Ultimate Wolverine is a throwback book in the best possible way. This new version of Wolverine is a monster, under the control of Eurasian Republic, mixing ideas from old Weapon X Wolverine and the Winter Soldier. Readers have seen the precautions that the Eurasian Republic has taken to control him, and have witnessed him killing several of his old friends. In May’s Ultimate Wolverine #5, readers got to see the new Sabretooth take on Wolverine, and defeat the Winter Soldier. Ultimate Wolverine #6 is the book’s big moment, as the Opposition — the rebels against the Eurasian Republic — trying to break through the layers of brainwashing that have are used to control him.
The Eurasian Republic used telepathy to control Wolverine, and the Opposition has their own answer to that — David Haller, Legion of the 616 universe but known as One here. Where it all really gets interesting is when the book reveals Wolverine’s real enemy, and it’s not massive thought projections of the Rasputins and Omega Red — it’s himself. This is a very interesting development, and it’s one that also makes perfect sense. Wolverine has faced a lot of enemies, but the one who has hurt him the most is always himself.
Wolverine Has Always Had to Fight Against the Beast Inside of Himself
Longtime X-Men readers have seen a lot of telepathic combat, as the X-Men’s psychics do their best to help other members of the team break the mental control of others. In Ultimate Wolverine #6, readers get to Wolverine going up against psychic projections of Colossus, Magik, and Omega Red. It’s all pretty standard, but then things take a bit of a turn, as Wolverine is presented with his greatest enemy — himself. This isn’t a new idea in Wolverine comics; over the years, Wolverine has always had to fight the beast inside of himself, but it was rarely presented in the way that Ultimate Wolverine #6 does. For years, Wolverine had to learn to control himself in a variety of ways, starting with his berserker rages. Back in the day, any fight could have been enough to unleash the beast inside of Wolverine. He had to learn to control this part of him, and he was always successful. However that wasn’t the only thing that Wolverine had to fight inside of himself. It was merely the most obvious thing he had to fight.
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Wolverine’s life was colored by loss almost immediately after his mutant powers manifested. The losses kept coming for Wolverine, and he learned to keep to himself. He felt that anyone who got close to him would die, so he began to hold everyone at arm’s length. He moved around a lot. There was even a time when Wolverine was scared of himself. Wolverine has defined himself through his worst actions over the years, and put himself in situations where he could feed the beast inside of him. There’s a reason that Wolverine spent so many years killing in the past, and it’s because it’s all he believes he deserves. Wolverine has made himself into a monster more than once, because he fears the monster inside of him so much that it’s better to choose to become it rather than let it take over. Wolverine in the 616 universe has learned to use the monster inside of himself to his advantage, and it looks like the 6160 Wolverine had learned to do that as well, but the Eurasian Republic found a way to use the monster inside of him. Now, all of that is over, and Wolverine is ready to show everyone why he’s the best there is what he does.
Wolverine In Control of the Monster Is the Scariest Wolverine
Wolverine defeating the beast inside of him is always a catalyst for change. The symbolism of the fight is pretty nice as well. The dark side of Wolverine is a bigger, and is made of what looks like brittle stone. Hard, but once Wolverine goes to work against it, he takes it out rather easily. It’s a nice metaphor for Wolverine’s battle against his inner demons, because it shows just how strong Wolverine is compared to what’s inside of him. It looks tough and scary, but Wolverine will always be stronger than it as long as he tries.
The whole issue is extremely well-structured. Condon had to have known that this wasn’t the first time this exact plot line was written — I know I’ve read Wolverine stories like this several times over the years — so he and artist Alex Lins found new ways to make the story work. Wolverine is finally free of the beast inside of him, and the monsters propping it up, and is ready to rumble. Where this book goes next looks to be very interesting.
Ultimate Wolverine #6 is on sale now.
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