique… I guess it’s a helmet? Anyway, whatever it is, it transports him to a wintery landscape. There, he finds an inexplicably unfrozen garden where he can sense Mariko’s presence. This leads to a series of events where Logan finds a series of netsukes (miniature carvings) which apparently let him to travel back in time and live the life of swordsman Kiyoshi, who has his own Mariko. Meanwhile, a winter spirit menaces Logan in the present day, but is defeated thanks to the spirit of the past Mariko… or something?<\/p>\n

We’re now entering a period in which\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> miniseries are running almost continually, alongside the main book. Effectively, this becomes a second Wolverine title with a rotating creative team.\u00a0Netsuke<\/em> is a very unusual story – it won an Eisner for “Best Painter \/ Multimedia Artist”. It’s undeniably ambitious and beautiful, but as a story I find it an absolute chore just to follow. The sort of book I feel guilty for not liking.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #410-412<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Hope”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Ron Garney, Mark Morales & Hi-Fi Design<\/strong>
\nSeptember & October 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yup, we’ve reached the much-maligned Chuck Austen run. But he doesn’t do much with Wolverine – quite reasonably, he focuses on the characters that are mainly his – so his stories won’t be detaining us much. In this one, the X-Men go to Cassidy Keep and help Juggernaut deal with an out of control Black Tom Cassidy.\u00a0Squid-Boy<\/strong> (Sammy Par\u00e9) debuts, and Juggernaut joins the X-Men. Austen gets off to a flying start by giving two different reasons for the X-Men to go to Cassidy Keep in the first place, and then putting the castle in the wrong country.<\/p>\n

UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #413<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Annie’s Moving Story”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Sean Phillips and Hi-F<\/strong>i Design<\/strong>
\nOctober 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back at the Mansion, the X-Men meet nurse\u00a0Annie Ghazikhanian<\/strong> and her son\u00a0Carter Ghazikhanian<\/strong>, who join the supporting cast during Austen’s run. Wolverine warns Juggernaut to behave himself.<\/p>\n

X-TREME X-MEN: X-POS\u00c9 #2<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Watershed”<\/strong>
\nby Chris Claremont, Arthur Ranson and Liquid!<\/strong>
\nDecember 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine appears in a single panel near the end, discussing the plot with the\u00a0X-Treme<\/em> cast after Warren has the hostile news show spiked.<\/p>\n

X-MEN UNLIMITED vol 1 #44<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Can They Suffer?”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Romano Molenaar, Danny Miki & Dean White<\/strong>
\nApril 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

A very special issue about how animals can feel pain. Wolverine has a brief scene where he goes after some local kids who are torturing animals, but it’s principally a Juggernaut story, and (on a character level) one of Austen’s better issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #417-420<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Dominant Species”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Kia Asamiya & JD Smith<\/strong>
\nFebruary to April 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

The X-Men fight\u00a0the Dominant Species<\/strong>, a group of feral mutants led by\u00a0Maximus Lobo<\/strong>, who have somehow managed to take over\u00a0Lobo Technologies<\/strong>, a Worthington Industries subsidiary that Warren hasn’t even heard of. Wolverine gets knocked unconscious at the end of issue #417, remains unconscious throughout issues #418-419, and appears in a single panel of the epilogue of issue #420. See what I mean about Austen not being terribly interested in him?<\/p>\n

X-MEN UNLIMITED vol 1 #45<\/strong>
\n“Hero”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Pop Mhan, Derek Fridolfs & James Brown<\/strong>
\nApril 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Alpha Flight story. The X-Men appear briefly in the epilogue, to meet James and Heather Hudson’s newborn daughter\u00a0Claire Hudson<\/strong>. (Yes, I’d forgotten they had a daughter too.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 2 #187<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Down the Road”<\/strong>
\nby Daniel Way, John McCrea & Avalon Studios<\/strong>
\nApril 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan hitches a lift from a drunken hillbilly serial killer who has two bodies in the back of his pick-up truck. The killer is weirdly relieved that someone has finally caught up with \u00a0him, and Logan “assists” him in committing suicide by driving his truck off a cliff. A perfectly serviceable fill-in, elevated by McCrea’s art. I like the mutual suicide ending, which depends on the unspoken point that Logan will survive this.<\/p>\n

WOLVERINE vol 2 #188-189<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Good Cop, Bad Cop”<\/strong>
\nby Daniel Way, Staz Johnson, Danny Miki & Avalon Studios<\/strong>
\nMay & June 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Rounding off this volume, another fill-in. Beleaguered internal affairs detective Lester Brown investigates narcotics officer McLawry, but meets a brick wall until McLawry panics and kills a potential witness. Brown confronts McLawry in a bar, but has no evidence and has to back down. But Logan overhears, and tricks McLawry into trying to kill him too, thus collecting the forensic evidence for Brown.<\/p>\n

