This week, writer Charles Soule and artist Steve McNiven's penultimate chapter of DEATH OF WOLVERINE was released. We loved it, giving it a 5-star review, and we think it deserves a more extended conversation. Sure, there was some very cool action to enjoy, but there were also some pretty big developments. We'll give you a second to grab the issue and then we'll begin discussing all of its biggest moments. Ready? Great, let's go.
Yeah, there's obviously spoilers in here.
DEATH OF WOLVERINE #2 left James Howlett in a rough spot. He was slashed by Sabretooth and then saved by Lady Deathstrike, but then she turned on James, too. Luckily for the X-Man, Kitty Pryde randomly showed up and, thanks to her mutant power, put her intangible arm through Yuriko's chest. Would Pryde really pull off the fatal attack? Yuriko thinks it's a bluff and flips away, but what Soule has Pryde do next is simply jaw-dropping. He puts her power to proper use and McNiven does an excellent job showing us just how brutal the attack is. Go on, see for yourself.
Pryde saved Logan from Deathstrike, but his encounter with Victor Creed took a big toll on his health. Half of his face was severely damaged and his eye was destroyed. Honesty, we've already seen Logan with an eyepatch ("Patch") before and thankfully, Soule doesn't take us down that familiar road. Kitty has a magical and oh-so-convenient thing on her called regen serum (because why not?). It's not as advanced as Wolverine's former accelerated healing factor, but it instantly heals his face and leaves him with two scars.
The issue began with some vicious action, but the follow-up offers something unexpected: a beautiful, character-driven scene. McNiven (along with inker Jay Leisten and colorist Justin Ponsor) makes the garden setting absolutely gorgeous. It's a tranquil spot that's full of wonderful colors, so it's the perfect place to delve deep into Wolverine's psyche. He can no longer come back from just about anything and a ridiculous amount of mercenaries are now trying to capture him. Even though he's endured so much over the decades, an experience like this is sure to cause some major reflecting. Wolverine even casually mentions the idea of finding a peaceful spot and taking his own life (the chapter's called "Seppuku") -- something which was surely a spur of the moment thought and not actually what he really wants. It's a really humanizing bit. It's so often we see Wolverine as this blunt, gruff and rage-filled character when he's actually quite intelligent, noble, and caring. Soule brings those qualities front and center without making him seem too soft (like the previous run did). Instead, it gives the character more depth; it's a great way to show he isn't one-dimensional and this experience is impacting him.
Wolverine opens up to Kitty about his real plans. He knows his time is limited and he's going to use it to do what's right. He's lived a life full of tough choices -- ones which few could live with -- and now he thinks this will allow him to be a better man as he moves forward. Honestly, it's a little heartbreaking since he's talking about this latest challenge as if it's just like any of the other ones he's endured. He's optimistic, already looking past it and deciding what he'll do next. Unfortunately, we know the next issue just may be his last one (until he's eventually resurrected, obviously, but enjoy the ride while it lasts, yeah?). But then something stunning happens...
"Blasphemy! They have a father-daughter relationship! What are you doing, Soule!?" Don't worry, it's really Ogun, one of Wolverine's older villains, lurking inside of Kitty Pryde and controlling her actions. You know what this development means, right? It's fight time yet again! Ogun's incredibly skilled, so Pryde smacks James around a bit and the hero only begins to take the edge when Pryde starts resisting Ogun's influence. We'll spare you all of the minor details because this sequence will likely appear in Friday's Best Battles article, so we'll jump to the next big thing. Ogun eventually leaps out of Kitty's body and takes over a random and unfortunate person who happens to be nearby. Ogun then leads Wolverine to a warehouse and there's a tank that appears to be melting something...
So, it turns out Silas Burr, a.k.a. Cyber, is dead... again. He's an awesome villain, but he just has terrible luck, doesn't he? First he's pretty much eaten alive for his adamantium. He's able to transfer his mind into a new body, but it turns out that body has a heart condition and he requires medicine to deal with it. Daken refused to let him have said medicine when he desperately needed it, and the implication was Silas was going to die once more. Well, it appears he found a way he move on, only to make his next full appearance dead and in a pool of acid -- killed once again for his adamantium! But hey, at least Ogun says he put up a fight.
Wolverine and Ogun reach an uneasy conclusion and go their separate ways, but before leaving, Ogun is there to give us all of the exposition we need for the big finale. Ogun confirms who placed a price on Logan's head (we'll get to that in a bit), but Ogun also does something very interesting. Hoping to further convince Logan to agree to their uneasy agreement, Ogun offers the X-Man more regen serum. Logan pauses for a moment and doesn't accept them. Wait, what?! He says he's "done living forever," but if you're about to bring the fight to Weapon X and want to live a meaningful life after the violent battle concludes, would it really hurt to keep them on you? You know, just in case?
Who's coming after Logan, you ask? It's revealed the man behind all of this madness is Abraham Cornelius, a scientist from the Weapon X program. Interestingly enough, the last appearance of his that I read ended with him getting shot in the head by Maverick (1992's X-MEN #7). Seeing as that's a pretty memorable story arc (Jim Lee's art and the debut of Omega Red!), I'm confident Soule will explain to us why Cornelius has returned. As for this chapter's final page, see below.
Since he's collecting adamantium, it's looking like he's making a sophisticated armor with the virtually unbreakable metal. But who's inside of it? As the Comic Viner Equonox pointed out, you can see an ear on the head's left side. What do you think? The final chapter is scheduled to go on sale October 15th and we can't wait to see what happens next.