Ultimate Wolverine has kept fans guessing since the beginning, each issue so far revealing more and more about Earth-6160’s Winter Soldier, the mutant known as Logan. Ultimate Wolverine #3 brought him face to face with old friends, Gambit, Black Widow, and Kitty Pryde, in an confrontation that sees Pryde awaken something in Logan. That leads to Ultimate Wolverine #4, which in some ways is a pretty standard Wolverine story, one longtime Wolverine fans have read many times — Wolverine breaking free from someone else’s control and raging. However, writer Chris Condon and artist Alessandro Cappuccio do what they’ve been doing best, taking things every fan knows about Wolverine’s past, and tweaking it ever so much to give readers something new.
The story is basically a “Weapon X” pastiche, which is a common Wolverine story, but Condon does it in a new way. There are basically the exact same lines and moments, but instead of showing us what happened, Condon shows a battle between a feral wolf and bear, representing Wolverine and Russia. It’s a genius way to take something that we’ve seen multiple times before and give it a new context. This sort of thing has been the best part of Ultimate Wolverine so far. This isn’t a new Wolverine story by any means — it’s a basic Wolverine cliche that I’ve personally read a hundred times in my over thirty years of Wolverine superfandom — but the way it’s been told is interesting enough to make it feel fresh.
The dialogue echos that of “Weapon X” and does a great job of capturing the fear of the scientists trying to figure out why things are going this wrong. There’s a palpable sense of fear, made all the more acute by the way the visuals don’t match the dialogue. We don’t know what Wolverine is actually doing, we’re only listening to what they’re describing. It’s an extremely effective way of telling an old story, doing a great job of giving readers just the right sense of fear. There’s a sense of anticipation as well; as cool as the metaphorical imagery is, the reader wants to see what’s happening. The violent battle between the wolf and bear is exciting, and it builds that anticipation until we get two gorgeous double page spreads, one showing us a climactic clash between wolf and bear, and the next showing us the aftermath of Wolverine’s rampage. It’s brutally effective, paying off the anticipation wonderfully. From there, we see Dr. Prostovich, the only scientist who has been able to get to Wolverine, taking him to the “Cerebellum”, where we’re introduced to Jean Grey, whose telepathy (and the Phoenix Force) help keep Wolverine under control. It’s brilliantly done, leading to another beautiful full page spread that says everything about the new Ultimate Universe — something we recognize trapped in an nightmare.
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Cappuccio’s art is amazing, but that’s pretty much expected by this point. His Wolverine wolf is a beat up little monster, a wolf cut out of the night with glowing eyes, the perfect representation of who the Winter Soldier of Earth-6160 is. The bear is massive and battle worn as well, a fitting metaphor for the power of Russia. Their battle is beautifully rendered, bringing us to the first double page spread of the two clashing, capturing the pain and rage of the battle. The next spread — the aftermath of Wolverine’s rampage — is perfect. It captures the violence of the attack. It’s immaculately rendered, a bloody masterpiece of comic art.
Cappuccio’s Wolverine is a blood-soaked monster for the rest of the issue, the artist capturing the hair trigger violence that the character is capable of. The final full page spread is an example of the twisted imagination of Cappuccio, presenting a scene just as chilling as the violence we’ve witnessed all issue. We’ve known Earth-6160 is a world ruled by monsters, but seeing what they’ve done to a beloved character all to use her power is the perfect visual representation of the book’s premise. Any artist could have made this scene pop, but Cappuccio’s style takes it to a level that another artist couldn’t. Bryan Valenza deserves a shout out as well. The colorist does a beautiful job of capturing the vibe of the scene using color. There’s a lot of black and red, shadows and blood, which fit the issue. Valenza is the perfect colorist for Cappuccio.
Condon uses the final data page to put the icing on the cake, describing the fates of Xavier and Jean Grey, while introducing Magneto into the mix. It’s a great capstone to an issue that goes above and beyond. Ultimate Wolverine #4 could have went in the direction everyone was figuring, and it would have been a good issue. However, Condon and Cappuccio go in a different direction and it pays off. No one would have complained if this book would have just done a straight-up “Weapon X” pastiche, because Condon and Cappuccio are so good. It would have been a bloody feast. However, dropping the metaphorical battle between the wolf and the bear into the book was perfect. It’s the book’s plot in microcosm, and it’s wonderful. Every issue of this book keeps knocking it out of the park, and this issue shows why — it takes a story we’ve read a million times, recontextualizes it, and presents it in a new way. Comics can fall back on nostalgia, so finding new ways to present it is a must. That’s what makes this issue such a treat.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Published by Marvel
Released on April 16, 2025
Written by Chris Condon
Art by Alessandro Cappuccio
Color Art by Bryan Valenza
Letters by Cory Petit
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