This is a crime story awkwardly repurposed as a\u00a0Wolverine story – the title character only appears in one panel of issue #188. The influence of Garth Ennis’s\u00a0Punisher<\/em> is heavy on both these Daniel Way fill-ins, and really, both would work better as Punisher stories, if you tweaked the plot so as to not involve Wolverine’s powers.<\/p>\n

X-MEN UNLIMITED vol 1 #46<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Weapon of Choice”<\/strong>
\nby Ian Edginton, Simon Bisley & Jose Villarrubia<\/strong>
\nMay 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan enters a pitfighting tournament, where mutants fight for the entertainment of humans. He deliberately undermines the business by winning all the fights in the most boringly predictable way he can. After the owners sell out to him, he burns the place down. Simon Bisley is surprisingly restrained here, but it’s still a story written to his strengths.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-MEN UNLIMITED vol 1 #46 (backup strip)<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Upon Reflection”<\/strong>
\nby Bruce Jones & Shin Nagasawa<\/strong>
\nMay 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a favour to Nick Fury, Logan checks out a remote government facility where the scientists have been killed by the mirror creature they accidentally created. Logan fights the creature, which now looks like a giant, monstrous version of him, until he finds a dying message from the lead scientist that explains how to shut the monster down. A neat mostly-silent short, strong on atmosphere.<\/p>\n

In contrast…<\/p>\n

X-MEN UNLIMITED vol 1 #48<\/strong><\/a>
\n[Untitled]<\/strong>
\nby Bruce Jones & Richard Isanove<\/strong>
\nJune 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When Dr James Mackenzie discovers that Savage Land plants and animals are dying, he suspects that an invasive species has introduced a new disease. In an odd couple story, Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil team up to track the newcomer down and get a blood sample. Shanna and Dr Mackenzie succumb to the virus, but Logan figures out that disease is actually spread by mutated fleas on Mackenzie’s dog Bingo and its wolf mate Sheba, and saves Shanna and Mackenzie by… injecting them with Sheba’s blood? Um…<\/p>\n

This is awful. Aside from the fact that it doesn’t makes sense, it exists primarily because someone really wanted to paint Shanna’s arse, and dialogue such as “When a woman like you is grabbed roughly and kissed, she usually slaps back, unless maybe she’s feeling guilty about slapping someone else recently!” was inexcusable even at the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 3 #1-5<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Brotherhood”<\/strong>
\nby Greg Rucka, Darick Robertson, Tom Palmer & Studio F<\/strong>
\nMay to August 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan is living in Portland (apparently for some adventure that takes place off panel; he shows up injured after what appears to be the resolution). He becomes a regular at a local diner, to the fascination of waitress Lucy Braddock<\/strong>, who befriends him.<\/p>\n

Lucy has escaped a survivalist cult,\u00a0the Brothers of the New World<\/strong>, led by Cry<\/strong>. The cultists kill Lucy, and try to gun down Logan as a witness, with predictable lack of success. Tracing the killers’ modified guns leads Logan to corrupt gun dealer\u00a0Tom Leeds<\/strong> and his partner\u00a0Cassie Lathrop<\/strong>. Cassie is actually an undercover cop; she doesn’t recognise Logan as Wolverine but becomes instantly obsessed with him and starts following him in an ongoing subplot.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Logan’s trail leads to the town of Westfall, where the local Sheriff\u00a0Dennis Terril<\/strong>\u00a0has been turning a blind eye to the cultists in his area.\u00a0When Terril derides Lucy as a “tease” who had it coming, Logan apparently kills him (and certainly seriously injures him). Meanwhile, Cassie winds up getting captured by the Brothers. Logan breaks into the cult compound and is horrified to find out how many women they’ve \u00a0killed. He goes on a rampage until running into Cassie; he tells her that they aren’t enemies, then leaves without explanation. Cassie is more determined than ever to find out who he is.<\/p>\n

This is the first relaunch of\u00a0Wolverine<\/em> as an ongoing series – justified on this occasion by the fact that the book was being moved to the Marvel Knights imprint. The Rucka\/Robertson run is very good on its own terms, but like a lot of Marvel books from this period, it’s very slow in serial form. It’s got things like two-page silent sequences of Logan removing the bullets from his body after a fight.<\/p>\n

The Rucka run is inconsequential when it comes to wider continuity; by this point Wolverine has become a static character and we’re shifting to stories about how other people react to him. Rucka drops Logan’s first person narration and tells the first issue from Lucy’s perspective. She\u00a0sees him as a “Mean Man” who can probably take care of himself in a way that she can’t; Logan is quietly overtipping her, recognising that she needs support. Logan is living in an unfurnished apartment and showing his depth by reading a lot.<\/p>\n

