{"id":8276,"date":"2022-11-06T11:53:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-06T11:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=8276"},"modified":"2022-12-04T10:58:29","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T10:58:29","slug":"the-incomplete-wolverine-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=8276","title":{"rendered":"The Incomplete Wolverine – 2006"},"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> | 2003<\/em><\/a>
\n2004<\/a><\/em> |2005<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

We left off in the aftermath of\u00a0House of M<\/em>. Almost all mutants have been depowered by the Scarlet Witch – though by a happy coincidence, almost all the main characters happen to be exceptions, including Wolverine. On top of that, Wolverine has regained all of his memories. That took us through to the “Origins and Endings” arc from Wolverine<\/em> vol 3 #36-40, where Daniel Way kicked off his Wolverine: Origins<\/i>\u00a0storyline. That arc already took us through to March 2006, but it continues into Origins\u00a0<\/em>itself. And that arc runs for a good long while before allowing a break in the action. So…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #1-5<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Born in Blood”<\/strong>
\nby Daniel Way, Steve Dillon & Dan Kemp<\/strong>
\nApril to August 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Origins\u00a0<\/em>is Wolverine’s second ongoing monthly series, running for 50 issues and attempting to tie his back story into a coherent whole. On that score, it was a failure. It ties everything into a byzantine conspiracy arc involving Romulus, which has barely been mentioned since, presumably because nobody finds Romulus very inspiring. But it would be unfair to say that nothing in\u00a0Origins<\/em>\u00a0matters. It also introduced Daken, and he’s still appearing prominently today.<\/p>\n

In the opening arc, Wolverine starts hunting down people who were part of the conspiracy that exploited him in the past. He feels that he’s done terrible things in his life, that it’s no excuse that he wasn’t in control of his mind, and that he’s beyond redemption – but that’s not going to stop him from taking revenge. We establish that Logan started as a thug for the conspiracy, but went on to become a handler who treated other people the same way in a cycle of abuse. One of his victims,\u00a0Nuke<\/strong>, resurfaces to lure Wolverine out. Wolverine defeats Nuke, but Captain America shows up to stop Wolverine from killing him. Wolverine beats up Cap, then gives the Muramasa Blade (which he retrieved in the previous arc) to the X-Men for safe keeping. Finally, he heads off in search of his long lost son Daken, believing that the conspirators are planning to engineer a fight between them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This really isn’t good. Steve Dillon, a legendary artist, was appallingly miscast on this book; the script simply doesn’t have the sort of humour and subtlety that he’s good at bringing out, and he’s left drawing fight scenes that don’t play to his strengths. Frankly, much of this arc feels like a bunch of people wandering around a field. Perversely, the book is actually improved when, some way down the line, Dillon’s successors just draw the damn thing to look as cool as possible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #6-10<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Savior”<\/strong>
\nby Daniel Way, Steve Dillon & Dan Kemp<\/strong>
\nSeptember 2006 to January 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine decides that carbonadium might be the key to saving Daken from the conspiracy’s control (presumably because it eventually turns out to have played a part in clearing his own mind). So he decides to retrieve the carbonadium synthesizer (“C-synth”) that he gave Maverick years ago. He tracks Maverick down at a makeshift clinic for depowered mutants, run by Jubilee. By apparent coincidence, Omega Red also shows up looking for the C-synth, which he needs to control his powers. He takes Jubilee hostage, reminding Wolverine of his failures as a father figure. Maverick no longer has the C-synth, but directs Wolverine to Berlin. There, Wolverine teams up with the Black Widow (presented as an ersatz daughter, with flashbacks to their past). She tells him that the real C-synth is now in a safety deposit box in Brussels. They use a fake C-synth to lure out Omega Red and rescue Jubilee. She’s badly injured, and Wolverine surrenders to SHIELD in order to get her treated.\u00a0Daken\u00a0then makes his debut by breaking Logan out, slashing him, and mocking him as weak. He promises that they’ll meet again.\u00a0This is better than the first arc, in that the espionage plots work well enough, but the emotional beats still don’t land.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #11-15<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Swift & Terrible”<\/strong>
\nby Daniel Way, Steve Dillon & Matt Milla<\/strong>
\nFebruary to June 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine concludes that Daken blames him for the death of his mother and wants revenge, in a parallel of his own quest for revenge on the conspiracy. In Brussels, the two fight again. Daken insists that Wolverine is just his biological father, and derides him for wearing a mask. At this point, Daken is also obsessed with retaining his self-control, so that he can \u00a0prove himself better than his father. Daken defeats Wolverine, only for Cyber to show up. (Cyber returned from the dead by possessing the body of super-strong\u00a0Milo Gunderson<\/strong>, and got the Tinkerer to attach his adamantium plating to the new body.) Cyber is another former agent of the conspiracy, also out for revenge, and he wants Daken to give up the location of his employer. Wolverine offers to team with Daken against Cyber, but Daken just leaves. Cyber’s new heart gives out, and Wolverine grudgingly takes him to an underworld scientist for treatment. Cyber gives up various information about the conspiracy, including the implication that James Hudson was part of it. The scientist fits Cyber with a carbonadium pacemaker, unaware that this will be lethally radioactive; Wolverine disposes of the C-synth by throwing it into a river.<\/p>\n

