Ultimate Wolverine has been a wild ride, giving readers a view of what would have to Logan if he had been made into the weapon that the Western governments wanted him to be in the Cold War. Ultimate Wolverine is Weapon X mixed with the Winter Soldier, under the command of Eurasian Republic, the country ran by Colossus, Magik, and Omega Red. Ultimate Wolverine #5 introduces Ultimate Sabretooth into the mix, showing a very different, actually heroic Sabretooth. Ultimate Wolverine and Sabretooth fight it out, but not before revealing that Sabretooth has been working with the Opposition, hiding mutants from the Eurasian Republic’s hunters. Longtime X-Men fans will be surprised to the two mutants that he’s holding in Ultimate Wolverine #5 — Artie and Leech.
Ultimate Wolverine has introduced multiple well-known mutants, most of them in some way brutalized by the Eurasian Republic. Usually, these mutants have been the more powerful members of the X-Men. However, Artie and Leech aren’t among the most powerful mutants ever. While Leech’s powers are pretty great, he and Artie aren’t known for their fighting prowess. They don’t fit the extremely dark Earth-6160, and have long been known as the cutest mutants in the Marvel Universe.
Artie and Leech Have Had an Interesting Existence
Artie and Leech were Morlocks on Earth-616, sent underground because how they looked when they born. Leech had the powers to take away the mutant powers of mutants in his vicinity, making him an important part of the Morlocks’ defenses. Artie, on the other hand, had powers that weren’t as useful to the Morlocks as Leech’s. Artie was mute and his mutant powers allowed him to create holographic images. This gave him the ability to almost communicate with people. Artie and Leech eventually started hanging out together, with Leech often speaking for his good friend Artie. The two of them became the cutest mutant duo in comics, and eventually ended up hanging around with Generation X. After “Onslaught”, Artie and Leech made friends with young Franklin Richards, the three of them forming a trio of little kids having smaller scale adventures, including teaming with Man-Thing, Tana Nile, and Howard the Duck as the Daydreamers. This friendship made a huge difference in Artie and Leech’s life, especially after Scarlet Witch de-powered the mutant race in House of M.
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Artie lost his mutants powers on M-Day, but still kept his unique appearance and muteness. The Richards’s ended up taking him and Leech in, and the two of them became members of the Future Foundation. Artie was given a helmet that copied his old powers, allowing him to communicate again. However, the Krakoa Era would see the two of them get involved in the lives of their people again. It’s unknown if Artie went through Crucible, but he was never shown wearing his Future Foundation helmet, so it’s safe to assume that he was repowered at some point. Artie and Leech were still a duo on Krakoa, and were being trained in Silver Samurai’s dojo on the island. Leech was able to beat Artie in a sparring match.
Ultimate Artie and Leech Are as Cute as They Are on Earth 616
Fans were hyped for Ultimate Sabretooth’s debut, and what we got was completely different from what we expected. Sabretooth was running a bar, one that he used as a stop on the mutant underground railroad. After everyone left the bar, he told two mutants to come out and it was Artie and Leech. Sabretooth showed a much softer side, making them a great dinner of a hearty soup, and giving them a Shirley Temple, a drink they shared. He treated them like the children they are. However, soon, Ultimate Wolverine would show up, with Sabretooth fighting to protect the two young mutants from the Eurasian Republic’s ultimate hunter.
So far, the new Ultimate Universe hasn’t been the best for fan favorite mutants. Nightcrawler and Mystique died in Ultimate Wolverine #1, Xavier’s body died and his brain was kept in stasis, and Jean Grey is kept in a catatonic state in order to help control the Eurasian Republic’s living weapons. Fans love Artie and Leech, so most of us were scared that they would be victims in Ultimate Wolverine #5. However, Sabretooth is able to do something we haven’t seen anyone do before — defeat Ultimate Wolverine, saving Artie and Leech, and allowing Black Widow to bring the kids and an unconscious Ultimate Wolverine.
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