There are no superhero elements in this arc except for Logan himself (and a passing suggestion that Cry’s influence over his followers might be a mutant power). Logan doesn’t even use his claws in action until issue #5. It’s a dialling back of the stakes, or at least the scale, in favour of a more street level approach – though the Brothers are undoubtedly a serious threat to their victims. \u00a0It feels like a story about reclaiming aspects of masculinity as cool while rejecting the more dubious stuff – though Rucka does also go out of his way to show Logan hanging out with a reputable law-abiding gun dealer friend, who runs a shop called “My Cold Dead Hand”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 3 #6<\/strong>
\n“So, This Priest Walks Into A Bar”<\/strong>
\nby Greg Rucka, Darick Robertson, Tom Palmer & Studio F<\/strong>
\nOctober 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan and Kurt meet for a drink in a (completely mundane) mutant bar. From Logan’s unkempt state, Kurt quickly figures out that he has failed to save a girl, and counsels that this is sad, but a part of life for them both. Logan then explains that he has just killed 27 cultists. After asking a few more questions, Kurt declares them evil, but says that he cannot simply offer forgiveness. Still, he says, “Is the wolf evil when it culls the sickness from the herd?” At first Logan seems to find that comforting, but soon he insists that “I’m not an animal. I’m not.” Kurt agrees, but Logan seems unconvinced.<\/p>\n

If the first five issues could have played as a Punisher story, this epilogue – which shifts the perspective back to Logan – very much couldn’t. There’s a lot of self-loathing going on in this take on the character.<\/p>\n

One side effect of the shift to very long arcs is that Wolverine’s solo title will effectively be telling just two stories a year. Which means there’s a\u00a0lot<\/em> of other stuff to fit in before we get to issue #7.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>HULK & WOLVERINE: SIX HOURS<\/a><\/strong>
\n4-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Bruce Jones, Scott Kolins & Lee Loughridge<\/strong>
\nJanuary to April 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan is having a break in a remote mountain cabin when, by sheer coincidence, a plane crashes nearby carrying\u00a0Bruce Banner, pilot\u00a0Margie White<\/strong>, teenager\u00a0Kyle Hatcher<\/strong>, and criminals\u00a0Whitie<\/strong> and\u00a0Sid<\/strong>, who are on the run. Kyle has been bitten by a snake and has the titular six hours to get the antidote.<\/p>\n

Logan and Banner team up to rescue Kyle and Margie from the two criminals, who are also on the run from \u00a0weird mercenary\u00a0Shredder<\/strong>. Shredder gets an over the top build as a man from Wolverine’s past, but he’s really just a one-off villain with an admittedly memorable and off-kilter character design. After Shredder is defeated, Banner lets the snake bite him so that he can cure Kyle with, um, a blood transfusion. Yes, that’s two Bruce Jones Wolverine stories this year where the resolution is a blood transfusion that doesn’t make sense.<\/p>\n

Leave that aside and this is\u00a0okay<\/em>, but there’s really no particular reason for it to be a Hulk and Wolverine story; you could do the basic story with Logan alone. The mini has some gloriously over the top covers by Simon Bisley that bear no resemblance at all to the muted interiors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1-4<\/a><\/strong>
\n4-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Brett Matthews, Vatche Mavlian & Paul Mounts<\/strong>
\nJune to September 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

SHIELD abduct Logan to get a genetic sample for their anti-superhero programme “Stuff of Legends”. Programme leader\u00a0Edward Brecker<\/strong>\u00a0and a group of followers turn rogue, and hand Logan over to\u00a0Takeshi Kishimoto<\/strong>, a drug dealer who was once jailed thanks to Wolverine. Takeshi broadcasts a live stream of Logan’s torture. Nick Fury sends Spider-Man to rescue Wolverine, and everyone teams up to take down Becker.<\/p>\n

This Marvel Knights mini is memorable mostly for its gorgeous artwork. But it’s a mess – it’s a simple story jazzed up with wildly overcomplicated plot mechanics, and it does things like claiming Switzerland is three continents away from France. It also has a mad scientist in late middle age who is said to have been a child in the Silver Age, as if the sliding timeline wasn’t a thing. The hook is meant to be the odd couple angle, but it winds up as one of those awkward stories where Spider-Man is appalled by Wolverine’s body count, but not to the point of actually trying to do anything about it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-TREME X-MEN vol 1 #20-22<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Schism, parts 1-3”<\/strong>
\nby Chris Claremont, Salvador Larroca & Liquid!<\/strong>
\nJanuary to March 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan is back helping Ororo with her rehabilitation; he’s here mainly to discuss the plot with her and to explain why he’s not at the Institute, and he doesn’t even appear in the final chapter.<\/p>\n