This is the point where\u00a0Origins<\/em> stops being about a generic spy conspiracy, and starts building up the role of Romulus – who, at the same time, is being introduced over in\u00a0Wolverine<\/em>. It’s certainly possible that\u00a0Origins<\/em> gets derailed by the need to incorporate the ludicrous Romulus into Wolverine’s history somewhere. But more of that in due course.<\/p>\n

After 15 issues,\u00a0Origins<\/em> finally has a break in the action – so we won’t be returning to it for quite some time.<\/p>\n

THE PULSE #12-13<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Fear, parts 2-3”<\/strong>
\nby Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos & Matt Hollingsworth<\/strong>
\nNovember 2005 to January 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Avengers rush Jessica Jones to Dr Strange in time for the birth of\u00a0Danielle Cage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2005<\/a> (Avengers story)<\/strong>
\n“Yes, Virginia, There is a Santron”<\/strong>
\nby Jeff Parker, Reilly Brown, Pat Davidson, Dave Lanphear & Christina Strain<\/strong>
\nNovember 2005<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mad scientist\u00a0Virgie Hanlon<\/strong> rebuilds Ultron as Santa Claus, and it attacks the Avengers Christmas Party. The Avengers defeat it, then capture Virgie. If you’ve ever wanted a panel of Wolverine brutally attacking Santa Claus, this comic has you covered. Among the otherwise familiar party guests is rookie hero\u00a0Gravity<\/strong> (Greg Willis).<\/p>\n

THE OTHER – EVOLVE OR DIE\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>
\nAmazing Spider-Man <\/em>vol 1\u00a0#525 by Peter David, Mike Deodato Jr, Joe Pimental & Matt Milla<\/strong>
\nMarvel Knights Spider-Man<\/em> #20 by Reginald Hudlin, Pat Lee & Dream Engine<\/strong>
\nMarvel Knights Spider-Man<\/em> #21 by J Michael Straczynski, Pat Lee & Dream Engine<\/strong>
\nAmazing Spider-Man<\/em>\u00a0vol 1\u00a0#527 by J Michael Straczynski, Mike Deodato Jr, Joe Pimental & Matt Milla<\/strong>
\nFriendly Neighborhood Spider-Man<\/em> vol 1 #4 by Peter David, Mike Wieringo, Karl Kesel & Paul Mounts<\/strong>
\nMarvel Knights Spider-Man<\/em> #22 by Reginald Hudlin, Pat Lee & Dream Engine<\/strong>
\nOctober 2005 to January 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

A sprawling Spider-Man event crossover, in which the Avengers appear because Spider-Man is living with them at the time. It’s a 12-part story, but Wolverine is only in half of the issues, and most of those are cameos. He has a chat about Spider-Man’s obsessive pursuit of\u00a0Morlun<\/strong>, and (in a very Straczynski take on the character) deliberately winds up Mary Jane to distract her from her concern for Peter. That’s about it, really. We’ll have a lot of this sort of thing now that Wolverine is in the Avengers.<\/p>\n

