Ultimate Wolverine vol. 2: Logan
He was once the most feared asset of the Eurasian Republic, and their greatest weapon against the mutant freedom fighters in the Opposition. Now, he’s back to who he was and Logan is fighting with his friends and comrades again against those who would see them all dead. That means taking the fight to the Republic itself and striking against their mutant weaponization plans and their Sentinel program. It’s almost therapeutic for Logan after what he went through, but something still gnaws at him. Not just the guilt over all the people and mutants he killed as the Winter Soldier, but as someone who has seen the capabilities of the Republic and knows that fighting against them may just be the fastest way to get everyone killed.
After putting Wolverine through a redux of “Enemy of the State” with added “The Winter Soldier” flavoring, writer Chris Condon puts the character through some more familiar business as he takes on an oppressive regime. As I’ve come to expect from the writer, it’s all basically competent as he clearly understands that we have to care about Logan’s friends before anything bad happens to them. Still, I can’t really say that there have been any interesting “Ultimate” takes on the cast here, outside of the grudging friendship between the title character and Sabretooth. The same can be said of other efforts to integrate bits of Wolverine’s history here, as the use of the Muramasa Blade feels like it clutters up what should’ve been a showstopping fight between him and Omega Red.
That issue features some capable work from this title’s designated fill-in artist, Alex Lins, who clearly deserves a shot at more high-profile work after this. Regular artist Alessandro Capucchio handles the rest of the volume and it has some definite stylish touches. His edgelord rework of Archangel is a highlight as is the proper debut of a certain mutant at the end of the volume. The writing and the art certainly make vol. 2 pleasant to read, but I’m not feeling like this story will wind up being a particularly memorable one either in the context of this “Ultimate” universe or Wolverine’s history at large.