The main story, which Logan only hears about, involves Bishop and Sage investigating whether mutant teen Jeffrey Garrett, now a student at the X-Men’s school, killed his family; Emma generally shelters him and behaves obnoxiously, though she’s under the influence of Elias Bogan for some of the time. Logan gets to defend Emma’s trustworthiness to Storm.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE \/ CAPTAIN AMERICA\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>
\n4-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby RA Jones, Tom Derenick & Hi-Fi Design<\/strong>
\nFebruary 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine, Captain America and Warbird<\/strong> (Carol Danvers) team up to recover a stolen Shi’ar computer chip which has somehow mutated to become massively powerful. They fight rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. black ops unit\u00a0the Contingency<\/strong> –\u00a0Shrike, Kite, Killdeer, Condor\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Rapture<\/strong>. Rapture escapes with upgraded powers, but the rest of the Contingency go to jail.<\/p>\n

From a 2022 standpoint, most striking thing about this weekly mini is the treatment of Warbird as a cavalier incompetent who needs to learn faith in herself. It’s mediocre, and it’s mainly a Cap\/Warbird story with Wolverine as an unnecessary guest to boost sales. The story was plainly intended to set up Rapture and the Contingency as recurring villains – Rapture had previously appeared in\u00a0Weapon X: The Draft – Kane<\/em>\u00a0in 2002 – but nothing comes of them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>DAREDEVIL vol 2 #53-55<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Echo, part 3 to 5”<\/strong>
\nby David Mack<\/strong>
\nOctober to December 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Echo<\/strong> (Maya Lopez) encounters Logan while on a visionquest. He tells her how he once met her “Chief”, who helped him control his animal urges, and told him a story about Two Dogs Fighting. Logan tells her that for him, what was important was to shed the dents to his ego caused by his past exploitation, and to focus on a sense of purpose and the good that he had done. He acted out the story he wanted to tell until he made it real, he says. Summarising it like that rather misses the point of these highly unusual, visually experimental issues, where Wolverine serves as the animal spirit for Echo’s visionquest. These are Echo stories; Daredevil only appears briefly in issue #55.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE \/ DOOP<\/a><\/strong>
\n2-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Peter Milligan, Darwyn Cooke, J Bone & Laura Allred<\/strong>
\nMay & June 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pink Mink – seemingly just a piece of pink fur, but allegedly a dangerous artefact that can cause visions and mania in people, especially mutants – is stolen from scientists. They ask Wolverine to get it back. The trail leads to\u00a0the Collector<\/strong> (no connection to the Elder of the Universe), a rich obsessive who collects valuable things.<\/p>\n

Ignoring the warnings not to expose the Mink to the air, Wolverine picks it up and immediately has a vision of a\u00a0Pink Lady<\/strong>, who takes the Mink and leaves. When Wolverine reports this back, the scientists don’t believe him – they say the Collector just stole the thing back from him while he was hallucinating. Haunted by the memory of the Pink Lady, Wolverine teams up with Doop to investigate further, and both become increasingly convinced that the other one is going mad. Along the way, they fight random\u00a0Pink Psychos<\/strong> – latent mutants activated by the Pink Lady – and\u00a0Hunter Joe<\/strong>, also hired by the scientists to get the Mink back. Bizarre plot twists ensue, as Wolverine and Doop test each other’s sanity by inventing scenarios that both turn out to be true – apparently because of the Mink’s probability-warping. Eventually they recapture the Mink, but the Pink Lady persuades them not to return it, so that she can remain free. Instead, Logan enjoys a night of passion with her, while Doop helps the Mink to asexually reproduce, creating a duplicate Mink that the heroes deliver up to the scientists in place of the original.<\/p>\n

This is more coherent than I remember, though still very meta (“Like characters drifting in a pointless plot line who are suddenly given motivation”). It’s not especially like\u00a0X-Statix<\/em>, which was more satirical in tone, where this is absurdist and dreamlike, relying heavily on Logan as a familiar character to anchor the madness. For no apparent reason, Logan wears a suit throughout the story.<\/p>\n

X-STATIX #11<\/strong><\/a>
\n“3 in a Bed”<\/strong>
\nby Peter Milligan, Mike Allred & Laura Allred<\/strong>
\nJuly 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan appears briefly as a guest at\u00a0a pool party thrown by\u00a0X-Statix<\/strong> (the former X-Force). He gets to meet\u00a0Dead Girl, El Guapo<\/strong> (Robbie Rodriguez),\u00a0Venus Dee Milo<\/strong> and\u00a0Spike Freeman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #423-424<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Holy War”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Ron Garney, Mark Morales, Nelson, Dan Green & JD Smith<\/strong>
\nMay 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Church of Humanity crucify a group of mutants on the X-Men’s lawn, including\u00a0Bedlam<\/strong> (Jesse Aaronson). The X-Men discover that Nightcrawler’s mind has been tampered with to believe that he has completed his priestly training; his mentor\u00a0Father Whitney<\/strong> turns out to be part of a ludicrous Church of Humanity scheme to destroy faith in the Catholic Church by somehow making Nightcrawler the Pope and then exposing him as a mutant. The X-Men defeat the Church. A truly abysmal story which seems motivated largely by anti-religious sentiment and a desire to prise Nightcrawler from nasty God-type opinions, missing the point of the character completely.<\/p>\n

UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #425-426<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Sacred Vows”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Philip Tan & Avalon Studios<\/strong>
\nJune 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan is a guest at Havok’s stag night, and then at his wedding to Polaris (which he calls off at the altar).<\/p>\n

Soon after, looking for Logan, Laura Kinney visits the X-Men Mansion and watches from afar, in a\u00a0flashback in\u00a0X-23: Target X\u00a0<\/em>#6<\/strong>. More of that issue in a bit, but first…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>EXILES vol 2 #28-30<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Unnatural Instincts”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Clayton Henry, Mark Morales & Transparency Digital<\/strong>
\nJune to August 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

When student\u00a0Nicholas Gleason<\/strong> (later codenamed Wolf Cub) injures him, Havok is possessed by the consciousness of\u00a0Earth-1298 Havok<\/strong> (the Havok who was native to the world of\u00a0Mutant X<\/em>, in other words).\u00a0The Exiles<\/strong> arrive with a mission to stop evil Havok; the Dominant Species show up looking for Gleason. The X-Men and the Exiles team up to beat the bad guys, and the Exiles spend a few days with the X-Men afterwards before moving on to their next adventure.<\/p>\n

At this point, the Exiles are\u00a0Earth-12 Mimic<\/strong> (Calvin Rankin),\u00a0Earth-2182 Nocturne<\/strong> (TJ Wagner),\u00a0Earth-1081 Morph<\/strong> (Kevin Sidney),\u00a0Earth-2109 Sunfire<\/strong> (Mariko Yashida),\u00a0Earth-3470 Sasquatch<\/strong> (Heather McDaniel) and\u00a0Earth-4210 Magik\u00a0<\/strong>(Illyana Rasputin). Wolverine is just making up the numbers here, though he does make a point of avoiding the alt-Mariko afterwards.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE: X-ISLE<\/a><\/strong>
\n4-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Bruce Jones, Jorge Lucas & Oscar Carreno<\/strong>
\nApril 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amiko visits America, but runs off in tears when Logan loses his temper at a carnival. In response, Logan drinks himself into oblivion, passes out, and wakes up on a beach. Dreamlike weirdness ensues, including a small boy who apparently represents Logan’s inner child, and a monster that Logan must allow to kill him, in order to come to terms with his guilt. Afterwards, a man comes to collect Logan from the island, having apparently been hired by Logan to put him there in the first place. No explanation for anything that happened on the island is ever given.<\/p>\n

A very heavy handed metaphor for Logan needing to control his temper, and a weird little experiment that just doesn’t work. Jones had something of a problem with teasing fascinating ideas and blowing the reveal, and this is no exception.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-MEN UNLIMITED vol 1 #50<\/a><\/strong>
\n“The Swordsmith”<\/strong>
\nby Kazuo Koike, Kengo Kaji, Paul Smith & Brad Anderson<\/strong>
\nJuly 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine helps a woman, Renge, defend her late father’s mystical sword Mikage from the villainous Azuma. The sword’s power comes from the souls of the people it has killed, who want to exact revenge on the sword-user. Azuma is consumed by the souls, and Wolverine has the sword melted down.<\/p>\n

A perfectly nice little story in a traditional Wolverine-in-Japan mould. Kazuo Koike was the creator of\u00a0Lone Wolf and Cub<\/em>, one of the more intriguing guest creators to work on\u00a0X-Men Unlimited<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE: SNIKT!<\/a>
\n5-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Tsutomu Nihei & Guru eFX<\/strong>
\nMay to November 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

A girl called\u00a0Fusa<\/strong> brings Wolverine to her post-apocalyptic future so that he can defend her people from\u00a0the Mandate –<\/strong>\u00a0a waste-consuming bacteria that has gone out of control. Wolverine teams with Fusa’s freedom fightsers, including the robot\u00a0Colonel<\/strong>, to defeat the original Mandate –\u00a0the Primogenitor<\/strong> – so that Fusa can send him home.<\/p>\n

This is another stab at manga, complete with manga-style pacing. It reads better as a collection, but as a five-issue monthly it was excruciating. It’s a real oddity, with everyone’s skin consistently left uncoloured, and Wolverine depicted as tall, but it’s got some moments of grand scale to it. A real oddity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW X-MEN vol 1 #135, #137 and #138 (part 1)<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Riot at Xavier’s, parts 1, 3 and 4”<\/strong>
\nby Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely<\/strong>
\nDecember 2002 to March 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

