This week we’re looking at Ultimate Wolverine #12, which brings the first year of the book to an end. Plus, our Rapid Rundown includes the latest issues of Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, and the debut of The End 2099!
Ultimate Wolverine #12
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Alessandro Cappuccio
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Cory Petit
What is there to live for, to continue fighting for, when all that you’ve fought to protect has turned to ash? It’s the question at the heart of this 12th issue of Ultimate Wolverine by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio. We know from statements made by Deniz Camp, the architect of The Ultimates and the upcoming Ultimate Endgame that this title was originally planned to end after 12 issues but was extended to tie into the events of Endgame. This issue certainly feels like an ending. A bittersweet one, but one with a measure of satisfaction and finality for our lead.
After a stirring debut that saw Wolverine’s history as Weapon X dialed up to 11 as the Ultimate Winter Soldier and set against his old friends, the last few months of the title have felt more like classic X-Men stories with a bit of a darker tone. It was, frankly, a bit disappointing to see Logan freed from his mind control and set back on the path of the righteous so quickly. It made the book feel a bit too much like any given Wolverine comic, a man haunted by a bloody past as a weapon. But the final moments of last month’s issue saw the leaders of the Eurasian Republic (Colossus and Magik) decimate the rebel mutants with a massive bomb. Wolverine and Ultimate Legion (a technopath living in the body of a Sentinel) were the only survivors.
Once again, Logan survives unspeakable tragedy, forced to bear alone more grief and pain. An endless life of scars, of hope devastated by darkness. The ending of issue 11 was a shock, made moreso by the recognition and use of the familiar mutant trappings so smartly deployed by Condon and Capuccio (as well as fill-in artist Alex Lins). It was a stark reminder that safety is never guaranteed, that under the aegis of despots and warmongers, peace can never be perpetuated. Logan, like everyone in this Ultimate Universe, has been robbed of a life of purpose.
So that leaves Wolverine alone, scarred and full of rage. What is there left to fight for now? Not his own safety or comfort nor the wellbeing of his loved ones. No, Wolverine turns his rage toward the engine of corruption and violence, the Leaders Rasputin, neither out of revenge nor to satiate a death drive. He does it for the many who will come next. The generations trampled by a lack of opportunity, exploited by capital and war. His mission is to light a spark to set the blaze of revolution— which Condon’s script makes clear will continue even after the death of the Mutant Opposition in the final few pages. Logan cannot save those already lost but there are others held captive and turned into tools held by the government, and he cannot rest until they are free.
Cappuccio’s art is as thrilling as ever, his fluid brushstrokes and inkwash textures bringing a sense of movement and depth to the images. Characters and details bleed into inky shadows, creating an unsettling world where anyone or anything could be pulled into the dark. Adding to the visual tone are the colors by Bryan Valenza which are fragmented and full of gritty texture. This is an unpleasant and harsh world, one where the air itself looks like it hurts to breathe. Working seamlessly into the rest of the visuals are Cory Petit’s letters, which are worked into the layouts and movement of the page, taking on the aspect of jagged shattered glass or gushing blood.
There is a catharsis in this final issue of Condon and Capuccio’s initial Ultimate Wolverine story. A satisfaction that someone can find some kind of meaning and renewed purpose even as all hope has been burned away. There is also a promise that movements cannot be stopped by any one act, that once begun they take on a life of their own. This is a heavy, dark and dreary series, but in this issue’s final pages Condon makes sure to give Wolverine a victory of a kind, encouraging us to find solace where we can in the thankless, painful work of living.
Final Verdict: BUY
The Rapid Rundown
- Amazing Spider-Man #17
- Spidey’s sexy, sensational space saga continues as everyone’s favorite wallcrawler does a marvelous interpretation of the Odyssey. While Norman Osborn and Ben Riley cover for Peter on Earth as Spider-Man and Parker respectively, writer Joe Kelly, artist Pepe Larraz, and color artist Marte Gracia have him leveling up physically and emotionally on his star trek. This issue is a mixed bag of fun and danger as Peter and his amazing friends have been marooned on a paradise planet after their ship was sabotaged in their search for a stargate to find their various homes. The humor comes from Peter’s supporting cast, Rocket Raccoon’s investigation into the sabotage is gold, and Peter’s flirting with Raelith, the alien bombshell, the superhero romcom I didn’t know I needed. The more serious aspects of this issue, and the run in general, have been Peter’s flashbacks to his younger days, specifically the life lessons learned from Uncle Ben or Aunt May. This comes as Peter must face the being that sent Hellgate, the alien that literally beat him into space. Larraz and Gracia have been around long enough that coming up with adjectives to describe how amazing their artwork is is becoming a problem. – GC3
- The End 2099 #1
- These recent 2099 series written by Steve Orlando have been an oasis of high concept sci-fi weirdness in a mostly conservative era of Marvel. The latest series The End 2099 finds Marvel’s far future heroes in an impossible situation. Abyssus, a Knull possessed Galactus, threatens the galaxy both on a physical and metaphysical level. His only opposition is… Mephisto? This might be titled The End 2099 but the ending leans more towards like a different Marvel concept. For anyone unfamiliar with this take on 2099, Orlando does a great job sending readers through this particular corner of alternate Marvel while simultaneously setting up the stakes. His version of 2099 is full of massive, cosmic ideas and this might be the biggest story he’s done with it yet. Nothing seems impossible in this story from a symbiote possessed Galactus to the data center of the galaxy being an entire planet. Artist Ibraim Roberson and colorist Andrew Galhouse are perfect collaborators for this kind of story. Roberson draws with a George Perez influenced style made for massive sci-fi environments or huge groups of people. Galhouse evokes so many moods with the pinks in the cosmic scenes and hard reds when Mephisto finally appears. This is an enormous story with an unimaginable scale and Roberson and Galhouse capture it all. This issue ends with huge reveal and it’s will be exciting to see where this team goes. Over 30 years later, it’s exciting to see the world of 2099 still offers possibilities for readers. – DM
- Ultimate Spider-Man #23
- Ultimate Spider-Man #23, written by Jonathan Hickman and art by the great tag-team of Marco Checchetto and David Messina, presents itself like an incredible alley-oop into the epic finale of Peter Parker. But it doesn’t feel that way. Whether it’s because of the shaky state of the Ultimate universe, the monthly writing narrative framework, or the countless moving parts that make it hard to focus on and root for Spider-Man, fans never got to embrace this version of Peter and his family fully. Or it’s a combination of all those factors. What’s here is fantastic: Peter fighting Mister Negative and Kingpin, Harry meeting more of the Maker’s council, and Ben and Felicia breaking into Fisk’s tower to install a technical McGuffin that will win the day for the heroes. All set up for a grand finale, but it lacks the emotional weight of one. We’ve spent two years with Peter, but it’s so hard to feel any emotional weight when he goes off to save his son, because we haven’t spent enough time with the entire family. So, at best, readers like me have to go off on the tropes of a father risking it all for his kid rather than have any meaningful feeling in the pages. It’s unfortunate that Ultimate Spider-Man is going down this way, considering all of the potential it had at the beginning. And with an all-star team behind it, it should have been one of Marvel’s best books. For now, we’ll have to wait and see if the final issue stirs any feeling, or if the whole thing feels like a blip in the grand scheme of things. We’re hoping for the best over here.
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