UNCANNY X-MEN vol 1 #470-471<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Wand’ring Star, parts 2 and 3”<\/strong>
\nby Chris Claremont, Billy Tan, Jon Sibal & Brian Haberlin<\/strong>
\nMarch 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a sub-plot, Storm and Wolverine investigate Sudanese guerrillas who are enslaving depowered mutants. This leads into…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>BLACK PANTHER vol 4 #14<\/a><\/strong>
\n“Bride of the Panther, part 1”<\/strong>
\nby Reginald Hudlin, Scot Eaton & Klaus Janson<\/strong>
\nMarch 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Storm and Wolverine defeat the slavers, the Black Panther shows up to propose to Storm. There are editorial crossed wires here, since the plot details don’t match up with Claremont’s story. At any rate, Wolverine seems to be here in order to tacitly bury the romance with Storm that Claremont had been trying to set up. In a sense, he’s symbolically giving her away at the altar on behalf of the X-books (though we won’t reach the actual marriage for a bit).<\/p>\n

WOLVERINE vol 3 #41<\/strong><\/a>
\n“The Package”<\/strong>
\nby Stuart Moore & CP Smith<\/strong>
\nApril 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>At the Black Panther’s request, Wolverine rescues the baby daughter of assassinated President Mayamba from the wartorn African nation of Zwartheid. She symbolises the country’s hope of a peaceful future. This is a curious issue, since it’s a double-sized fill-in; the fact that it can slot neatly after\u00a0Black Panther<\/em> #14 appears to be just a coincidence. It’s mainly a showcase for Smith’s wonderful art, and a monologue for Wolverine, with the other characters being just generics.<\/p>\n

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN vol 1 #6<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Masks, part 1”<\/strong>
\nby Peter David, Roger Cruz, Oclair Albrt, Victor Olazaba & Chris Sotomayor<\/strong>
\nMarch 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another cameo. Wolverine and Mary Jane watch on TV as Spider-Man fights\u00a0El Muerto<\/strong> (Juan-Carlos Sanchez).<\/p>\n

A flashback in\u00a0Bullseye: Perfect Game<\/em> #2<\/strong> has been placed here for some reason – it’s just a single panel cameo of the Avengers watching a baseball game.<\/p>\n

BLACK PANTHER vol 4 #16<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Bride of the Panther, part 3”<\/strong>
\nby Reginald Hudlin, Scot Eaton, Klaus Janson & Dean White<\/strong>
\nMay 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

The X-Men react to the announcement of Storm’s engagement to the Black Panther. Mostly, they’re disappointed to be losing her as a teammate. Kitty isn’t much impressed by that reaction; Wolverine insists that “I gave her my blessing, for what it’s worth.”<\/p>\n

X-MEN vol 2 #189 (Masked Marvel story)<\/strong><\/a>
\nby Karl Kesel, David Hahn & Pete Pantazis<\/strong>
\nSeptember 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hesitant rookie superhero\u00a0the Masked Marvel<\/strong> (Adam Austin) comes to Avengers Tower hoping to speak to Spider-Man. He gets Wolverine instead, who advises him that the superhero life isn’t for everyone, but that he won’t know what he can do until he tries. This was one of two “Masked Marvel” back-up strips which appeared in Marvel books in 2006. For some reason, it’s missing from the Marvel Unlimited edition of\u00a0X-Men<\/em> #189, but can be found instead under\u00a0Masked Marvel Digital Comic<\/em> #2.<\/p>\n

X-MEN vol 2 #186<\/strong><\/a>
\n“The Blood of Apocalypse, part 5”<\/strong>
\nby Peter Milligan, Salvador Larroca & Jason Keith<\/strong>
\nMay 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine appears briefly with the\u00a0Avengers (sic), dealing with Apocalypse’s attack on New York. He gets to see Polaris as\u00a0Pestilence<\/strong>, but otherwise has no involvement in the main plot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-MEN \/ RUNAWAYS\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>
\nOne-shot<\/strong>
\nby Brian K Vaughan & Skottie Young<\/strong>
\nMay 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a Free Comic Book Day giveaway.\u00a0The Runaways<\/strong> – Molly Hayes, Victor Mancha,\u00a0Nico Minoru, Chase Stein<\/strong> and\u00a0Gertrude Yorke<\/strong> – are hunting for Gertrude’s missing dinosaur\u00a0Old Lace<\/strong> when the X-Men show up to recruit Molly, as one of the world’s few remaining fully-powered mutants. The Runaways want nothing to do with the X-Men who are, after all, a bunch of losers. The X-Men are absolute Silver Age dicks in this story, and eventually Emma Frost (!) has to tell them to leave Molly alone.<\/p>\n