The X-Men discuss the troubling behaviour of rebellious student\u00a0Kid Omega<\/strong> (Quentin Quire) and his\u00a0Omega Gang<\/strong> (Glob Herman,\u00a0Radian, Redneck<\/strong> and\u00a0Tattoo<\/strong>). At first Wolverine dismisses it as kids testing their limits, and Quentin having an identity crisis on learning that he’s adopted.<\/p>\n

When the Omega Gang stage a riot on the school’s first Open Day, Wolverine shows up to look confident and give Quentin a stern talking to – and gets easily despatched by Quentin, who traps him in his own mind and moves on with the story. Afterwards, with Sophie of the Stepford Cuckoos dead, Wolverine yells at the Gang members, who insist that they were under Quentin’s control. With hindsight, this is an odd storyline in being so unsympathetic to Quire’s version of youthful rebellion.<\/p>\n

Issue #138 is split in two parts because it has an epilogue. But first…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #429-434<\/a><\/strong>
\n“The Draco”<\/strong>
\n#429-433 by Chuck Austen, Philip Tan & Avalon Studios<\/strong>
\n#434 by Chuck Austen, Takeshi Miyazawa, Craig Yeung & Avalon Studios<\/strong>
\nAugust to November 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Azazel<\/strong>, an ancient mutant who claims to be Satan, has fathered many teleporting mutants on Earth in an attempt to build an army under his control, who can open a portal to the dimension where he is trapped. He summons all these mutants to Isla des Demonas, where\u00a0Professor Dibble<\/strong>‘s archaeological site has discovered evidence of an ancient mutant society. Among the summoned mutants are\u00a0Nightcrawler,\u00a0Kiwi Black\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Abyss<\/strong>. The X-Men tag along and defeat him. Wolverine’s role in all this is largely peripheral.<\/p>\n

“The Draco” has a reputation as one of the worst X-Men stories ever published, because it is. It’s completely incoherent – Azazel’s plan involves travelling to Earth in order to create a portal through which he can travel to Earth, and the finale involves him being defeated by falling into the very portal that he was trying to go through in the first place. Tan’s art is simply not ready for prime time, and in fairness to him, it’s a visually demanding story that called for someone much more experienced. On top of that, it does yet more damage to Nightcrawler’s back story for no benefit whatsoever.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0epilogue to\u00a0New X-Men<\/em> vol 1 #138<\/strong> goes here, with Wolverine visible in one panel at the X-Men’s prizegiving.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW X-MEN vol 1 #139-140<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Murder at the Mansion, parts 1-2”<\/strong>
\nby Grant Morrison, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning & Dave McCaig<\/strong>
\nApril 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan shows up briefly to sympathise with an upset Emma after her affair with Scott comes to light. He cameos in part 2 when Bishop and Sage arrive to investigate Emma’s murder but vanishes from the arc after that.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0flashback in\u00a0X-23: Target X<\/em> #6<\/strong> – which forms most of that issue – fits between New X-Men<\/em> #139-140. That night, Logan goes biking, and X-23 tails him. Picking up her scent, Logan sets up camp and invites her to talk. Instead, she attacks him, claiming that they are both weapons who need to be stopped and destroyed. Logan tells her that she isn’t to blame for anything she’s done, and tries to persuade her to return with him to the Institute, but instead she gets captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Wolverine already knows who Laura is, and claims to have a copy of a letter from her mother – none of this has ever really been explained, but since we know Wolverine has previously met her in a time travel story, presumably that encouraged him to do a bit of digging.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-TREME X-MEN vol 1 #25-30<\/a><\/strong>
\n“God Loves, Man Kills II”<\/strong>
\nby Chris Claremont, Igor Kordey, Scott Hanna & Liquid!<\/strong>
\nMay to August 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Reverend Stryker’s plane crashes while transporting him to a new prison, the X-Treme X-Men (including Wolverine) investigate. Stryker and Kitty Pryde are on the run from Lady Deathstrike, who is meant to be on Stryker’s side, but has fallen under the mental control of\u00a0Mount Haven<\/strong>, a small picket-fence town run by an AI that’s using nanites to re-write mutants into delighted citizens. The AI can see mutants’ energy signatures, but it mistakenly believes that they’re souls, and it’s concluded that non-mutants are all soulless monsters who must be destroyed.<\/p>\n

Lady Deathstrike defeats Wolverine in battle, but he claims later that he was actually just getting her to stab him through the heart in order to reboot his healing factor and overcome the nanites. If you say so, Logan. The core story largely gets sorted out by Kitty without Wolverine contributing very much to it.<\/p>\n

