The Best There Is… No More?
Most comic book fans like myself know that when it comes to deaths, most are seen as “he’ll be back in a few months, so why care” In this case, killing Wolverine may seem like a waste at this point seeing as how many other times he’s been killed only to return a few issues later! Whether it’s self-sacrifice, the blaze of glory or just because, there have been both heartfelt and bizarre (very bizarre) ways that Logan has kicked the bucket and met his maker!
He has been disintegrated only to be brought back from a single drop of blood, burned down to his metallic bones only to be regenerated from a piece of brain tissue, blasted by Sentinels, run through with a sword only to be brought back as an undead ninja (thank you, Mark Millar), replaced by a Skrull and becoming Apocalypse’s horseman of Death and even killing himself in a trip to change history and alter the timelines! So what makes this time any different from all those others you’re probably asking?
For me, it’s many things!
Noticing his friends losses in most of the X-Men books to seeing him missing from the regular Avengers line-up he had become a part of over the last decade. Is it that all bad though? Well personally I like the fact that Marvel have taken him off the board, perfectly timed since they have some big events starting soon and to see how they can get through those stories with letting ‘ol Logan loose on whatever villains are causing trouble will be a breath of fresh air – nearly every X-Men has revolved around him, he’s had two solo films, his own animated TV series and this is before you rip the pages of comic books open – the character desperately needs a break and we’re eager to see his fellow team-mates step to the front more often!
Looking to possibly fill the place of Wolverine, Marvel are releasing 2 mini-series after the main story: Logan’s Legacy, which is a look at the reaction from those c
losest in both family and rivalry such as X-23, Daken and Sabretooth along with old flames Mystique and Lady Deathstrike. The other series, The Weapon X Program, will see rejects escape from what’s left of the Weapon X facility, trying to make sense of what’s been done to them. There is the possibility of a new replacement for the “Best There Is” from these two titles but I hope they let the name stay with Logan.
In the end, Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett will always be the best there is at what he does, which in my view was fight/struggle and rise up against all the good, bad and ugly things life can throw at someone. He’s the part of us that says “f*ck this” and trudges on. Sadly even if they possess super healing sooner or later everyone falls! With Marvel planning something big next May could this really be the end of Wolverine or just a break for Logan to rest his weary metal bones? He’s down, he’s out but he’s not forgotten! So here’s to “the best there is” and take a rest good sir, you deserve it!
Is this really the ‘end’ for Wolverine? Does it even matter? I’d love to know what your take on this whole thing is!
Words, Jamie Corr