MARVEL TEAM-UP vol 3 #21<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Freedom Ring, part 2 of 5”<\/strong>
\nby Robert Kirkman, Andy Kuhn & Marte Gracia<\/strong>
\nJune 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

The X-Men defeat the Abomination, mainly off panel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-MEN: DEADLY GENESIS<\/a><\/strong>
\n6-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Ed Brubaker, Trevor Hairsine, Kris Justice & Val Staples<\/strong>
\nNovember 2005 to April 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cyclops’s previously unknown brother\u00a0Vulcan<\/strong> (Gabriel Summers) returns, and the X-Men learn that he was part of a secret team of X-Men who died on Krakoa – including\u00a0Sway<\/strong> (Suzanne Chan),\u00a0Petra<\/strong> and\u00a0Darwin\u00a0<\/strong>(Armando Munoz). Professor X turns out to have wiped this from memory and tricked the X-Men into thinking that Krakoa was a sentient being rather than just a monster. This retcon no longer makes sense in the Krakoan era, but as of yet, nobody has tried to explain it away. Wolverine’s around as part of the group, but he doesn’t do much.<\/p>\n

A week or so later, Wolverine is among the mourners at the funerals of Sway, Banshee and Petra.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NEW AVENGERS vol 1 #17-20<\/a><\/strong>
\n“The Collective”<\/strong>
\nby Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato Jr, Joe Pimentel & Dave Stewart<\/strong>
\nMarch to June 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Avengers are called in by\u00a0S.H.I.E.L.D. director\u00a0Maria Hill<\/strong> to fight the Collective\u00a0<\/strong>(Michael Pointer), a massively powerful new villain who is empowered by the energies of many of the depowered mutants, and has been driven mad as a result. Alpha Flight seemingly get killed along the way, but Wolverine makes very little contribution beyond yelling a bit once Pointer has been brought back to his senses. It’s a feeble story anyway; Pointer is a non-character.<\/p>\n

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #1<\/strong><\/a>
\nby Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel, seven inkers and three colourists<\/strong>
\nApril 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Avengers defeat the new\u00a0Adaptoid<\/strong> (Yelena Belova, probably the Skrull imposter version), then attend the wedding of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Once again, Wolverine’s contribution is minimal.<\/p>\n

MARVEL TEAM-UP vol 3 #23-25<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Freedom Ring, parts 4-5” \/ “Titannus Lives!, part 2”<\/strong>
\nby Robert Kirkman, Roger Cruz, Andy Kuhn, Victor Olazaba & Marte Gracia<\/strong>
\nAugust & September 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine and Spider-Man fight\u00a0Iron Maniac<\/strong> (an alternate Tony Stark), get knocked out, and show up at the finale just in time to see the other Avengers dealing with the corpse of\u00a0Freedom Ring<\/strong> (Curtis Doyle) in the aftermath of Iron Maniac’s defeat. Then, Wolverine is among an array of random heroes who help\u00a0the Crusader<\/strong> (Z’Reg) to defeat Titannus.\u00a0(“Titannus Lives!, part 1” was the back-up strip in issue #24, if you’re wondering how this numbering works.) Not remotely important to Wolverine, but “Iron Maniac” is a great name, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