Though it doesn’t live up to the billing of “God Loves, Man Kills”, Kordey does good work on this story. Claremont also takes the chance in issue #28 to set out his stall on Wolverine and Deathstrike: “Both rebuilt as weapons, Logan’s innate humanity is the touchstone of his life. It gives him focus and meaning and purpose. To transcend the goals of those who made him and carve his own path of honour. For Yuriko Oyama, that humanity is an encumbrance, like a pressed flower in a memory book, reminding her of a time long-past, whose meaning and relevance fades with every upgrade.” Originally, the idea was that Deathstrike wanted to be restored to humanity once she completed her quest, but evidently Claremont thinks she’s drifted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW MUTANTS vol 2 #5<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Not One of Us”<\/strong>
\nby Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Mark Robinson, Aaron Sowd, Wayne Faucher, Scott Elmer & Ian Hannin<\/strong>
\nOctober 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan appears as the teacher of a martial arts class. His students include\u00a0Laurie Collins<\/strong> (Wallflower),\u00a0Sofia Mantega<\/strong> (Wind Dancer),\u00a0Kevin Ford<\/strong> (Wither),\u00a0David Alleyne<\/strong> (Prodigy) and\u00a0Julian Keller<\/strong> (Hellion). Since Logan doesn’t understand his powers, Prodigy actually beats him in a sparring session.<\/p>\n

UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #438-441<\/strong><\/a>
\n“She Lies with Angels, parts 2-5”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Salvador Larroca, Danny Miki & Udon<\/strong>
\nJanuary to March 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine is among the X-Men who tag along to Kentucky stand around in the background in a Romeo & Juliet<\/em> riff based on a feud between the Guthrie family and the\u00a0Cabot family<\/strong>. He contributes literally nothing to the plot and doesn’t even meet any of the Cabots until part 5.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW X-MEN vol 1 #142-145<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Assault on Weapon Plus”<\/strong>
\nby Grant Morrison, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend & Chris Chuckry<\/strong>
\nJune to August 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine bumps into \u00a0Cyclops in the Hellfire Club’s strip club, where he is attempting to drown his sorrows after his split with Jean. Wolverine laments that all he ever wanted was the sort of life that Scott had with Jean, while Scott wants to “throw all that away and run a little wild with the sexy White Queen.” He also tells Scott that he’s wrong to think Jean wouldn’t understand – “Bub, she’s been praying for you to come out of your shell for a zillion years.”<\/p>\n

But Wolverine is mainly there to meet with Fantomex, who had promised to reveal facts about his past. Fantomex, Wolverine and Cyclops – and Fantomex’s living vehicle\u00a0E.V.A.<\/strong> – travel to the World, a facility where scientists are creating life-forms using time-warping technology stolen from\u00a0A.I.M.<\/strong>. A.I.M. have also been trying to reclaim the World, but have been torn apart by the World’s newest creation\u00a0Weapon XV<\/strong>. Weapon XV has apparently gone mad after learning the true nature of the World, and he flies up to the Weapon Plus Project’s orbiting satellite base, with Fantomex and co in pursuit.<\/p>\n

During all this, Fantomex reels off a mixture of genuine facts about Wolverine and bluff – he claims that Wolverine’s real name is “James Logan”, for example – which the two X-Men treat with appropriate scepticism. But once on board the satellite, Fantomex\u00a0does indeed help Wolverine access the Weapon X database for a few minutes. When Weapon XV – also going by Ultimaton<\/strong>\u00a0– wanders in \u00a0asking about the purpose of his life, Wolverine replies that based on what he’s just read, “some of us were born to kill and raised to kill and that’s the only damn thing we’re any good for. Everything else is just lies we tell ourselves.” He dismisses Weapon XV as a “genocide machine”, and blows up the station. (Fantomex and Cyclops escape separately.)<\/p>\n

This is a rare story from the period which actually develops Wolverine’s back story, though it turns out not to amount to much. Morrison never specifies what Wolverine read in the file, but according to\u00a0Weapon X<\/em> #25, it was his involvement in slaughtering the townsfolk of Roanoke.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW X-MEN vol 1 #146, #148 and #150<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Planet X, parts 1, 3 and 5”<\/strong>
\nby Grant Morrison, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning & Chris Chuckry<\/strong>
\nOctober to December 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jean goes into space to rescue Wolverine, and the two wind up on the ruins of Asteroid M fighting Ultimaton. This is just sub-plot stuff, and the fight ends off panel. Wolverine and Jean are then trapped on Asteroid M, which is set to fall into the sun within 24 hours. Wolverine tells Jean that what he saw in the Weapon Plus files proves that they only chose him because he was an enthusiastic killer, and he now believes that his hazy recent memories of a red-headed woman (Rose O’Hara from Origin<\/em>)\u00a0actually involve times when she was scared of him. Jean tells him that he’s already redeemed himself for whatever he may have done in the past.<\/p>\n

