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Marvel has officially welcomed Wolverine into its Ultimate Universe, bringing with him a depressing change to his original backstory. Readers have been given their first, brief glimpse into the history of the Ultimate Universe’s Wolverine, revealing the drastically different direction his life has gone with in this continuity, thanks to the Maker’s tinkering with time and fate.
Ultimate Universe: One Year In teases the upcoming Ultimate Wolverine series with a prologue – written by Chris Condon, with art by Alessandro Cappuccio – which reveals that this version of Logan was captured by Directorate X, the Eurasian Republic’s equivalent to Weapon X. Once captured, he would be experimented on by Directorate X, with the idea of turning him into the perfect soldier.
Directorate X succeeded, transforming Logan, whom they only refer to as the Specimen, into the Ultimate Universe’s Winter Soldier. enemies.
Marvel’s Big Change To Wolverine Lore, Explained: The Ultimate Version Never Escaped Captivity
Ultimate Universe: One Year In, “Ultimate Wolverine Prologue” – Written By Chris Condon, Art By Alessandro Cappucio; Color By Bryan Valenza; Lettering By Travis Lanham
While this Wolverine’s origin is similar to the origin of his mainstream counterpart, the biggest change is also the most depressing: Ultimate Logan has never broken free of his captors’ control. Without his freedom. Logan is nothing more than a mindless animal being turned into a weapon against his will by Directorate X. In essence, he has become everything his mainstream counterpart never wanted to be, by no fault of his own. As Logan’s escape will inevitably occur, this raises the question of how many atrocities Logan will be forced to commit for Directorate X before he gains his freedom.
It certainly makes sense that Logan would still be an agent of Directorate X in this timeline – at least until he finally breaks free.
This change to Wolverine’s origin story, though certainly noteworthy, fits in with how Marvel’s second incarnation of the Ultimate Universe has changed the origins of other iconic characters. Ultimate Spider-Man, for instance, takes away Peter Parker’s teenage years as Spider-Man, instead imagining the kind of hero he’d become if he started as an adult. The Maker’s machinations had robbed the Ultimate Universe of its superheroes, so it certainly makes sense that Logan would still be an agent of Directorate X in this timeline – at least until he finally breaks free.
The Point Of The Ultimate Universe Is To Reinvent Its Heroes – Making Wolverine’s History Even Darker Is A Deliberate Choice
This dark starting point will only add to Ultimate Wolverine’s character, as his inevitable rage for his freedom will accentuate one of the main ongoing plots of the Ultimate Universe: the rejection of the Maker’s world. Each Ultimate series features its heroes fighting back against the world the Maker has made, so there’s no reason why Ultimate Wolverine shouldn’t be about that as well. Furthermore, the idea of a man being turned into a weapon, and then him rejecting what he was turned into, is quintessential Wolverine.
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Marvel is introducing two new (and iconic) characters to the Ultimate Universe – but time will only tell if they actually survive a Wolverine attack.
Ultimate Universe: One Year In has officially introduced Ultimate Wolverine, forcing him into the role of a living weapon but never giving him the freedom of his mainstream counterpart. While the change is depressing, it highlights the ways in which the Ultimate Marvel Universe takes away a foundational aspect of an iconic hero to imagine what they become without it. Moreover, it fits within the setting of the Ultimate Universe and helps to establish its main themes further. Whatever the future holds, Ultimate Wolverineis bound to be a worthwhile addition to the Ultimate Universe.
Ultimate Universe: One Year In is available now from Marvel Comics.
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.
“}]] Ultimate Wolverine’s dark origin, explained. Read More