THING vol 2 #8<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Last Hand”<\/strong>
\nby Dan Slott, Kieron Dwyer & Laura Villari<\/strong>
\nJuly 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolverine has a one-panel cameo as one of many, many superheroes attending Ben Grimm’s belated bar mitzvah. He meets\u00a0Wundarr the Aquarian<\/strong> there. Later, he shows up as one of the guests at Ben’s superhero poker tournament. This is his first on-panel meeting with\u00a0Alicia Masters<\/strong>,\u00a0Goliath<\/strong> (Bill Foster),\u00a0Squirrel Girl<\/strong> (Doreen Green) with\u00a0her squirrel\u00a0Tippy-Toe<\/strong>, and Great Lakes Avengers members\u00a0Big Bertha<\/strong> (Ashley Crawford),\u00a0Mr Immortal<\/strong> (Craig Hollis) and\u00a0Flatman<\/strong> (Val Ventura), who somehow wins the tournament. New Avengers<\/em> will eventually retcon in an unseen history between Wolverine and Squirrel Girl, which may or may not come before this point.<\/p>\n

IRON MAN vol 4 #8 and #10-12<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Execute Program, parts 2 & 4-6”<\/strong>
\nby Daniel Knauf, Charles Knauf, Patrick Zircher, Scott Hanna & Antonio Fabela<\/strong>
\nMay to September 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

In issue #8, Wolverine yells at Iron Man for showing up late to a fight (which is due to blackouts that Iron Man doesn’t realise he’s having). In issue #11, the Avengers serve as bodyguards during the speech of\u00a0Karim Mahwash Najeeb<\/strong>, “director of the Muslim Peace Authority”; they protect him from Iron Man, who is being controlled by\u00a0the son of Ho Yinsen<\/strong>. Aside from that, it’s just cameos with the Avengers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE & THE BLACK CAT: CLAWS<\/a><\/strong>
\n3-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Joe Linsner & Jason Keith<\/strong>
\nAugust to October 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

A blatantly fake Kraven the Hunter – who turns out to be one of Arcade’s robots – kidnaps Wolverine and Black Cat to a desert island and challenges them to reach a boat before a volcano erupts. Amid much odd-couple squabbling and sexual tension, they escape, capture Arcade and his sidekick\u00a0White Rabbit<\/strong> (Lorina Dodson), and dump them in the Savage Land. It’s\u00a0meant<\/em> to be funny, and it’s nowhere near as cute as it thinks it is. Issue #3 has a bit where Wolverine throws Black Cat far enough into the sky for her to catch a flying helicopter, which is, er, interesting.<\/p>\n

Anyway, at the end of that they go for a meal together, which leads directly into…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>WOLVERINE & THE BLACK CAT: CLAWS II<\/a><\/strong>
\n3-issue miniseries<\/strong>
\nby Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Joe Linsner, Dan Brown & Nick Filardi<\/strong>
\nJuly to September 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, a sequel five years later that picks up directly from the original. Arcade and White Rabbit escape the Savage Land almost immediately by stealing a teleporter from\u00a0Civa<\/strong>. They trick Black Cat into grabbing the device; it transports her and Wolverine to an alternate timeline where they meet\u00a0Killraven<\/strong> (Jonathan Killraven), his allies\u00a0M’Shulla<\/strong>,\u00a0Carmilla<\/strong>,\u00a0Mint Julep<\/strong> and\u00a0Volcana Ash<\/strong>, and the invading alien\u00a0Martians.<\/strong> They get back home by rescuing Civa from a different point in her personal timeline, and create a time loop so that the whole story gets cancelled out and Arcade and White Rabbit wind up back in the Savage Land. You either find this stuff charmingly freewheeling or irritatingly pointless, and you can guess which camp I’m in.<\/p>\n

WOLVERINE vol 3 #42-47<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Vendetta”<\/strong>
\nby Mark Guggenheim, Humberto Ramos, Carlos Cuevas & Edgar Delgado<\/strong>
\nMay to October 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is basically the first half of the Guggenheim\/Ramos run, which has a whole other story arc spliced into the middle. It’s also a tie-in to\u00a0Civil War<\/em>, though it doesn’t really need to be. There’s an awful lot going on in this arc, so buckle up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When\u00a0the Crusader<\/strong> (Artie Blackwood) and his men hijack a Federal Treasury plane, Wolverine fights them. The plane crashes, and Wolverine is seemingly the sole survivor. This is set-up for the next\u00a0<\/em>arc – a\u00a0flashback in issue #48<\/strong> expands on this scene, showing Logan’s experiences while dead, and another encounter with Lazaer. Wolverine finally comes round just in time to learn about the New Warriors’ catastrophic battle with\u00a0Nitro<\/strong> in Stamford, Connecticut (from\u00a0Civil War<\/em> #1). He joins the other Avengers and X-Men in the rescue effort.<\/p>\n