Once they get closer to the sun, Jean’s full Phoenix power is triggered, and she takes Wolverine back to Earth in time to join the final battle with Magneto (who turned out to have infiltrated the school as “Xorn”). Magneto kills Phoenix, and a berserk Wolverine beheads him in retaliation. Then he has to be held back by the Beast as Jean dies in Scott’s arms.<\/p>\n

This is where we bid Morrison goodbye; the \u00a0final four issues of Morrison’s\u00a0run take place in an alternate future, and end with a future Phoenix altering history by nudging Scott to stay with Emma and keep the school running.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0flashback in\u00a0Weapon X\u00a0<\/em>vol 2 #18<\/strong> has Wolverine tell the X-Men that, based on what he saw on the Weapon Plus satellite, they need to go after the new Weapon X Project. Chamber is selected to infiltrate them.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0flashbacks in\u00a0Secret War<\/em> #2-5<\/strong> take place here. Nick Fury recruits Wolverine, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Luke Cage, the Black Widow and\u00a0Daisy Johnson<\/strong> (later Quake) for a secret mission to overthrow the Latverian government, who have secretly been funding tech-based supervillains. They fight a bunch of Latverian soldiers and such illustrious villains as\u00a0a new Hobgoblin<\/b> and\u00a0Lady Octopus<\/strong> (Carolyn Trainer). Finally, when they reach current Latverian leader\u00a0Lucia von Bardas<\/strong>, Daisy brings down the building to kill her, horrifying the other heroes. Fury wipes everyone’s memories, and they don’t learn about their involvement in the coup until the main story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #442-443<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Of Darkest Nights”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Salvador Larroca, Danny Miki & Udon<\/strong>
\nApril 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Logan grudgingly accompanies Professor X to Genosha for the funeral of Magneto, but refuses to participate in anything amounting to a show of respect. Other mourners, such as\u00a0Shocker<\/strong> (Randall Darby), are offended by his behaviour, and Polaris shows up to make the case for Magneto. Xavier decides to stay and rebuild on Genosha (leading in to Excalibur<\/em> vol 2), and Logan leaves.<\/p>\n

NEW X-MEN vol 1 #156<\/strong><\/a>
\n“A Bright New Mourning, part 2”<\/strong>
\nby Chuck Austen, Salvador Larroca, Danny Miki & Udon<\/strong>
\nApril 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a single-panel cameo in the epilogue, as the X-Men watch the school being rebuilt after being blown up by Magneto in “Planet X”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE vol 3 #7-11<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Coyote Crossing”<\/strong>
\nby Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez & Studio F<\/strong>
\nNovember 2003 to February 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another crime story with minimal superhero elements. Logan stumbles upon two thugs, Merrick and\u00a0Lake<\/strong>, who have unintentionally killed a truck full of immigrants while smuggling them across the Mexican border, and are trying to cover up the deaths. Logan’s investigation leads him to El Paso, where he hangs out with old friend\u00a0Nestor Garcia<\/strong>, and follows the trail to Mexican crime boss\u00a0Rojas<\/strong>, who is also involved in heroin smuggling. Cassie Lathrop also shows up, along with Border Patrol’s\u00a0Agent Aguinaga<\/strong>, and Logan has to rescue her.<\/p>\n

Logan tracks down Rojas, who turns out to be a heavily pregnant woman. She accepts responsibility for the deaths, but argues that she doesn’t actually\u00a0want<\/em> to kill the people she smuggles, or her drug mules – after all, it’s in her interest for them to live – whereas Logan is a true sociopath who just likes to claim the moral high ground while he’s killing people. Logan shows up back at Nestor’s bar with Rojas’s baby (later named\u00a0Angelica Murillo<\/strong>) – it’s initially implied that he killed Rojas, but a flashback clarifies that she died in chlidbirth. Logan tells Cassie that he is “not much of a man at all” and that he “might as well have” killed Rojas, since the stress of his attack sent her into labour and wiped out the support staff that would have helped her. Cassie insists that he is not an animal and that if “you decide you’re a man, you know where you can find me.” Logan tracks down Rojas’s relatives in El Paso and delivers the baby to them.<\/p>\n

This is a very good arc, with excellent art and a deliberate anticlimax in Rojas’ death before the final act.<\/p>\n

Next time, we go from Greg Rucka to Mark Millar…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1: Origin to Origin II | Part 2: 1907 to 1914 Part 3: 1914 to 1939 | Part 4: World War II Part 5: The postwar era | Part 6: Team X Part 7: Post Team X | Part 8: Weapon X Part 9: Department H | Part 10: The Silver Age 1974-1975\u00a0|\u00a01976 | […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wolverine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7974"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8244,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7974\/revisions\/8244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}