Days later, the heroes gather at Avengers Tower to discuss the situation. Wolverine is angry that nobody is pursuing Nitro, and compares the Superhero Registration Act to Nazism – which is so over the top that even Luke Cage doesn’t agree. That said, Wolverine does follow it up by arguing that the same government has already parked Sentinels on his lawn, which he sees as a hate crime. Specifically, he compares it to cross-burning, which is questionable territory, but at least makes sense in-universe. Despite all this, Wolverine isn’t a fugitive in\u00a0Civil War<\/em>, because the X-Men are already in a state of uneasy co-operation with O*N*E, so they’re treated as having already registered.<\/p>\n

Iron Man tries to persuade Wolverine to leave Nitro to the authorities, but Wolverine points out that Iron Man hired him for the Avengers in the first place so that he could kill people when it was needed. Eventually they compromise on having Wolverine tag along with the S.H.I.E.L.D. task force. Naturally, Nitro blows himself up and kills everyone. Again, a\u00a0flashback in issue #48<\/strong> expands on this – he has a vision of Jean Grey, and then confronts Lazaer again. The art goes ludicrously overboard here, showing Wolverine regenerating from an adamantium skeleton, which I suspect may have been more than Guggenheim actually intended. Wolverine recovers remarkably quickly in the circumstances, and catches up with Nitro (whose explosions don’t affect things\u00a0right next to him<\/em>, and therefore can’t use his powers to defend himself once Wolverine has caught him).<\/p>\n

Wolverine really just wants to torture Nitro, who tries to buy him off: he explains that he was powered up with Mutant Growth Hormone as part of a wider conspiracy, and offers information in exchange for his life. Wolverine agrees, but before Nitro can give up the name, he’s captured by Atlantean agents\u00a0Janus, Politus<\/strong> and\u00a0Aamir<\/strong>, who have been sent to avenge the death of Namorita (in\u00a0Civil War\u00a0<\/em>#1). Wolverine follows them to Atlantis (using armour borrowed from Iron Man) only to find that the Atlanteans have already extracted the information themselves: Nitro was working with\u00a0Walter Declun<\/strong>, the new owner-CEO of Damage Control. Nitro escapes and kills Politus; Wolverine quickly recaptures him, but decides to honour his previous bargain and let Nitro live.<\/p>\n

Wolverine then goes after Declun, who has been engineering disasters for Damage Control to repair.\u00a0Previous owner\u00a0Anne-Marie Hoag<\/strong>, who is still company President, is shocked to learn this. Wolverine starts a vendetta against Damage Control, to the increasing irritation of Scott and Emma, who really, really want to keep out of all non-mutant affairs right now. Maria Hill also warns Wolverine away from Declun, who is a friend of the President. But Wolverine escapes the SHIELD Helicarrier and – according to another\u00a0flashback in issue #48<\/strong> – gets himself killed in the process, having yet another fight with Lazaer. A\u00a0flashback in issue #59<\/strong> is also placed here, presumably one of the generic images of Wolverine dying. Finally, Wolverine confronts Declun in person and publicly kills him in front of a crowd onlookers. Later, he tells Registration Act campaigner\u00a0Miriam Sharp<\/strong> that he doesn’t regret doing so at all.<\/p>\n

This is a much better arc than I remember, if you’re willing to overlook the ridiculous excesses of the death scenes and the fact that there’s a very protracted fight in the middle. It really is trying to do something with the question of how far Wolverine is a man of principle and how far he’s just a very angry man who’s able to rationalise his behaviour by mostly fighting baddies. The\u00a0Civil War<\/em> tie-in gets decidedly tenuous by the end, but that’s no bad thing.<\/p>\n

A bunch of other appearances fit in here:<\/p>\n